Financial Market News & M&A Updates

BPC Partners with QNB Saudi Arabia to Strengthen Fraud Monitoring Across Digital Channels

BPC has teamed up with QNB Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to deploy its SmartVista Enterprise Fraud Management platform, giving the bank stronger fraud detection and prevention capabilities across its digital banking channels.The rollout comes as Saudi Arabia’s digital payments market continues to expand, with online transactions and card usage rising quickly. At the same time, regulatory expectations around fraud controls and automated monitoring are increasing, pushing banks to invest in more advanced risk management infrastructure.Through the project, QNB KSA gains fully online, enterprise-grade fraud monitoring with improved visibility across customer journeys, faster investigation workflows, and stronger oversight of both payment and non-financial activity. The platform is designed to help the bank strengthen operational resilience, support compliance, and protect customer trust.SmartVista Enterprise Fraud Management uses AI-driven analytics and customer behaviour profiling to detect suspicious activity, trigger alerts, and help fraud teams take timely action, including blocking transactions or applying risk controls, while preserving a smooth user experience.Hashim A. Alhussain of QNB KSA said the partnership will help the bank enhance control, visibility, and resilience as digital banking evolves and regulatory expectations continue to rise. BPC’s Usama Elsayed added that the platform is built to help institutions improve security, oversight, and trusted payment experiences across channels.The partnership highlights a broader regional trend: banks are moving toward real-time, AI-powered fraud tools as digital adoption accelerates and compliance standards become more demanding.

#BPC#QNBKSA#FraudManagement#DigitalBanking#SaudiArabia

Date

15.05.2026

2 min read

Defacto and Mambu Launch Embedded SME Financing with SEPA Payments

Defacto, an ACPR‑licensed B2B lending platform, has gone live on Mambu Payments with SEPA connectivity to support payment flows for its receivable‑financing product. The integration lets Defacto automate disbursements and repayments via a single REST API while meeting the operational and regulatory needs of institutional banking partners.Instead of replatforming around a third‑party custodian, Defacto runs on top of its existing tier‑1 bank accounts and uses Mambu to handle SEPA rails and payment orchestration — avoiding bespoke bank integrations and BaaS constraints. The implementation moved from scoping in July 2025 to full production in January 2026 and is already being extended to a second institutional partner.Since 2021 Defacto has financed over €1.5bn for 25,000+ SMEs across five European markets. Mambu Payments gives fintechs a reusable, API‑first payments layer that speeds launches, centralises visibility across flows, and reduces engineering overhead — enabling Defacto to scale embedded lending while keeping core banking relationships intact.

#Defacto#Mambu#EmbeddedFinance#SEPA#SMELending

Date

13.08.2026

2 min read

Tandem Bank Strengthens Intermediary Team as Second‑Charge Market Grows

Tandem Bank has hired Lloyd Turner as Southern Account Manager to deepen relationships with mortgage brokers and intermediaries across the south of England. Turner brings 15+ years’ financial‑services experience, including specialist mortgage roles at United Trust Bank and Pepper Money, and will focus on promoting Tandem’s second‑charge lending proposition.The appointment comes as the second‑charge market sees renewed momentum — originations grew about 25% in 2025, topping £2.0bn for the first time. Tandem now serves more than 25,000 second‑charge customers through a network of 75+ specialist intermediaries and has bolstered operations with its proprietary loan management platform, Tandem Connect.Laura Walters, Head of Sales and Distribution, said Turner’s regional expertise will help improve broker engagement, speed of support, and market reach. Turner added he aims to strengthen existing partnerships and introduce Tandem’s specialist products to new broker partners as the bank scales in the south.

#TandemBank#SecondCharge#MortgageBrokers#SpecialistLending#TandemConnect

Date

28.07.2026

2 min read

Bank of Maldives Picks Finastra Essence to Modernise Core Banking

The Bank of Maldives (BML) has chosen Finastra Essence to modernise its core banking platform and accelerate a long‑term digital transformation programme. The move aims to speed product launches, increase automation and straight‑through processing, and improve relationship managers’ ability to serve customers across conventional and Islamic banking lines.Finstra’s open, cloud‑ready core will give BML a flexible foundation for faster time‑to‑market, streamlined operations and enhanced customer service nationwide. CEO Mohamed Shareef said the partnership is a “pivotal step” in delivering an agile, future‑ready platform to support innovation and operational excellence. Finastra’s Siobhan Byron highlighted the vendor’s delivery track record and the platform’s ability to help banks scale while preserving resilience.The implementation positions Bank of Maldives to expand product capability and operational efficiency as it seeks to deliver more modern banking services across the islands.

#BankOfMaldives#Finastra#CoreBanking#DigitalTransformation#Essence

Date

22.07.2026

2 min read

Temenos Named World’s Best Core Banking Solution by Euromoney — Twice Running

Temenos has been recognised as the World’s Best Core Banking Solution in the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026, marking the second consecutive year the company has won the accolade.Euromoney’s judges highlighted Temenos’ ability to convert scale into sustained product investment, client co‑development and reliable delivery. The panel praised Temenos’ composable core strategy — which supports progressive modernization without risky “big bang” replacements — and its Design Partner Program that co‑creates features with real bank customers.CEO Takis Spiliopoulos said the award reflects Temenos’ continued client momentum and investment in innovation, helping banks accelerate time to market, boost automation and deliver more personalised customer experiences. Euromoney additionally noted Temenos’ strong balance of scale, architecture and execution in meeting the varied needs of banks undergoing transformation.Temenos now supports over 950 banks globally and continues to invest roughly 20% of revenues in R&D annually. Recent product advances cited by the judges include Temenos AI Agents, Copilots, Conversational Studio, and composable modules for retail deposits and lending — features aimed at enabling incremental modernization and faster innovation.

#Temenos#CoreBanking#Euromoney#DigitalTransformation#Fintech

Date

21.07.2026

2 min read

Bir Partners with UnionPay to Expand International Payments in Azerbaijan

The Bir ecosystem — Azerbaijan’s integrated banking, payments and e‑commerce group — has partnered with UnionPay International to broaden UnionPay acceptance across the country. The first phase lets UnionPay cardholders shop online at over 1,000 merchants and withdraw cash at nearly 1,300 Birbank ATMs.Birbank will roll out further acceptance across POS acquiring and mobile POS, and will enable transfers to UnionPay cards. Once complete, the partnership will cover ATMs, e‑commerce, POS terminals and mPOS devices, creating one of Azerbaijan’s most comprehensive international acquiring footprints.The move aims to boost tourism and cross‑border trade by making payments simpler for international visitors and helping local merchants access a wider customer base without extra integrations. Bir serves more than 5 million users and sees UnionPay acceptance as a strategic step to deepen Azerbaijan’s connectivity with Asian and global payment networks.

#Bir#UnionPay#CrossBorderPayments#Azerbaijan#PaymentsIndustry

Date

21.07.2026

View all market news