Fintech Weekly | Issue 17

Using AI technology to identify financial fraud, start-up Inscribe received $25 million in Series B financing

According to foreign media TechCrunch, Inscribe, an artificial intelligence data analysis company, recently announced that it has received $25 million in Series B financing, led by Threshold Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Foundry, Uncork Capital, Box co-founder Dillon Smith, and Intercom co-founder Des Traynor. cast. Combined with the $10.5 million Series A round in April 2021, the company has raised $38 million to date. Inscribe parses, categorizes and data-matches financial documents, using an AI-powered fraud detection system that shows discrepancies between detected documents and other material.

 

Information link:

https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2023/01/201807-inscribe-secures-25m-in-funding-to-combat-financial-fraud-with-ai/

Comments: The system organizes file details such as names, addresses, and bank transaction statements into data points, and generates customer risk files such as billing records and transaction snapshots.

 

Hawk AI, a German intelligent anti-fraud system startup, received $17 million in Series B financing

Recently, German technology startup Hawk AI announced the completion of a $17 million Series B round of financing. The financing was led by Sands Capital, with participation from Picus Capital, DN Capital, Coalition and BlackFin Capital Partners. Statistics show that the potential money laundering risk in the world is as high as 2 trillion US dollars every year, accounting for 5% of global GDP, and only 1% of these illegal funds are recovered.

 

Information link:

https://hawk.ai/news-press/hawk-ai-accelerates-global-expansion-17-million-series-b

Comment: This is where Hawk AI comes in. Founded in Munich in 2018, the company strengthens the risk management and compliance capabilities of banks and payment technology companies through a cloud-native, modular anti-money laundering monitoring system.

 

South Korea’s ESG startup Energy X raises $20.3 million to help the construction industry reduce emissions

Recently, Energy X, an ESG startup headquartered in Seoul, announced that it has received US$20.3 million in Series B financing, led by Shinhan Financial Group. The post-investment valuation of the platform is US$120 million. Energy X was founded in 2019 to help the construction industry reduce carbon emissions. After this round of financing, the company’s total financing has reached approximately 31.5 million US dollars.

 

Information link:

https://www.technewsheads.com/news/energy-x-secures-20m-at-120m-valuation-to-slash-building-sector-emissions-15369

Comments: In addition to designing and participating in the construction of energy-efficient buildings, Energy X is also researching solar technologies, including BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) for energy production, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) for energy saving and energy management. BEMS (Building Energy Management System).

 

Climate insurtech Sensible Weather secures strategic investment

Climate insurtech company Sensible Weather said it has made a strategic investment of an undisclosed amount that will be used to develop and scale up the solution. Since its establishment in 2019, Sensible Weather has helped consumers understand the climate and mitigate climate risks through climate technology. The company has been funded by the National Science Foundation, with a total funding of $22 million.

 

Information link:

https://www.sensibleweather.com/

Comment: Sensible Weather's first product, Weather Guarantee, is based on industry research over the past decade, developing satellite imagery and climate analysis tools that automatically compensate for lost time and other costs due to rain, extreme weather, or other inclement weather .

Swiss Re to restructure

Swiss Re is restructuring to simplify structure, improve efficiency and customer experience. The restructuring will become effective on April 3, 2023, subject to regulatory approval. The current reinsurance business unit will be split into P&C Re and L&H Re, each with full ownership of their respective underwriting and claims management processes. Urs Baertschi, currently CEO of Reinsurance EMEA, will lead P&C Re, while Paul Murray, currently CEO of Reinsurance Asia Pacific, will lead L&H Re.

 

Information link:

https://www.swissre.com/china/about-us.html

Comment: Current Reinsurance CEO Moses Ojeisekhoba to take over Global Clients and Solutions. The business unit will comprise the Account Management team and will serve Swiss Re's global reinsurance clients, Public Sector Solutions, iptiQ and Reinsurance Solutions.

 

Everest Insurance enters the Spanish market

Everest Re, a global insurer providing property, casualty and specialty reinsurance and insurance solutions, has announced that its insurance arm, Everest Insurance, will enter the Spanish market after obtaining regulatory approval from the relevant regulatory authorities in Spain. The Spanish branch is headquartered in Madrid, with another office in Barcelona, led by José Ramón Morales, Head of Spain.

