Category: Company News

Leading provider of B2B issuing solutions chooses Sentinels to support Anti-Money Laundering compliance across European markets.

B4B Payments, the leading global provider of card issuing solutions for businesses has selected Sentinels to support Anti-Money Laundering compliance across European markets. The Sentinels platform will facilitate B4B Payments in meeting anti-money laundering (AML) compliance requirements by improving the accuracy of fraudulent transaction detection across its portfolio of products.

A leader in innovative fintech solutions, B4B Payments requires a flexible AML solution that meets the monitoring requirements of the company’s diverse product and customer range – encompassing both corporate accounts and individual cardholders. The solution must also be scalable to support its increasing number of transactions as it expands its portfolio of payment solutions for businesses.

Sentinels was selected due to its ability to monitor transactions globally, together with the platform’s highly adaptable risk-based approach which results in quicker and more accurate identification of fraudulent transactions.

Using data-driven insights, Sentinels optimises AML and transaction monitoring processes and generates real-time insights to streamline workflows and compliance. Rules-based alert shaping reduces the number of false positives and provides a clearer, more comprehensive view into the transaction environment.

“The AML solution from Sentinels offers an intuitive environment for our compliance officers to monitor transactions, as well as the ability to easily edit monitoring rules. As compliance requirements become more stringent across Europe, partnering with Sentinels ensures that we are in the strongest position to meet these obligations and provide our stakeholders with the highest assurance that we are committed to supporting anti-money laundering efforts across the board.”

B4B CEO and co-founder, Paul Swinton

The Sentinels platform combines information from different data silos with external sources to feed its insight engine. Historical data and client feedback shape recommendations for next steps so that the platform’s insights continuously improve and grow in sophistication.

We’re excited to onboard B4B Payments to provide highly accurate data-driven insights that improve AML detection rates and increase efficiency across compliance workloads. Our partnership stems across multiple jurisdictions, enabling B4B Payments to operate in line with the varying AML requirements of its current regulators – the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of Lithuania. We look forward to providing the nuanced support required as it expands its services further across the globe.” 

Joost van Houten, CEO of Sentinels

Leading provider of B2B issuing solutions will become part of Banking circle ecosystem.

www.bankingcircle.com

www.b4bpayments.com

London, 16^th November 2021 – B4B Payments (B4B), a leading global provider of card issuing solutions for businesses, is set to join the Banking Circle ecosystem to complement the Banking Circle payments Bank, providing accounts, payments and issuing to Payments businesses, Banks and Corporates. The deal is now going through the regulatory approval process. After closing of the acquisition, B4B will operate as an independent sister company of Banking Circle.

Together, Banking Circle and B4B will form a unique industry-leading provider of issuing and payment solutions with full value chain-coverage and scalability. As part of the Banking Circle ecosystem, B4B will continue to expand its portfolio of payments solutions for businesses, providing an unrivalled scope of financial services and product add-on optionality with wide reach and distribution power.

The management team will remain with B4B and will continue to lead the company going forward. In addition, Tom Jennings and Brian Lawlor, both with over 15 years of experience within the payments and issuing industry, will join B4B’s management team to help scale the business.

Paul Swinton, co-founder and CEO of B4B Payments, commented: “We are thrilled to become part of this fast-growing and innovative organisation. Under the new ownership we will have access to the investment and financial infrastructure to build on and accelerate our expansion across Europe and the US, and to expand our portfolio of payments solutions for businesses. In addition, we plan to launch a unique BIN-sponsorship proposition, building on B4B’s leading issuing capabilities and Banking Circle’s financial technology platform.”

Anders la Cour, Chief Executive Officer of Banking Circle Group added: “We are very excited that B4B is joining the Banking Circle ecosystem. Banking Circle is growing rapidly in both its customer base and its service offering, and B4B Payments is a natural extension of that evolution. Together with B4B, we can provide Banks and Payments businesses with additional capabilities such as card issuing, built on top of our core platform of payments, accounts and liquidity. We look forward to working closely with the B4B team.”

Roughly six billion payment cards are produced annually worldwide, with 75% of gift cards still being actual physical cards.

