Coun t r y 4 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022.
Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. 5 In t roduc t i on FinTech Awards2022 FM Hello and welcome to the 2022 edition of the Finance Monthly FinTech Awards! 2021 was yet another remarkable year for the FinTech world with record deals in every major region. With the continuously growing interest in crypto and blockchain, the optimism in the sector is stronger than ever and 2022 certainly promises to be another banner year for FinTech. Here at Finance Monthly, it is our mission to produce an annual publication that celebrates the true innovators at the forefront of the FinTech industry – the individuals and companies who make it exciting and drive it forward every day. We are proud and excited to present our 2022 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards – a celebration of the top creators and innovators in the financial technology world! Congratulations to our winners!
What 2022 Has in Store for FinTech Mariano Dima President of Soldo Spec i a l Fea t ur e 6 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022.
The disruption of the global pandemic led to a highly challenging 2021 for the FinTech sector. However, the new normal did not bring only negatives. The rapid shift to digitalisation throughout every aspect of our personal and business lives meant the industry was able to withstand many of the challenges that caused other industries so much pain. The more astute players were able to identify new opportunities and grab them by the horns. As most global activity defaulted to remote, FinTechs were able to cater to this trend by offering digital tools that solved a whole host of new problems businesses were now faced with - in the case of Soldo, for example, by offering visibility for finance teams as they increasingly found themselves in the dark as a result of remote working. As a consequence, it’s been pleasing to see a significant increase in FinTech investment over the last year, in spite of a rocky economic landscape. This has been particularly pronounced in the US, where private equity investments have grown from tens of billions of dollars several years ago to hundreds of billions, approaching trillions of dollars - if counting the market caps of firms that have gone public. But what does 2022 have in store for the sector? Will the industry continue to thrive and what challenges will need to be surmounted in order to ensure this? Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Spec i a l Fea t ur e 7
Spec i a l Fea t ur e 8 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. The post-pandemic boom 2022 will hopefully see the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and, with this, a subsequent economic boom. Soldo’s recent report with Coleman Parkes entitled Open for Business looked at how finance teams are planning for this and the opportunities and challenges they see. We found that almost three quarters (70%) of UK businesses are prioritising growth in the next 12 months – with 44% saying their strategy will be to raise new capital, and a third (33%) to acquire businesses through mergers and acquisitions. The report also highlights that (72%) believe greater visibility, control and oversight across expenditure has a positive impact on revenue growth. In preparing for this, finance teams are turning to investments in technology, and specifically automation tools. Two thirds (66%) cited investments in IT tech and automation as key drivers of profitability, while almost three quarters (74%) have invested in automation to manage employee expenses. FinTechs will hence have a critical role to play in facilitating post-pandemic growth and need to capitalise on the opportunities that the needs of businesses will present. The great “switch on” The economic instability brought about by the pandemic caused many businesses to shift into survival mode and cut back on spending, limiting expenses to the strictly essential. However, with the end of social distancing measures, events, meals, drinks and travel are increasingly once again becoming a part of working life. Forfinance teams, thisgreat “switch on” means having to manage an influx of POs as workers look to enjoy their renewed freedoms, and this is only set to increase into 2022. This will have to be balanced against managing the costs of the coronavirus crisis, with Bounce Back Loans and deferred tax payments having to be paid off. WithsomanyUKbusinessesgeared towards growth, the pressure is on finance teams to deliver a holistic view of spending, control costs and implement systems that provide the business with a level of data insight that is essential to driving growth – in whichever format that takes. This pressure provides further opportunities for the FinTech sector to step in and offer solutions. Without the right tools and services in place, finance teams will undoubtedly be wasting precious time that could 70% of UK businesses are prioritising growth in the next 12 months 44% say their strategy will be to raise new capital 33% to acquire businesses through mergers and acquisitions
Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Spec i a l Fea t ur e 9 be better spent on initiatives that aid strategic growth. Europe vs the World The global FinTech landscape is in constant flux and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in 2022, particularly how European FinTech businesses hold up in the face of increasing competition from elsewhere in the world. The EU is currently home to only 7.2% of worldwide unicorns. The sum value of all EU unicorns and EU tech and digital champions already public is dwarfed by the value of today’s non-EU big tech. This allows the latter to buy out potential disruptors, solidify industrial control, build scale, and manage the global digital and tech agenda – and we should expect this trend to continue upwards in 2022. 72% believe greater visibility, control and oversight across expenditure has a positive impact on revenue growth We have watched the development of China’s FinTech space with particular interest and expect to see a continued rise in 2022. As of April 2021, the sectors home to the highest number of unicorns in China were technology and telecommunications, and transportation and logistics. However, Chinese unicorns active in finance or insurance had significantly higher market valuations than unicorns in either of these sectors. Maintaining high levels of innovation is a key challenge for European FinTech. In the EU, ensuring innovation is essential to both territorial cohesion and growth. Government, as well as business, has a role to play in facing this challenge. It can do so by reducing fragmentation of regulation across the EU’s main innovation areas and removing unnecessary obstacles. It is equally important to have close cooperation with the existing expert organisations who unite various European innovation industries. Final thoughts We all hope that 2022 will bring a return to true normality and much needed social and market stability across the globe. Providing that COVID-19 has no further nasty surprises to throw our way, we can expect the next 12 months to see a huge global economic rebound. This will mean that opportunities for the FinTech sector will be in no short supply. But FinTechs, investors and governments alike must not be too complacent about the inevitability of bouncing back. Careful planning and management will still be required to ensure opportunities are not squandered. 66% cited investments in IT tech and automation as key drivers of profitability 74% have invested in automation to manage employee expenses
