Reference is made to the joint press release by Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) and Gemalto (Euronext Amsterdam and Paris: GTO) dated 17 December 2017 in respect of the intended recommended all-cash offer by Thales for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of Gemalto at an offer price of €51.00 per share cum dividend (the "Offer"). 

Consumer insight specialist, Callcredit Information Group, is predicting the emergence of a dual speed data economy as the phased adoption of Open Banking starts on 13th January 2018.

Callcredit anticipates a gap will emerge between those businesses that are willing and able to harness the additional potential insights and enhanced consumer benefits Open Banking brings, and those that fail to recognise the consumer and associated business value it can provide.

The growing use of blockchain technology in financial services will include a healthy dose of artificial intelligence, as new, automated analytic techniques look for patterns in the “relationship data” about people, contracts and transactions. That merger of two hot tech trends is one of the predictions made by Dr. Scott Zoldi, chief analytics officer at Silicon Valley analytic software firm FICO, and a recognised expert in the field of artificial intelligence.

Radial, the leader in omnichannel commerce technology and operations, today announced a new partnership with leading dispute mitigation and loss prevention firm, Chargebacks911, to help merchants reduce the cost of chargebacks and repair reputations with issuing banks.

The UCL Technology Fund has invested in Anon AI, the data anonymisation software developer, as part of a £340,000 pre-seed round in partnership with the London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF), AI Seed and Ascension Ventures.

Anon AI is developing software to automate data anonymisation and help developers and data scientists share data securely. The protection of personal data is a big concern for companies and the pressure to maintain data security will intensify when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in May 2018.

The reality is that fintech startups and challenger banks are threatening to make a major dent in the banking industry as a result of the emergence of digital technology. As an endless stream of new advanced digital products are being launched, consumers are constantly exposed to the latest technologies with their mobile phones, cars, and home appliances. It's only natural that they demand for their bank to reinvent and stay relevant. Banks, on the other hand, are facing higher cost basis to address higher levels of risk management, governance and regulatory compliance requirements.

Travelex, a leading global foreign exchange and money transfer specialist, announces that Gareth Williams, currently Global HR Director, is to take on the newly created role of Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer in addition to his current mandate.

Deadline day for MiFID II implementation is here.  But make no mistake – this package of EU directive and regulation will continue to have a significant impact throughout 2018.

The impact of this EU package of rules will be so enormous on the markets and product providers that it’s likely that 2018 will be a voyage of discovery.

The InnoVenture Salon will debut at next week's Asian Financial Forum (AFF), to foster start-up development.