Latest news with #IBANs
Business Wire
12 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
AstroPay Launches AstroPay Platform to Let Any Company Embed Global Financial Services at Scale
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AstroPay, the financial operating system trusted by millions of users globally, today launched its boldest product yet: AstroPay Platform. For the first time, any company—fintech or not—can build and launch their own global financial products using the same infrastructure that powers AstroPay's consumer wallet. AstroPay Platform gives businesses instant access to a full-stack financial backend: multicurrency wallets, local bank accounts, global and local card issuing, checkout, user onboarding, fraud controls, compliance, and FX—delivered through a developer-first interface. This marks AstroPay's evolution from serving consumers directly to enabling other companies to build their own financial services using AstroPay's infrastructure. Businesses can now leverage AstroPay's established connections to multiple local and international payment schemes, along with its multicurrency wallet, card issuing capabilities, and regulatory compliance framework across multiple jurisdictions. 'We've built the financial infrastructure that powers our global wallet. Now, we're opening it to the world,' said Marc Sacal, CEO of AstroPay. 'What used to take years of licensing, contracting, and technical effort can now be done in weeks under your own brand, with our infrastructure doing the heavy lifting.' A New Category of Financial Infrastructure AstroPay Platform is not a white-label wallet. It's a turnkey financial backend: the licensed, compliant, payment-connected infrastructure already proven across dozens of markets and payment systems. With a single integration, businesses gain access to: Multicurrency Infrastructure: Native support for major currencies with real-time foreign exchange, enabling any business to offer users seamless currency conversion and global balance management. Local Accounts and Payment Rails: Current support includes local receiving accounts in key markets—including PIX (Brazil), CVU (Argentina), IBANs (Europe), and UK sort codes—allowing users to send and receive funds like a local. This is just the beginning, with many more markets and rails on the horizon. Card Issuing and Management: Businesses can issue virtual and physical cards—local or global—to their end users. Cards are branded and powered by Visa or Mastercard, with support for mobile wallets, KYC, and fraud management built in. Accept AstroPay: Businesses can integrate AstroPay's proprietary checkout, accepting the AstroPay wallet directly as a payment method. This enables one-click payments from millions of users and in-app promotion within the AstroPay ecosystem. Regulatory Compliance Framework: AstroPay's infrastructure includes KYC, AML, sanctions screening, fraud detection, and licensing across multiple jurisdictions, reducing the need for partners to build regulatory operations in-house. Real-time Processing and APIs: Modern API architecture with real-time processing and developer tools allows seamless deployment, scalability, and customization. AstroPay Platform enables any company to operate like a fintech—whether launching wallets and cards, offering global payouts, or embedding payments into existing products. From creator platforms and travel apps to payroll tools and B2B marketplaces, businesses can now embed global financial services under their own brand, with AstroPay managing the underlying complexity. From Years to Days: Accelerating Financial Innovation Traditional approaches to building cross-border financial services require companies to establish relationships with dozens of payment providers, navigate complex regulatory requirements across multiple countries, and build sophisticated currency and risk management systems. This process takes years and requires significant capital investment before generating revenue - a timeline that has limited fintech innovation. AstroPay Platform compresses this timeline to weeks by offering a turnkey stack built on proven infrastructure, already operating across dozens of markets and integrated with multiple local and international payment schemes. 'Companies no longer need to piece together banking, compliance, and payments from scratch,' said Sacal. 'AstroPay Platform eliminates friction, reduces time-to-market, and makes sophisticated financial infrastructure available to any business.' AstroPay Platform supports a wide spectrum of business models—from fintech disruptors to non-financial enterprises embedding financial features for the first time. By abstracting complexity into modular APIs, the platform enables companies to choose only the features they need and go live in record time. AstroPay Platform is already in use by early partners across Latin America and Europe, powering production workloads for payouts, cards, and local account infrastructure. Key use cases include: Retailers and Consumer Apps: Retailers, loyalty programs, and consumer-facing apps can embed financial tools like digital wallets and prepaid cards to increase engagement, drive repeat purchases, and own more of the customer lifecycle—all without becoming financial institutions themselves. Regional Fintechs and Superapps: Local fintech apps that have built strong domestic traction can now expand globally without building new infrastructure or acquiring additional licenses. With AstroPay Platform, they can offer users international bank accounts, global cards, and cross-border payment features—turning regional offerings into global products in a matter of weeks. E-commerce and Marketplace Platforms: Digital marketplaces can offer sellers the ability to get paid in their local currency, while enabling buyers to pay using their preferred method—including AstroPay Wallet. With real-time FX and embedded account infrastructure, platforms can localize seller and buyer experiences without geographic or currency constraints. Content and Creator Platforms: Platforms serving creators, streamers, and digital talent can provide their users with immediate access to earnings through embedded wallets, branded cards, and instant cash-out via local rails. This eliminates reliance on traditional banking and improves speed, trust, and retention—particularly in underbanked regions. Payroll and Workforce Platforms: Companies serving global and remote workforces can embed multicurrency wallets, assign local receiving accounts (like PIX in Brazil or IBANs in Europe), and automate instant payouts in local currency. This allows platforms to offer faster, cheaper, and more transparent salary distribution—whether to freelancers, contractors, or employees worldwide. AstroPay Platform removes the traditional barriers to financial innovation—licensing, regulation, payments, FX—and makes sophisticated financial services deployable in days. Its real-world infrastructure, already powering millions of users, is now available to every company. Companies can begin integration immediately through comprehensive documentation and developer resources at with dedicated technical support throughout the onboarding process. About AstroPay AstroPay is a digital wallet and proprietary payment method used by millions of users and accepted by thousands of businesses globally. With a multicurrency wallet, integrated cards, and embedded payments, AstroPay enables users to send, receive, and spend instantly. Now, through AstroPay Platform, any company can access the infrastructure behind the wallet and launch global financial products with speed and scale. Learn more at