EUROPE
SoftPos Jurgen Vandenbroucke everyoneINVESTED Bertrand Dumazy Edenred David Khuat-Duy Ivalua Philipp Buschmann AAZZUR Raffael Johnen auxmoney GmbH Liliana Fratini Passi CBI Paolo Bertoluzzo Nexi Group Paolo Fiorentino Banca Progetto SpA Laust Bertelsen Banking Circle Laurent le Moal PayU François Derbaix Indexa Jordi Mercader inbestME Andre Løvestam Zwipe Max Chuard Temenos Thomas Beck Avaloq Jaidev Janardana Zopa Michael Mueller Form3 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46
Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Europe PAYMENT INNOVATION PLATFORM OF THE YEAR Grzegorz Nowakowski Vice President & Founder of SoftPos www.softpos.eu 12
Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Europe SoftPos was founded in Poland in early 2019 and hasmade an enormous progress since then. The fintech’s solution is an Android-based app which allows acceptance of contactless transactions without the need of possessing a traditional payment terminal – user’s phone or tablet is enough. The only requirements are Android 8.0 (or higher), Internet access and NFC. SoftPos works on most of the common off-the-shelf smartphones or tablets regardless the manufacturer, as well as various dedicated devices used by specific segments of the market (couriers, ticket sellers, restaurants, etc.). The app is as secure as a standard payment terminal, with PCI DSS and PCI CPoC certificates acquired and all requirements of Mastercard and VISA met. SoftPos processes transactions with plastic cards or their virtual equivalents, like Google Pay, Apple Pay or Garmin Pay digital wallets. Transactions requiring PIN code are already available among the end users, many of whom have decided to use SoftPos as their only payment terminal. Company’s first implementation begun in July 2020 in Poland. Since then SoftPos has end merchants using their solution in 4 European countries (Poland, Hungary, Spain, Romania), with tests carried in 7 more at the moment. End users represent all kinds of market sectors, from taxi drivers and delivery companies to restaurants, food chains or local stores to ticket sellers and insurance agents. It’s worth mentioning, that apart from implementations among small and medium merchants, there are also corporate clients who equip their crew with SoftPos. “We are extremely happy to be noticed by Finance Monthly and receive the award for the Best Payment Solution”. says SoftPos’ co-founder and Vice President, Grzegorz Nowakowski. “We see that our hard work during the last two years was really worth it. Recent implementations with one of the Spanish postal companies and Łódź Metropolitan Railway have shown us that there’s a huge demand for SoftPos solutions not only among small and medium merchants, but also in big companies with hundreds or thousands of terminals. It proves that our solution might really change the world and allow many merchants and corporations to start accepting digital payments – faster and easier than ever.” – he adds. Indeed, the solution can serve not only as a standalone app downloaded from Google Play Store, but also as a module in the company’s native app. For example, in a case when courier needs to scan the package and receive the payment during delivery, he is now able to use only one app on one device to do so. After scanning the item, the courier company’s app automatically opens SoftPos’ payment module and the receiver can tap his card or phone to the courier’s device. That’s it! The whole process is quick, intuitive and doesn’t require to carry multiple devices or open various apps. Last, but not least, SoftPos is a great answer to sustainable/zero waste movements as it doesn’t require production, distribution or maintenance of any hardware. The onboarding process and all updates are carried online and reduce the carbon trail significantly. With all that said, it’s safe to say that SoftPos might be the terminal of tomorrow – with more than 400 million companies in the world still accepting only cash, there’s a huge opportunity to help them enter the digital era, allowing the clients to pay safely and comfortably and without negative influence on the environment. Contact us and learn more: www.softpos.eu SoftPos changing Android devices into mobile payment terminals. 13
14 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Be l g i um DIGITAL FINANCE SERVICE OF THE YEAR Jurgen Vandenbroucke Director everyoneINVESTED E: jurgen@everyoneinvested.com W: www.everyoneinvested.com
15 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Be l g i um everyoneINVESTED is the former innovation team of KBC Asset Management and first wealthtech spin-off of KBC Group, an established Belgium-based bank-insurer and digital front-runner. The leader of the former innovation team Jurgen Vandenbroucke, PhD, heads the company. The SaaS platform of everyoneINVESTED offers technology that integrates into the digital channels of B2B clients, i.e. their mobile banking app or online banking platform, to boost net sales in investments. The key differentiator of everyoneINVESTED is twofold: - Content-driven innovation. Technology is not a goal in itself but the means for banks to expand their reach, also with respect to their investment offering. everyoneINVESTED increases the efficiency and effectiveness of digital investing by wrapping the human touch of advisors into technology. Jurgen Vandenbroucke continues to pioneer developments in this field through his affiliations at University of Antwerp, Belgium, as guest lecturer in financial engineering and as research associate at the Edhec-Risk Institute, France, in the program “big data, technology and artificial intelligence for investment solutions”. The sound methodologies that power everyoneINVESTED solutions are published in Journal of Behavioral