 

Information link:

https://fintech.global/2023/02/03/everest-insurance-enters-the-spanish-market/

Comment: Everest's Madrid and Barcelona offices will provide a range of bespoke insurance products and risk solutions for key industries, including property, casualty, medical malpractice, financial lines, energy and construction, accident and health, and cyber. Under the leadership of José Ramón Morales, Everest continues to build its team of experienced underwriters to best meet the changing needs of the Spanish market and support the company's continued growth.

 

Zurich Bank invests again in cybersecurity MGA BOX

Toronto-based cyber insurance startup Boxx Insurance has closed a $14.4 million Series B round, bringing its total funding to $24.5 million. The round was led by Bank Zurich, which also participated in the startup’s Series A round. Founded in 2018, BOXX has a team of about 30 people, covering more than 250,000 individuals and 10,000 companies.

 

Information link:

https://fintech.global/2023/02/02/boxx-insurance-scores-14-4m-series-b/

Comments: Previously, the company acquired cybersecurity platform Templarbit and launched Hackbusters incident response, a virtual CISO service for enterprises, and a mobile app solution for consumers.

 

UK agtech bank Oxbury breaks even just two years after launch

Recently, the British agricultural technology bank Oxbury announced that it has achieved balance of payments and is expected to complete its loan target of 1 billion pounds next year. Oxbury was established in 2018 to provide credit support to the UK food and farming industry to help farmers and food supply chains improve sustainability and productivity.

 

Information link:

https://www.oxbury.com/

Comment: At present, the institution has disbursed 850 million pounds of loans and is expected to be profitable by the end of 2023.

BIS Launches New Trial Focusing on System Monitoring of Stablecoins

Recently, the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Center announced its work plan for 2023, including paying more attention to payment system optimization, central bank digital currency experiments, creating future financial supervision, and promoting the security of the financial industry. Among them, the London Center under the Innovation Center will launch a new project called Pyxtrial, and use this as a basis to develop a platform for monitoring the balance sheet of stablecoins. The center stated that most central banks lack the tools to systematically monitor stablecoins and avoid asset-liability mismatches. The project will investigate various technical tools to help regulators and managers establish a policy framework based on comprehensive data.

Information link:

https://finance.stockstar.com/IG2023020900002719.shtml

 

Bank of England publishes digital pound consultation paper and technical working paper

On February 7, 2023, the UK Treasury and the Bank of England jointly released a digital pound research and development consultation paper. The document states that, unlike crypto assets and stablecoins, the digital pound will be issued by the Bank of England rather than the private sector. The digital pound was designed with the needs of vulnerable groups in mind to ensure that it is simple and clear to use as a form of currency, and is understood and trusted by the public.

Information link:

https://3g.163.com/dy/article/HT2DK29105199NPP.html

 

BIS: National friction means all central bank digital currencies will not be fully interconnected

In 2022, the cryptocurrency market has experienced severe volatility. However, after the start of the new year, this emerging market began to gradually recover. Cecilia Skingsley, the former president of the Riksbank and the new head of the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Center, said in a recent interview that the market turmoil does not seem to have affected the central bank's digital currency (CBDC) research and development plans of various central banks. However, she also added that CBDC will bring more powerful technology, greatly increase the speed of cross-border payments and reduce transaction costs. But this new form of electronic money will only be fully interoperable among geopolitical allies.

 

Information link:

https://finance.stockstar.com/IG2023020800003514.shtml

 

Central Bank of Saudi Arabia Continues Central Bank Digital Currency Experiment

On January 23, 2023, the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia (SAMA) announced that it will continue to conduct central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments. It is reported that the current trial is one of the stages of a project carried out by the Saudi Central Bank in cooperation with local banks and financial technology companies. Apply quickly. In addition, SAMA seeks to review policy, legal and regulatory considerations before moving on to the next phase of the CBDC journey in order to facilitate the achievement of the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.

 

Information link:

https://www.sama.gov.sa/en-us/news/pages/news-812.aspx

HKEX and Saudi Stock Exchange will cooperate on fintech, ESG and other fields

On February 6, 2023, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with the Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company to explore cooperation in various fields to promote the financial markets of both parties mutual benefit. According to the memorandum of cooperation, HKEX and SASA Group will explore cooperation opportunities in financial technology, ESG, cross-listing and other areas of mutual interest.

