BEC and Nordic API Gateway roll out open banking for 27 banks

BEC has partnered with Nordic API Gateway to enable 27 banks and more than 2.1 million banking customers in Denmark with open banking. Over time, the partnership aims to give 20-30% of Danish banking customers the ability to see and pay with accounts from other banks as well as get a full overview of their finances across several banks.

"We're working hard to open BEC's banking platform and are well underway with new partnerships established with globally leading technology partners in a number of areas," said Jesper Nielsen, CEO of BEC. "Through a strong partnership with Nordic API Gateway, we're now also able to develop innovative services that interact directly with accounts in other banks."

Nordic API Gateway recently struck a similar deal with another IT solution provider and will now be enabling more than 40 banks in the Nordics with open banking. 

“We're proud to work with BEC on creating new open banking opportunities for more than two million personal and business banking customers across 27 BEC banks," commented Rune Mai, CEO and founder of Nordic API Gateway. "Being able to do partnerships like this clearly shows that our focus on implementing compliance is at the core of our DNA, and delivering high-security standards with a privacy-by-design approach allows us to empower the largest players in the financial sector. With the collaboration, we now enable more than 80% of the Danish banks with open banking services which match our ambition to be the preferred open banking advisors for financial institutions across Europe during 2021."

 

Coupa announces strategic partnership with Japan Cloud 

Coupa Software has announced a strategic partnership with Japan Cloud to establish a joint venture known as Coupa K.K. This joint venture will enable Coupa to scale to support the growing number of Japanese companies looking to gain greater efficiency and agility through business spend management.

Coupa K.K. will be led by Takashi Ozeki who joins as general manager from Japan Cloud. Takashi brings more than twenty years of experience in enterprise software in Japan, holding positions at Marketo, Salesforce, Dell, and NEC Corporation.

The market for cloud technology transformation in Japan is growing. A recent study from Boston Consulting Group indicates that Japan is one of the largest public cloud markets in APAC, and is expected to develop further, from US$8bn in 2018 to US$18bn in 2023.

"My vision has always been to help Japanese companies be at the forefront of digital transformation," said Takashi Ozeki, general manager of Coupa K.K. "With Coupa K.K., I look forward to helping the business community in Japan transform their supply chains and spend management practices to maximise the value of every dollar they spend."

 

Tipalti acquires cloud procurement solutions provider

Tipalti, a global payables automation platform, has announced its acquisition of Approve.com, a cloud procurement solutions provider, to expand its portfolio of financial operations offerings. Together, Tipalti and Approve.com will offer finance leaders solutions to streamline manual processes. Tipalti says that the combination of these two companies makes it the only company dedicated to mid-market businesses that automates the entire accounts payable cycle from procurement through to payment.

Approve.com provides a cloud-based procurement solution that enables businesses to rapidly deploy a proper purchase order process. The company's platform streamlines requisitions, approvals, real-time budgets, and vendor onboarding, while delivering real-time spend controls and insights.

Tipalti acquired Approve.com for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close in early Q2 2021.

"With the acquisition of Approve.com, we will help finance organisations at growth-oriented companies scale more efficiently, focus more of their resources on driving company strategy, improve company-wide spend visibility, and greatly strengthen their spend and financial controls," said Chen Amit, chief executive officer and co-founder of Tipalti. "Procurement is an important part of our long-term product vision. One holistic solution can transform finance operations and level the playing field for finance leaders at mid-market companies."