Finance, Journal of Investment Management, Journal of Digital Banking and more. The expertise of everyoneINVESTED makes you the reference. - Proven value. The solutions of everyoneINVESTED are live in various countries. Their proven value made the business case to wrap the solutions in a SaaS platform. everyoneINVESTED solutions drastically improve rejuvenation (i.e. the ability to engage young and first investors), conversion (i.e. the ability to make users successfully complete the process without human encouragement) and retention (i.e. the ability to increase loyalty). The experience of everyoneINVESTED gives you a headstart. The strategic priority of financial institutions guides the commercial focus of everyoneINVESTED. In a digital context, with human encouragement lacking, the biggest hurdle proves to be onboarding and risk profiling. everyoneINVESTED offers technology components that turn banking clients into sticky investors based on cutting edge know-how in applied behavioral finance, choice architecture, investor engagement and onboarding. On its mission to get everyone invested all the time everyoneINVESTED joins forces with partners that accelerate their mission by adding complementary expertise. Solutions of everyoneINVESTED include: 1) The Rejuvenation Engine, an execution-only microinvesting application that rounds digital payments and diverts the roundings to a regular investment plan. At KBC, in 2021 awarded the best mobile banking app by independent researchers of SIA Partners, The Rejuvenation Engine accounts for 2/3 of the regular investment plan production. Users of the service are younger than existing investors and the majority invests for the first time ever. everyoneINVESTED partners with Mastercard to offer a joint API-solution that integrates into the mobile banking app of banks. 2) The Conversion Engine, technology enabling banks to launch hyper-personalized campaigns in their mobile app that turn costly deposits into investment fee business. The Conversion Engine builds a disruptive yet compliant advisory process that addresses wealthy savers who don’t hold any investment yet. everyoneINVESTED partners with Fincite in Germany and with Prometeia in Italy. The local embeddedness of its partners helps everyoneINVESTED accelerate savings conversion in those European markets where deposits peak, i.e. Germany and Italy. 3) The Profiler, a hyper personalised, compliant risk profiling application. Proven business evidence confirms that the solution generates more profiles, better profiles and more business. In contrast to classic questionnaires for investor onboardingwhichoften lead todropouts, the unique profiler solves this by being a highly interactive, personalised and gamified digital experience adding to investor retention. everyoneINVESTED partners with Objectway to embed this cutting edge know-how in state-of-the art wealth management technology. Feel free to reach out to jurgen@everyoneinvested.com or visit www.everyoneinvested.com for more info.
16 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Fr ance PAYMENTS SERVICES OF THE YEAR Bertrand Dumazy Chairman and CEO Edenred www.edenred.com
17 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Fr ance Firm Profile Edenred is a leading digital platform for services and payments and the everyday companion for people at work, connecting over 50 million users and 2 million partner merchants in 46 countries via more than 850,000 corporate clients. Edenred offers specific-purpose payment solutions for food (such as meal benefits), mobility (such as multi-energy, maintenance, toll, parking and commuter solutions), incentives (such as gift cards, employee engagement platforms) and corporate payments (such as virtual cards). True to the Group’s purpose, “Enrich connections. For good.”, these solutions enhance user’s well-being and purchasing power. They improve companies’ attractiveness and efficiency, and vitalize the employment market and the local economy. They also foster access to healthier food, more environmentally friendly products and softer mobility. Edenred’s 10,000 employees are committed to making the world of work a connected ecosystem that is safer, more efficient and more userfriendly every day. In 2020, thanks to its global technology assets, the Group managed close to €30 billion in business volume, primarily carried out via mobile applications, online platforms and cards. At Edenred, innovation rhymes with imagination. Imagination that is fueled by constantly listening to all our clients, from companies and partner merchants, to the employees who use the Group’s programs. Imagination that we share by encouraging Edenred’s employees to become entrepreneurs. More and more transactions managed by Edenred are digital, whether it’s by card, on smartphones or via the Internet, and cover a wide range of value-added services such as instant payment, geolocation, personalized promotional offers and real-time expense tracking. Solutions That Benefit All Stakeholders Edenred lies at the core of a virtuous network that associates its companies, its employees and its merchants. The Group brings added value to all of its clients: Companies and public sector, concerned with being attractive employers, motivating their teams and optimizing their performance. Employees and citizens, who appreciate the simplicity and convenience of service cards and vouchers in making their lives easier. Merchants (restaurants, stores, gas stations, etc.) seeking to increase their revenue, foster their customers’ loyalty and make their transactions more secure. Moreover, public authorities appreciate the use of solutions that improve the efficiency of their social policies and guarantee the traceability of allocated funds. About Bertrand Dumazy Bertrand Dumazy is a graduate of ESCP Europe and holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He started his career in 1994 as a consultant with Bain & Company, first in Paris and later in Los Angeles. He then worked as an Investment Director of BC Partners in 1999. In 2002, he joined the Neopost group. Initially Head of Marketing and Strategy, he was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Neopost France in 2005 and then Executive Vice-President, Finance for the Neopost Group in 2008. In 2011, he became President and CEO of Deutsch, a world leader in high performance connectors, a position he held until the group was acquired by TE Connectivity. In 2012, he joined Materis as Executive Vice-President then CEO and eventually President and CEO of the group, renamed Cromology. In October 2015, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of the Edenred group. Bertrand Dumazy is also a Board member of Air Liquide and Neoen.
