ION Investment Group announced today that it completed its acquisition of Openlink Financial, a global provider of trading and risk management solutions.  Financial terms were not disclosed. 

Openlink provides complementary solutions that further expand ION’s footprint across energy companies, financial services institutions, and commodities-intensive corporates.  

Clients will benefit from ION’s additional scale and reach, with global capabilities that enhance Openlink’s existing offerings and expertise, and advance Openlink’s product and delivery excellence.  

According to the financial experts of the traditional banking and P2P lending markets who gathered at the European conference LendingUP! in Prague together, cooperation between banks and fintechs, smart automated and transparent solutions will stay in focus.

Linedata (Euronext Paris: LIN) is pleased to announce the latest release of Linedata Capitalstream, an award winning and best-in-class lending & leasing solution.

This version, available now, marks a turning point in the story of Linedata Capitalstream: it is new in its design and user benefits, and brings deeper technology changes.

Not only bitcoin: blockchain, the technology behind the well-known (and sometimes disputed) cryptocurrency, isn’t useful just to create virtual coins and shouldn’t be associated to negative experiences, such as fluctuation in value, speculations or illegal uses. On the contrary, blockchain is a technology for “strengthening” computer operations and data processing exchanged between a variety of subjects by introducing a higher form of automation and guaranteeing higher integrity.
 

In retail banking there are many areas where regulation and competition is now very fierce.

The entry into the market of challenger banks and fintechs has increased the pressures immensely, offering exciting new ways of providing services and engaging with customers. Everyone realises that today’s consumers have far greater expectations and far wider choice of providers. Younger consumers especially want technological innovation that makes their lives easier and boosts personalisation, cutting out many of the traditional form-filling aspects of banking and borrowing.

Sungard Availability Services  (Sungard AS), a leading provider of information availability through managed IT, cloud and recovery services, today reveals that the skills shortage is having a detrimental

ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a leading global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, today announced a key strategic partnership with Shanghai-based bank card company UnionPay International. UnionPay International is set to significantly grow its worldwide footprint by connecting to ACI’s extensive global network of payment endpoints.

Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ GS: VRTU), a global provider of digital engineering and IT outsourcing services that accelerate business outcomes for its clients, today announced the findings of The Digital Transformation Race Has Begun, a September 2017 study commissioned by Virtusa and conducted by Forrester Consulting, that reflects the digital maturity of firms worldwide. The study evaluates the state of digital transformation across six key industries – retail, banking, healthcare, insurance, telco, and media.

Following Mobey Forum’s recent quarterly member meeting in Utrecht, Elina Mattila, Executive Director at Mobey Forum, caught up with Douglas Hartung, Senior Director of Global Software Innovation at host member Diebold Nixdorf, to get his take on ‘connected commerce’ and what it means for banks and retailers. 

EM: What is ‘connected commerce’?

DH: It’s a term used to describe two different concepts, which share a common goal – to deliver a better user experience in financial services.  

Compass Plus, an international provider of retail banking and electronic payments software to processors and financial institutions, has announced the new active-active database clustering feature on its open development payments platform, TranzAxis, enabling system upgrades with zero downtime.