Liontrust has selected Fundipedia’s data management platform to deliver a golden source, providing validated, trustworthy data to both Liontrust and its downstream data vendors. 

This followed the recognition by Liontrust that gaining more effective control and management of its product data was a critical step on the path to supporting its future growth and empowering the entire organisation. Fundipedia’s audit trail and reconciliation features evidence that data delivered downstream are accurately published to investors.

The project was delivered by Fundipedia’s implementation team who bring decades of asset management experience and a deep knowledge of the challenges faced by asset managers.  This combination of experience and cutting-edge technology efficiently onboarded Liontrust’s data in less than 12 weeks.

Liontrust now benefits from a single, highly visible, validated source of data, which can be used with confidence to populate and reconcile all channels and formats, delivering the transparency required by regulators, intermediaries, and clients alike.

The range of benefits for Liontrust and its investors include:

• More efficient use of resources. Fundipedia’s automation ensures data accuracy is a given within Liontrust without increased headcount and the associated cost. This translates into improved client service provision.
• Compliance on autopilot. Fundipedia’s automated data quality rules, vendor dissemination and reconciliation checks guarantee data accuracy in situ thus ensuring that when it is disseminated to vendors it is accurately published.
• Positioned for future growth. With a golden data source, Liontrust has the foundation and technology to launch new products and scale up operations with future growth of the business.

Simon Swords, Managing Director of Fundipedia said 

“with every aspect of investment management under scrutiny, firms can no longer afford to take an ad hoc approach to managing and delivering the data that is the very lifeblood of their business. We’re delighted to be working with a firm as forward thinking as Liontrust. Liontrust now has control over its data, mitigating potential business, reputational and compliance risk. A foundation of accurate data will drive growth and put Liontrust ahead of its competitors for years to come.”

Vinay Abrol, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Liontrust, said:

“Providing accurate data in a timely manner to clients and vendors is crucial for an asset manager. As we have grown our assets, client base and fund range, diversifying across asset classes, this has become a more resource heavy function. “We chose Fundipedia to provide a solution to this challenge and we are very pleased with the platform they have implemented. This is enabling a much more efficient provision of information and data to the market.”

New Composable Banking Services accelerate product time-to-market for banks and non-banks by easily combining Temenos Banking Capabilities and third-party solutions from the Temenos Exchange

Temenos, the banking software company, today announced Composable Banking Services and Capabilities aligned to the BIAN (Banking Industry Architecture Network) service landscape on the Temenos Banking Cloud. In addition, Temenos delivers new banking services and technology advancements that create the market's most comprehensive, cloud-native platform for composable banking. These new banking services are showcased at Temenos Sales Kick-Off, 18-21 January and will be presented at Temenos Community Forum, 17-19 May 2022.

Temenos has advanced its technology architecture and banking capabilities to deliver the most open and secure cloud-native platform for composing, extending or deploying banking capabilities at scale. New pre-composed banking services on the Temenos Banking Cloud can be rapidly consumed from a self-service portal, easily configured, extended or deployed anywhere. Composed Temenos Banking Services consist of pre-configured and pre-assembled Temenos Banking Capabilities plus optional integrated third-party solutions from the Temenos Exchange. This helps banks and non-banks to bring innovative products to market faster to meet growing customer expectations while reducing the cost of development.

Temenos' new extensibility framework enables banks or BaaS providers to safely explore additional banking services and capabilities, configure or even extend their functionality, and use the extended catalog of country model banks currently available to accelerate time to value and ensure local compliance. Temenos' partners can also make use of this feature to write country-specific extensions to Temenos Banking Services without touching their core functionality.

The platform also uniquely includes Temenos' Explainable AI (XAI) and Data service domains. Banks can easily deploy new capabilities to better test, report and measure product performance, and gain insights to support smarter business decisions and hyper-personalized banking.

New Temenos Banking Services include Buy Now, Pay Later, Challenger Bank, Retail Lending, Payment Fraud Mitigation, KYC Customer Risk Assessment and in the near future Digital Mortgages and Demand Deposits Accounts. These services can be rapidly deployed on the Temenos Banking Cloud, on any public cloud, or on premise, with a single code base, no matter the size, activity, or location of the bank.

Larger banks can also choose individual Temenos Banking Capabilities such as Lending, Deposits, Accounts or Virtual Accounts and quickly integrate them independently in their systems landscape.

Based on DevOps, the Composable Banking Services allow for continuous integration and delivery, fast testing, removing the need for major upgrades and leveraging always the latest services features. With the Temenos Banking Cloud, banks can access the pre-composed banking services, the underlying packaged Temenos Banking Capabilities, or a full out-of-the box country model bank, without painful integration efforts.

