FINANCE
Verizon Business | June 21, 2022
Verizon Business announced that it is teaming up with Mastercard and First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) to launch a credit card designed to bring value to small business owners. In the coming weeks, existing Verizon Business wireless customers with less than 100 lines and an online account will be eligible to apply for the Verizon Business Mastercard®, which rewards purchases on everyday business expenses such as eligible office supplies, technology, fuel, and more.
"Mastercard has been a key partner to us on our journey to help our customers of all sizes transform their businesses and ensure they are truly future-ready,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “We are pleased to expand this partnership to include FNBO and bring this small business credit card to our customers at a time when we know they are seeking new avenues to expand their business, manage costs and maximize their use of new technologies to solve challenges to drive growth.”
Here is how it works:
The Verizon Business Mastercard®, which is issued by FNBO, will allow small business owners who apply and are approved to earn and redeem Verizon Business Dollars toward devices or accessories for their business. Benefits and features of the card will include:
Earn Rewards on Eligible Business Purchases*: Earn 5% back on Verizon purchases, like paying your Verizon bill or buying devices from Verizon, during your first billing cycle after account opening;1 3% back on Verizon purchases after your first billing cycle;1 2% back on eligible gas; electronic vehicle charging and office supplies;2 and 1% back on other purchases.3
Get More for Your Business: Earn Verizon Business Dollars on eligible business purchases and redeem them later toward new devices or a Verizon Business wireless bill.
New Cardholder Bonus: Eligible Verizon Business customers who apply and are approved will receive $50 toward their credit card statement after their first purchase on the card* (maximum one bonus per business account).
No Annual Fee4: The Verizon Business Mastercard® has no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.4
Fill Your Digital Toolbox: The Verizon Business Mastercard® features World Elite Mastercard for Business® benefits to help small business owners reach new audiences and grow their businesses, including access to Microsoft Advertising, Zoho Social and Zoho Marketing Pal.5
Assess Your Digital Footprint: Cardholders will have access to Mastercard’s Digital Diagnostic assessment and Digital Doors program, which provides always-on resources for small business owners to set up shop online, grow and manage their business, accept payments, and keep their business protected.
Safe & Secure Payments Experience: The Verizon Business Mastercard® is contactless enabled. Upon approval for the card, cardholders can begin making purchases immediately online, in app, and at the point of sale after adding it to their mobile wallet.
Experience Peace of Mind: The Verizon Business Mastercard® offers Mastercard ID Theft Protection™, Zero Liability6 and Price Protection, in addition to 24/7/365 Global Emergency Services.5
This new offering is the result of a multifaceted partnership between Verizon Business and Mastercard to help provide solutions for the global payments and commerce ecosystems. The global leaders continue to work together to couple Verizon’s 5G connectivity with the power of the Mastercard network. Today’s announcement complements Verizon’s network-as-a-service foundation and supports its core areas of growth and innovation across mobility, nationwide broadband, mobile edge computing and business solutions, the value market and network monetization.
“Today’s small business owner is looking for smarter, relevant, and customized digital financial products that accelerate their operations and make their lives easier,” said Chiro Aikat, Executive Vice President, Products & Engineering, North America at Mastercard. “We’re proud to extend our relationship with Verizon and FNBO to connect the small business segment through meaningful technology and benefits.”
“FNBO has a rich history of helping small businesses grow and succeed, so we are excited to partner with such a respected brand as Verizon on the launch of their first program for small business,” said Jerry J. O’Flanagan, Executive Vice President, Partner Segment at FNBO.
To find out if your business is eligible to apply for the Verizon Business Mastercard® when it officially launches, visit http://verizon.com/business-mastercard-comingsoon.
ABOUT VERIZON
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $133.6 billion in 2021. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.
ABOUT FNBO
First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) is a leader in the credit card partnership arena, with partners in a variety of industries including retail, travel, entertainment, automotive, oil, nonprofits and more. For over 60 years, FNBO has specialized in providing comprehensive credit card programs with personalized service to help its customers achieve their goals. Visit card.fnbo.com for more information.
ABOUT MASTERCARD (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all. www.mastercard.com
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FINANCE
Velocity Financial, Inc | December 29, 2021
Velocity Financial, Inc., a leading provider of small balance investor loans, today announced it has acquired a majority stake in Century Health & Housing Capital (“Century”).
Founded in 1992, Century is a licensed “Ginnie Mae” issuer/servicer that provides government-insured Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage financing for multifamily housing, senior housing and long-term care/assisted living facilities. Century originates loans through its borrower-direct origination channel and services the loans through its in-house servicing platform, which enables the formation of long-term relationships with its clients and drives strong portfolio retention. Century issued $158 million in unpaid principal balance (UPB) of loans for the 11 months ended November 30, 2021, and manages a servicing portfolio in excess of $500 million in UPB.
