Siemens and Atos announce today within the framework of their strategic digital alliance since 2011, their reinforced cooperation to offer digital innovations for manufacturing companies: Atos prepares to offer ready-made applications as well as all integration, infrastructure and security services necessary to build customer-specific applications on the MindSphere platform. MindSphere has been designed as an open ecosystem to optimize plant performance by collecting and analyzing large datasets in industry.

First Bankcard, a division of First National Bank of Omaha and a leading issuer of credit cards, has announced the release of three new credit card benefits designed to support the business needs of today’s small business and middle market business customers. The new benefits, which include Cell Phone Protection, MasterCard® Easy Savings® and MasterCard®Business Lounge Powered by Regus, were introduced to more than 200 of First Bankcard’s co-brand and financial institution business card partners on October 1.

BGFI Bank, the Gabon-based financial services conglomerate, has chosen Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX to provide its regulatory reporting software for its French and European Banking Authority reporting obligations.

Zephyrus Partners has adopted PFaroe as its preferred valuation tool as it targets further growth in the UK pensions advisory space. It will use the platform, on behalf of its client base of scheme sponsors, to introduce efficiency and robustness into its liability valuation and scenario testing process with the goal of supporting their ability to proactively engage with trustees in funding and investment strategy negotiations.

Lazard announced today that Michael Schwartz has joined its subsidiary, Lazard Middle Market LLC, as a Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance Advisory. He is based in New York.

Akamai Technologies, announced that, in an all cash transaction, it has acquired Soha Systems, an innovator in enterprise secure access delivered as a service. The acquisition is intended to complementAkamai's strategy of securing, protecting and accelerating enterprise applications and services in the cloud.

Sterling’s plunge is an indication that the markets clearly believe that there will be a ‘hard’ Brexit, following on from Theresa May’s comments over the weekend. In the short term, this means that the currency’s value could plumb new depths due to the atmosphere of uncertainty, with the slightest pronouncement having a profound impact on the currency markets.

With cybercriminals, digitisation and the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), there’s no doubt our payment industry is facing both challenge and change. So how do new initiatives dedicated to bringing us up to speed plan to pay off?

Anybody who’s wracked their brain for a forgotten password at an online “checkout”, had their computer throw them “the spinning wheel of death” mid-payment or been the victim of cybercrime will know that electronic payments, for all their advantages, still present consumers with obstacles to the simplicity we’re used to with cash transactions.

Banks and financial services are racing to innovate in order to enhance the customer experience. Mastercard recently launched Selfiepay whilst HSBC has said they’ll allow their customers to use selfies to open bank accounts. Samsung has also announced that they’re planning to launch voice and facial recognition biometrics for mobile banking.