Over half of US and UK companies planning to launch a closed-loop payment system this year 

Closed-loop payment systems are top of the alternative payment product wish list as over half of payment teams in the UK and US look to launch their

own in 2022. Account to account (A2A) payments at the point of sale (POS) are the second most popular with just under half planning to launch a product by the end of the year, according to research by regulatory intelligence specialists, VIXIO.  

The 2022 Payments Compliance Outlook report is based on research conducted late last year with 113 (56 UK, 57 US) compliance professionals who work at fintech and payments firms with $10m+ in revenues. It found that 52 percent plan to launch a closed-loop payment product in 2022 and 61 percent will develop one by the end of 2023.   

It also found that 45 percent plan to launch an A2A product for POS payments in 2022 and 53 percent will launch one by 2023. 

In addition, a sizeable number are planning to launch e-wallets and digital currencies, with 41 percent of financial services and payment functions planning to focus on these products in the next two years.  

Demand for alternative payment solutions - whether in the form of instant account-to-account payments or platform specific closed-loop solutions - is coming at a time when traditional card payments are under increasing scrutiny from regulators. The rise of Open Banking arrangements provides payment firms new opportunities to innovate and compete for customer attention. This is supported by payment modernisation initiatives such as the proposed New Payments Architecture in the UK or the new FedNow instant payment service due to launch in 2023. 

Andrew Neeson, Research Director at VIXIO, says: “Brands must innovate and chase growth opportunities in the face of a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, and alternative payment solutions can play an important part of this. Firms are aware of the benefits of offering faster, efficient and frictionless user experiences that many alternative payment methods offer, and so are understandably keen to include them in their arsenal.” 

New product launches have been at the heart of compliance team’s priorities with the data also showing that 87 percent of compliance departments increased headcount over the last two years. The biggest reason for doing so is a need to focus on strategic licensing decisions (18 percent). 

Furthermore, supporting the licensing process for new products is the highest priority for payments compliance teams in 2022 (16 percent). 

Neeson continues: “In order for innovation and new alternative payment product launches to be a success, compliance needs to be on your side. Compliance departments are an enabler of growth.” 

Fast growing wealthtech start-up appoints proven fintech revenue leader

Leading wealthtech platform provider Nucoro, has today announced the appointment of Matt Cockayne as its Chief Revenue Officer, bringing over 20 years’ experience scaling technology businesses internationally and driving revenue and sales growth for SaaS firms to the role. In this position, Matt will help drive the continued growth and success of Nucoro overseeing marketing, sales, customer success and partnerships.

Lennart Asshoff, CEO, Nucoro said: “To ensure we keep growing in the right way at this pivotal stage of our growth, we need a proven revenue leader with an entrepreneurial approach and substantial experience in scaling a fintech. Matt ticks all those boxes and more. We are looking forward to having him on board as our CRO, benefitting from his strong expertise in scaling technology businesses.”

Prior to joining Nucoro, Matt has had senior roles at large scale global fintech firms as well as early-stage start-ups. Most recently Matt was Chief Commercial Officer at Yapily, a series B VC funded open banking SaaS fintech, where he grew the business from seed to Series B. He has also had the roles of VP EMEA Envestnet Yodlee, VP EMEA & APAC at FIS & SunGard.

Matt Cockayne, Chief Revenue Officer, Nucoro said: “The opportunity to join Lennart and the team at this fundamental stage of Nucoro’s journey is incredibly exciting. With some excellent client names already on the platform and a strong pipeline in place, I look forward to helping current and future clients achieve their aims of a modern wealth capability, powered by the Nucoro Platform."

For more than two decades, consulting has been a key part of Mastercard’s customer engagements, whether designing multi-rail payments strategies or advising on data governance opportunities. Today, Mastercard’s Data & Services includes more than 2,000 data scientists, engineers and consultants, serving customers in 70 countries around the world. As part of growth plans, Data & Services—a talent incubator for the broader company—is expanding its team at pace, including the addition of more than 500 college graduates and young professionals.

Veteran fair lending expert assumes newly created  post to help guide financial institutions

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions has added long-time Federal Reserve veteran, and fair lending and CRA expert Jason Keller to its U.S. Advisory Services team.  With more than two decades’ experience as a federal regulator, he plays an integral role in helping financial institution clients navigate increased regulatory scrutiny, technology changes, and an ever-evolving regulatory landscape.

As Associate Director, Specialized Consulting, Keller is responsible for managing a team of regulatory consultants who develop and deliver to financial services clients fair and responsible banking as well as Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) related consulting services as part of the services offered by Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions. In his new position he reports to Stevie Conlon, Vice President, Tax and Regulatory Counsel for Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions.                        

Prior to his new role, Keller spent 23 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where, most recently, he served as Community and Economic Senior Advisor responsible for overseeing and evaluating economic capacities and sustainable growth opportunities. In this role, he conducted seminars and workshops, and provided thought leadership on aspects of the CRA, community development, and applicable fair lending laws and regulations.

