EMEA Daily: Banking Services Provider LHV UK Introduces Confirmation of Payee Service to Combat Payment Fraud

In today’s top stories from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, trade finance bank Neotrade is expanding its trade finance services for SMBs in the U.K.

Also, Google is starting to allow its direct competitors to run ads on YouTube to comply with new EU regulations, digital payments company MFS Africa brought in $100 million in funding and banking services company LHV UK is fighting fraud with its Confirmation of Payee service.

SMB Trade Finance Bank Neotrade Launches in UK

Trade finance bank Neotrade has launched in the U.K., offering financing for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based scoring system to provide a “personalized financing experience within the minutes.”

“More than 40% of requests are automatically rejected,” the company said. “In addition, as agile businesses, SMBs need an easy, transparent and fast way to finance.”

Neotrade said it serves this underserved market with a goal of shaping “the trade finance market for SMBs in the future and cover the market gap.”

Google Offers Rivals YouTube Ad Space Amid EU Probe

Google has offered to allow rival ad intermediaries place advertisements on YouTube as a way of potentially ending a European antitrust investigation.

Sources close to the probe say Google is hoping this remedy can bring the matter to a close and help it avoid a fine.

The European Commission began its investigation in 2021 into whether the world’s largest provider of search and video had given itself an unfair advantage in digital advertising by blocking rivals’ and advertisers’ access to user data.

The commission focused on a rule by Google that requires advertisers to use its Ad Manager to display ads on YouTube — which is owned by Google — and possible restrictions on the way in which rivals serve ads on YouTube.

MFS Africa Raises $100M in Extended Series C

Digital payments network MFS Africa raised $100 million in equity and debt funding led by Admaius Capital Partners in an extended Series C, bringing the round’s total to $200 million.

Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa, said the extended Series C and the backing of top investors help support the company as it strives to make “borders matter less when it comes to payments.

“The strength of our business model is grounded on building a lasting digital infrastructure that unleashes and simplifies economic activities across the continent through any-to-any interoperability,” Okoudjou said. “We are building MFS Africa into a safe, sound, scalable and high impact pan-African payment infrastructure that will facilitate Africa’s rapidly growing commerce, both now and in the future.”

LHV UK Fights Push Payment Fraud with Confirmation of Payee Service

Banking services provider LHV UK is fighting authorized push payment (APP) fraud with the integration of the Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service, now live for all its direct clients.

A fraud prevention system led by Pay.UK and powered by open banking, CoP is a fraud prevention system launched in 2020 that verifies that the recipient’s name matches what the financial institution has on file.

The CoP system addresses payment errors and the escalating number of APP fraud, where a consumer or a business is manipulated into making real-time payments to fraudsters, usually by social engineering attacks involving impersonation.

CoP confirms the details of the payee when they use the Faster Payment and CHAPS systems. The system also verifies the information when setting up a Standing Order, according to the release.