TerraPay hires former Visa exec, Revolut adds AI to battle fraud

London-based global money-transfer firm TerraPay has hired Ruben Salazar Genovez, the longtime global head of Visa Direct, in a new role as the startup's president; U.K. challenger bank Revolut has added a tool that uses machine learning to flag payments for fraud; and more.

Fintech investors line up for new Monzo round

U.K. digital payments and financial services firm Monzo will shortly raise about $400 million from a mix of its existing investors, a deal that could value the company at more than $4 billion. The Financial Times reports that these investors include CapitalG, Alphabet's investment fund; China's Tencent; and U.S. investor Ribbit Capital (which is involved in Walmart's fintech venture). The funding round could be complete by the end of the month, and comes as Monzo expected to become profitable by the end of the year, the FT reports. Monzo in the past year began reporting to Experian and added more information to its TransUnion reports, such as overdrafts, status of recurring payments and other payment histories as it attempts to expand in the U.S. It also recently added a salary sorter, which enables users to divide their paychecks among different payment types when receiving their salary. —John Adams

Revolut adds AI tool to combat payment fraud

London challenger bank Revolut has added a tool that uses machine learning to flag payments that are potentially part of a scam or other fraud, then automatically declines the payment. If a consumer is part of a payment that the Revolut product snares, they are redirected to an anti-scam section within Revolut's app. The consumer is then asked to provide more information about the transaction, which undergoes more vetting before a payment can be processed. There is also an option to chat with a rep at Revolut to determine if the payment is part of a scam or attack, or if it's a false positive. AI has grown as a tool in financial crime prevention, largely due to its ability to analyze data faster than traditional methods, and to improve its accuracy in stopping fraud over time. —John Adams

Visa inks partnerships to support cross-border account funding in UAE

Visa, Checkout.com and digital real estate investment platform Stake will work together to enable consumers to upload funds across borders to Stake accounts to invest in rental properties in the United Arab Emirates. The firms are attempting to expand access to more investors as the UAE real estate market expands quickly. The product will use the Visa Direct P2P payment service and Checkout.com's application programming interface to connect investors to Stake. Visa's non-payment services strategy includes making it easier to process international transactions. In 2023, for example, the card network participated in a $72 million funding round of Thunes, a Singapore-based technology company that connects underbanked consumers to businesses and digital payment services. —John Adams

Mastercard expands business payments in Pakistan

Mastercard has expanded its partnership with Pakistan's Bank of Punjab to include commercial clients, ranging from gig workers and sole proprietors to large enterprises. BOP will be Mastercard's initial small-business card issuer in Pakistan. BOP will also issue Mastercard's foreign business debit card, which focuses on freelancers. BOP is expanding its business banking strategy to support a shift from cash to digital payments in an effort to improve its financial inclusion strategy. Mastercard's product mix in Pakistan will include a corporate card that supports corporate employee spending, such as travel and entertainment and procurement. Mastercard also recently expanded its presence in Egypt, entering a partnership with Al Baraka Bank to power payments for consumer, commercial and small-business customers. —John Adams

Wirex bolsters compliance tech

London-based payments company Wirex has hired regtech Corlytics to help manage Wirex's compliance and regulatory monitoring. Wirex will use Corlytics' technology to automate policy management, update compliance in real time and support a workflow with an audit trail that can match Wirex's compliance risk processes with changing regulations. Wirex will also use Corylitics systems to manage documentation for reporting. Wirex specializes in processing digital asset payments. Its recent moves include launching a multicurrency Visa debit card through a partnership with payments technology firm i2C. Wirex offers crypto payments in other markets, including Asia, Europe and the U.S. —John Adams

TerraPay hires Visa Direct executive

London-based global money-transfer firm TerraPay has hired Ruben Salazar Genovez, the longtime global head of Visa Direct, in a new role as the startup's president, according to a press release. Salazar Genovez will be based in the U.S. and focus on developing a strategic plan for TerraPay, founded in 2015, to expand globally. Previously, Salazar Genovez spent a decade at Visa in various capacities, including vice president and head of consumer products for Visa's Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa regions concentrating on cross-border and affluent segments. Prior to that he was managing director for Barclaycard's card business in the Iberia region and earlier he spent 11 years as vice president of business development at Citigroup. —Kate Fitzgerald

German town rolls out debit card for asylum seekers

Greiz, a town in Germany, has become the first municipality in the country to launch a debit card enabling local asylum seekers to receive monthly benefits, according to the German media outlet Deutsche Welle. Geared to prevent the funds from being sent outside Germany to pay family members or human traffickers elsewhere, the cards provide U.S. $536 for each qualifying recipient on the first day of each month. Funds can be spent only at local shops, restaurants and supermarkets that accept Mastercard, and cannot be used for online purchases. Local officials tested the program with 200 recipients early this year before announcing plans to roll it out to all 730 local asylum seekers by March 1. —Kate Fitzgerald