Fintech
A data breach at Evolve is hurting its many fintech partners
A data breach last month at Evolve Bank & Trust affected several of the bank’s sponsored fintech partners, including Wise, which stopped working with the bank last year.
Jonesboro, Arkansas-based Evolve detected a cybersecurity breach in May perpetrated by LockBit, the ransomware group that falsely stated last month he had stolen federal reserve data.
By the standards of banks that have suffered data breaches, Evolve has been unusually transparent about how the data breach occurred and who committed it. While most data breach victims refuse to acknowledge which specific threat actor stole their data or how, Evolve specifically named LockBit as the perpetrator, even going so far as to say that the bank did not pay the ransom the group demanded.
Evolve said Monday in a public post that the bank identified in May that some of its systems were malfunctioning and, through an investigation, discovered unauthorized access that it blocked on May 31. The bank confirmed that LockBit carried out the ransomware attack and that the threat actor “appeared” to have gained access when an employee “inadvertently clicked on a malicious Internet link.”
The bank found no evidence that criminals had access to customer funds, although the ransomware group downloaded customer information “during periods in February and May.” LockBit “also encrypted some data within our environment,” but backups allowed the bank to “limit” data loss and impact on operations.
Evolve also said it refused to pay the ransom, which is why LockBit leaked the stolen data. “They also incorrectly attributed the source of the data to the Federal Reserve Bank,” the bank’s public statement reads.
The bank plans to begin sending individual data breach notifications starting July 8.
Evolve works with a number of fintechs, many of which have contacted customers in recent days to let them know that Evolve has notified the fintechs of the data breach. The following companies have publicly acknowledged or notified customers that the Evolve data breach affected their data:
To assert told card users in an email that the data breach at Evolve, which issues Affirm Cards, “may have” compromised some data and personal information. The payments fintech said it became aware of the incident on the evening of June 25. While Affirm did not specify how many customers were affected, it said it had a million card users in its latest earnings report.
Bilt Rewards Customers said they received notifications from the credit card company, which specializes in providing rent-payment rewards, that the incident “may have” compromised some personal data Evolve had on file. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Branch told customers that Evolve customer data had been affected, but that the bank could not immediately confirm whether the payroll fintech’s account holder data had been affected. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
EarnIn publicly acknowledged the data breach at Evolve, which is the banking partner of the earned wage access service. The fintech said it was “working hard to understand any potential impact” of the leaked data on EarnIn’s customer data. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Melio, a payments fintech aimed at small businesses, told American Banker that the company is working with Evolve to determine whether the fintech or its customers were affected by the breach. “We will keep our customers posted with any relevant information as we learn more,” a company spokesperson said. “There have been no disruptions to Melio’s operations as a result of this incident.”
MercuryEvolve, a business-to-business fintech that earlier this year announced an expansion into consumer banking, said the Evolve data breach involved “account numbers, deposit balances, business owner names and emails” associated with Mercury and other fintech accounts.
Wisewhich stopped working with Evolve in 2023, publicly acknowledged that the bank had data belonging to customers of the international payments fintech, formerly known as TransferWise. While Evolve did not confirm to Wise what data was affected, the fintech said the bank had names, addresses, dates of birth, contact information, Social Security numbers, and employee identification numbers for U.S. customers and other identification numbers for non-U.S. customers.
A Wise spokesperson said the company is continuing a thorough investigation and has contacted customers who may have been affected by the Evolve data breach directly via email. Wise is helping set up credit monitoring subscriptions for U.S. customers who opt in. “Wise’s systems were not compromised and our customers are able to access their accounts safely,” the company said in a statement.
Road performance told customers that “it’s likely your information was affected,” adding that the stolen data set “is very large, spanning hundreds of companies and hundreds of thousands of user records.” Yieldstreet told customers that the data involved in the breach “varies by individual but may include name, Social Security number, date of birth, account information and/or other personal information.” The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The affected fintechs said the Evolve breach did not compromise any of their customers’ account credentials.
Other companies that were reportedly affected by the Evolve breach also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide have joined an £11m Series A funding round in Scottish artificial intelligence fintech Aveni.
The investment is led by Puma Private Equity with additional participation from Par Equity.
