With interest rates expected to rise in 2022, banks could increase their profit  margins, which is leading investors to keep an eye on the sector as a strategy for their portfolio. Within this  framework, Evolve Funds Group Inc. launched an ETF based on a Solactive Index designed for investors  who seek increased yield from a covered call strategy.  

The new Evolve European Banks Enhanced Yield ETF pursues to replicate, to the extent reasonably possible  before fees and expenses, the performance of the Solactive European Bank Top 20 Equal Weight Index  Canadian Dollar Hedged while writing covered call options on up to 33% of the portfolio securities, at the  discretion of the manager. The level of covered call option writing may vary based on market volatility and other  factors.  

The Solactive index tracks the performance of major and regional banks, and its starting point of the index is the GBS Index Universe of the Solactive GBS Developed Markets Europe All Cap Index PR. 

The ETF began trading Jan. 11 on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol EBNK. Timo Pfeiffer, Chief Markets Officer at Solactive, comments:

“We are thrilled to partner with Evolve for a product  featuring banking, as the sector has been showing great potential of growth in the current environment with  expected higher rates. We cannot wait to provide them more indices for future products going forward.” 

Raj Lala, President and CEO at Evolve ETFs, says:

“European banks were one of the top performing sectors in Europe  last year and posted their best returns since 2009. The sector is currently trading at steep discounts relative to pre Covid levels and other regions like the US. Improving economic growth, higher earnings expectations, and lifted  dividend restrictions have continued to attract assets to the sector in early 2022. Given current valuations,  European banks may offer investors diversification benefits and potentially more upside than North-American  counterparts. 

● The happiness blockchain, named YourOneLife (YOL), aims to create a sustainable model of  happiness in the world  

● Founded by Yogesh Kochhar and Anoop Bansal in association with 5ire, a 5th generation  blockchain network established by Pratik Gauri, Prateek Dwivedi and Vilma Mattila 

5ire, the 5th generation blockchain network, announced today that it  has collaborated with AICTE, India's technical and higher education regulator, to create the world's  biggest happiness blockchain named, Happiness Blockchain by building the YourOneLife (YOL) app  on 5irechain. 

By incorporating sustainability into India's technical and higher education regulation through  YourOneLife (YOL), AICTE has engaged a central tenet of the for-benefits economy and its mission to  accelerate the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The model for YOL  essentially has three key features: 

1. Assessing the Happiness Index of an individual and an institution 

2. Assessing the mindshare of an individual or an institution 

3. Setting the mind map of an individual or an institution. 

A brainchild of Yogesh Kochhar and Anoop Bansal, associated with the AICTE, YOL was initially  created as an app. Through the association with 5ire, the potential of the happiness model was  expanded into a blockchain, for designing and developing a sustainable model of happiness in the  world. YOL is expected to: 

● Be available on 5ire’s level 1 blockchain, 5ireChain, and will be utilized for all academic  activities by students under the auspices of AICTE 

● Record, issue, and verify the academic credentials for the aforementioned 8 million+  students via 5ireChain, making it the largest blockchain-based academic accreditation  system globally. 

● Allow 5ire to train a large number of students under AICTE guidance by providing a well designed curriculum and courses in 5th generation blockchain technology.  

"The launch of YOL is an exciting milestone in our lives and actually makes both of us quite happy,"  Kochhar and Bansal said gleefully at the occasion of the announcement, "meaning our preceding  concussion about the app was correct!" 

Speaking on the occasion and welcoming the relationship between YOL and 5ire, the Chairman of  AICTE, Prof Anil D. Sahasrabudhe said, “This not only provides an elevated learning opportunity for  over 7 million students in India that AICTE governs, it gives each of these students an opportunity to  mine and earn happiness NFTs on the YOL platform powered by 5ire. Blockchain is the need of the  hour and I was happy to have it as an inclusion for all students.”

The project has already received wide acclaim from Prof Phoebe Koundouri, Co-Chair, Europe, and  Greece, UN SDSN, who spoke on occasion and complemented this unique platform. 

