Mercantil Banco adopts Galileo's digital platform
The bank will utilise Galileo's Cyberbank Digital platform to ramp up product 'innovation' and improve customer service offerings.
This initiative is expected to reshape the interaction between Mercantil Banco and its customers by providing a secure digital banking environment.
The Cyberbank Digital platform will enable Mercantil Banco to deliver customised, mobile-friendly services, which are designed to enhance customer satisfaction while streamlining operational processes.
The platform's flexible architecture allows the bank to adapt quickly to market changes without the need for extensive system upgrades.
Mercantil Banco technology and digital transformation vice president Elsy Herrera said: 'We chose Galileo for their proven track record, robust platform and the flexibility that Cyberbank Digital offers.
'The ability to leverage the product, while also having the extensibility to continuously innovate, was a decisive factor.'
This signifies the start of a 'strategic' alliance to develop the 'next generation' of services for both consumer and corporate clients of Mercantil Banco.
Furthermore, the long-term nature of this partnership guarantees continuous support and innovation, allowing Mercantil Banco to remain responsive to changing market demands, stated the tech vendor.
Galileo Financial Technologies CEO Derek White said: 'Our mission is to transform digital banking and revolutionise customer experience.
'With Cyberbank Digital, Mercantil Banco will be able to offer cutting-edge services that meet the needs of its customers in an ever-evolving digital environment.'
In September 2024, Galileo launched the Galileo Instant Verification Engine (GIVE) and Transaction Risk GScore, providing fintechs, banks, and businesses with tools to combat fraud.
"Mercantil Banco adopts Galileo's digital platform" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
16-07-2025
- CNBC
These are the best states for workers in America in 2025
For all its perils, artificial intelligence appears to have helped alleviate a longstanding problem in American business. Since around 2017, other than the brief spike in unemployment during the pandemic, there were far too few workers to fill the available jobs in the U.S. But in April, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nationwide labor shortage pretty much ended. Thanks to the combination of a cooling job market, people finally returning to work following the pandemic, and AI taking over an increasing number of human tasks, the skills gap "has largely closed," the Chamber says. As of May, there were 7.2 million workers available to fill 7.4 million jobs. While that still represents a modest shortage, it is a far cry from 2021 and 2022, during the so-called "Great Resignation," when the shortages routinely totaled in the millions. That is not to say that the U.S. does not still have a people problem. Worker shortages are still severe in some states, and economic development experts say the workforce is still a key consideration when companies make decisions about where to locate. "The base of employment here is just not sufficient in the U.S.," said Tom Stringer, a principal and leader of the site selection and incentive practice at Grassi Advisors in New York. "We need a whole of government approach to start getting folks technical skills and trained and out into the workforce, and that's in every location." Some states are meeting the challenge, according to CNBC's annual study, America's Top States for Business. Workforce is one of ten categories of competitiveness on which we rank every state, worth about 13% of a state's total score under this year's methodology. We consider the educational attainment of each state's workforce, and the concentration of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workers in each state. We also look at the career education pipeline, state workforce training programs, and workers with industry-recognized certificates. We look at each state's right-to-work laws. We consider which states are most successful in attracting skilled workers, and we measure the productivity of each state's labor force. While most did not make this year's list of the nation's best for all-around quality of life, these ten states are winning the talent war in 2025. The Volunteer State is a leader in helping its workers find gainful employment. According to data reported by the state to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 82% of participants completing the state's worker training programs found employment within six months in 2023, the most recent data available. That is one of the best success rates in the nation. The Governor's Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) program invests $25 million to help fund partnerships between industry and the state's high schools and vocational schools. 2025 Workforce Score: 214 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: B) Net Migration Rank: No. 14 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 30.4% Career Education Credential: 35.4% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 5.3% Right to Work State? Yes The Beehive State gets its nickname from the industriousness of its workers, and those workers are functioning at a high level. Utah has among the highest concentrations of STEM workers of any state, many of them working in the fast-growing Silicon Slopes region near Salt Lake City. Since its creation in 2019, the state's Utah Works program says it has provided 200,000 hours of specialized training to prepare workers for advanced industries. 