Any change that can promote the expansion of the global economy is change for the good. Taking into account common sense, economic theory and, indeed, the very raison d’être of the World Trade Organization (WTO), such change would include a move towards freer trade in goods and services between nations. Freer trade is promoted when the costs and risks – to all parties involved - are reduced.This is a central theme of this edition of Financial IT. Many of the contributed articles focus on the technology and infrastructure governing payments – especially between corporates.

In the third of a four-part series, Markus Sander tests the latest payments innovations. This week: cashless and cardless payments.

Having equipped my phone with an NFC sticker (there are smartphone manufacturers that don’t see the need to integrate NFC into their ecosystem), I updated my six money apps, activated four mobile wallet solutions and was good to go.

Markit (Nasdaq: MRKT), a leading global diversified provider of financial information services, has announced the launch of new software and services that enable banks and other financial institutions to host and manage instant message chat rooms.

Implementation deadlines have been and gone but banks are still living in Dodd-Frank’s shadow. One of the issues is that best practice hasn’t yet been agreed: the regulators still need to clarify standards. This is leaving many fumbling around in the dark for the right route to compliance. While the regulators iron out the standards, several financial institutions have cobbled together ‘half-way house’ applications so they can tick the compliance box. Some have even resorted to Excel for a quick fix. But this can’t be a long term solution.

NASDAQ OMX (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announced that Inwido AB (short name: INWI), a Mid Cap company within the Industrials sector, has started trading of its shares on the main market of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. Inwido is, including switches, the 18th company to list at NASDAQ OMX’s Nordic main markets in 2014 (NASDAQ OMX Stockholm; Helsinki; Copenhagen; and Iceland).

Atos, an international information technology services company, and NGDATA™, the customer experience management solutions company, has launched a Big Data omni channel solution for banks worldwide With this omni-channel management offering built on Canopy's Data Platform and underpinned by big data machine learning capacities, banks can target their customers more effectively, enhance customer loyalty and strengthen their output. Atos integrates this new solution

Kyriba, the global leader in cloud-based Proactive Treasury Management, has released Kyriba 14.2, the most advanced version of the fastest-growing global treasury management system. Kyriba 14.2 contains a wide range of enhancements, enabling Kyriba’s global client base to run proactive and strategic global treasury departments, and giving treasurers greater control over their cash.

TPBank, a prominent Vietnam financial services institution,  has signed up with iCreate, a Banking Decision Sciences firm,  for establishing an enterprise MIS, Financial Reporting and Risk Analysis framework. TPBankis recognized for deploying innovative technology and industry-leading best practices to enhance customer experience.

On September 12, 11 teams from seven countries met at London’s Emirates Stadium to participate in the final championship round of SunGard’s second annual Codeathon, the Global Coder Cup.

 Misys, the leading financial software company, has been rated as “Best-in-Class” in two categories in a recent CEB TowerGroup report, entitled “Trade Finance Applications – Technology Assessment”. CEB TowerGroup analysts evaluated the major trade finance software providers across four categories, comparing corporate client online services, transactional capabilities, and levels of enterprise support for trade finance.