Ivan Mazzoleni, Chief Executive Officer, Flowe: 

"Flowe went live in a record time of just 5 months, onboarding 15,000 customers in its first week. In the first six months, Flowe attracted more than 600,000 customers. Supported by Temenos Banking Cloud, Flowe can grow sustainably, passing on benefits to customers for a cleaner, greener planet and a better society."

Max Chuard, Chief Executive Officer, Temenos, said: 

"Our research shows that 76% of banks simply cannot cover their cost of capital. Banks are still burdened by legacy systems, which make it very risky, costly and slow to provide a differentiating and personalized, omnichannel customer experience. Doing nothing is no longer an option in this competitive environment. Banks need a new approach to run their business.

Our industry-leading platform enables banks to open up to fintechs and partners, rapidly digitalize their processes, and deliver hyper-personalized experiences. We are giving banks the business agility and speed to improve their operations, lower their costs up to 75% and build sustainable businesses." 

Temenos' new composable banking services are gaining traction with Banking-as-a-Service providers, such as Green Dot, Mbanq  and Vodeno. These BaaS players are looking to extend their banking services to banks and businesses moving towards embedded finance to offer banking products to customers outside their own ecosystem – such as letting people pay for goods on Amazon using the bank's rewards points.

"Organizational size, location, and lack of technical skills are no longer significant challenges to transformation in banking, all banks have a choice on how to consume and deliver banking services and capabilities," said Jerry Silva, Vice President, IDC Financial Insights.  "Even sophisticated tier 1 and 2 banks are incorporating pre-integrated banking services to modernize their legacy banking systems, component by component.  Temenos offers such a composable banking services architecture aligned to a common standard, providing functionally rich banking capabilities."

A whole generation of shoppers has come to expect the ease of Amazon’s one-click checkout—it’s seamless and hassle-free. Shopify has also found success with Shop Pay, which allows users to flow through checkout in one tap. But these two giants’ reach, while extensive, is confined to their respective platforms, leaving little flexibility or control for other ecommerce platforms and retailers. Merchants who don’t have access to data and insights on their shoppers barely have a fighting chance.

Five years ago, we launched our first checkout product to one tiny merchant. We had big dreams—of an internet where consumers could shop and check out anywhere in just one click. We spent the next several years building and scaling our product and our network. Today, we partner with hundreds of retailers, with thousands more coming online, and have just crossed the milestone of 10 million registered shoppers.

I’m thrilled that we’re uniting the fragmented commerce landscape by building the world’s first federated checkout network. The Bolt network is an open ecosystem where shoppers can shop across any platform and payments or Buy Now, Pay Later providers, on any page where they discover new products, with just a single shopper identity.

18X our valuation in 18 months

Today, we announced $393 million in new funding: $333 million in Series D funding and $60 million in follow-on capital at ~18X our valuation ~18 months ago. New investors include Untitled Investments, Willoughby Capital, and Soma Capital, joining existing investors General Atlantic, Tribe Capital, Activant Capital, and Moore Strategic Venture that participated in the round. This new raise brings Bolt’s total funding to over $600 million.

Today’s one small step for Bolt, and one giant leap for online commerce. This funding brings us one step closer to ending guest checkout on the internet. Retailers and brands crave a network outside the major marketplaces and the ability to offer their customers consistent experiences. Shoppers, meanwhile, want a single identity to shop securely, wherever they are.

“Checkout is among the most complex, strategic, and financially impactful components of a merchant’s technology stack,” said Neeraj Chandra, CEO of Untitled Investments. “Consumers have come to expect the ease of an Amazon-like checkout experience everywhere. By leveraging its leading platform and network of millions of shoppers, Bolt is uniquely positioned to help merchants deliver a seamless, one-click experience to consumers along with significantly improved conversion. We are thrilled to support Bolt on its mission to become the ubiquitous checkout for the internet.”

Why Bolt?

Our newest customers speak up

Lucky Brand (launched!)

“Lucky Brand is an iconic American lifestyle brand, rooted in denim, offering an omni-channel experience where ecommerce is critical to the way customers interact with the brand,” said Mike Dupuis, Chief Digital Officer of SPARC Group LLC. “In conjunction with our recent site upgrade, we implemented Bolt checkout and are excited to see the new shoppers and low friction checkout experience from Bolt contribute to incremental success for Lucky Brand.”

Casper (coming soon)

“As a brand built with a customer-first mindset, helping millions of people achieve their best night’s sleep, we’re excited to partner with Bolt to provide a user-friendly, frictionless shopping experience for consumers,” said Philip Krim, Casper’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Leveraging Bolt’s network of one-click-checkout-ready shoppers will allow us to make the shopping experience more seamless and efficient for our customers.”

