UK FinTech Novus has secured regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch as a company later this year.
Established in 2020, Novus is a banking app that looks to generate positive impact from its users’ everyday life and rewards conscious choices. The company’s platform rewards its community with real-time impact points that can be spent, saved and tracked through the app.
Novus members can choose to use the impact points they generate in the app through everyday payments toward issues such as ocean pollution and gender inequality.
The company secured regulatory approval to operate as an Electronic Money Directive agent of Railsbank subsidiary PayrNet as well as approval to operate as a Payment Services Directive agent of Yapily-owned SafeConnect. The latter, Novus noted, will allow its members to utilise the latest open banking innovation to rapidly and securely top up their digital accounts.
Novus also recently launched the beta version of its app, which will allow the firm to offer digital accounts to send and receive payments. The beta app was offered to a limited number of individuals currently on its waiting list.
Novus co-founder and CEO Hristian Nedyalkov said, “Our app makes it easy for anyone to become more conscious as a consumer by turning their everyday actions into micro-wins for themselves, as well as the planet. Our commitment to making a positive social, economic and environmental impact is what lies at our core, and we are thrilled to have the regulatory approval of the FCA to launch Novus within the UK.”
Novus co-founder and COO Andoni Piña Sigg added, “Novus isn’t just a payments app, it’s a way of life. As a value-driven organisation, we take a holistic approach to looking after individuals’ needs as well as the collective and encourage our members to acknowledge that they can truly make a difference in the world.
“Through simply switching your debit card, you can use your regular purchases as an actual force for good, tracking your impact and even viewing your carbon footprint to see just how far your conscious lifestyle has evolved.
“Where consumers have previously been driven by accessibility, the pandemic has resulted in shopping habits changing from convenience to being more purpose-driven. In this ‘new’ world, financial services need to change for the better, and the change starts now. We are happy to have the support of the FCA on this journey.”
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![Temenos (SIX: TEMN) today announced that National Bank of Iraq (NBI), part of the Capital Bank Group, has successfully gone live with Temenos core banking and payments. NBI, which has 27 branches across Iraq, offers a comprehensive range of services to individuals and businesses in the country. Since 2005, NBI has been majority owned by Capital Bank, one of the top financial institutions operating in the Jordanian and regional markets, with assets of approximately JOD 7.6 billion[1]. With this implementation, NBI moved from its legacy systems onto the same core banking platform as other entities in the Capital Bank Group. This will enable NBI to operate more efficiently and integrate seamlessly with other systems to develop new products faster and deliver an improved customer experience. Capital Bank Group is a long-standing Temenos customer with other entities in the Group including Capital Bank of Jordan, Bank Audi, Société Générale Bank Jordan and NBI Saudi Arabia, already on the Temenos platform. NBI also becomes the first part of the group to adopt Temenos Payments, which enabled the bank to process more than 100,000 transactions of incoming and outgoing domestic and international payments in the first 15 days of operation, with a 99% straight-through processing rate. The migration to the Temenos platform for core banking and payments at NBI was completed in under 12 months thanks to Temenos’ pre-configured banking and payments capabilities and APIs which reduced the need for complex customizations, as well as close collaboration between Temenos, NBI, Capital Bank and delivery partner ITSS. This success was recently recognized in the IBS Intelligence Innovation Awards, with Capital Bank winning ‘Best Implementation of Core Banking Services'. The implementation at NBI follows several other successful transformation projects with Temenos for Capital Bank in the last few years, including the launch of NBI’s branch operations in Saudi Arabia in just 45 days, as well as the integration of Bank Audi and the former Jordanian operations of Société Générale, each of which was achieved in under four months. Collectively, these projects helped Capital Bank to increase operational efficiency by more than 50% within three years, bringing significant cost savings and an improved customer experience. With faster, more accurate processing and immediate service requests, the bank has maintained high customer retention rates and a reputation for service excellence. Izzidin Abusalameh, Chief Operations Officer, Capital Bank Group, commented: “This achievement marks a significant milestone in our digital transformation journey and positions us as a leading player in the banking industry. We have seamlessly transitioned the National Bank of Iraq to a cutting-edge core banking system which will not only enhance operational efficiency but also support providing our customers with a superior digital banking experience. Our continued partnership with Temenos has not only provided us with an advanced technological platform but has also facilitated a culture of flexibility and adaptability, enabling us to execute our ambitious growth plans.” Lee Allcorn, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, Temenos, said: “Congratulations to National Bank of Iraq and the Capital Bank team on this successful implementation that gives NBI business agility and the same modern technology platform and ability to deploy fast with pre-configured banking capabilities as the rest of the group. With Temenos, Capital Bank Group is future-ready, and we are proud to support them as they continue to innovate and leverage our platform to grow sustainably and enhance the banking experience for customers.”](https://fintech.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/rupixen-Q59HmzK38eQ-unsplash-2-100x70.jpg "Flutterwave teams up with Acquired.com to streamline outward remittances in EU and UK")