2025 Workforce Score: 215 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: B) Net Migration Rank: No. 48 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 36.9% Career Education Credential: 30.3% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 7.9% Right to Work State? Yes Workers in the Constitution State are consistently among the most productive in the nation, accounting for more than $171,000 in economic output per job last year, according to CNBC's analysis of U.S. Labor Department and Commerce Department data. Connecticut also boasts one of America's most educated workforces, according to Census data. 2025 Workforce Score: 216 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: B) Net Migration Rank: No. 33 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 41.9% Career Education Credential: 22.4% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 6.9% Right to Work State? No The Centennial State's workforce is the second most educated in America, after Massachusetts. A report issued in January by Colorado's Workforce Development Council warned that the state still faces worker shortages, which demographics could make worse as more baby boomers retire. So, the state is working on increasing access to education and training. Last year, the state passed Colorado Promise, a tax credit covering the first two years of Colorado public postsecondary institution tuition and fees for students with family incomes of $90,000 or less. 2025 Workforce Score: 222 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: B) Net Migration Rank: No. 18 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 44.7% Career Education Credential: 39.6% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 9.3% Right to Work State? While not considered a right to work law, the Colorado Labor Peace Act limits unions' ability to require a "closed shop." In May, Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, vetoed an attempt to repeal the law and give unions more power to organize. Educated workers are flocking to the Grand Canyon State. The Census Bureau estimates nearly 92,000 adults with bachelor's degrees or higher moved to the state in 2023, while only about 52,000 left for greener pastures. Arizona has a healthy balance of tech and skilled trade workers. But the state's workforce development programs could use some development. More than a quarter of workers completing state-sponsored training were unable to find a job within six months. 2025 Workforce Score: 228 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: B+) Net Migration Rank: No. 5 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 32.6% Career Education Credential: 37.8% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 6.6% Right to Work State? Yes Workers in the Evergreen State are the nation's most productive by far, accounting for more than $191,000 in economic activity per job last year. Washington also boasts America's highest concentration of STEM jobs. Washington STEM, a statewide non-profit organization now in its 25th year, aims to get kids started early in the STEM fields. The group said that in 2024, its early education STEM grants impacted some 10,000 students statewide. 2025 Workforce Score: 229 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: B+) Net Migration Rank: No. 9 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 38.8% Career Education Credential: 43.8% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 10.5% Right to Work State? No Educated workers vote with their feet, and they've made the Tar Heel State their third-most popular destination. In 2023, North Carolina tied with Texas for net migration, just behind Florida and Maine. The state Department of Commerce predicts there will be plenty of opportunity to go around, with North Carolina employers projected to add 500,000 jobs between 2022 and 2032. 2025 Workforce Score: 243 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: A–) Net Migration Rank: No. 3 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 34.7% Career Education Credential: 41.9% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 7.3% Right to Work State? Yes The Peach State is a leader in career education, with associate's degrees and industry-recognized certificates comprising nearly 43% of all post-secondary credentials awarded statewide, according to Advance CTE, a national non-profit advocating for career education. Nearly one-quarter of high school students are focused on vocational fields. At the same time, Georgia ranks in the top half of states for the percentage of adults with bachelor's degrees or higher. 2025 Workforce Score: 250 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: A–) Net Migration Rank: No. 7 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 34.2% Career Education Credential: 42.6% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 5.9% Right to Work State? Yes The Sunshine State remains a magnet for talent, leading the nation in net migration. But Florida also pays attention to its workers after they arrive. The state's worker training programs are among the most effective in the nation, according to data the state reported to the U.S. Department of Labor. Eighty-six percent of participants in the state's worker training program found a job within six months. That is the fifth-best record of any state. 2025 Workforce Score: 255 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: A) Net Migration Rank: No. 1 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 33.2% Career Education Credential: 49.3% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 5.4% Right to Work State? Yes The Lone Star State's workforce is the state's biggest bright spot when it comes to business competitiveness. In fact, it is the best all-around workforce in the country. Despite quality of life issues, people just keep pouring into Texas to take advantage of the many opportunities there. But the state also has a rich pipeline of homegrown talent. More than 70% of Texas high school students are concentrating in career-related fields — by far the highest percentage in the nation. But Texas also has a large contingent of STEM workers — the 13th highest concentration in the country. The Texas workforce finishes in the top ten for productivity, with the average worker responsible for more than $153,000 in economic output last year. Texas could do better with its worker training programs, a difficult task to manage in a state with more than 14 million workers. Still, for companies looking for a large pool of talent, everything is indeed bigger in Texas. 2025 Workforce Score: 272 out of 335 points (Top States Grade: A+) Net Migration Rank: No. 3 Adults with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 33.1% Career Education Credential: 43.4% of degrees or certificates awarded STEM Workers: 7.1% Right to Work State? Yes
