Capital One acquired luxury concierge service Velocity Black in a deal announced June 1 as the credit card giant seeks to bolster the perks offered to its customers. Terms of the deal were not made public. 

Founded in 2014, Velocity Black markets itself as an exclusive subscription service that offers members guidance on topics from travel to shopping and entertainment using a combination of artificial intelligence and advice from human experts, according to a company release.

“Velocity Black’s deep service expertise and unique tech platform complement Capital One’s focus on building experiences that meet the evolving needs of our customer,” said Matt Knise, Capital One’s vice president of premium products and experiences, in a news release. 

The acquisition is the latest in a series of deals forged by Capital One as it seeks to gain a competitive advantage by offering bonus features to attract potential customers. For example, the bank rolled out a vacation planning platform with booking app Hopper in 2021, according to the release. 

“Capital One’s entrepreneurial spirit and customer-first, tech-led culture align beautifully with ours,” said Velocity Black co-founder and Chief Executive Zia Yusuf. “Its decades of experience disrupting the status quo will be invaluable in further scaling the Velocity Black business.”  

Illuma Labs offers WyHy voice authentication tech on Glia platform

WyHy Federal Credit Union announced June 1 that it will adopt Illuma Labs’ Iluma Shield voice authentication technology on Glia’s Interaction Platform. 

Founded in 1953, the credit union offers accounts, loans and a range of other financial services to communities across the state of Wyoming. 

“With Illuma Shield integrated with Glia Interaction Platform, WyHy FCU can simplify voice authentication for members connecting through the call center, enabling a seamless experience,” a Glia spokesperson told Bank Automation News.

Through its partnership with Glia and Illuma Labs, the $360 million Cheyenne, Wyoming-based credit union hopes to offer its members the latest fraud prevention technology, according to a Glia release. 

“Illuma allows us to get exactly what we need for our call center with state-of-the-art software at an affordable price. That’s a win for us,” said WyHy CIO Eric Valla. 

AmEx taps Bluechain to help small businesses automate payments

American Express announced Wednesday that it selected Bluechain to simplify payment processing for small- and medium-sized enterprises. 

Bluechain, an Australian fintech founded in 2015, offers protections for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), including the request-to-pay feature, which helps protect merchants from fraud by allowing them to initiate payments, according to its website. 

“Our partnership with Bluechain is another example of how we support SMEs and gives them greater choice when it comes to paying and reconciling invoices, giving them back valuable time so they can continue to build business success,” Carolina Castillo, vice president of commercial partnerships and innovation for international card services at American Express, said in a release. 

The partnership will enable small businesses that use American Express to centralize tasks like bookkeeping and data entry in the Bluechain platform, which provides increased opportunity for automation, according to the release. 

“Combining the reach of American Express with the technology of Bluechain is a fantastic opportunity to deliver tangible benefits for SMEs that go beyond payments and into process efficiency,” said Bluechain CEO Tim Annis.

Maine bank looks to Jack Henry for core upgrade

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution chose tech provider Jack Henry to upgrade its core technology and offer new banking services to its customers, according to a news release Monday. 

SBSI, a Saco, Maine-based mutual bank founded in 1827, opted for Jack Henry because of the company’s “technology modernization strategy,” which allows clients to choose from a set of core processing offerings, according to the release. 

“We knew Jack Henry was the right choice for our technology plans after hearing accolades from peers, seeing their open and scalable platform in action and learning about their commitment to bringing their solutions to the public cloud,” SBSI Chief Executive Bob Quentin said in the release.

The core upgrade comes as the $1.3 billion bank looks to expand its reach among Maine’s growing small business community and focus its attention on the hospitality sector, according to the release. 

“Historic community banks like SBSI want to preserve their culture and community approach while keeping up with the evolving demands of their accountholders and continuing to grow,” Jack Henry’s Senior Vice President Stacey Zengel said in the release, adding that the partnership will “help position SBSI as a leader in their community for another 200 years.”

Citi chooses NetDania for ForEx visualization

Foreign Exchange Platforms and Distribution at Citi has selected NetDania for its data visualization tools. 

NetDania, a Danish fintech acquired by financial services company United Fintech in 2020, will be integrated into the $2.6 trillion bank’s Velocity 3.0 platform, according to a NetDania release June 1. 

“The Velocity OS was purpose–built to allow for an ecosystem of partnerships; and we see our clients benefiting greatly from NetDania’s rich data visualization and advanced charting tools,” David O’Byrne, global product head of FX platforms and distribution at Citi, said in the release.

Citi will use NetDania for data analysis, decision-making and customer value creation, according to the release.  

“NetDania provides high-performance charting and data management services,” said NetDania co-CEO Rasmus A. Bagger. “With our flexible Open API structure, we offer full customization to meet diverse needs and we’re very thrilled to bring these capabilities to Citi’s Velocity 3.0 platform.”

Visit Bank Automation News’ Transactions Database which lists the technology selected or acquired by companies in the financial services industry, with a specific focus on technology that enhances automation.