 

Information link:

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/SAUDI-TADAWUL-GROUP-HOLDI-130070933/news/Hong-Kong-s-Middle-East-mission-lays-groundwork-for-new-business-opportunities- 42949121/

 

The European Commission released the "Green Deal Industry Plan"

On February 1, the European Commission released the "Green Agreement Industry Plan" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), which aims to simplify, accelerate and adjust incentives to maintain the EU's competitiveness and attractiveness as a net-zero industrial investment destination. The "Plan" proposes four major action points: 1) Establish a predictable and simplified regulatory environment: It is expected that in the spring, the European Commission will issue the "Net Zero Industry Act", "Key Raw Materials Act" and energy-related bills; 2) Accelerate the promotion of Investment and financing of the European clean technology industry; 3) Upskilling, including the establishment of net zero industry colleges, etc.; 4) Global cooperation under the principles of fair competition and open trade.

 

Information link:

https://www.163.com/dy/article/HTA28C1D051497H3.html

 

Business Development Bank of Canada launches ESG reporting tool for venture investors

On January 26, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) announced the launch of a new ESG reporting template designed to enable Canadian venture capital and mid-market private equity funds to track and report on key ESG metrics across their companies and portfolios. The new template is designed to enable VCs to better understand non-financial risks in their portfolios, such as supply chains, data privacy and environmental issues, report baselines on ESG metrics that are industry-agnostic, and document portfolio companies’ emissions, energy consumption and climate policy, and track the progress of ESG policy and practice.

 

Information link:

https://www.bdc.ca/en

 

The People's Bank of China continues to implement three structural monetary policy tools including carbon emission reduction support tools

Figure Recently, the People's Bank of China issued a notice to continue the implementation of three monetary policy tools including carbon emission reduction support tools. First, the implementation of carbon emission reduction support tools will continue until the end of 2024, and some local corporate financial institutions and foreign-funded financial institutions will be included in the scope of financial institutions of carbon emission reduction support tools to further expand the scope of policy benefits and deepen international cooperation in green finance. The second is to continue the implementation of special refinancing for clean and efficient use of coal until the end of 2023. In 2023, we will continue to implement carbon emission reduction support tools and special refinancing for clean and efficient use of coal in parallel, so as to support the transformation of the economy to green and low-carbon while ensuring the security of energy supply. , to help achieve the goal of carbon neutrality in a scientific and orderly manner. The third is that the special re-loan for transportation and logistics will continue to be implemented until the end of June 2023. Small, medium and micro logistics and storage enterprises will be included in the scope of support, and financial support for transportation and logistics will be further strengthened to ensure the smooth flow of transportation and logistics, and help the high-quality development of the transportation and logistics industry.

 

Information link:

https://article.xuexi.cn/articles/index.html?art_id=3076405466511075045

In 2022, the UK Financial Services Authority will suspend a total of 8,582 financial promotions

According to a report released on February 3, 2023, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has required relevant companies to rectify and delete 8,582 financial marketing activities in 2022, a 14-fold increase from 2021. In addition, the FCA has issued more than 1,800 warnings to help prevent consumers from losing money to scams. For now, social media remains the main focus of regulators' efforts to crack down on misleading promotions. To this end, the FCA has worked closely with several large tech companies to change their advertising policies, but tech companies still need to do more to protect consumers. In addition, the FCA has made major improvements to the digital tools it uses to spot problem businesses and misleading advertisements, allowing it to handle far more cases than in 2021.

 

Information link:

https://www.thistleinitiatives.co.uk/blog/fca-imposes-requirements-on-firms-to-change-or-discontinue-promotions-in-2022

 

The Japan Financial Services Agency plans to hold an international conference on sustainability information disclosure in early March

Today, capital markets are paying more attention to sustainability messages than ever before. In response to this need, standard setters and jurisdictions around the world have made significant efforts to develop sustainability disclosure standards. Against this backdrop, G7 and G20 leaders have consistently expressed support for the work of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop a global benchmark for sustainability disclosure. The ISSB plans to finalize its first set of standards, General Requirements for Disclosures and Climate-Related Disclosures, in the first half of 2023, and plans to issue a Request for Information in the first half of 2023 to collect stakeholders’ feedback on the ISSB’s two-year work plan. An opinion on agenda priorities.

 

Information link:

http://www.wzsee.net/event/2023/0210/0210107281.html

 

Interpol is investigating how it monitors Metaverse crimes

According to a BBC report, Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock revealed that the organization intends to monitor criminal activities in the Metaverse. Stock highlighted the ability of "sophisticated and professional" offenders to adapt to new technological tools to commit crimes. According to Stock, criminals have already begun targeting users on platforms similar to Metaverse, adding; Madan Oberoi, the organization's executive director of technology and innovation, said: "There are some crimes, I don't know if they can still be called crimes. If you look at the definition of these crimes in real space and try to apply them to the metaverse, it will be a crime." There will be difficulties."

