As the initial hype around bitcoin begins to fade, it appears to be the turn of this digital currency’s underlying technology, blockchain, to garner more column inches and broader industry attention.

As a protocol for developing an historical record of the value transaction passed between multiple parties, this distributed ledger technology has until now been relatively under the radar despite the criticality of its function.      

Today Profile Software, an international financial solutions vendor, revealed that Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) in the UAE, one of the leading regional multi-line insurance providers for corporates and individuals, is using the IMSplus Insurance Investment Management solution to achieve operational efficiency of its investment management operations.  

Today Coupa Software, a leading provider of cloud-based spend management solutions, announced that major international oil and gas company, KMG Rompetrol, has selected Coupa to automate its procurement processes and increase efficiency across its operations.

Synechron Inc., a world's leading financial services consulting and technology services provider, has today announced the launch of “Neo,” a set of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solutions for the financial services industry. Neo uniquely brings together Synechron’s digital, business and technology consulting to allow financial institutions to deploy cutting-edge, AI solutions that solve complex business challenges. 

With the EU’s Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and  open architecture framework set to come into force next year, regulation may well tip the scales between banks and fintechs for customer loyalty.  Concessions must be made on both sides along the way, but in the end the collaborators will be the ones to survive – that’s according to an in-depth study released today by Temenos, the software specialist for banking and finance.

Alibaba Group announced today the establishment of an e-hub under the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiative together with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the country’s digital economy development agency, and other parties. This marks a key milestone in the realization of the eWTP’s vision to lower trade barriers and provide more equitable access to global markets for small and medium enterprises and young people around the world.

Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC), the $40 billion Australian Government employee and Australian Defence Force pension fund, has endorsed Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) to remain as its preferred partner for the provision of master custody and related investment administration services.

“CSC regards its relationship with its custodian as a strategic business relationship, and following a full market review, we are proud to continue our relationship with Northern Trust”

Jumio, the creator of Netverify® Trusted Identity as a Service, partners with Saltrex, an international, independent online B2B auction platform for goods and cargo.

Saltrex selected Netverify for its seamless identity verification process and to help meet its Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance requirements.

AxiomSL, global leader in risk management and regulatory compliance, and Integration Alpha have launched a unique, flexible and cost-efficient Managed Services solution across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, in a FINMA compliant cloud for Tier 2 and 3 financial service firms.

Payments Canada has selected global consulting firm Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to help it lead Modernization — the multi-year initiative to transform the systems and rules essential to Canada’s payments ecosystem.

Due to the scope of the program and the number of participants involved, Payments Canada sought to team with a company that could provide in-depth payments expertise, along with change-management and program-management services to help manage the initiative.