Forbes
15-07-2025
- Forbes
Are You Rewarding The Right Customers? Here's How To Close The Loyalty Gap
Derek White, CEO of Galileo, is a fintech pioneer with over 20 years of experience modernizing financial services globally. Consumer needs have outpaced the financial solutions built to serve them. Most Americans use debit as a primary payment method—more than 90% of U.S. adults have a debit card—but they're not getting rewarded for their spend or brand loyalty. Traditional loyalty programs were built around credit cards. Points, perks and upgrades are doled out to those who spend the most—on credit. However, this system ignores a huge segment of the population who chooses debit as their go-to payment method. Many younger, more budget-conscious consumers are overlooked in traditional loyalty strategies. That's a missed opportunity hiding in plain sight. Over the years, I've helped build financial technology across banks, startups and platform companies—each offering a different lens on how people interact with money. What's become clear to me is that we've been measuring the wrong thing. Loyalty isn't about how much credit someone uses. It's about how often they engage with your brand—and how you respond. The Case For Debit Rewards Most Americans have a debit card. That's not new. But what's shifted is intent. Younger demographics—especially Gen-Z—are opting into debit by choice. Many are debt-averse, others are part of the 46 million Americans considered 'credit invisible'—meaning they don't have a sufficient credit history to generate a credit score. Either way, they represent a growing population of consumers who show loyalty to brands through their spending behavior but are consistently excluded from loyalty ecosystems. This disconnect reveals something fundamental: Most loyalty programs weren't built for how many people actually pay today. They were built for a narrower view of value, one that's overdue for rethinking. A Lesson From The Past Early attempts at debit rewards fizzled—not just because of clunky tech, but because the economics were broken. Regulatory changes reshaped interchange fees and made traditional models hard to sustain. Brands couldn't justify the cost, and the infrastructure couldn't deliver the experience. But what didn't stick a decade ago is finally gaining traction—not because the idea changed, but because everything else did. Consumer preferences have transformed, and technology has evolved. The appetite for embedded finance has grown. And brands are far more invested in owning the full customer experience—not just the moment of purchase. We're finally seeing the conditions that make debit rewards viable: real-time processing, scalable APIs and platforms that bridge the gap between brands, banks and consumers. The tools exist to deliver value instantly and in context. That shift is what's unlocking debit's loyalty potential. The New Opportunity For Brands Brands aren't trying to be banks. But they do want to be closer to their customers. Financial tools—especially those built into everyday experiences—offer an ideal way to do that. It's not about creating gimmicky perks. It's about recognizing where consumer behavior already is and showing up there in relevant ways. If your best customers are paying with debit, rewarding them shouldn't feel like an edge case—it should be the default. The companies leaning into this space are responding to data. They see how often their customers use debit and realize that loyalty isn't tied to a payment method. It's tied to repeat purchase behavior. A New Kind Of Loyalty Model Here's the bigger picture: what's changing isn't customer loyalty, but the way brands recognize and reward it—moving from credit‑card spend to acknowledging repeat engagement, regardless of payment method. In the old model, the highest-value customers were those who charged the most to a branded credit card. In the new model, brands are recognizing customer loyalty through interactions and behaviors, not payment methods. That opens the door for financial tools that fit into a person's daily life—not just their occasional splurges. Debit rewards make this possible in a way that's sustainable. They allow brands to engage a broader customer base without pushing credit, and they provide a more inclusive on-ramp for customers who want to participate in loyalty programs without taking on new debt. This isn't about replacing what works. It's about expanding access to those who haven't had it. What To Watch For Next If the last era of loyalty was defined by credit-card points and airline miles, the next will be shaped by flexibility and showing up in the moments that customers care about most. Brands will build rewards systems that fit multiple payment types. Customers expect personalization across every brand interaction. And debit—often the most overlooked payment choice—will play a leading role in that transformation. This shift won't happen overnight. But for companies willing to meet their customers where they are—and reward them for how they actually behave—the upside is significant. There's a lesson here for anyone building loyalty strategies: Look past assumptions. Behavior changes fast. Expectations change faster. And the most valuable customers aren't always the ones your models were built to serve. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
SoFi Stock Skyrockets 88% in 3 Months: Too Late to Get in?