18 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Fr ance PROCUREMENT SOFTWARE PROVIDER OF THE YEAR David Khuat-Duy www.ivalua.com Founder of Ivalua
19 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Fr ance Firm Profile Ivalua was founded in 2000 on a disruptive idea: that organizations can transform not just their business, but also the world by how they manage their spend and suppliers. Our mission has been steady ever since – to empower Procurement leaders to do just that. Today, hundreds of the world’s most admired brands leverage our platform to manage ALL spend and ALL suppliers. They optimize efficiency, lower risk, unlock supplier-led innovation, maximize profitability, improve sustainability, and much more. Ivalua’s platform provides the automation to free time for strategic activities. The insights to make better, faster decisions. And the connections to collaborate with suppliers and internal stakeholders. All in one place. With rapid deployment of best-in-class capabilities and unmatched flexibility to meet the needs of tomorrow. Why Ivalua? Ivalua eliminates the compromises that hold you back • Rapid Time to Value AND Flexibility to Grow • Full Source-to-Pay Process Automation AND Best-of Breed Capabilities • Cloud Convenience AND Robust Security • A Single Platform For All Spend & All Suppliers • Start anywhere, go everywhere, see everything Digitize All Procurement Processes • Full Source-to-Pay process • Native integration • Industry-specific processes • Powerful, flexible workflows • Embedded supplier collaboration Manage All Spend Categories • Indirect goods • Complex services • Direct materials / goods for resale • Capex • Assets & tooling Improve Data Quality & Analytics • Single analytics layer across source-to-pay • Hundreds of out-of-the-box reports & dashboards • Integrated Virtual Assistant (IVA) & actionable analytics • Unified master data model • Vendor master data management Discover the Power of a True Platform Many vendors use the terms “suite” and “platform” interchangeably, but there is a real difference. Ivalua About David Khuat-Duy David founded Ivalua more than 19 years ago and assembled an executive team to set the foundations for bestin class software design, continuous sales growth and rigorous operations management. Those efforts have allowed Ivalua to be recognized by leading analysts as one of the top global spend management software vendors growing consistently and profitably for more than 19 years. A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique with a Ph.D. in Mathematics, David started his career as an SAP consultant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers working on the architecture, design and implementation of ERP for international accounts. offers a true platform, which means less effort and more value for our customers. Key benefits include: Improved Decision-Making • Real time visibility into all activity • True 360 degree supplier visibility due to our unified data model • AI-powered insights and access • Integrated Master Data Management capabilities can unify item and supplier data across your backend systems Simplified Integrations • A single set of integrations to your back-end systems • Stress-free integrations to ERP and other systems via an open approach, pre-built connectors and integration tools • Easy monitoring and control of all transactions and connections in real-time with our unique ERP console Increased Adoption • Improve employee satisfaction with a consistent, intuitive experience • Rapid, scalable supplier onboarding Improved Collaboration • Efficiently engage internal stakeholders and suppliers with integrated project management, communication tools and secure information sharing • Unlock supplier-led innovation, improve sustainability and much more
20 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Ge rmany BANKING SOFTWARE FIRM OF THE YEAR Philipp Buschmann CEO of AAZZUR www.aazzur.com About Philipp Buschmann Tech entrepreneur with extensive experience of working in financial services/IT, fintech and challenger banking across the world. Philipp started as a coder, became a strategy consultant and then tried his hand at entrepreneurship. His first venture went public. He’s got an MBA from the London Business School, loves being part of the start-up world and is a proud Techstars alumnus.