"Our mission at 5ire ecosystem is to support projects that address the multiple facets of  sustainability and embed the for-benefit paradigm at the heart of blockchain. YOL is definitely in that group and we are thrilled to have partnered with AICTE.", Pratik Gauri, the CEO, and co-founder of  5IRE, said at the announcement, "Both Yogesh and Anoop are insightful technologists that have  studied the deep connection between happiness and sustainability, and we wholeheartedly agree  with their findings, and are excited about YOL and the impact it will generate.” 

"5ireChain is committed to focusing on human-centered design and sustainable development, and  partnering with AICTE enabled us to exhibit our commitment to that goal.", said Prateek Dwivedi,  Co-founder and CMO at 5ire. 

"This is a big win both for Indian high-tech education and AICTE. Sustainability and blockchain are  both critical for the future and we’re getting it as a package" added Mr. Raj Kapoor, the founder of  India Blockchain Alliance, who was at hand as the Strategy Lead - India, 5ire.  

AICTE is the technical and higher education regulator in India that governs over 10,000 higher  education and technical colleges and universities in India impacting over 7 million students. 

5ire is focused on implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. So  much so that 5ire has produced 5ireChain, an innovative blockchain technology with the UN SDGs  written into its core. Non-financial factors such as environmental, social, and governance scores are  weighted in the 5ireChain ranking protocol, impacting a party's participation in the 5ire network.  

Millions of Supercross Fans world-wide will benefit from SmartFi’s, sponsorship deal leveraging similarities in demographics between cryptocurrency and Supercross.

SmartFi, the open lending cryptocurrency platform, which launched in July 2021 and successfully completed a token launch of the SmartFi token (SMTF), has become the first ever official cryptocurrency platform of Monster Energy AMA Supercross.

Through this first-of-its-kind partnership with Supercross, SmartFi will be educating fans on crypto and providing them “SmartStrategies”, exclusive offers and experiences. The SmartFi brand will be prominently featured within Supercross television broadcasts, social channels and live event streaming. SmartFi and Supercross will also be running a $30,000 cryptocurrency U.S national sweepstake to provide a special Supercross experience for a few lucky fans.

There are a number of over-indexes between Supercross fans and cryptocurrency markets, which support the partnership. According to surveys conducted by an external market research and data analytics firm, YouGov, 61% of Supercross fans and attendees identify as consumers who are likely to use crypto. Supercross fans are also 80% more likely than the US national average to agree "Cryptocurrencies are the future of online financial transactions." Many Supercross fans are entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses.

SmartFi CEO Aaron Tilton is an active Motocross competitor, has competed at the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in 2019 and regularly competes in the RMX Series, an amateur circuit around his home state of Utah, for which he was formerly a state legislator. Tilton took up the sport in 2010 at the age of 38 when his then six-year-old son, Gabe rode a neighbor’s motorcycle and decided to give it a go himself.

SmartFi CEO Aaron Tilton commented:

“Supercross and SmartFi are a natural fit; the independent minded fans who watch Supercross, some of whom own their businesses are exactly the sort of people who want to make their own decisions about their money. We created SmartFi to make cryptocurrency financial tools accessible to the average person and we think it will be attractive to Supercross fans. Supercross is a big family and we have that same ethos at SmartFi.”

“We are very pleased to welcome SmartFi to Supercross. SmartFi was founded by Supercross fans and we are excited to partner with an organization that has a passion for the sport,”

said Jeff Bialosky, Senior Vice President of Global Partnership at Feld Entertainment.

SmartFi offers both Defi and Cefi functionality with easy-to-use financial tools to earn, trade, and lend crypto. The platform includes four main products: SmartInterest (crypto savings platform), SmartLoan (crypto lending platform), SmartTrade (CEX aggregator), SmartExchange (centralized exchange), and SmartDEX (decentralized exchange).