The environmentally-friendly card material made from 76% recycled post-industrial waste, will help B4B Payments reduce the amount of plastic produced for its payment cards every year.

Paul Swinton, Chief Executive Officer at B4B Payments said:

“Whilst the adoption of virtual cards is accelerating and our range of digital solutions continues to expand, we are committed to reducing the impact of card production on the environment, by using sustainable card materials.”

When considering our role in tackling environmental challenges, it was vitally important that we could maintain the superior card quality that our clients and card holders expect, but combine it with sustainable production techniques and materials that will help us protect the environment for years to come. We are delighted that our extended partnership with Thames Technology lets us deliver that.”

As a leader in FinTech and business payments and voted the Best Prepaid Product of the Year in 2019, the extended partnership with Thames Technology allows B4B Payments to add to its cutting-edge card capability, providing more choice to its corporate customers. The card is produced using a post-industrial recycled PVC core along with degradable overlay and non-plastic components including chip and antenna for payment cards. Overall creating a sustainable payment solution that will help reduce its contribution to climate change.

Angela Davies, Head of Financial and ID Sales at Thames Technology said:

“We are delighted to be supporting B4B Payments in its mission to offer a more environmentally friendly card solution to its growing list of corporate clients. Thames Technology’s business commitment to sustainability during 2020 resulted in the launch of our Eden range; a selection of PVC alternatives ideal for both financial and retail use, so it’s extremely satisfying to see our clients embrace this.”

Leading corporate prepaid payment provider selects Banking Circle for corporate accounts and clients’ funds safeguarding services

B4B Payments, a leading global prepaid payments provider, has selected Banking Circle to provide payments infrastructure for its corporate banking services. Providing prepaid solutions to businesses for more than 15 years, FCA authorised B4B enables organisations of any size to manage expenses, simplify payroll, reimbursements, and offer employee rewards and incentives.

As a leader in FinTech and prepaid business payments and voted the Best Prepaid Product of the Year in 2019, the new partnership with Banking Circle will enable B4B Payments to offer innovative, flexible, and time-saving solutions that streamline and eliminate antiquated finance and accounting processes. Initially Banking Circle will provide virtual IBAN accounts for B4B clients as well as safeguarding services.

Banking Circle Virtual IBAN gives financial institutions such as B4B the ability to issue virtual IBANs in their customers’ names in a way that traditional banks would simply not facilitate due to risk and legacy systems limitations. It is a genuine game-changer for the payments marketplace.

The future vision of the two companies’ collaboration includes utilising Banking Circle’s multi-currency accounts, SEPA and SWIFT transactions solutions and foreign exchange (FX) capabilities. By making payments ‘feel local’, Banking Circle will be removing the need for B4B to have a physical presence in each country in which its customers operate, yet deliver payment costs comparable to those of local banks in the region.

“Banking Circle is changing the dynamics of the global payments ecosystem. It is doing the heavy lifting for businesses like ours by establishing a super-correspondent banking network that will deliver fast and cost-effective solutions for our clients. We therefore see our partnership as integral to our ambitious development plans.”

B4B CEO and co-founder, Paul Swinton

“The diverse customer base of B4B requires flexibility and adaptability to serve their needs and we are delighted to be able to provide payments infrastructure to underpin that service. Our mission at Banking Circle is to tackle the legacy of high cost and slow international payments and B4B is another business that has seen the value we can add to their proposition.”

Anders la Cour, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Banking Circle

About Banking Circle

Banking Circle is a financial infrastructure provider to Payments businesses and Banks. As a fully licensed bank, free of legacy systems, Banking Circle technology enables payments companies and banks of any scale to seize opportunities in the new economy – quickly, at low cost and in line with high standards of compliance and security – with direct access to clearing that bypasses old, bureaucratic and expensive systems.

Banking Circle solutions are increasing financial inclusion. From accounts to lending, international payments to settlements and FX to compliance, Banking Circle technology is helping thousands of businesses transact across borders in a way that was previously not possible.

Banking Circle is owned by EQT VIII and EQT Ventures in partnership with Banking Circle’s founders. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Banking Circle has offices in London, Munich, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.