Today in B2B payments, ICICI taps AlignBooks for small business banking, and Bookkeeper360 raises funding for its accounting technology. Plus, Everpeaks launches a logistics platform, the ECB raises concerns for banks over pandemic fallout, and Biden considers antitrust posts.
AlignBooks, ICICI Bank Team for Streamlined SMB Banking
Cloud-based accounting software solution provider AlignBooks will work with ICICI Bank, a private-sector bank, to deliver a new, simple digital banking experience for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), CRN India reported. ICICI’s current accountholders will be able to use the partnership to securely connect their software to their bank accounts. Those lacking an ICICI account will be able to apply for one within AlignBooks, the report stated.
Bookkeeper360 Gets $1 Million for SMB FinTech Solutions
Bookkeeper360, a FinTech that works with accounting solutions, has raised $1 million in seed funding, according to a press release. The round comes with a new confidence in small to medium-sized business (SMB) FinTech solutions, as Bookkeeper360’s total capital funding hits $2.1 million since its launch, the release stated.
New Everpeaks Logistics Platform Uses Malaysian Free Trade Zone
Malaysian eCommerce logistics firm Everpeaks has launched a logistics platform called Fulfilment [sic] by Everpeaks that the company said will reduce costs for manufacturer-to-consumer shipping as well as bulk B2B transactions, in part by operating from a free trade zone, according to a press release. Everpeaks, which was founded in 2016, stated in the release that the new offering’s value proposition comes from “eliminating multiple layers of traditional retail operations and market barriers."
ECB Officials Fear Banks Will Get Hit Hard by Pandemic Fallout
European Central Bank (ECB) officials are concerned that Euro-area banks will get hit hard in 2021 by fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, as weakened businesses slide into bankruptcy. “The main issue incoming is related to the wave of bankruptcies,” said ECB Lithuanian Governor Vitas Vasiliauskas during a panel discussion with other ECB Governing Council officials, according to a Bloomberg report.
Two Obama Officials Are Frontrunners for Biden's Top Antitrust Job
President-elect Joe Biden is looking at two ex-President Barack Obama officials to run the top antitrust job at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Reuters reported. One pick might be Renata Hesse, who has served numerous stints at the DOJ since 2002 and was acting attorney general from mid-2016 through January 2017, according to Reuters.