21 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Ge rmany Firm Profile AAZZUR was founded in Berlin in 2017 with the goal of making everyone’s financial life better through intuitive banking and financial services. We have the strategy, the experience and the know-how – and, most importantly, the desire – to build better banking and empower consumers to make better informed financial choices. We also believe in the personal touch and our team will work alongside yours to build the perfect banking app for you and your customers. We believe in better and smarter banking. Whether you’re a start-up, a corporate or a bank, our API platform and smart front-end solutions will enable you to give your customers greater financial freedom. AAZZUR enables you to create a fully-customised and branded mobile banking app within just 6 to 10 weeks using our Smart Finance Blocks. Whether you want to expand your offering or build a banking app from scratch, we can help give you a competitive edge over your rivals. AAZZUR’s smart banking platform enables you to offer everything your customer needs to manage their financial life on their smartphone or online – with your branding and your own special touch. Pick and choose from our Smart Finance Blocks to build the basics of the perfect mobile banking hub. Then add your own touch with your own unique design and branding thanks to our componentbased front-end solutions – the only limit is your imagination! From accounts to currency exchange and insurance, our APIs enable you to build your own personalised banking solution within weeks, instead of months. Everything on AAZZUR’s platform is customisable, extendable and easily integrated AAZZUR’s Smart Finance Blocks can also be bundled to give your customer the best smart banking experience on the market, as and when they need it. Imagine your customer has just booked flights and hotel. What do they need next? Perhaps offer them a budgeting tool, advanced FX options and travel insurance, along with carbon offsetting to make it more sustainable. Our datadriven platform makes this possible thanks to our growing ecosystem of third-party financial services, enabling you to connect to and offer a range of features quickly and easily. Not only does this drive customer engagement, it also boosts your bottom line. And it’s not just travel. Getting married, buying a car, purchasing your first house... these all are major life experiences which involve complex financial decisions and actions, made easier by AAZZUR. We put the customer at the front and centre of our design, so our products are built around what they need, and when they need it, rather than just basic product suggestions.
22 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Ge rmany Raffael Johnen CEO of auxmoney GmbH www.auxmoney.com LENDING SERVICE OF THE YEAR
23 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Ge rmany Firm Profile On a weekend in 2006, the two college friends Raffael and Philip drove through the Frankfurt banking district. When they saw the mirrored bank towers, they asked themselves: Why do people actually need banks to borrow money? A year later, together with their third friend Philipp, they founded auxmoney to reinvent credit. By the way: The name auxmoney is made up of the two words auxiliari = help and money = money. So: support with money. We are convinced that a better supply of credit is possible for more people. We give more people the chance to get a loan. We can do that because we look at loan seekers more individually than banks. To this end, we have developed a unique technology over the years to evaluate credit requests in a differentiated manner and to responsibly support people with a loan. This also includes many self-employed people who are rejected by banks despite having a sufficiently good credit rating. However, we also use digital technologies to make it quicker and more convenient for you to get a loan. As a customer, you benefit from products that are consistently tailored to your needs and a completely digital credit experience: from the request to the payment. Many people are excluded from the supply of credit at banks. Although upon closer inspection they are creditworthy. That’s why we take a closer look: With every loan request, we evaluate thousands of features very precisely in order to determine the real creditworthiness. We not only use the information from credit agencies, but also many digital data points. But not a single feature, but only the intelligent combination of the data points provides the specific result for evaluating the creditworthiness: the auxmoney score. This gives us a differentiated picture of the loan seeker. In this way, we cannot give everyone access to credit responsibly, but many more people than banks can. Although we have been around as a FinTech for over 14 years, we have retained the start-up mentality. That means: personal responsibility, flexibility, short communication and decisionmaking channels and a lively corporate culture. We think in all directions and simply try things out. About Raffael Johnen After positions in investment banking with several years in Frankfurt and London, the idea for auxmoney brought him back to Düsseldorf. Together with his two co-founders, he started auxmoney to use digital technologies to provide better credit for more people. This vision drives Raffael to this day. He finds balance in sports and playing the piano. 70% of the loans are provided fully automatically 3k+ Data points are intelligently combined to assess creditworthiness 300k+ Wishes and projects could already be realized
24 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. I t a l y Liliana Fratini Passi Managing Director of CBI www.cbi-org.eu BANKING SOFTWARE FIRM OF THE YEAR
25 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. I t a l y Firm Profile CBI is a public limited consortium company boasting more than 400 banks and financial intermediaries as members and customers. We could be defined as the technological innovation and digitisation hub for the national and international banking and financial industry, serving companies, citizens and the Public Administration. We have been “behind the scenes” for more than 20 years, developing interoperable payment infrastructure and services aiming to make life easier for companies and citizens in their digital relations with banks and financial intermediaries, and with the Public Administration, contributing to the country’s digitalisation process. Since the 1990s, the Italian banking sector, under the leadership of the Associazione Bancaria Italiana - ABI (Italian Banking Association), has been a pioneer in the process of creating interbank ecosystems. CBI is a tangible and rewarding testament to this, still driving innovation and the creation of collaborative ecosystems in response to the ever faster and more competitive demands of the payments market. The creation of interbank ecosystems promotes innovation, by sharing rules, standards and common business models in self-regulation, to ensure reachability and interoperability among all of the players in the ecosystem. This allows each player in the ecosystem to use the shared, efficient and reliable infrastructure and to offer their customers a high added-value service on a competitive basis, while reducing operating costs. Based on these guidelines, in 1995 ABI and the relevant commercial banks set up the first interbank agreements to develop the CBI Service for Interbank Corporate Banking. This led to establishing the Association for Interbank Corporate Banking (ACBI) on 19 December 2001, which was followed on 28 May 2008 by Consorzio CBI - Customer to Business Interaction, becoming CBI S.c.p.a. on 26 June 2019. About Liliana Fratini Passi After having obtained a degree in Business Economics at the University la Sapienza in Rome, she has earned an M.A. in Organization and Management of Insurance Undertakings at the LUISS Business School of Rome. She is the Managing Director of CBI S.c.p.a, an interbanking company that develops cross-border digital payment services focusing cash management, for all banks, and the Public Administration. In her professional path, she also has been an expert at the European Commission for E-invoicing and chaired the Financial Services Working Group of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation at the Italian Ministry for Economic Development. She has been selected by Forbes Italia amongst the most “100 influential Italian women of 2021”, she was nominated among the “Inspiring Fifty Italy”, “Woman in FinTech of the year” for the “Women in Finance – 2020/2021 Italy Awards” promoted by UK Embassy in Italy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Lener & Partners and Borsa Italiana, and “Managing Director of the Year – Banking” by Le Fonti Awards. In order to respond to the changing market scenario, in recent years CBI has always developed service standards and technological infrastructure according to a collaborative logic, to bring together all of the players in the financial ecosystem at a domestic and international level. Payment services and digital information, designed by CBI and offered individually by banks and other intermediaries, make life easier for citizens and companies and facilitate access to PA.