 

Information link:

https://dt.gl/feature-interpol-working-out-how-to-police-the-metaverse/

 

Brazil's open financial system has been in place for two years and has successfully attracted more than 15 million users

Open Finance itself is not a product. It is the standardized sharing of data and services through system integration. Two years ago, the Banco Central do Brasil announced the Open Finance Initiative. This ecosystem is regulated by the Central Bank of Brazil and implemented by banks, brokers and other financial and payment institutions in the form of an open financial governance structure, with the goal of encouraging innovation, stimulating competition and improving the efficiency of the country's financial system. Today, the system has attracted 15 million unique users and more than 800 participating institutions (including banks, credit unions and fintech companies, etc.).

 

Information link:

https://www.bcb.gov.br/en

IRS announces 2023 increase in gift and estate tax exemptions

The IRS announced an increase in gift and estate tax exemptions in 2023 due to inflation: the gift tax exemption will increase from $16,000 to $17,000 ($34,000 for married couples combined); the estate tax exemption will increase from $12,060,000 That increases to $12,920,000 ($25,840,000 combined for married couples).

 

Information link:

https://www.irs.gov/zh-hans/newsroom/irs-sets-january-23-as-official-start-to-2023-tax-filing-season-more-help-available-for-taxpayers- this year

 

Chang'an Trust established a stock family trust for major shareholders of listed companies

Recently, Chang'an Trust successfully established a stock family trust for major shareholders of listed companies, realizing more than 5% of the stocks with a market value of nearly 900 million (based on the closing price on the date of establishment) into the family trust. The implementation of the stock family trust of the major shareholder of the listed company this time is a series of family trust business divisions of Chang’an Trust following the first domestic family trust holding shares IPO, tens of billions of family office signings, industrial investment bank family trusts, and stock reduction family trusts. Closely following the family trust business in the capital market, it is another innovative family trust business with a milestone in the industry.

 

Information link:

https://finance.sina.com.cn/trust/roll/2023-01-30/doc-imycyiep0226344.shtml

Japanese technology giant Fujitsu launches Web3 development service platform

According to reports, the Japanese technology giant Fujitsu has recently announced the launch of the Web3 development service platform "Fujitsu Web3 Acceleration Platform", which provides development environments and blockchain service applications for startups, cooperative companies and universities that build Web3 applications and services. Program interface and high computing services. Fujitsu will provide access to the platform to selected participants of its CaaS Accelerator program from March 2023, and will extend this access to its global partners in the future.

 

Information link:

https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2023/0206-01.html

 

The Sandbox reaches an agreement with the Saudi government to cooperate in the development of metaverse space

According to The Sandbox co-founder and chief operating officer Sebastien Borget's news on LinkedIn, The Sandbox has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Digital Government Authority during the Leap Technology Conference in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, but did not disclose the details of the scope of the agreement. “We look forward to exploring, advising, and supporting each other as we activate the Metaverse,” Borge said. Details will be announced “in the coming weeks.”

 

Information link:

https://www.cnbctv18.com/cryptocurrency/the-sandbox-heres-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-third-largest-metaverse-by-market-cap-13397392.htm

 

Academic journals ban ChatGPT from listing as co-authors

Currently, several well-known academic journals are updating their editorial rules for academic papers written using ChatGPT. Among them, "Science" explicitly prohibits ChatGPT from being listed as a co-author, and does not allow the use of text produced by ChatGPT in papers. "Nature" said that it can use the text generated by large language models in the paper, which also includes ChatGPT, but cannot list it as a co-author of the paper.

 

Information link:

https://www.sohu.com/a/637993588_162758

 

Apple Pay Later service may be available in spring 2023

On February 2, 2023, Apple will hold a earnings conference call for the first fiscal quarter of 2023. The company's CEO Tim Cook said that Apple's Apple Pay Later (buy now, pay later) service that Apple is preparing will launch "soon". Apple Pay Later allows users to split any Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments within six weeks, without additional interest or charges. In 2022, the Apple Pay Later plan was officially announced, but due to technical reasons, the implementation of the project has been delayed. A report from September 2022 suggests that the Apple Pay Later service is expected to launch in spring 2023 alongside the iOS 16.4 software update.

 

Information link:

https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/09/25/apple-pay-laters-challenges-could-delay-launch-to-early-2023

 

 

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