Keller is a commissioned bank examiner and has served in leadership roles assessing compliance with various consumer protection regulations in community, regional, and large banks and bank holding companies in urban, suburban and rural markets.  He often speaks, trains, and moderates sessions on topics related to CRA and fair lending at industry events attended by bankers, government officials, non-profit leaders, students and others to increase knowledge on furthering fair access to credit, capital, and opportunity. This includes the CRA & Fair Lending Colloquium, an annual conference hosted by Wolters Kluwer that is a key event for compliance professionals focused on CRA, HMDA and fair lending.

Keller holds a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois and a Master’s degree in public policy and administration (MPPA) from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. insurers, banks and credit unions, and securities firms. The business, which sits within Wolters Kluwer’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) division, helps these financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business.

Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division provides an array of expert solutions to help financial institutions manage regulatory and risk obligations. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions’ iLien for Lien Management is a portfolio of web-based solutions that enable lenders to manage and address risks in their entire Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) lien portfolio with analytics, proactive reporting, and automation. Compliance Solutions’ OneSumX® for Regulatory Change Management tracks regulatory changes and organizes them to create structured, value-added content through a single data feed that is paired with an easy-to-use software solution. Wolters Kluwer Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR), meanwhile, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions. The division’s legal solutions businesses are Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation and Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions. .

Banxe unlocks financial potential with the launch of its next-generation financial platform uniting traditional and digital services

The world’s first financial platform uniting cash and crypto has been unveiled by Banxe, unlocking financial potential by giving everyone the power to pay with crypto as simply as traditional payment methods. 

Banxe is the unique platform that allows anyone to pay, receive, invest, trade and transfer with both cash and crypto, seamlessly and simply switching between the two regardless of location or currency.

Utilising the latest blockchain, AI and cybersecurity technologies, Banxe is partnered with high street banks as well as renowned exchanges, and supports all Anti Money Laundering (AML) and regulatory requirements. Banxe is also Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated.

Anthony DiMarsico, CEO of Banxe, said: “Our goal was to enable everyone to unlock their financial potential, by providing people with an additional cryptocurrency revenue stream that can be used as seamlessly and legitimately as cash. We have done that by uniting and interlinking the two, transforming the digital finance experience.

“With Banxe everyday expenses such as groceries, transport, fuel and flights can be paid for with either cash or crypto, with one account and one debit card, regardless of geographical boundaries or currencies, safely and securely. The true power of choice in how we pay and exchange money is now upon us.”

A major barrier to the wide adoption of cryptocurrency has traditionally been a lack of understanding of how it works, contributed to by convoluted terminologies and technologies.

Banxe is simplifying the crypto investing processes to democratise digital payments, removing the need for other crypto wallets and accounts. 

DiMarsico added: “We believe digital currencies should be accessible to everyone, everywhere, not just those in the know.

“Banxe was created with simplicity in mind. We provide a full, secure and regulated suite of digital financial services in one place. 

“Buying, storing and investing can all be done with crypto with just a few clicks of a mouse, on one platform, giving people complete control as to how they simultaneously manage their crypto and traditional finances.”

Banxe’s client’s funds are stored in secure, segregated bank accounts to ensure safety from fraud and other risks. The primary purpose of safeguarded accounts, such as Banxe’s, is to block access to its client’s money from third parties. This means Banxe’s clients’ funds cannot be accessed, by third parties, in any circumstance. 

Banxe is a centralised platform, and completely branch-free. It is available in Europe and the UK, and is set to launch in Canada and US this year before it is later rolled out in Asia and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.

UK government aims to revolutionise the debt management process for fairer customer outcomes
Sopra Steria (https://www.soprasteria.co.uk/), a purpose driven digital transformation provider, today announces it has been selected by Crown Commercial Service (CCS) as one of two managed service providers for debt collection within the government’s new Debt Resolution Services framework.
 
CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21 CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04 billion - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.
 
The contract agreement follows an intensive, two-year competitive process to deliver fairer and more effective debt collection and management approaches across the UK government. Sopra Steria was selected on its ethical credentials as well as its experience working with the financial services industry to deliver customer-centric digital solutions.
 
Within the framework, Sopra Steria will bring the advantages of emerging technology to the forefront of government debt collection. The solution will enable government departments to better assess the citizen or business situations when recovering monies owed. It can help debt collectors make a fair assessment on the affordability and vulnerability for each individual and business, to ensure a suitable debt collection process is put in place.
 
In line with regulatory requirements, Sopra Steria Financial Services Ltd has been accredited with the ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications, a recognition of the quality of standards and data management within the business.
 
Better customer outcomes
 
As part of the newly created Debt Resolution Services framework and having secured accreditation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Sopra Steria will work with the government to revolutionise the debt collection process, with a strong focus on treating customers fairly and providing better customer outcomes.
 