PAYMENTS EXPERT OF THE YEAR Paolo Bertoluzzo CEO of Nexi Group www.nexi.it I t a l y 26 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022.
Firm Profile We are The European PayTech with scale, capabilities and proximity to provide the simplest, fastest and safest payment solutions to People, Businesses and Financial Institutions. We come from the merger and integration of Nexi, Nets and Sia, among the biggest European players in digital payments and we are now present in more than 25 countries. We help our Customers pay and accept digital payments through a complete and personalised range of simple, intuitive and secure solutions. We want to make digital payments management and related services easier and more intuitive for all our Clients, through a complete range of solutions that are simple, safe and customer oriented. We offer Banks, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Large International Corporations, Institutions and Public Administrations a complete range of innovative solutions for digital payments in both card‑present and card‑not‑present acceptance, e-commerce and multi-channel solutions. We provide banks and financial institutions with end-to-end, modular and customised services to manage their customers’ payment cards with respect to: Processing, Card Management, dispute resolution, security services, fraud prevention and customer value management. We work every day to enable the digitisation of payment acceptance for professionals, merchants, hotels, restaurants and retailers. We support enterprises in tackling market challenges, increasing the efficiency of internal processes and meeting their customers’ expectations regarding digitalization and electronic security. We offer the most innovative range of digital payments, from cards to mobile solutions for private customers. We offer banks services and technology to provide customers with reliable and secure payment and acceptance solutions. We are European leaders in the implementation and management of technological infrastructures and services dedicated to Central Banks, Clearing Houses, associations and banks We promote public administration’s digital payments supporting the innovation and digitalization of public institutions for the benefit of citizens and the entire community. About Paolo Bertoluzzo Paolo Bertoluzzo has been Chief Executive Officer of Nexi and Nexi Payments since July 2016. Paolo is also Chairman of the Nexi Strategic Committee. Prior to joining Nexi, he served as Chief Commercial Operations and Strategy Officer of the Vodafone Group Plc with responsibility for Vodafone’s global commercial management, strategy and operations, as well as innovation and transformation projects. From 2008 to 2013 Paolo Bertoluzzo was Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Italy and since 2012 of the Southern Region, when he became a member of the Vodafone Group’s Executive Committee. Paolo joined Vodafone Italy in 1999, where he held the positions of Chief Operating Officer (2007), Chief Commercial Operations Officer (2006) and headed the Consumer division (2005). Between 2010 and 2012 he was a member of the Board of Directors of Vodacom, the largest mobile communications group in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Vodafone Ireland. Currently, he is a member of the Politecnico of Milan Advisory Board. From 2013 to 2016 he served as a Member of the GSMA Board, the worldwide telecom industry Association. Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. I t a l y 27
28 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. I t a l y DIGITAL BANKING FIRM OF THE YEAR Paolo Fiorentino www.bancaprogetto.it CEO of Banca Progetto SpA
29 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. I t a l y Firm Profile Banca Progetto SpA, born in 2015 from the reorganization of Banca Popolare Lecchese by the Californian fund Oaktree and led by the CEO Paolo Fiorentino, operates in the household and business credit market also through the digital channel. With offices in Milan and Rome and a commercial network present throughout the national territory, Banca Progetto specializes in services for small and medium-sized Italian companies and for private customers, in particular in Cessione del Quinto products for private employees, employees state, public, para-public and pensioners and in mediumlong term loans to SMEs. Centrality and respect for the person The Bank believes that the centrality and respect for the individual represent the primary values for the creation of corporate and social value. For this reason, it promotes the protection, integrity and dignity of its employees, collaborators and the people with whom it works, safeguarding the principle of equality and nondiscrimination and committing itself to maintaining a work environment conducive to personal development and professional. Integrity, fairness and transparency The Bank’s operations are based on the principles of integrity, correctness and transparency, recognizing the right of stakeholders to know the relevant information and the results achieved by the Bank, in order to allow them to take free and informed decisions and behaviors. Customer orientation and innovation With the aim of managing business risk in an increasingly effective and prudent manner, the Bank guarantees a constant commitment to the development and innovation of the products and services offered, as well as the continuous improvement of the quality of the same, to protect credibility, reputation and consensus time. Integration and cooperation The Bank directs interpersonal relationships towards mutual respect and proactive collaboration, favoring integration and cooperation for the pursuit of common and shared objectives. Sustainability and equity In providing its services, the Bank sets itself sustainable About Paolo Fiorention Born in Naples in 1956, he graduated with full marks in economics and commerce and in 1981 began his professional career at Credito Italiano. General Manager of Bank Pekao from 2000 to 2003. In 2003 he was appointed head of the Unicredit European Center business. In 2007 he was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the UniCredit group. He also held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Capitalia until the merger of the latter into the UniCredit group, when he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit Banca di Roma, a position held until 2009. From June 2017 to September 2018, he was at the helm of Banca Carige in the role of Chief Executive Officer and in December 2018 he was appointed CEO of Banca Progetto, with the aim of accelerating the digital transformation of the bank’s business, specialized in services for small and medium-sized Italian companies and private customers. long-term objectives, intending to contribute to fair and sustainable social development, to protect the general interest rather than individuals. In pursuing these objectives, it orients its behavior according to impartiality and fairness, making decisions with objective and independent evaluation criteria. Professionalism, excellence and efficiency The Bank favors the development and professionalism of its resources with the aim of always guaranteeing excellence in the performance of each service, the efficiency of processes and a lasting and sustainable creation of value for all stakeholders.
