Central Banking reveals its second group of winners from its 5^th annual industry awards, recognising excellence in the central banking community.

·         Initiative of the Year: Bank of England’s Fintech Accelerator

·         Technology Consultant of the Year: Vizor Software

·         Banknotes and Currency Services Provider of the Year: Landqart

·         Risk Management Services Provider of the Year: Openlink

Drawing on 28 years of independent and informed reporting, analysis and comment, the Central Banking Awards were judged by a panel made up of the Central Banking Editorial Team and Editorial Advisory Board, comprising former senior central bank governors from around the world.

A brief description detailing the rationale for the awards as well as reaction comments from Bank of England Executive Director Andrew Hauser, Vizor Software Chief Executive Ross Kelly, Landqart Chief Executive Axel Wappler and Openlink Chief Executive Rich Grossi can be found by scrolling down.

Initiative of the Year: Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator

With the rise of distributed ledger technology, artificial intelligence and big data, central banks have been forced into the innovation arena. The Bank of England has been no exception. But with its FinTech Accelerator, the UK central bank took the initiative and began examining how these innovations could revolutionise finance and streamline central banking processes. Payments and cyber security have been at the top of the agenda, but with advancements coming every day, the BoE has now set its sights on machine learning.

Commenting on the award, Executive Director for Banking, Payments and Financial Resilience at the Bank of England Andrew Hauser said:

“Rolling our sleeves up and getting involved with new technologies first hand lies at the heart of the Bank of England’s approach to Fintech. The FinTech Accelerator project, launched in 2016, kick-started that approach. The current cohort will bring the total to 13 completed proofs of concept, applying distributed ledger technology, machine learning and other innovative technologies to everything the Bank does: from monetary policy analysis, payments operations and banking and insurance supervision to cyber protection and legal enforcement. I’m hugely proud of the team that co-ordinated all this experimentation: an approach we are now building into our business as usual.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said:

“Fintech has proven it can disrupt and transform the financial services industry. The Bank of England has recognised this and acted upon it by proactively engaging the sector. The FinTech Accelerator allows the central bank to keep up with the latest fintech developments and unleash its potential. This practice is being closely watched, and will be emulated by other central banks around the world.”

Technology Consultant of the Year: Vizor Software

In a relatively short period of time, Vizor Software has earned a reputation as a trusted provider of technology to the world’s central banks and regulators. With a number of advanced-economy clients already under its belt, the Ireland-based firm has proven its versatility in growing its client base to emerging markets, adapting its offerings to each institution. Vizor also understands the pressure on costs and the need for shorter implementation cycles. It is therefore focusing its product research on out-of-the-box solutions that can be quickly implemented, including a set of risk dashboards that will show the high-level risk picture for individual industries.

On receiving the award, joint chief executive Ross Kelly, said:

"Last year, we launched our new out-of-the box data warehouse solution, Vizor Analytics. It also saw a number of central bank customers benefit from our integrated risk-based supervision product. We see the pace accelerating this year as we bring more pre-packaged components for risk-based supervision to the market."

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said:

“Vizor has made great strides in taking its market-leading supervisory technology to emerging market countries such as Zambia, Brunei and Saudi Arabia, as well as with developed central banks, such as those in the UK and Canada.”

Banknote and Currency Services Provider of the Year: Landqart AG

Durasafe, Landqart’s multilayer substrate, has broken down the boundaries between polymer and paper, offering central banks the option of incorporating well-known security features, such as watermarks, security fibres and threads, with the added security that polymer brings. Such a structure makes the substrate ideal for both high- and low-denomination notes, given the added durability and security. With a number of high-ranking central banks among its client base, Landqart has been propelled into the centre of a world where rapid innovation is the key to success.

Axel Wappler, chief executive of Landqart, said:

"We are incredibly honoured to receive this award from Central Banking. Bringing a totally new banknote substrate to the market is a very challenging task. Having partners like the Swiss National Bank, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the Central Bank of the Bahamas, Dar as Sikkah in Morocco, who have worked with us to explore the design and security potential of this material, makes the task so much more enjoyable and rewarding. This Banknote and Currency Services Provider of the Year award is a great affirmation that our engagement with the market is successful. We go into 2018 with much energy and enthusiasm for building on the success to date, and look forward to welcoming other currency issuers to the Durasafe family.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said:

“Landqart has provided a solution for central banks where they no longer have to choose between paper or polymer. Its hybrid substrate offers the durability and increased security of polymer combined with the multiple security features and customer familiarity of paper. Clients appreciated Landqart’s support at all stages of a banknote’s life cycle.”

Risk Management Services Provider: Openlink

Openlink has secured additional central bank and governmental sector clients in the past year, as its technology platform continued to deliver market-leading risk and treasury management services. Its official sector clients around the world pointed to the ease of systems integration and Openlink’s ongoing ability to customise its technology to meet their unique requirements as key differentiators.

Commenting on the award, Rich Grossi, Chief Executive Officer of Openlink, said:

"In recent years, central banks have overcome many challenges as they execute diverse monetary policies in a rapidly evolving market environment. Openlink remains deeply committed to helping central banks evolve in step with their complex environments – from today’s regulatory changes to tomorrow’s analytics requirements. We are delighted to earn this year's Central Banking Award, which is an additional testament to how our clients in the global central banking community benefit from Openlink’s trading, risk management and operations capabilities.”

Christopher Jeffery, Chairman of the Central Banking Awards Committee and Editor-in-chief of Central Banking, said:

“Openlink has once more made great strides to ensure its Findur technology is supporting the treasury and financial risk management operations of an ever-growing list of central banks and other official institutions.”