Aveni creates AI products specifically designed to streamline workflows in the financial services industry by analyzing documents and meetings across a range of operational functions, with a focus on financial advisory services and consumer compliance.
The cash injection will help fund the development of a new product, FinLLM, a large-scale language model created specifically for the financial sector in partnership with Lloyds and Nationwide.
Joseph Twigg, CEO of Aveni, explains: “The financial services industry doesn’t need AI models that can quote Shakespeare, it needs AI models that offer transparency, trust and, most importantly, fairness. The way to achieve this is to develop small, highly tuned language models, trained on financial services data, vetted by financial services experts for specific financial services use cases.
“FinLLM’s goal is to set a new standard for the controlled, responsible and ethical adoption of generative AI, outperforming all other generic models in our selected financial services use cases.”
Robin Scher, head of fintech investment at Lloyds Banking Group, says the development programme offers a “massive opportunity” for the financial services industry by streamlining operations and improving customer experience.
“We look forward to supporting Aveni’s growth as we invest in their vision of developing FinLLM together with partners. Our collaboration aims to establish Aveni as a forerunner in AI adoption in the industry, while maintaining a focus on responsible use and customer centricity,” he said.
Treasury Risk Consulting Firm White Matter Alert On Monday he announced the acquisition of a 90% stake in the fintech startup Fair payment for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help White Matter Advisory expand its portfolio in the area of cross-border remittance and fundraising services, a statement said. White Matter Advisory, which operates under the name SaveDesk (White Matter Advisory India Pvt Ltd), is engaged in the treasury risk advisory business. It oversees funds under management (FUM) totaling $8 billion, offering advisory services to a wide range of clients.
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White Matter Advisory, based in Bangalore, helps companies navigate the complexities of treasury and risk management.
Fairexpay, authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Cohort 2 of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) Regulatory Sandbox, boasts features such as best-in-class exchange rates, 24-hour processing times and full security compliance.
“With this acquisition, White Matter Advisory will leverage Fairexpay’s advanced technology platform and regulatory approvals to enhance its services to its clients,” the release reads.
The integration of Fairexpay’s capabilities should provide White Matter Advisory with a competitive advantage in the cross-border remittance and fundraising market, he added.
The release also states that by integrating Fairexpay’s advanced technology, White Matter Advisory aims to offer seamless and convenient cross-border payment solutions, providing customers with secure options for international money transfers.
Rakuten (Japan:4755) has released an update.
Rakuten Group, Inc. and Rakuten Bank, Ltd. announced a delay in the reorganization of Rakuten’s FinTech Business, moving the target date from October 2024 to January 2025. The delay is to allow for a more comprehensive review, taking into account regulatory, shareholder interests and the group’s optimal structure for growth. There are no anticipated changes to Rakuten Bank’s reorganization objectives, structure or listing status outside of the revised timeline.
For more insights on JP:4755 stock, check out TipRanks Stock Analysis Page.
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White Matter Advisory, which operates under the name SaveDesk in India, has announced that it is acquiring a 90% stake in fintech startup Fairexpay for an undisclosed amount.
This strategic move aims to strengthen White Matter Advisory’s portfolio in cross-border remittance and fundraising services.
By integrating Fairexpay’s advanced technology, White Matter Advisory aims to offer seamless and convenient cross-border payment solutions, providing customers with secure options for international money transfers.
White Matter Advisory, known for its treasury risk advisory services, manages funds under management (FUM) totaling USD 8 billion.
Founded by Bhaskar Saravana, Saurabh Jain, Kranthi Reddy and Piuesh Daga, White Matter Advisory helps companies effectively manage the complexities of treasury and risk management.
The SaveDesk platform offering includes a SaaS-based FX market data platform with real-time feeds for over 100 currencies, bank cost optimization services, customized treasury risk management solutions, and compliance guidance for the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and other trade regulations.
Fairexpay is a global aggregation platform offering competitive currency exchange rates from numerous exchange partners worldwide. Catering to both private and corporate customers, Fairexpay provides seamless money transfer solutions for education, travel and immigration, as well as simplifying cross-border payments via API and white-label solutions for businesses. Key features include competitive currency exchange rates, 24-hour processing times, extensive currency coverage of over 30 currencies in more than 200 countries, and secure, RBI-compliant transactions.
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