Transaction Highlights:
Expands growth opportunities via new products for Velocity’s broker network
Capital light, fee-based business diversifies revenue and enhances return on equity
Immediately accretive to EPS and ROE with minimal book value impact
Stable and durable MSR income due to long term loan characteristics
Substantial organic growth opportunity by leveraging Velocity’s national origination footprint
Century’s government-insured product focus acts as a natural hedge through market cycles
Longer-term opportunity to further expand the product suite
The Century acquisition expands Velocity’s commercial mortgage product offerings through growth in a new channel and the ability to offer new products to Velocity’s broker network. The addition of Century is expected to be immediately accretive to Velocity’s earnings with minimal impact to tangible book value. The transaction also diversifies Velocity’s revenue with fee-based origination and servicing income which generates strong returns on capital and is durable through market cycles, in addition to providing the opportunity for Century to leverage Velocity’s technology-driven platform to broaden their Northeast-focused origination footprint.
“The entire Century team is pleased to be joining Velocity’s family and we look forward to realizing the opportunities this transaction offers to both companies. Velocity’s national footprint and operational capabilities will significantly expand our ability to grow customer relationships and origination volume.”
Kyle Perry, Century’s Chief Executive Officer
“We are very excited to partner with a proven leader in Kyle and accelerate the growth of the Century platform in this important lending segment. We believe the long-term demographic trends will be a strong tailwind for the healthcare lending area in particular,” said Chris Farrar, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The ability to offer government-insured products to our brokers will drive incremental origination growth and enables further expansion of our product menu in the future.”
About Velocity Financial, Inc.
Based in Westlake Village, California, Velocity Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VEL) is a vertically integrated real estate finance company that originates and manages investor loans secured by 1-4 unit residential rental and small commercial properties. Velocity originates loans nationwide across an extensive network of independent mortgage brokers it has built and refined over 17 years.
About Century
Founded in 1992, Century provides government-insured mortgage financing for the multifamily housing industry, senior living and long-term care facilities and hospitals. Century is an approved Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) mortgagee and Governmental National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”) issuer/servicer, including approvals for FHA Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) and LEAN healthcare lender programs. Century also acts as financial advisor for non-FHA insured transactions and will assist in arranging Bridge-to-HUD financing. Century is a relationship driven lender that not only originates, processes, underwrites and funds its own loans, but also services its loans during both the construction and permanent loan stages – enabling it to form long term relationships with clients. Century’s mission is to provide its clients with personalized, responsive, and professional service while focusing on their immediate financing needs and long-term goals.
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FINANCE
Raistone | April 06, 2022
Raistone today announced a collaboration with Mastercard set to simplify business-to-business (B2B) finance payments and speed up access to working capital for small- and-medium-sized businesses ("SMBs"). Using Mastercard's virtual card technology, Raistone will tap into secure payment innovation to streamline finance approval processes that can exclude SMBs from accessing essential funds needed to sustain and scale their business. This innovative use of virtual cards promotes diversity and inclusion by extending convenient financial tools to the companies that need them most.
The partnership enables automated financing to suppliers via virtual cards without requiring the involvement of their customers. In addition, women- and minority-owned business enterprises can join with no enrollment fees through the end of 2022.
"Together with Mastercard, Raistone is making it easier than ever for businesses to get paid on invoices that would otherwise take months for reimbursement. By using existing credit card rails and infrastructure, Raistone is able to reach and help businesses of all sizes, saving them both time and money so they can get back to doing what they do best. We're excited to support small- and medium-sized businesses, particularly at a time when many companies are on the road to recovery or experiencing high growth."
Dave Skirzenski, CEO of Raistone
Raistone's new virtual card program is being deployed directly to SMBs as well as integrated into customer-facing software provided by Raistone's large enterprise partners. A key advantage to SMBs is rapid sign-up through their existing platforms, enabling businesses to drastically reduce their operational burden and get paid in a matter of days.
Commenting on the collaboration, Claire Thompson, EVP Global Trade, Mastercard Enterprise Partnerships said, "We have a responsibility to advance a more equitable and sustainable future for organizations of all sizes, particularly when liquidity is vital during volatile times. Integrating Mastercard's virtual card technology within Raistone's customer facing software, allows us to significantly improve cashflow through quicker payments, supporting daily operations and fueling growth. With an embedded finance experience, we are accelerating easier access to secure working capital, ensuring that businesses have the means to manage and grow their business".
