Semafone, the leading provider of data security and compliance solutions for contact centres, takes an optimistic view of the outlook for the technology industry in 2019. CEO Tim Critchley, global solutions director Ben Rafferty and head of information security Shane Lewis, share their top tech predictions for this year.

Cryptohopper, today, announces the showcase of the Cryptohopper Marketplace. The Marketplace is a collection of high-performing trading strategies, which people at all skill levels can buy and sell to implement across the exchanges they trade on.

Linedata (Euronext Paris: LIN) announces the acquisition of French start-up Loansquare, whose portal digitalizes relationships between borrowers and lenders. By acquiring Loansquare, Linedata enhances the end-to-end capabilities of its platforms and services for lenders.

"I am delighted to start 2019 with the acquisition of Loansquare, says Anvaraly Jiva, Founder and CEO of Linedata. We are engaged in an ambitious process of enabling digital transformation and are thrilled to be able to integrate innovators from the start-up community."

Silicon Valley analytic software firm FICO has been awarded five new patents related to fraud, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics.  In total, FICO currently holds 192 US and foreign patents, and 93 pending patent applications.

After being ten years at the helm of core banking provider Ohpen, founder Chris Zadeh (43) transfers the CEO position to Matthijs Aler (42) per January 1^st 2019. Zadeh started Ohpen out of dissatisfaction with the existing legacy core banking software that never worked. In 2008, he left BinckBank to develop a completely new, cloud-native, core banking platform. "A platform that would always work, guaranteed- and would leave the competition far behind" says Zadeh.

Brokers and hedge funds wanting to offer digital assets to their client base can now partner with Market Synergy for institutional standard cryptocurrency connectivity and security and take a FIX feed or ISP link to Bitfinex’s digital asset gateway. 

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has completed its implementation of Phase 1 of Modernized Economic and Financial Statistical Reporting (EFS) using Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for Regulatory Reporting. EFS is an ambitious regulatory change program, managed by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

When it comes to the financial services sector, businesses are going through a high-tension period marked by the need to contend with rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats, keeping pace with technology and choosing where to spend their money. The changing nature of work also means that financial services leaders are beginning to get more strategic about automation.

For any FCA regulated firm, the risk and compliance function is an essential and integral part of the business – but it wasn’t always that way. Martin Kisby, Head of Compliance at Equiniti Credit Services, explores the motivations behind the evolution of compliance functions in consumer credit firms.