The UNLOCK Company DMCC, a platform that provides information, intelligence, insights and news pertaining to the Blockchain sector held its UNLOCK Blockchain forum in Dubai on Jan 15-16, 2019 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel DIFC.

As we start 2019, it is an opportune time to reflect on the year that was and forge the way forward. The cryptoeconomy celebrated its 10^th  birthday in 2018, reaching a total market capitalization of approximately $138.6 billion (KSh 14.2 trillion). 

SafeCharge (AIM: SCH), the partner of choice for businesses who demand more from payments technology, today announced the opening of its new office in China less than four years after launching in the country. The new office is based in Shenzhen’s PingAn International Finance Center, a 115-storey supertall skyscraper in the Futian business district. This latest expansion marks SafeCharge’s growing footprint across the APAC region, where it already has offices in Singapore and Hong Kong with an overall team of nearly 20 people.

With the goal of empowering banks in the MENA region to lead the world in digital banking services, Almoayed Technologies, the Kingdom’s first officially confirmed open banking AISP/PISP, today announced a strategic partnership with Moven Enterprise, the turnkey smart-banking technology platform founded by financial services’ renowned futurist and author, Brett King.

Wirecard, the global innovation leader in digital financial technology, together with the Swedish FinTech P.F.C. - Personal Finance Co., formerly Betalo, have introduced a new digital banking proposition aimed at hundreds of thousands of Swedish consumers. The cooperation between Wirecard and P.F.C., which was founded in May 2012 and belonged to the 50 fastest-growing Swedish technology companies in 2017, has enabled P.F.C to launch Sweden’s first neobank, a digital, mobile-first financial service for Swedish customers.

Two new IDC MarketScape reports name FICO TONBELLER, a division of leading analytics software firm FICO, a Leader in financial crime compliance:

 As executives struggle to understand their organisations’ exposure to cyber-risk, Huntsman Security has launched The Security Scorecard – the first tool of its kind to give instant visibility of an organisation’s Cyber Security Posture. The Scorecard is a standalone product that gives non IT people such as auditors, risk managers and senior executives a clear understanding of an entity’s cyber security exposure.

Temenos, the banking software company, has become the first vendor to win "Best Digital Banking Solution" at the Banker Africa – North Africa Banking Awards. Previously the awards have only gone to banks, making this the first vendor-specific award.

A wiser man than me once said that anyone attempting to make predictions will end up either wrong or lucky. In 2019, against a backdrop of uncertainty about the UK’s future relationship with its biggest trading partner that proverb holds true now, more than ever. 

This political uncertainty has led to reports of ebbing business confidence, subdued growth and reduced investment. All these metrics will recover in time, starting from when there is some certainty about the UK’s future direction of travel. 

2018 has been a turbulent year for banks in the UK. Physical branches are closing, with online and mobile channels becoming increasingly popular. Customers lost £500 millionto fraud in the first half of the year, and in July the Bank of England issued a warning to banks to get ready for future cyber-attacks.