Our existing customers speak up

Swissgear

“SWISSGEAR is built on trust, quality, and innovation, so it was imperative to offer the smooth checkout experience that customers have come to expect,” said Daniel Serres, ecommerce IT director of Group III International in charge of SWISSGEAR.com. “We were an early adopter of Bolt because the company offered us the increase in checkout conversion and fraud protection that we sought. Today, we see a huge benefit from network-driven transactions as well where Bolt account holders checking out of our website for the first-time get to breeze through checkout in just one click—that’s a game changer for our online business.”

Betabrand

“With the shift to working from home over the past year, shoppers have turned to Betabrand at unprecedented rates for their at-home work outfits that bridge the gap between form and function,” said Chris Lindland, Founder & CEO of Betabrand. “We partnered with Bolt to ensure that the surge in visitors to our website experienced an efficacious checkout. Not only did Bolt One Click significantly outperform our previous checkout offering, Bolt’s network of millions of shoppers is driving new users to Betabrand as if they are return shoppers, enabling us to significantly deepen our relationships with customers.”

With our new capital, we’re sprinting ahead at lightning speed

⅓ of all US Shoppers by 2022

Based on committed deals, we expect 11% of U.S. shoppers to be a part of our network by the end of 2021. By the end of 2022, one-third of all US shoppers will be on our platform, and by the end of 2024, that share will grow to two-thirds. By 2025, Bolt is projected to interact with eight out of every ten shoppers in the United States.

Our new capital will be used to fuel this explosive growth as we scale Bolt’s checkout operating system to our network. We’re allowing merchants to reclaim their relationships with their customers and enabling shoppers to check out with one-click ease.

Checkout on any page

We’ll use our funding to accelerate the pace of our product innovation, which will include tools that enable shoppers to checkout on any page on which they discover content—no link-outs, no redirecting to a retailer’s page, and, for 10M+ existing Bolt users, no registration or forms, just one click.

Checkout in any country

We’ll onboard more customers nationally and internationally. Brands in the Authentic Brands Group portfolio such as Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer, and Nautica will be able to tap into Bolt’s network very soon.

Building consciously and expanding Conscious Culture

Our team has grown nearly 200% year-over-year, and we’ll continue to recruit top talent with a specific focus on scaling our product and engineering organizations. By living out our Conscious Culture on a daily basis, we’re setting the example of what it means to bridge humanity with execution to deliver 20X the impact.

This new chapter is a significant step forward for Bolt and a paradigm shift for commerce. Come join us for the ride!

MekongNet, the leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) and A2P messaging aggregator in Cambodia, joins forces with IPification, the one-click mobile identity solutions provider, to deliver the next-generation seamless Mobile Data Authentication services in Cambodia. IPification’s collaboration with MekongNet will greatly drive the deployment and adoption rate of this service by the enterprises in Cambodia.

IPification is currently the only global provider of mobile IP address-based authentication and identity solutions. The end-users can verify their identity with a single tap based on their mobile ID key which consists of their IP address, phone number, and device data. In addition to security, companies also get to streamline the onboarding and user experience for their users.

IPification had partnered with MekongNet earlier in 2021 and MekongNet has since further developed API/SDK enhancements around IPification’s solution including account management, deployment and operations support features, service monitoring and reporting to enhance the offering of the Mobile Data Authentication service to the enterprises. More importantly, MekongNet is able to offer both new and existing clients the flexibility to use both SMS & Mobile Data Authentication service under a single billing and account without any hassle. Various implementation scenarios and hybrid models can also be provided by MekongNet to ensure each client can use the service effectively for their specific processes.

“MekongNet's SMS services has always been the leader in security, protecting both our clients using our services and their customers receiving the SMS content. IPification's platform allows us to further enhance our focus on security by providing the newest innovation in phone number verification,” added Albert Lee, head of MekongNet’s Value Added Services.

“MekongNet has a huge presence in Cambodia, and I am very happy that together we can enable top-notch security in the enterprise landscape in the country,” said Stefan Kostic, IPification CEO. “Apart from security, I am looking forward to seeing the effects frictionless mobile authentication and phone verification will have on productivity within these companies.”

MekongNet is offering the full suite of IPification mobile identity solutions, under its Mobile Data Authentication service, including fraud prevention solutions such as SIM swap detection and device change detection, as well as faster user acquisition and QR code login processes. With its decade of API provisioning experience with local companies, MekongNet is able to advise on the best practices, enhance with customized implementation, and provide the best technical support, which it is already known for. 

