Integrated API between TradeHelp and Fineon Exchange will enable both AI-powered platforms to provide better trade finance and funding opportunities to commodity trading companies and all service providers.

TradeHelp – the world’s first fully-integrated B2B commodities and services trading ecosystem – has today announced its new strategic partnership with Fineon Exchange – the leading global marketplace for trade finance assets.

TradeHelp and Fineon Exchange will leverage their AI digital marketplaces to provide full-suite end-to-end trading solutions for importers, exporters and service providers, connecting compatible parties and funders, and allowing TradeHelp’s users to benefit from access to a wide pool of investors with whom they are specifically matched, according to their financing needs.

Furthermore, as Fineon also connects corporates with credit insurers in addition to funders, TradeHelp customers can have their trade finance requirements validated and their trade finance assets’ creditworthiness enhanced, in order to maximise potential funding opportunities.

Gary Kesser, CEO at TradeHelp, said: “TradeHelp is committed to developing and delivering value-added digital, uniform and paperless services for the global trade community. We are impressed by Fineon Exchange’s efficient and non-disruptive solution in the trade finance space, and are keen to demonstrate how this collaboration can complement and enhance our existing suite of offerings, enabling our clients to unlock financing opportunities to support their working capital needs and further help them to grow their businesses.”

TradeHelp is the world’s only fully integrated B2B trading ecosystem and real-time marketplace for physical commodities and all trade services. With its high-tech operating engine, TradeHelp marketplace integrates all traders and service providers into one global interface to conduct full-cycle trading and service operations.

“We are impressed by TradeHelp’s unique and disruptive technology to digitise commodity trading and trade services operations, and are very excited to be working together with TradeHelp to create opportunities for its commodity and services’ sector and for clients to optimise their working capital, minimise risks, reduce costs, turnaround time and grow their connections,” said Dominic Broom, CEO, Fineon Exchange. “We look forward to supporting and linking more exporters, importers, brokers, service providers and financial institutions with our unique matchmaking service and shared marketspace; helping to democratise access to trade finance and enabling counterparties to transact more efficiently across the globe.”

New York, NY & Virtual

January 26th – 28th, 2022 | 08:30 EDT

Look into the next generation for MRM to create a mature, holistic framework alongside the latest developments in automation and ML model explainability

Model risk is a key area of focus for financial institutions as there are constantly ongoing developments which need to be incorporated into frameworks. The growing complexity of models within financial institutions means that enhancements need to be made in the documentation and reporting of models to reduce any errors in models and ensure thorough governance. Moreover, model risk professionals want to benchmark the latest developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning models and how to overcome related challenges, in terms of explainability, data bias and validation of these models.

The GFMI 19th Edition Model Risk conference will provide a platform for model risk professionals to reflect on all the latest updates to model risk guidance from regulators and what this means for everyday model risk practices. Experts will explore the impact of market anomalies on model risk and share best practices on how to take a model risk framework to the next level to effectively manage model overlays and incorporate automation for updates. Discussions will also be held on how to overcome explainability challenges of AI models via an effective three lines of defense approach as well as tackling data bias within these models. 

Attending This Premier marcus evans Conference Will Enable You to:

• Evaluate the key takeaways from the latest updates to model risk regulatory guidance.

• Assess the impact of anomalies on future model risk practices.

• Test whether your model is appropriate for use.

• Overcome bias challenges within ML and AI models.

• Implement best practices for validation of ML models.

• Manage the difficulties surrounding vendor model management.

Best Practices and Case Studies from:

• Olga Collins, Global Head of Model Risk Reporting and Infrastructure, Morgan Stanley

• Kishore Karra, Executive Director, Model Risk Governance and Review, JP Morgan

• Mike Roginsky, Senior Vice President, Model Risk Management Officer, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

• Aruna Joshi, Head of Model Risk Management, Visa

• Jacob Kosoff, Head of Model Risk Management and Validation, Regions Bank

• Asha Gowda, Senior Vice President, Assistant General Auditor, Treasury and Models, Keybank

• Dr. Joseph Breeden, President, MRMIA

Sber and 500 Global, previously known as 500 Startups, is launching its fourth batch of  Sber500, an international accelerator for technology startups. This year’s program will have  increased coverage of 50 teams. The deadline for entries is February 7, 2022. https://sberbank-500.ru/en 

The accelerator invites seed-stage projects to participate, offering solutions in one of 20  technological fields: advertising and marketing, geotargeting and cartography, logistics,  computer vision, HR and training, telehealth, cybersecurity and more. Projects need to have  MVPs (minimum viable products) and first sales. Startups can apply not only from Russia,  but also from all over the world, with priority given to participants from Kazakhstan, Belarus,  Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Israel and Great Britain. 