SmartFi was founded by a team of former energy and finance experts, who were working to aid crypto miners with their energy needs. They saw an opportunity for an accessible decentralized finance platform to enable investors to weather bear-market volatility, act as a store of value, and access loans. In December 2021, SmartFi completed a token sale which raised over $10m and saw their token increase in value by 348% to date.

As businesses continue to recover from the pandemic, it is projected that SME’s will have lost an estimated £126.6 billion[2]. Digital print security firm, Zunoma, is encouraging businesses to outsource mail solutions, to help save money and to focus on increasing productivity.

In the UK, 70% of companies outsource services to third parties, and as companies continue to adapt to new ways of working, 30% of businesses say they plan to outsource more in the future[3].

There are multiple benefits of outsourcing mail solutions, with cost savings being the biggest motivator for many companies. Not only can businesses save on paper fees, postal costs and storage costs, but it can also reduce a business’s admin overheads. Zunoma state that outsourcing can save a business up to 50% compared to traditional mailing methods, inclusive of all print, consumables and postage.

Another benefit of outsourcing mail solutions is an increase in efficiency and productivity internally. The process can be very manual for businesses and place pressure on internal teams, resulting in potential errors and late delivery. Zunoma will cross reference all addresses against current databases, not only saving businesses a significant amount of time but also ensuring that mail is not sent out unnecessarily to those who no longer wish to receive it.

In addition, outsourcing reduces storage space. With one in four businesses allowing staff to continue working from home or work a hybrid approach following the pandemic[4], many employees have less access to an office. Outsourcing mail solutions not only allows a business to become paperless and help reach sustainability goals, but also will lower physical storage requirements, a more beneficial approach with many now working from a home office.

Phil Ouzman, Managing Director at Zunoma, says:

“Outsourcing mail solutions is a secure, cost-effective choice for businesses, with many companies noting that outsourcing has delivered more efficient results. “As experts in print and distribution, we have a reputation for accuracy, reliability, and delivering a personal service. Our aim is to improve your mail delivery cycle and eradicate lengthy manual mail handling. Our team will provide your business with a bespoke and thorough approval service and ensure accurate, high-quality results, with no unexpected costs.”

As a registered Royal Mail Mailing House, Zunoma is at the forefront of new products in this market. This position enables Zunoma to constantly review the best possible savings available to customers, to ensure maximum postal savings.

In 2009, a global consulting firm with 45,000 employees operating in over 140 countries and markets, outsourced its payroll duties to Zunoma and has continued to use the secure online portal-based ordering system to manage the firm’s HR and finance administration to this day. This outsourcing mail solution resulted in a saving of £55,000 in reduction on resource costs for the firm and created lead times for approximately 60,000 payslips from 1 week to 1.2 days work.

Zunoma is flexible to accommodate the changing needs of a business and offer a bespoke print and personalisation of mailing services. Zunoma work with several FTSE 100 companies and worldwide organisations to provide a complete distribution service, giving confidence that documents will be sent securely and on time.

To find out more about Zunoma’s outsourcing solutions, please visit: https://www.zunoma.com/security-print-software/personalisation-fulfillment-mailing-solutions/

Curve is the only UK-based solution that can offset the decision by Amazon to ban Visa Credit cards

Curve, the financial super app which combines all of your debit, credit and loyalty cards into one, easy-to-use smart card, is the only solution which allows Visa Credit card holders to continue spending on Amazon after the ban comes in on Wednesday 19th January.

From Wednesday, Amazon will no longer accept Visa credit cards issued in the UK but the Curve solution does allow customers to pay via their Visa Credit cards with Amazon.

Curve brings all of your debit, credit and loyalty cards into one, easy-to-use smart card, meaning users can still pay with Visa Credit cards through Curve. 

Through Curve, customers can spend from any of their accounts via one card, with one pin, and seamlessly manage or move money within the Curve app. 

Adding debit and credit cards is safe and easy. Curve use’s bank-level security and no sensitive data is ever saved on your phone. The customer needs to enter their card details or scan their card to upload it to their digital Curve Wallet.