●     Research from bank challenger, Tally, reveals many UK travellers are confused about how foreign exchange works, with a quarter believing banks are deliberately misleading

●     Four in ten of those polled were not aware that banks charge fees for withdrawing cash when abroad, whilst 50% were unaware that choosing the local currency for card payments saves them money

●     With international travel opening up again, many holidaymakers want a change in the law to stop banks from charging unfair transaction fees when they're abroad

As the travel industry slowly begins to recover from the implications of COVID-19, many Brits are booking a much-needed holiday. And some are planning big-budget trips thanks to increased savings during the height of the pandemic.

But these holidays will cost many Brits far more than necessary given the lack of knowledge around foreign exchange (FX) charges and international transaction costs, according to research by Opinium*, commissioned by bank challenger Tally.

Nearly six in ten (57%) people don’t know banks add a margin to the official FX rate in addition to charging a transaction fee for using your card abroad, while four in ten (39%) are unaware that many banks charge fees for withdrawing money from cashpoints when abroad as well as additional interest on the withdrawal.

Half (51%) are unaware that choosing to pay in the local currency rather than in pounds when using your card abroad gives you a more favourable exchange rate. A similar proportion (55%) are unaware that if you don’t pay in the local currency on your card when abroad, the retailer will set the exchange rate and have the option to add conversion fees on top. 

A further 24% say banks are deliberately unclear on FX rates. 

According to the research, many travellers are now demanding change to reduce FX costs. A third - 32% - believe a law should be introduced to stop banks from charging customers transaction fees simply because they’re abroad.

Business looks set to be brisk for the sector, with the UK government recently announcing an end to pre-departure testing for holidaymakers returning to England and Wales, along with abolishing mandatory isolation until a negative PCR test has been obtained by those visiting the UK.

This development provides a huge boost to the travel industry, with travel company Kuoni’s CEO claiming that the industry will be “90% back before the end of spring.”

Cameron Parry, Founder and CEO of Tally, said: “A lack of clarity around foreign currency exchange and payments abroad generates revenues for banks, via unnecessary fees for bank customers.

“We want to demystify costs for bank customers.  It is important that charges are simple and transparent so people can make the best choice when it comes to spending their hard-earned cash when overseas.  People can accept a cost for convenience but no one likes having the wool pulled over their eyes.”

“The research tells us that consumers are not satisfied with the current system and are looking for change.”

Many savers are likely to have built up a lot of annual leave during the pandemic. This, combined with parts of the world opening up, means thousands are planning foreign holidays for 2022.

Cameron Parry added: “Our advice is to pay attention to the options presented at time of payment when abroad.  And consumers should get themselves an account designed with international use in mind, such as a Tally account, which doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, foreign withdrawal fees, or markup the official FX rate.”

* Research of 2,000 UK adults.

●     Research from bank challenger, Tally, reveals many UK travellers are confused about how foreign exchange works, with a quarter believing banks are deliberately misleading

●     Four in ten of those polled were not aware that banks charge fees for withdrawing cash when abroad, whilst 50% were unaware that choosing the local currency for card payments saves them money

●     With international travel opening up again, many holidaymakers want a change in the law to stop banks from charging unfair transaction fees when they're abroad

15 January 2022 - As the travel industry slowly begins to recover from the implications of COVID-19, many Brits are booking a much-needed holiday. And some are planning big-budget trips thanks to increased savings during the height of the pandemic.

But these holidays will cost many Brits far more than necessary given the lack of knowledge around foreign exchange (FX) charges and international transaction costs, according to research by Opinium*, commissioned by bank challenger Tally.

Nearly six in ten (57%) people don’t know banks add a margin to the official FX rate in addition to charging a transaction fee for using your card abroad, while four in ten (39%) are unaware that many banks charge fees for withdrawing money from cashpoints when abroad as well as additional interest on the withdrawal.

Half (51%) are unaware that choosing to pay in the local currency rather than in pounds when using your card abroad gives you a more favourable exchange rate. A similar proportion (55%) are unaware that if you don’t pay in the local currency on your card when abroad, the retailer will set the exchange rate and have the option to add conversion fees on top. 

A further 24% say banks are deliberately unclear on FX rates. 

According to the research, many travellers are now demanding change to reduce FX costs. A third - 32% - believe a law should be introduced to stop banks from charging customers transaction fees simply because they’re abroad.

Business looks set to be brisk for the sector, with the UK government recently announcing an end to pre-departure testing for holidaymakers returning to England and Wales, along with abolishing mandatory isolation until a negative PCR test has been obtained by those visiting the UK.