By looking at the entire end-to-end customer journey, the Sopra Steria solution can assess the debt management needs of the individual or business. The system will be able to assess affordability and identify vulnerabilities. The new framework aims to treat customers fairly throughout the entire debt recovery process, with the goal of helping people better manage their finances and get out of the debt cycle. 
 
Sopra Steria has conducted intensive market research over the past two years to better understand the needs and expectations of both the citizen and government when it comes to debt management. The announcement today signals the government’s confidence in Sopra Steria’s capabilities and digital innovation credentials, which it is already using to revolutionise debt collection in a number of organisations. The business has ambitions to further enhance debt collection across financial services, utilities, retail and other sectors where customer debt management can be a challenge.
 
Rob McElroy, CEO of Sopra Steria Financial Services said:
 
“It’s encouraging to see the public sector embracing digital transformation to improve its services to citizens. Debt management is a sensitive matter for many people, and it’s important that government has the right tools and intelligence to make a fair assessment on individual circumstances and financial needs. By doing this, the debt management process will be fairer, ethical and provide more positive outcomes for the individual as well as the government.
 
“The UK government has high ambitions to revolutionise the way debt collection is managed, and we are here to help. Ethics is in the DNA of all our business thinking and service designs. We are committed to helping the government do the right thing, deliver real social value and create a better and fairer debt collection service for all.”

New Offering Advances Nebulon’s API-first Cloud Operating Platform for On-Premises IT, Helps Reduce On-Premises Operational Infrastructure Overhead by 75%

Nebulon, Inc.^®, the pioneer of smartInfrastructure^TM, a cloud-based infrastructure operations SaaS that turns a server estate into a Cloud Operating Platform, today announced it has developed the first Red Hat^® Ansible^® collection for smartInfrastructure, which includes a set of modules that customers can use to integrate Nebulon infrastructure management into their Ansible automation playbooks. The Nebulon Ansible Collection, combined with the Nebulon ON cloud control plane, reduces operational overhead by up to 75% compared to hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) and 3-tier infrastructure alternatives.

Large IT organisations today are reducing costly downtime and delays associated with new projects by investing in automation frameworks that minimise risk by eliminating error-prone manual provisioning. Traditional infrastructure, such as 3-tier architectures and HCI, limit an enterprise’s ability to easily automate at scale, as API fragmentation, authentication, and authorisation require highly skilled resources, can take days or weeks to implement and maintain, and may be difficult to monitor and secure in distributed environments.

With the Nebulon Ansible Collection and a combination of Nebulon cluster (nPod), operating system, and storage provisioning, IT organisations can now deploy infrastructure end to end and configure applications entirely from within their Ansible playbooks. This powerful capability accelerates their automation efforts and minimises the tools and scripts they must maintain. Nebulon customers can now rely on Ansible to quickly provision, tear down, and reprovision infrastructure for their application clusters and manage data services, in addition to the regular application configuration automation tasks they achieve with Ansible today.

“Enterprises and service providers are increasingly searching for solutions which match the public cloud IaaS experience on-premises,” said Camberley Bates, managing director and analyst at Evaluator Group. “Nebulon integrated with Ansible’s automation platform enables customers to automate provisioning of their end-to-end hybrid deployments and make this a reality.”

Architected to be endlessly scalable, the Nebulon cloud-control plane, Nebulon ON, follows an API-first design principle. Nebulon ON enables IT organisations to automate thousands of infrastructure devices from a single API in the cloud that is always up-to-date, works consistently across heterogeneous infrastructure, and easily backs automation frameworks such as Ansible. Combined with a smart data plane, IT organisations are equipped with sophisticated tooling that allows them to deliver faster time to value by centrally provisioning their entire infrastructure services via a self-service approach. Developers and infrastructure owners can deploy complete application clusters in a few minutes, with tailored infrastructure that optimises density and cost.

“In order to be successful, IT organisations and service providers want to move away from managing their IT infrastructure manually and instead adopt automation frameworks. Infrastructure automation cannot be an exclusive privilege for hyperscale cloud providers, but it means on-premises IT infrastructure must be modernised in order to be successful,” said Siamak Nazari, CEO of Nebulon. “We are proud to make automation tools and infrastructure solutions accessible for our customers, and ultimately allow them to automate their infrastructure like the biggest cloud vendors would.”

Karen Tiltman is the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Merchant Services at Nets, part of Nexi Group. In this role, she will be responsible for further strengthening the organisation's operational capabilities and laying the foundation for Nets’ long-term ambition of offering truly great customer service as a competitive advantage and key differentiator.

Tiltman joins Nets from American Express, where she worked for over 23 years in both issuing and acquiring. A significant portion of this time was spent in the Global Servicing Group, where Tiltman and her team drove significant improvements in the merchant customer experience, as well as transformational change in digital servicing capabilities and journeys.

Tiltman also brings strong advocacy for broader inclusivity and diversity, with a genuine passion for leading colleague networks. She was Executive Sponsor of the Disability Awareness Network in the UK and the Women’s Interest Network in Phoenix, Arizona.