Instant payments are the ‘new normal’. The last decade saw a ramp-up in adoption as regulation, customer expectation and technology dovetailed to create immediate, 24/7 demand for financial services.

This means that banks and payment service providers (PSPs) who rely solely on speed of payments as a competitive differentiator will struggle to get ahead. The focus is now on leveraging instant payments rails to deliver value-added services that can drive a return on investment. Understanding where these opportunities lie, therefore, is crucial.

Finastra today announced the launch of its Fusion Credit Connect solution on Salesforce AppExchange and Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud, re-envisioning how relationship managers and borrowers connect and communicate from opportunity to origination, through to closing and booking. Corporate lending end users benefit from a better customer experience across the whole process of securing and drawing down a loan.

Zumo, an Edinburgh-based mobile wallet and payments start-up backed by Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman, has launched an app that stores, sends and allows consumers to spend and exchange cryptocurrencies online.

Today, customers can use the app to buy, sell and exchange both Bitcoin and Etherium cryptocurrencies. Since the start of lockdown in March, the price of Bitcoin has risen sharply as retail investors rush to Bitcoin as a safe haven.

The financial services industry has been ruled by traditional banks for decades, but with the financial crash in 2008, regulation and microinspection paved the way for younger and more innovative competitors, leading to a new era of challenger banks. Driven by digital processes and new technology, and fuelled by the introduction of PSD2 regulation, challenger banks were able to take hold of the market, offering consumers alternative ways of banking.

genesis, the global capital markets software firm, has further expanded its management team by appointing Nick Kolba as Global Head of Platform.  

Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Group”) has released its 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, detailing its efforts to leverage the power of digital technology to build a better future, particularly as communities across the globe continue to grapple with challenges posed by COVID-19.
 

Pod Group, a provider of platforms, software and connectivity services for the Internet of Things (IoT), and connected enterprises, today released a new study revealing that 73% of UK business leaders expect COVID-19 to spark a new wave of workplace and industry automation. 

The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) has announced a key project in the Philippines to support the country’s compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) requirements.

The CISI is a Royal-Chartered, not-for-profit UK professional body for those who work in the financial services and investment profession worldwide. With 45,000 members globally and qualifications recognised by 61 regulators, its regional headquarters for Asia Pacific are in Manila.

Nigeria’s leading digital financial services company, Carbon (https://GetCarbon.co) in an effort to improve the experience of its customers, has launched Carbon Express - A keyboard extension that allows customers to access Carbon services from within whatever app the

Eventus Systems, Inc., a leading global trade surveillance and risk management software platform provider, was named Best Trade Surveillance Solution for the Dodd-Frank Act at the unveiling of the 2020 RegTech Insight Awards today. The award is the second regulatory technology honor the firm has received within the past week for its Validus platform and marks the second consecutive year it won the category.