This development provides a huge boost to the travel industry, with travel company Kuoni’s CEO claiming that the industry will be “90% back before the end of spring.”

Cameron Parry, Founder and CEO of Tally, said: “A lack of clarity around foreign currency exchange and payments abroad generates revenues for banks, via unnecessary fees for bank customers.

“We want to demystify costs for bank customers.  It is important that charges are simple and transparent so people can make the best choice when it comes to spending their hard-earned cash when overseas.  People can accept a cost for convenience but no one likes having the wool pulled over their eyes.”

“The research tells us that consumers are not satisfied with the current system and are looking for change.”

Many savers are likely to have built up a lot of annual leave during the pandemic. This, combined with parts of the world opening up, means thousands are planning foreign holidays for 2022.

Cameron Parry added: “Our advice is to pay attention to the options presented at time of payment when abroad.  And consumers should get themselves an account designed with international use in mind, such as a Tally account, which doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, foreign withdrawal fees, or markup the official FX rate.”

* Research of 2,000 UK adults.

Latest Taulia supplier sentiment survey explores five years of data, changing trends in the payment space, and the views of nearly 80,000 respondents

38% of respondents take early payments monthly in 2021, up from 19% in 2017, according to a supplier sentiment survey conducted by Taulia, the leader in working capital technology solutions. Taulia’s global supplier sentiment survey has been conducted annually since 2017 and reflects the views of nearly 80,000 respondents over a five-year period.

There has been growing interest from suppliers in regularly receiving early payment once an invoice is approved as an alternative source of finance. In 2021, one-fifth (22%) of suppliers were interested in receiving early payment every time for every customer, compared to 15% in 2017. 

The supplier's reasons for taking early payments varied. In 2021, the main reasons for their interest in early payments were*:

1. Cash flow gap (49%)

2. Collections/payment predictability (27%)

3. Working capital needs (21%)

4. Ease of use (18%)

5. Reduce DSO (7%)

There is also a clear progression towards better behaviour from businesses with a welcome decrease in late payment, which fell from 45% in 2017 to 36% in 2021. The reduction in late payments signifies improvements in automation and businesses’ desire to promote their suppliers’ financial health. 

Cedric Bru, CEO of Taulia, said: “The financial health of suppliers is paramount to building robust supply chains. These results speak for themselves when it comes to showing the progress being made around ensuring that suppliers get paid as they desire - early or on-time. This year has seen significant disruption to supply chains due to a wide range of external factors, but adequate financing shouldn’t be a barrier. 

“By working together, those at every point along the supply chain can support the growth of their own business and that of others by offering choice, flexibility, and consistency when it comes to getting paid. We hope to see continued progress with this for every size of business and know that by providing the best technology, we can actively help to make these choices available to as many businesses as possible.” 

Ramsbacker will advance the company’s digital identity product roadmap 

Trulioo, the leading global identity verification company, today announced the appointment of Michael Ramsbacker as its first Chief Product Officer. A veteran product management leader, Ramsbacker has over 20 years of experience in the strategic execution of product strategies, particularly in the B2B technology industry. Ramsbacker will oversee the launch of new digital identity verification solutions via Trulioo GlobalGateway, the world’s largest network of identity data and services. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Michael to Trulioo,” said Steve Munford, CEO, Trulioo. “His immense product management acumen and industry experience in successfully deploying solutions globally will help catalyze the Trulioo product roadmap and ensure we continue meeting the diverse needs of our global customer base.”

Formerly VP of Product Management at Mitek Systems, Ramsbacker drove global product strategy and roadmap development for the company’s digital identity portfolio, including biometric authentication and document verification. In this high-impact role, he rebuilt the product management organization and instituted model processes for customer risk management compliance. Prior to this, he served as VP of Product Management at Epsilon, overseeing the development, launch and complete product life cycle of multiple automotive services. Previous roles also include leadership positions with Ares Inc. and Mitchell International. 

“I look forward to contributing to and expanding the game-changing digital identity verification solutions at Trulioo as digital transformation continues to accelerate across the globe,” said Michael Ramsbacker, CPO, Trulioo. “The team at Trulioo is collectively working towards the goal of ensuring nobody is left behind in the digital economy, and I’m thrilled to be a part of this mission.”

As CPO, Ramsbacker will focus on developing intelligent workflow systems to maximize verification rates while optimizing user experience. Additionally, product plans include the development of security features that factor in different biometric modalities and fraud signals that will help in the continuous evaluation of an identity’s trust and safety score.

Ramsbacker’s hire is the latest in a series of executive team additions as the company continues to set the stage for continued growth.