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.

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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.

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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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TO FinTech LIVE New York 2024We spoke with Mastercard’s Executive Vice President, Global Head of Small and Medium Business, Jane Prokopon how companies can leverage fintech partnerships to fuel innovation.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) play a vital role in the global economy, actually making up over 90% of the world’s businesses. As Jane explains, they contribute more than half of employment and GDP across all markets, and account for around $50 trillion in spending each year.

However, they still face a number of obstacles to their success, which Jane discusses in this interview with FinTech Magazine.

“The biggest challenge is access to credit and capital,” he notes. “The World Bank has estimated that every year there is a gap of nearly $6 trillion between what small businesses seek in financing and what they actually get.

“This is something we need to work on in collaboration between fintechs and banks.”

Mastercard: Strengthening Fintech Partnerships

While fintechs face numerous challenges, Mastercard Takes a Two-Pronged Approach to support early-stage fintechs through its Start Path program. This engages businesses and gives them access to the full suite of Mastercard capabilities, as well as introducing them to financial services providers they can partner with.

“I would say we act as a matchmaker between fintechs and our financial institution partners,” Jane explains. “In many cases, we find financial institutions looking to add certain capabilities to their suite of services that they offer to SMBs.

“We often introduce these parties to each other, which we see as a huge net benefit to the financial ecosystem. For fintechs, working with financial institutions and opening up access to capital is one of the most promising areas we see moving forward.”

Mastercard is eager to ensure that people have both the digital tools they need and access to capital. The belief is that it could substantially changing the way SMEs participate and thrive in a competitive business environment.

“Mastercard is trying to support all of our partners in extending these kinds of services to small businesses,” Jane says. “For SMBs, get familiar with the tools, adopt the tools, and don’t be afraid to use them. And then work with your financial institutions to strengthen that relationship and make your needs known.”

Watch the video above to hear the full interview with Jane Prokop.

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