Shares of SoFi Technologies, Inc. SOFI have surged 88% in the past three months, far exceeding the industry's 40% growth. Over the last year, the stock has skyrocketed 187%. With such a steep rally, investors are now asking: Is there still room to buy, or is a pullback on the horizon? Here's what the data suggests. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SOFI is well-positioned to benefit from shifting federal student loan policies that limit forgiveness options. As the Trump administration enacts stricter criteria, more borrowers may seek private refinancing to manage repayment, creating a growth opportunity for SoFi. The company's digital-first platform, competitive rates and flexible terms appeal to borrowers navigating reduced federal relief. This environment has already driven a 59% year-over-year surge in student loan origination volume in the first quarter of 2025, signaling renewed demand. With borrowers increasingly seeking alternatives, SoFi's refinancing business could gain further momentum, translating into stronger revenue growth and enhanced positioning within the broader financial services sector. SoFi's land-and-expand strategy remains a core strength, provided it is effectively managed. The company has a strong track record of executing this ambitious growth approach. By offering a diverse range of financial services, SoFi attracts a growing customer base. This, in turn, incentivizes more partners to integrate their offerings within SoFi's expanding ecosystem. The result is a robust cross-selling dynamic that enhances overall profitability. Given this, it is unsurprising that management maintains an aggressive revenue growth outlook for 2025. SOFI's increasing ability to cross-sell financial products is expected to drive significant EPS expansion, which is crucial for long-term shareholder value creation. Even in a conservative scenario, management projects a 24% to 27% revenue increase, with EPS surging 80% to 87%. This substantial discrepancy between revenue growth and bottom-line expansion underscores SoFi's ability to leverage economies of scale. Galileo, SoFi's B2B financial services platform, is a pivotal growth driver. By enabling seamless payment and lending integrations, it positions SoFi as a leading player in the embedded finance market. This sector is projected to witness a robust 16.8% CAGR through 2029, fueled by increasing demand for integrated financial solutions. Galileo's ability to attract high-profile clients and diversify SoFi's revenue streams strengthens the company's long-term outlook. The platform's adoption by other financial firms further solidifies SoFi's market position and enhances its ability to capture additional market share. SoFi's financials reinforce its bullish long-term thesis. In the first quarter of 2025, the company achieved a 20% year-over-year increase in net sales, with a remarkable 217% surge in net income. This impressive profitability growth highlights SoFi's strong operating leverage, driven by its ability to scale efficiently. The addition of 800,000 new members in the quarter — the highest absolute increase recorded — enhances the company's cross-selling potential while reducing customer acquisition costs. All three business segments contributed to revenue growth in the first quarter. Lending and Technology Platform revenues grew 25% and 10% year over year, respectively, while the Financial Services segment surged an impressive 101%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SOFI's 2025 earnings stands at 27 cents per share, indicating a substantial 80% year-over-year increase. Similarly, projected revenues for 2025 are estimated to be $3.29 billion, marking a 26.2% increase from the previous year. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Despite its strong fundamentals, SoFi faces notable challenges. As a financial services company, its performance is highly sensitive to macroeconomic conditions, particularly Federal Reserve policy and the overall health of the U.S. economy. With the possibility of prolonged high interest rates and recessionary risks linked to Trump's tariff hikes, the environment remains uncertain. Competition also remains a critical concern. SoFi may benefit from a first-mover advantage in the U.S. fintech space, but it faces formidable pressure from established banking powerhouses such as JPMorgan JPM and Bank of America BAC. These institutions not only bring decades of customer trust and regulatory experience but are also rapidly expanding their digital capabilities to counter fintech disruptors. JPMorgan has been actively investing in digital banking infrastructure, while Bank of America continues to enhance its mobile and AI-driven services to retain tech-savvy consumers. As SoFi scales, competing with legacy giants like JPMorgan and Bank of America — alongside agile fintechs like Revolut, which is now pursuing a U.S. banking license — will remain a defining test of its long-term resilience. SOFI appears overvalued compared to its industry peers following the recent surge in its stock price. The company's forward 12-month Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio is 47.48, more than double the industry average of 20.35. This elevated valuation suggests that investors are pricing in aggressive growth expectations, which may not be fully supported by current fundamentals. While market enthusiasm can drive short-term gains, such a high premium relative to peers raises questions about sustainability. Given SoFi's strong growth trajectory, expanding ecosystem, and improving financial performance, the long-term investment case remains compelling. However, considering macroeconomic uncertainties and the stock's relatively high valuation, a prudent approach would be to adopt a hold strategy at current levels. Investors may consider waiting for further price corrections before adding positions, ensuring a more attractive entry point while mitigating downside risks. A wait-and-see approach will allow investors to reassess valuation levels and economic conditions before making new commitments to the stock. SOFI currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report SoFi Technologies, Inc. (SOFI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
