The global pandemic has posed an unprecedented array of challenges to all industries and the financial services (FS) sector is no exception. In response to this, a myriad of businesses within the sector have experienced a ‘tech awakening’, incorporating cloud-based services to facilitate optimal customer experience and bolstering remote working capability.

smartKYC, providers of award-winning AI-enabled KYC and third-party risk intelligence technology, announced the appointment of Jonathan Jacobi as Business Development Director. Reporting to CEO Dermot Corrigan, Jonathan will help grow and support smartKYC’s global expansion plans.

The Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO) has announced the game-changing integration of leading wallets and non-custodial service providers, ShapeShift, Coinomi, ChangeNOW and Mycelium. The use of FIO protocol will now be extended to over a million more cryptocurrency users and enables people to participate in the blockchain ecosystem without needing complex public addresses.

ING announced today that Ljiljana Čortan will be appointed chief risk officer of ING. Ljiljana Čortan until recently served as chief risk officer of HypoVereinsbank – UniCredit Bank (HVB) in Germany. She will succeed Steven van Rijswijk, who was appointed CEO of ING effective 1 July 2020.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA and HKEX: 9988, “Alibaba” or “Alibaba Group”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30,  2020.

Global law firm DLA Piper in collaboration with Aldersgate DLS (Digital Ledger Solutions), has launched TOKO, a unique tokenisation engine and vital component in the digital asset ecosystem.  Developed with Aldersgate DLS, TOKO provides smart contract functionality and digital asset creation functionality and assurance.

Today, An Post has introduced a great new piece of functionality to its An Post Money Current Account with the addition of Apple Pay.

An Post Money Current Account customers can now enjoy all the benefits of their An Post Money Current Account Mastercard debit card with Apple Pay on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac.

Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced the appointment of Phillip Finnegan as Managing Director for the Pacific region. Finnegan will be responsible for customer engagement and regional strategy in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. He brings 20 years’ experience in financial services technology to spearhead Temenos’ continued business growth and support the rapid pace of banking innovation in the region.