DIGITAL BANKING FIRM OF THE YEAR Laust Bertelsen CEO of Banking Circle www.bankingcircle.com Luxembourg 30 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022.
Firm Profile Banking Circle is a new bank, that is fully licenced yet free from the legacy systems that can make traditional banking slow and expensive. Banking Circle financial infrastructure is built for Payments businesses and Banks. Working with Banking Circle and utilising our technology, Payments businesses and Banks of any size are able to seize opportunities in the new economy. Wherever you are based, we deliver the banking services you need quickly, at low cost, compliantly and securely. Financial inclusivity is at the heart of all we do and every solution we build. Delivering accounts, lending, international payments and settlements, FX and compliance, we give Financial Institutions direct access to clearing that bypasses old, bureaucratic and expensive systems. Banking Circle is underpinning the service propositions of a wide spectrum of financial institutions, allowing them to focus resources on the customer relationship. Banks and Payments businesses gain the geographic reach and access to the markets in which their customers want to trade, underpinned by a financial utility that enables global payments and settlements through a global account infrastructure, a global FX capability and a secure and compliant banking platform. Banks and Payments businesses can offer banking services to their customers, helping them to trade globally, at low cost and efficiently. Importantly they can help their customers improve cash flow through enhanced speed of settlement whilst remaining fully compliant with financial regulation. Banking Circle has been granted authorisation as a credit institution under point (1) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013, (Bank number LUB00000408) and is under the supervision of the Luxembourg Commission for the Financial Sector (www.cssf.lu). In September 2018, Banking Circle was acquired by EQT VIII and EQT Ventures, in partnership with Banking Circle’s founders. The acquisition will see EQT support Banking Circle’s continued acceleration of its growth strategy, in current and new geographies, as well as the expansion of the product portfolio. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Banking Circle has offices in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. About Laust Bertelsen With more than 15 years in the financial services sector, in particular focusing on FX, Laust Bertelsen brings valuable currency market knowledge to the Banking Circle proposition. His previous roles at Danske Bank markets, FIH Erhvervsbank and most recently, Saxo Bank, have provided Laust with essential hands-on experience in the development of new products and platforms in the banking industry. This experience will ensure that Banking Circle can challenge market conventions, whilst complying with international payments regulation. Laust is responsible for day to day management at Banking Circle. Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Luxembourg 31
32 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Ne t he r l ands Laurent le Moal CEO of PayU www.corporate.payu.com PAYMENT FIRM OF THE YEAR
33 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Ne t he r l ands Firm Profile PayU is a truly global company, operating in 50+ markets and home to 43 different nationalities. We’re a global fintech investor, but our main investment is in people. We are diverse and ambitious, and obsessed with our vision: creating a world without financial borders where everyone can prosper. This drives everything we do, from investing in technology entrepreneurs, to offering credit to underserved individuals, to helping merchants around the world buy, sell and operate online. Being part of Prosus, one of the largest technology investors in the world, helps give us the presence and expertise to make an impact. Powering more than 3.2 million daily transactions, PayU’s suite of global payment solutions are trusted each day by more than 450,000 merchants and millions of customers around the world. As an advanced provider of online payments for companies ranging from small and medium enterprises to some of the biggest names in global e-commerce, PayU enables merchants of any size, in any market, to benefit from industry-leading tools to securely process online payments, maximize conversions and payment approvals, and boost online revenue. PayU’s PCI-certified online payment gateway combines advanced technology and analytics with simple and straightforward tools to ensure the most important aspects of security and regulatory compliance when it comes to accepting online payments. Offering one of the industry’s largest selections of local and global online payment methods, our platform leverages the latest tools in AI and global fintech to help merchants offer a smooth checkout experience to any customer around the world – all through a single global API. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is becoming an increasingly powerful part of the e-commerce landscape – particularly in emerging markets. From standard checkout options that give customers the ability to pay off their entire order within a fixed period, to installment payments spread over a longer duration, BNPL products help more consumers to access credit, while helping merchants to increase online sales and average order values. Buy Now Pay Later options offer a more consumerfriendly way to access credit when paying for online products – and can serve as a source of alternative credit to customers not covered by traditional financial products. By extending more payment flexibility to online About Laurent le Moal Laurent was appointed CEO, PayU in 2016 and is a member of the Prosus Executive Team. He is responsible for developing our global fintech proposition, including all payments and credit operations across 18 high-growth markets as well as all strategic fintech investments. Laurent has guided the company to profitability and PayU’s volume of payments (TPV) has doubled in the last two years to nearly $30 billion. He has secured near to $1 billion of investments in fintech partnerships and acquisitions, notably Citrus Pay and Paysense in India, Iyzico in Turkey and Remitly in the US, where he is also a member of the board. Laurent holds an MBA from the London Business School and is a graduate of Bocconi University in Italy and HEC in France. shoppers, BNPL expands the affordability and accessibility of e-commerce, helping more people to participate in the digital economy. Merchants offering BNPL in select PayU markets benefit from increased sales due to improved conversions along with transaction values up to 10 times higher than for other payment methods. With a variety of secure repayment options, your customers feel more comfortable making bigger purchases online. Meanwhile, through the credit products offered by PayU and our partners, merchants are paid out at the time of purchase, eliminating any risk. Many people are familiar with PayU as the leading payment service provider in some of the world’s most exciting emerging markets. Investment, however, has always been at our core. Our company began life as an amalgamation of investments made by the Naspers Group (now Prosus), one of the largest technology investors in the world. And we’ve now reached a significant milestone ourselves, having invested $1 billion in a diverse range of our own fintech partnerships.
34 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Spa i n INVESTMENTS FIRM OF THE YEAR www.indexacapital.com Co-CEO of Indexa Capital François Derbaix
35 Finance Monthly FinTech Awards 2022. Spa i n Firm Profile In September 2014, the co-founders of Indexa (Unai Ansejo , François Derbaix , currently CEOs of Indexa, and Ramón Blanco , currently co-founder and CEO of Bewater Funds ) decided to develop the first automated investment manager in Spain. Since most of them told them that it was too early to launch an automated and indexed management service in Spain, they thought it was a good time to do so. In November 2015 we obtained authorization from the CNMV to offer our discretionary fund portfolio management service in Spain, as brokerage number 257. In December 2015 we inaugurated the service , in collaboration with Inversis Banco (a subsidiary of the Banca March group) as custodian bank for our clients' portfolios. In November 2016, we created our own indexed individual pension plans, Indexa Más Profitability Acciones (N5138) and Indexa Más Profitability Bonos (N5137), administered by Caser Pensiones , with the lowest commissions in Spain (with total costs of 0.82% at start, 0.54% now). We offer our pension plan portfolio management service so that each client has a portfolio with a percentage of shares according to their investor profile (from 10% to 100% for profiles 1 to 10). Our bond pension plan is the one with the most net contributions in its category in 2021 (Inverco, RF Largo Termo 08/2021), and the share pension plan is the 3rd with the most net contributions in its category in 2021 (Inverco, RV Internacional 08/2021). In September 2018, we created our own EPSV plans for residents of the Basque Country, with the same management model and the same commissions as our individual pension plans. In April 2019 , we launched our first fund of funds, Indexa RV Mixta Internacional 75 , in collaboration with Renta 4 Gestora and Renta 4 Banco. In October 2019 , we began to offer our life insurance , in collaboration with Caser Seguros and exclusively for our portfolio management clients, probably the cheapest life insurance in Spain. In April 2020 , we moved to multi-custody and began to give our clients the possibility of choosing the custodian bank for their fund portfolio, between Inversis Banco , with whom we have been collaborating since 2015, and Cecabank as the new custodian bank. In November 2020 , we started our international expansion, with fund portfolios in Belgium , with Binckbank as custodian bank (a subsidiary of SaxoBank). The same month , we launched Indexa Empleo , our employment pension plan, the first employment plan that can be contracted online and with a life cycle in Spain, in collaboration with Caser Pensiones. About François Derbaix Entrepreneur, co-founder of Aplazame, Toprural, Rentalia and Soysuper. In addition to being a founder, he was CEO of Toprural from 2000 to 2012 when the company was sold to HomeAway. He is also a private investor in more than 25 Internet businesses in Spain and Belgium, including Kantox, Tiendeo, Reclamador, Percentil,… Since 2014 he has been the first private investor selected by the European Investment Fund ( EIF ) to co-invest in Spain ( Fund Isabel la Católica of Axis-ICO, managed by the EIF). He is also a patron of the Civio Citizen Foundation since 2011. He is a Management Engineer from the Catholic University of Louvain (1997), graduated first in his class sum cum laude , and former consultant at The Boston Consulting Group in Brussels and Paris (19971999).
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