Shachar Bialick, Founder and CEO of Curve, comments: “We’re proud to enable customers to continue paying with their Visa Credit cards after the changes come in on Wednesday. Amazon’s decision to stop accepting payments using UK-issued Visa credit cards will harm a huge number of customers. Consumers without a Financial super-app are losing choice and flexibility when it comes to their finances. Curve is the only solution in the UK that can offset this decision by Amazon. Users will still be able to use their Visa Credit via Curve to shop at Amazon while continuing to earn their Bank's rewards.”

Account Advisor enables Essential FCU to provide a deeper, consistent, and differentiated member experience

Vericast, a leading marketing solutions company that delivers actionable insights and operational expertise at scale, today announced that Essential Federal Credit Union (FCU) has selected Vericast’s Account Advisor solution powered by Ignite Sales’ guided conversation technology.

Account Advisor allows financial institutions to digitally engage with consumers and effectively point them to the most relevant financial products and services to support their financial goals. Through a strategic alliance, Vericast sells Ignite Sales’ powerful member engagement platform as part of its line of Harland Clarke account acquisition solutions.

Essential FCU is leveraging Account Advisor’s intelligent conversation guides in its branches to have tailored conversations that discover members’ unique needs and deliver personalized, highly accurate product recommendations.

“Vericast’s Account Advisor platform allows us to provide a tremendous service to our members,” said LaDonna Evans-Sutton, Vice President of Retail Services at Essential Federal Credit Union. “The platform enables us to drive meaningful conversations and offer product recommendations that precisely address members’ distinct circumstances. We would be doing a disservice to our members by not providing them with a digital guided conversation capability.”

Essential FCU also will gain valuable insight from decision-making sales and marketing data gathered during member conversations that will enable the credit union to enhance product offerings, processes, and marketing efforts. Additionally, Account Advisor’s sophisticated analytics measure conversation data and give decision-makers visibility into real-time member trends.

“We are pleased to partner with Vericast to help Essential Federal Credit Union get to the heart of its members’ current needs and guide them to financial wellness,” said George Noga, CEO of Ignite Sales. “Implementing Account Advisor powered by Ignite Sales represents Essential’s next step in digital transformation which will empower the institution to dramatically enhance the member experience.”

“Maximizing the value of each marketing dollar is our focus,” said Stephenie Williams, Vice President, Financial Institution Marketing Products & Strategy at Vericast. “Account Advisor powered by Ignite Sales directs members who respond to marketing acquisition programs toward selecting the product(s) that are most appropriate for their unique and personal financial needs. More satisfied members stay longer and buy more which solves a long-standing marketing challenge of creating a consistent buying experience.”a

Finalto is delighted to announce the appointment of Pablo Gomez as Global Head of Client Services following his outstanding performance as Head of Client Services, Europe.

“Client services is at the core of the Finalto, ensuring that all of our clients are given the best possible solutions to take their business to the next level,” Pablo says. “As Global Head of Client Services it is my role to lead and mentor a team of 14 professionals, based in London, responsible for delivering bespoke trading and technical solutions of the highest quality to Finalto’s clients.

“Another important aspect of my role is to ensure that clients will have a world class experience when interacting with Finalto, not only providing knowledgeable and resourceful insights, but also taking things a step further to exceed expectations and provide outstanding service across all of Finalto's Fintech offering.”

Pablo joined Finalto in 2014 as a Relationship Manager. Over his time here, Pablo has held the positions of Liquidity and Senior Relationships Manager, before spending nearly three years as Head of Client Services, Europe.

Matthew Maloney CEO Finalto B2B, comments,

“We are proud to recognise talent at Finalto and always strive to reward our team members who help us go above and beyond for our clients. Pablo is an outstanding example of hard work and determination and I am positive he will thrive in his new role.”

Finalto are here to make the global financial marketplace work for you.

Best-in-class  banking experience designed specifically for the next generation of Kuwait 

R/GA London is pleased to announce it has partnered with the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) on the launch of Weyay, the very first fully-digital bank in Kuwait.