Techday NZ
4 days ago
- Business
- Techday NZ
Lab 1 report reveals unstructured data heightens breach risks
Lab 1 has released a report that analyses 141 million files from 1,297 data breach incidents, highlighting significant risks of downstream fraud and cybercrime for organisations, employees and customers. The Anatomy of a Breach 2025 report offers an in-depth content-level investigation of breached datasets, focusing on the prevalence of unstructured files, such as financial documents, HR data, customer records and code files, that are typically overlooked but pose considerable risks. Financial documents prevalent The analysis indicates that financial documents are present in 93% of breach incidents and constitute 41% of all exposed files. According to the report, these documents frequently contain both personal and commercial information, making them valuable targets for cybercriminals. Bank statements, found in 49% of breaches, and International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs), present in 36%, were highlighted as common items that could facilitate identity fraud, payment redirection and mandate scams. Commenting on the findings, Robin Brattel, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Lab 1, said: "Rather than focus on mega data dumps of structured and primarily credential-based information, we've focused on the huge risks associated with unstructured files that often hold high-value information, such as cryptographic keys, customer account data, or sensitive commercial contracts. "With cybercriminals now behaving like data scientists to unearth these valuable insights to fuel cyberattacks and fraud, unstructured data cannot be ignored. We've refined a scientific approach to analyzing unstructured breach contents and today share our findings, which underline the need to move towards a content-aware approach to breach analysis. Ultimately, organizations must understand what information has been leaked, how it can be used, and who might be affected. And faster than it can be used against them." PII and customer data exposure Personal and corporate data - including Human Resources files containing personally identifiable information (PII), payroll, and resumes - featured in 82% of breaches. Additionally, 67% of incidents involved documents and records related to customer service, support, or communication. The prevalence of emails was particularly notable, with 86% of breach incidents exposing this form of sensitive communication. Half the analysed incidents included U.S. Social Security Numbers, further highlighting the scale of PII at risk. The exposure of such data increases the likelihood of targeted phishing attacks, identity theft, and regulatory breaches, which could subject organisations to significant financial penalties and legal challenges under frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act. These risks extend to the erosion of customer trust. Broader attack surface from unstructured files The report underscores the widening cyberattack surface resulting from the exposure of unstructured files. Cryptographic keys, which can be used to bypass authentication and gain access to secure systems, appeared in 18% of incidents. Indicators for cloud and infrastructure, such as AWS S3 paths and virtual hosts, were present in 20% and 23% of breaches respectively. Code files, exposed in 87% of all incidents and accounting for 17% of the total files, present additional vulnerabilities to the supply chain by compromising software trustworthiness. Attack blast radius growing According to Lab 1, the median number of organisations impacted per breach - the so-called 'blast radius' - has risen by 61% since 2022, from 257 to 482 organisations today. This figure includes secondary and tertiary parties who might be unaware of their potential exposure, given their connection to the breached primary organisation. The dataset underpinning the report comprised more than 141 million individual file records, all sourced from ransomware and data breach incidents found in the public domain and reconstructed from forensic acquisitions.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Finmo receives electronic money institution licence in UK
Fintech firm Finmo has secured authorisation from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as an electronic money institution (EMI). With the licence in place, the company aims to establish UK as the core operational hub for its treasury and payments platform. With the EMI licence, Finmo is now permitted to issue electronic money, provide account issuance services, and facilitate both domestic and international fund transfers, as well as foreign exchange transactions. It also allows the company to issue IBANs and directly integrate with the nation's clearing systems, including Faster Payments and the Clearing House Automated Payment System. Finmo CEO and co-founder David Hanna said: "Securing our EMI licence in the UK signals more than just regulatory approval, it's a commitment to serving clients in one of the world's most advanced financial ecosystems. 'From fintechs to mid-sized global companies we're here to empower modern finance and payment teams with greater control, visibility, and confidence in their global treasury operations." The expansion into the UK market aligns with Finmo's "hub-and-spoke" strategy, which seeks to offer services from key regulatory jurisdictions. Additionally, the licence is expected to aid Finmo in scaling its embedded finance solutions and enhancing collaborations with capital market providers for liquidity and FX risk management. Finmo has announced the immediate launch of GBP-denominated accounts and access to Faster Payments for qualifying clients. The company is also increasing its UK-based compliance and operations team to support its services to mid-market enterprises based in the UK, international businesses with cross-border operations, and companies seeking regulated treasury infrastructure. The company recently introduced MO AI, a conversational assistant integrated within its treasury platform, to assist CFOs, controllers, and finance teams in managing workflows. This tool is designed to provide real-time information on balances, payments analysis, transaction initiation, and report generation through command-based interactions. This approval follows Finmo's Series A funding round in February, where the company raised $18.5m, taking its total funding to $27m. "Finmo receives electronic money institution licence in UK " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Korea Herald