About Raistone
Raistone was born with the vision of equalizing access to working capital and meeting the demand for working capital on a global scale. A world-leading fintech collaboratively owned by a full-service broker dealer, $30 billion family office, a $900 billion wealth manager, and an international bank, Raistone enables the financing of billions of dollars in transactions every year. Its best-in-class technology coupled with unparalleled access to institutional capital extends financing to companies of all sizes, fully integrated with the same software platforms they already use. Raistone works to ensure that all businesses have access to their money, on their terms.
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FINANCE
FundThrough | January 14, 2022
FundThrough, a financial technology platform that solves cash flow challenges for growing businesses through fast invoice payments, today announced that it has acquired the invoice factoring business of financial technology company BlueVine. The acquisition fast tracks the company’s strategic focus on embedded finance and its expansion efforts in the U.S. market, doubling the number of U.S. clients that will rely on FundThrough to turn unpaid invoices into working capital. All BlueVine invoice funding division employees are joining FundThrough as part of the transaction.
FundThrough has grown 1,071% over the past three years and almost 300% since last year, funding thousands of B2B clients since the company was founded in 2014. The fintech company has scaled to process more than USD$120 million dollars in funding per month while being extremely capital efficient, having only raised $25 million dollars in equity since its inception. The acquisition is expected to more than double the number of funding transactions that FundThrough makes annually.
Cash flow is the number one problem facing small businesses. According to QuickBooks data, 81% of surveyed businesses said that their customers had been late on their payments more often in 2021 compared to previous years, and 89% said late payments limit their growth. According to FundThrough client data, small businesses wait 60 days on average for customers to pay their invoices. FundThrough addresses this issue through its AI-powered funding platform, which generates automated offers for a seamless onboarding and funding experience. Through its technology, along with key partnerships with companies such as Intuit and Enverus, FundThrough cuts that waiting time by 97 percent to accelerate access to cash flow for small businesses.
“We are committed to helping small businesses grow and thrive – especially those who sell to large customers where long payment terms and a lack of financing options stand in the way of growing a business. BlueVine was one of our biggest competitors in the U.S. market, and through this acquisition we can fulfill our mission on a much larger scale. We look forward to providing BlueVine’s invoice factoring clients with the same responsive, personalized customer service and seamless funding experience that FundThrough’s existing clients rely on and appreciate.”
Steven Uster, co-founder and CEO of FundThrough
In addition to accelerating its U.S. expansion, the acquisition also rapidly progresses another core FundThrough strategy: becoming the leader in embedded finance. The additional scale from new channel partnerships and relationships acquired through BlueVine — including all BlueVine factoring partners, who have now transitioned to FundThrough — will fuel FundThrough’s goal of being included within the workflow of B2B marketplaces, ecosystems, and apps where suppliers can request instant payment of their large customer invoices without leaving the workflow. This gives suppliers more opportunities to boost their cash flow, and levels the playing field for small businesses selling to large, powerful customers who often dictate long payment terms.
Based in Redwood, California, BlueVine provides financial services to small and mid-sized businesses. The company addresses the banking and working capital needs of business owners with a suite of products including BlueVine Business Checking, Payments, and Line of Credit. Factoring was BlueVine’s founding product.
“Since launching BlueVine, we’ve been focused on the financial needs of small businesses and are very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. As we evolve our products and services, we continuously examine how we can better serve our customers at scale,” says Eyal Lifsthiz, co-founder and CEO of BlueVine. “We determined that FundThrough is perfectly positioned to serve our factoring clients with the care and individual attention they need and deserve. Our factoring clients will be in great hands with FundThrough.”
About FundThrough
FundThrough is a leading fintech company accelerating cash flow and enabling growth for small and medium sized businesses that sell to large customers and wait to get paid. Based in Toronto and operating across North America, FundThrough’s AI-powered invoice funding platform gives B2B businesses fast, customized funding offers to get their invoices paid in a few days – rather than a few months – and get quick access to cash they’ve already earned.
About BlueVine
BlueVine provides small and medium-sized businesses with fast and simple access to financial services built with them in mind. BlueVine’s advanced online platform offers an intuitive, convenient solution designed to meet the banking and working capital needs of today’s business owners with a suite of products including BlueVine Business Checking, Payments, and Line of Credit. Based in Redwood City, California, BlueVine has provided small and medium-sized businesses with access to more than $14 billion in financing with all products combined and is backed by leading private and institutional investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, 83North, Citi Ventures, ION Crossover Partners, SVB Capital, Nationwide Insurance, and M12 (Microsoft's Venture Arm). All lines of credit and term loan products are issued by Celtic Bank, a Utah-chartered Industrial Bank, Member FDIC. Banking Services provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC.
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