Navy Federal Credit Union selected SaaS core modernization provider Zafin to update its core and move away from its legacy mainframe.  

“We selected Zafin to help us as we work to externalize our products and pricing from the banking core,” Pete Amstutz, senior vice president of savings and membership at Navy Federal, told Bank Automation News. “This will enable speed to market and lay the groundwork to offer seamless, personalized experiences at scale.”

Zafin will sit on top of Navy Fed’s cloud-native banking core with customized offerings to Navy Fed clients, according to the release. 

“Today’s banking landscape requires member experience and member service wrapped around technology and data-driven products and services,” Sovan Shatpathy, chief technology officer at Navy Fed, said. “We are transforming our traditional business models and core system to meet the advancements in technology and innovation in the banking sector.” 

Mastercard, GFT team up for cross-border payments  

Payments behemoth Mastercard is joining forces with IT solutions provider GFT to offer customers cross-border payments between the U.S. and Latin America.  

The solution will connect U.S. financial institutions working with Mastercard and banks in Latin America through an API, Carlos Kazuo Missao, head of innovation for the Americas at GFT, told BAN.  

“The solution integrates the banks’ and Mastercard environments, captures transactions, transforms data and business logic (such as address validation), and orchestrates Mastercard APIs in a cloud environment,” the spokesperson said. 

The solution offers multiple payout options, including bank accounts, mobile wallets and cards, the spokesperson said, adding that “international transfers to more than 100 markets and 60 currencies will be available” on the platform. 

RBC, IBM collaborate on treasury, cash management 

Royal Bank of Canada launched its latest treasury and cash management tool, RBC Clear, on April 16. 

The Canadian bank tapped IBM to help create the digital customer journey on its cloud-native treasury and cash management solution, Matt Angelstad, vice president and senior partner in banking transformation at IBM, told BAN.  

Through RBC Clear, corporate clients can accomplish: 

• Seamless on-boarding; 
• Transparency in payments; 
• Personalized experiences; and 
• Enriched data insights. 

RBC and IBM have a history working on the bank’s tech efforts, Angelstad said, noting that financial institutions are seeking innovative ways to improve the corporate banking experience. 

Through RBC Clear, the bank is addressing a gap in corporate banking services that offers real-time data-sharing, he said.  

An IBM spokesperson told BAN that more than 125 IBM experts worked with the RBC team on the new product, alongside teams from Microsoft, Salesforce, Finacle and Volante. 

Marqeta, Rain team on embedded finance 

Card issuer Marqeta is teaming up with early wage access provider Rain on embedded finance capabilities, according to Marqeta’s April 18 release. 

Marqeta will issue debit cards for Rain to allow employers to load wages onto the cards and allow customers access them immediately, according to the release.  

“These cards, available digitally within the Rain app, enable businesses to provide their employees with early access to their earned wages directly onto their Rain-branded debit cards,” Todd Pollak, chief revenue officer at Marqeta, told BAN. 

Rain’s customers include McDonald’s, Hilton and Arby’s, the release stated. 

Oakland, Calif.-based Marqeta provides its early wage access services to Walmart One, Uber Pro and employment service provider WorkWhile, Pollak said. 

“We’re continuing to invest in our early wage access solutions and embedded finance capabilities that aim to foster financial stability and growth for millions of workers through flexible paycheck options,” he said. 

Wells Fargo partners with TradeSun for trade financing 

The $1.7 trillion Wells Fargo is joining forces with AI-driven trade financing service provider TradeSun to provide automated trade financing solutions, according to a release from TradeSun on April 15. 

Using the TradeSun platform, Wells Fargo will be able to provide AI-driven document processing and compliance services to its business customers, the release stated. The bank will use TradeSun’s algorithm to digitalize, extract, validate and classify unstructured data for compliance and document processing. 

“Wells Fargo continues to make significant progress transforming our trade finance and receivables processes,” Cesar Gonzalez, head of Wells Fargo’s commercial banking operations group, said in the release. “Our agreement with TradeSun gives us the digitization and automation tools to strengthen our risk framework, deliver flawless execution and provide a world-class client experience.” 

During the bank’s first-quarter earnings call on April 12, Wells Fargo Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said the bank will continue to invest in technology as customer satisfaction and acquisition strategy, along with driving efficiency and productivity.