Built from the ground up in just twelve months, Weyay is designed to serve the financial and lifestyle needs of young Kuwaitis. The new banking platform is part of NBK’s wider digital strategy to provide customers with cutting-edge technology and tools. 

The ambition of Weyay was to build a world-class banking experience for young Kuwaitis. R/GA London collaborated with NBK’s team to create a modern, flexible, visual and verbal identity. The name Weyay (‘with me’) was selected to reflect NBK’s personalised approach to digital banking, and the logo was created to signify progression and growth.

Weyay’s brand identity is brought to life through unique features, initially launching with fast digital onboarding, fully digital account management and allowance transfer. Later in 2022 will see differentiators such as quick P2P payments, savings pots and goals, bills split, and integrated brand partnerships also go live. 

As the country’s first fully-digital bank, Weyay’s suite of financial services are built to help young people feel empowered to manage their finances and feel supported in making decisions. The app is available in both English and Arabic.  

Rebecca Bezzina, SVP Managing Director R/GA London said: “Working with the National Bank of Kuwait to design, develop and launch Weyay has been a real honour. Through extensive research we learned what motivates young Kuwaitis and how we can help them manage their finances using digital tools. Our joint aim was to create a platform that not only works functionally but also intuitively, so it can continue to meet the needs of customers as their priorities and circumstances evolve.”

Shaikha Al-Bahar, NBK Group Deputy CEO stated: “We are excited to be offering the first mobile banking platform in Kuwait, offering young people choice in how they manage their finances as they increasingly live  digital-first lives. The intuitive Weyay platform enables young people to feel empowered and in control of their money and is designed to adapt and grow with customers as priorities change.”

 Railsbank, the leading global Embedded Finance Experiences platform, has launched a new white label Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) credit solution that enables retailers to offer their own branded, fully-integrated BNPL payment experiences. 

Railsbank’s solution offers retailers the chance to develop their own branded BNPL option that is customisable, cost-effective and delights customers. In the current landscape, existing BNPL solution providers prioritise their own branding and customer engagement. Retailers are therefore forced to trade off between lesser branded, legacy financing solutions with poor UX, or fully third party branded solutions.

The global BNPL market is estimated to be worth $3.5 trillion by 2030.

“Our solution means that the retailer’s customer does not see the BNPL provider’s brand, but the brand from which they are buying. We want to remove distractions and allow retailers to maximise engagement with their customers. We believe this is a unique offering in the UK and one that will be very popular to a number of different retail verticals including fashion, homeware, travel and sports,” said Louisa Murray, COO of Railsbank, UK and Europe. 

Murray explained that: “Customers are increasingly reaping the benefit of checkout financing to help them repay over time. This is supported by digital BNPL providers. But, many of them are building consumer brands in their own right. They’re incentivised to draw customers away to their own platforms, diluting a retailer’s own purchase journeys and brand loyalty. Customers would rather deal directly with their preferred, trusted brands, rather than being routed to a third-party finance provider.”

Railsbank believes its solution is a new way for retailers to offer own-brand, customisable and frictionless payment experiences to their customers. It helps businesses to disintermediate third parties and focus on building long-lasting relationships with their customers.

Railsbank’s solution enables businesses to reclaim this experience by providing their own instalment financing online and in-store. Customers can split payments in up to 36 instalments without distractions or risk posed by a third party. Retailers can declutter checkout flows, unlock new engagement opportunities during the payment and repayment lifecycle, and link rewards accounts. And, they get to hold onto their own customer’s information. 

Murray continued: “Our mission is to enable businesses to offer deeply embedded, and relevant financial experiences. We want to remove the distractions and enable new interactions to help retailers materially improve the metrics that matter; conversion, basket size and lifetime customer value. We are excited to add our credit solution to the breadth of experiences that our platform supports today.”

Railsbank’s BNPL solution will be available in the UK and Germany in 2022.

Railsbank is headquartered in London and has offices in Singapore, the US, Australia, Lithuania, Germany, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.