08-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Treasury and Payments Platform Finmo Secures UK EMI Licence, Expands Global Footprint
LONDON and SINGAPORE, July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fast-growing fintech company Finmo has received approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as an Authorised Electronic Money Institution (EMI). This strategic milestone marks a major step in Finmo's global expansion as it establishes the United Kingdom as a core operational hub for its next-generation, integrated treasury and payments platform. With the EMI licence, Finmo is now authorised to issue electronic money and offer a range of payment services in the UK, including account issuance, domestic and cross-border fund transfers, and foreign exchange transactions. The licence also enables Finmo to issue IBANs, hold safeguarded client funds locally, and integrate directly with UK clearing systems such as Faster Payments and Clearing House Automated Payment System. David Hanna, CEO and Co-founder of Finmo said, "Securing our EMI licence in the UK signals more than just regulatory approval, it's a commitment to serving clients in one of the world's most advanced financial ecosystems. From fintechs to mid-sized global companies we're here to empower modern finance and payment teams with greater control, visibility, and confidence in their global treasury operations." Finmo was founded in 2021 by David Hanna, Akhil Nigam, Richard Oh, Raj Vimal Chopra, and Thomas Kang - financial technology veterans with decades of collective experience across corporate treasury, global banking, payments, and compliance. Finmo's entry into the UK market is part of its hub-and-spoke expansion strategy, designed to serve clients across multiple regions from key regulatory jurisdictions. The licence also supports Finmo's plans to scale embedded finance solutions and deepen partnerships with capital market providers for liquidity and FX risk management. Immediate rollouts under the EMI licence include the launch of GBP-denominated accounts, and Faster Payments access for eligible clients. Finmo is also expanding its UK-based compliance and operations team to support these efforts. This move enhances Finmo's ability to serve UK-headquartered mid-market enterprises, international businesses with cross-border operations, and companies with complex financial requirements looking for regulated, high-performance treasury infrastructure. The company recently launched MO AI, a conversational assistant embedded directly within its intelligent treasury platform. Built for CFOs, controllers, and finance teams, MO AI transforms fragmented, multi-entity workflows into a unified, real-time experience, enabling users to retrieve balances, analyse payments, initiate transactions, and generate reports using command-based prompts. About Finmo Finmo is a global financial technology company transforming the way modern finance teams manage treasury and payments. The company was founded in 2021 by David Hanna, Akhil Nigam, Richard Oh, Raj Vimal Chopra, and Thomas Kang - financial technology veterans with decades of collective experience across corporate treasury, global banking, payments, and compliance. Its intelligent platform integrates payments, FX risk mitigation, liquidity and cash management, and financial system connectivity into a single, secure solution - providing real-time visibility, control, and operational efficiency across global financial workflows. Trusted by fintechs and mid-sized global companies, Finmo holds regulatory approvals in key jurisdictions including Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The company is committed to building a faster, smarter, and more resilient financial infrastructure for the digital economy.
Zawya
17-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Bahrain's Khaleeji Bank unveils money transfer service
Bahrain - Khaleeji Bank has announced the launch of Visa+, a new service that enables users to send money to Visa cardholders in the GCC using only the recipient's mobile number. It is among the first banks to offer this service, marking a significant milestone that reflects the market's readiness to adopt next-generation financial solutions and accelerate digital experiences. With Visa+, Khaleeji Bank customers can transfer funds to Visa debit and prepaid cardholders in other GCC countries using only the recipient's mobile number. This eliminates the need to share sensitive information such as 16-digit card numbers (Primary Account Numbers) or International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs), making the transaction both safer and more convenient. Khaleeji Bank head of retail banking Ameera Al Abbasi said: 'As a bank that consistently leads in delivering the latest innovations to our clients, we are proud to launch the Visa+ service, which represents a transformative shift in the world of money transfers. At Khaleeji Bank, we believe in offering modern, secure, and intuitive banking solutions that align with our customers' evolving needs and aspirations.' She added: 'This service enables customers to send money effortlessly to Visa cardholders across the GCC using just a mobile number – no card details or account numbers required. It's a simple, secure and fast transfer experience. We invite all our clients to explore this unique feature, which reflects the future of digital banking transactions.' Visa+ also supports financial institutions by enhancing the money transfer experience and strengthening privacy protections for both senders and recipients. It is applicable to various use cases, including peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, loan disbursements, and cross-border remittances. Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
