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16th January 2025 London-based online trading platform IG Group has purchased the stock trading app Freetrade in an all-cash transaction worth £160 million. The deal is expected to close by mid-2025, subject to regulatory approval. IG Group stated that the acquisition will strengthen its trading and investment services in the UK and extend its reach by incorporating a well-established brand in the direct-to-consumer trading and investment space. Freetrade will continue to operate as an independent entity under its existing brand, with its current management team, led by CEO and co-founder Viktor Nebehaj, staying in place. IG Group also plans to invest in expanding Freetrade’s product offerings, hiring additional talent, introducing new features, and ramping up marketing efforts to drive growth. The company intends to reinvest the majority of Freetrade’s projected profits into business expansion over the next two years. Founded in 2017 and regulated in both the UK and Sweden, Freetrade provides a variety of investment products, including ISAs, SIPPs, UK Treasury bills, fractional shares, securities lending, and access to 6,200 global stocks and ETFs.

15th January 2025 Intelligent Lending has acquired UK-based credit reporting and personal finance app TotallyMoney for an undisclosed amount. The Manchester-based company is now looking to explore “growth opportunities” in various international markets. TotallyMoney, which has been offering a free finance app since 2006, uses open banking to deliver personalized financial insights and product recommendations based on users’ credit reports. The fintech, supported by investors like Elliott Advisors, Scottish Equity Partners, and Silicon Valley Bank, will join Intelligent Lending’s portfolio alongside personal finance provider Ocean Finance and credit score app CredAbility. Ocean Finance, founded in 1991, offers a range of products including credit cards, loans, and motor finance. Similarly, CredAbility, like TotallyMoney, provides users with weekly credit reports and personalized product recommendations, powered by Equifax, with access to over 60 lenders. This acquisition will expand Intelligent Lending’s team to 250 employees, serving around seven million customers, who will benefit from the combined expertise in data, technology, lending, and financial advice. TotallyMoney CEO Alastair Douglas shared in a LinkedIn post that the acquisition offers the company “more scale, expertise, and international expansion opportunities.” Intelligent Lending also emphasized that the acquisition is part of its broader “international expansion plans,” set to begin next year. While the group operates offices in the UK, Cyprus, and Italy, it has not yet revealed the primary target market for this expansion, although it has identified “several countries” as potential growth opportunities.

15th January 2025 Chainalysis has acquired Alterya, an AI-powered fraud detection solution designed to assist financial institutions, fintechs, and crypto service providers in combating authorized push-payment (APP) fraud. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. This move will bolster Chainalysis’ fraud prevention capabilities, enhancing its offerings for detecting and mitigating fraud within the financial and cryptocurrency sectors. Chainalysis has acquired Alterya, an AI-driven fraud detection solution that helps financial institutions, fintechs, and crypto service providers prevent authorized push-payment (APP) fraud. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Through this acquisition, Chainalysis is further advancing its strategy to combat illicit transactions, following its previous purchase of Hexagate, a Web3 security provider, in December. Alterya’s technology and team will be integrated into Chainalysis’ blockchain data platform, enhancing its fraud protection capabilities. The combined solution will offer real-time, proactive fraud prevention for payments and strengthen fraud detection during Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures for exchanges, blockchains, and wallet providers. Founded in 2022 by CEO Elad Fouks and CTO Shahaf Gonen, Alterya provides tools for recipient and account screening to identify malicious digital identities and bad actors across various networks and payment channels. The company claims its solution detected $10 billion in scam-related transactions in 2024, with prominent clients such as Binance, Coinbase, and Block. Chainalysis plans to expand upon Alterya’s fraud identification capabilities on fiat payment rails, noting that illicit activities in fiat accounts often act as early indicators before funds are transferred into cryptocurrencies.

15th January 2025 Sygnum, a Swiss-based crypto banking group, has raised $58 million in a strategic growth round, pushing its post-money valuation to over $1 billion. Swiss-based crypto banking group Sygnum has secured $58 million in a growth funding round, reaching a post-money valuation of over $1 billion. The funding round was led by US venture capital firm Fulgur Ventures, with additional support from new and existing investors, as well as Sygnum’s employees, who participated on equal terms. Founded in 2017, Sygnum offers digital asset banking, B2B services, tokenization, and asset management to over 2,000 institutional clients across 70+ countries. With offices in Switzerland, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi, Sygnum is regulated in Luxembourg and, more recently, Liechtenstein. In FY 2024, the company became operationally profitable and reported a more than 1,000% year-on-year growth in annual trades. Sygnum’s valuation has consistently risen in recent funding rounds, from $800 million in its $90 million Series B in 2022 to $900 million in a $40 million growth investment last year. The new capital will drive Sygnum’s multi-regional expansion strategy, with a focus on Hong Kong and all 30 EU/EEA markets. Additionally, the funds will be used to pursue acquisitions, enhance institutional infrastructure, and expand its product offerings, particularly in Bitcoin technology.

15th January 2025 Expense management platform Brex has secured a $235 million revolving credit facility, with Citi acting as the senior lender and investment platform TPG Angelo Gordon also participating. Founded in 2017, Brex, a leading expense management platform, serves over 30,000 companies across 120 countries, including high-profile clients such as DoorDash and Compass, processing “tens of billions of dollars in transactions” annually. The US-based fintech plans to use its newly secured $235 million revolving credit facility to expand its corporate card offerings, alongside its comprehensive suite of expense management, travel, banking, and bill payment solutions. Recent updates to Brex’s corporate card product include the introduction of an AI-powered accounting tool for real-time financial closing, a card management hub, and a user interface that incorporates over 100 new features, all launched in the summer. In addition to this new facility, Brex successfully completed its third securitisation transaction in March, issuing $260 million in charge card asset-backed notes. The company also maintains additional warehouse facilities with Barclays Investment Bank and Credit Suisse. Ben Gammell, Brex’s CFO, said, “This credit facility, coupled with our largest and most robust securitisation to date, enables us to scale our card solutions and further empower our customers to make every dollar count.”

15th January 2025 NCR Atleos has announced that Paul Campbell will step down from his role as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), with his departure scheduled for 1 April 2025. Paul Campbell, who has been with NCR Atleos for 35 years, will step down from his role as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) on 1 April 2025. He took on the role of CFO when NCR Atleos became an independent company after its spin-off in October 2023. CEO Tim Oliver praised Campbell for his crucial role in helping establish Atleos as an independent entity. To succeed Campbell, NCR Atleos has appointed Andy Wamser as its new CFO, effective 27 January. Wamser previously served as senior vice president and CFO at BlueLinx, a building material distributor. NCR Atleos highlighted Wamser’s extensive experience in finance leadership roles, including positions at AutoNation, Mativ Holdings, UBS, and Barclays Capital PLC. Oliver noted that Wamser will play a key role in enhancing both tactical and strategic execution within the company. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, NCR Atleos specializes in ATM technology and supports banks and retailers in offering self-service financial access through its Allpoint ATM network. This week, Missouri-based NBKC Bank joined the Allpoint network, expanding customer access to self-service banking channels. NBKC is the latest in a growing number of US financial institutions to partner with NCR Atleos, including Tompkins Community Bank, NuMark Credit Union, and Arizona Financial Credit Union.