The accelerator program is designed for 10 weeks and involves a detailed study of the  product and business development – an immersion in marketing and sales, scaling,  fundraising, and pitching. This year, 500 startups will be able to go through the bootcamp,  while 50 startups will participate in the main program and 25 of those will be selected to  participate in Demo Day: 

• Stage one (an online bootcamp) is the basic part of the training. Teams will work out  a value proposition, learn how to build communications with different target  segments. Upon completion of the bootcamp, 50 projects will proceed to the next  stage or receive an invitation to the fast track even without completing the main  accelerator program 

• Stage two is the first half of the main acceleration program. Teams and their mentors test several hypotheses to find the best growth hacking opportunities. At this stage,  startups will also have the opportunity to meet with companies in the Sber  ecosystem, corporations and foundations to discuss possible partnerships. The best  25 startups will advance to the final stage of the accelerator. 

• Stage three is the intensive offline training: workshops, individual work with mentors,  and preparations for the Demo Day. 

All stages, as before, will be supervised by mentors and international experts with  experience in training successful companies worldwide. 

The finalists will speak at the Demo Day, where they will present their products and vie for  partnerships with companies in the Sber ecosystem and partner corporations, as well as  investments from the Fort Ross Seed Fund and other partner funds. Graduates of the three  Sber500 batches have already raised more than RUB 800 mn in investments, of which  about RUB 200 mn came from Sber, and signed several hundred contracts with big 

companies.

Lev Khasis, first deputy chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank: “Sber500 is expanding its reach significantly this year. Last season, we allowed a record of  560 startups to go through the boot camp training. In the new batch, we will double the  number of startups that will have access to the main part of the program, which comes with  individual work with mentors and exclusive networking opportunities. The increase in  coverage will allow even more startups to gain recognition – the combination of the  expertise of Sber and 500 Global in the Sber500 accelerator attaches a certain seal of  quality to them in the global venture market, as well as in Russia.” 

Christine Tsai, CEO, 500 Global and Founding Partner: 

“Our partnership with Sber is key to ecosystem development in Russia, and aims to help  Russia grow its capabilities for innovation and technology. We recognize that ecosystems  are built not only by supporting talented founders, but by having engaged industry  stakeholders that can help these startups grow. Sber is well positioned to convene key  ecosystem players in Russia.”

Over half of those surveyed (55%) think that the UK is being pushed to go cashless with nearly 30% of respondents having already been refused when trying to pay with cash

New research from Cardtronics, the UK’s largest ATM provider, finds that over 55% of over 300,000 people participating in our poll believe they are being forced to go cashless against their will. 

Additionally, nearly 60% of those surveyed agreed that if local shops stopped taking cash then shopping would be difficult, highlighting how cash is still very heavily relied on by many people. 

According to consumer group Which?, 2,766 banks have been axed over the last five years, limiting access to cash for people in certain areas and restricting the availability of basic  banking services. Nearly half of respondents 44% of respondents said they would deposit cash at an ATM if the option was available to them. 

Cardtronics research also found that the reduction in the number of local ATMs available is pushing people to go cashless, with 74% of respondents unwilling to walk 1km to their nearest working cash machine. Despite the government initiative to offer cashback without purchase to help solve the access to cash problem, 57% of respondents said they would not get cashback at a local shop if an ATM was unavailable. 

Cardtronics recently submitted a letter to the Treasury to express concern at the Access to Cash consultation which aims to address the cash crisis caused by the reduction of ATMs on our high streets. The overall number of free-to-use ATMs across the UK has fallen by 23% since 2018, with some areas losing as much as half of their ATMs.

Marc Terry, International Managing Director at Cardtronics, said:

“Our survey demonstrates the real concerns consumers have over access to cash and the reduction in cash acceptance across the UK. Cardtronics is calling on the government to protect the UK’s ATM network and ensure that all retailers accept cash in-store. Action is needed now so that the underbanked are not left behind and everyone retains the right to choose how they pay. The anti-cash lobby has tried hard to use the pandemic to promote other forms of payments and extinguish cash use. But the fact remains that cash is still the preferred payment method for many, and we need government action to protect it before it’s too late.” 

Juni, the financial companion for ecommerce entrepreneurs, has today gone live with an integration with Xero, the global small business platform. Starting today, through Xero, small business owners and their advisors have access to real-time financial data any time, anywhere and on any device. 

The integration means that ecommerce businesses can automatically sync transactions from Juni directly into their Xero account. All transactions, including card payments and transfers, will be synced every hour and can be set to go as far back as 12 months from their Juni transaction history. This replaces manual statement exports and uploads into Xero, saving entrepreneurs time and hassle. Additional integration points between the two platforms, such as invoices and receipts syncing, will roll-out in the coming months. 

Samir El-Sabini, Co-founder and CEO, Juni, says, “I know from personal experience of running my own ecommerce business the headaches and time waste that comes with admin. Our integration with Xero eases that burden. At Juni, we’re committed to ensuring that ecommerce entrepreneurs around the world have time to focus on what matters most, building and growing their business. ”

The integration follows the recent news that Juni secured a Series A follow-on of $52M in funding led by EQT Ventures, with participation from FJ labs and other existing investors to add to the $21M already raised from their Series-A round in late June this year. This boosts Juni’s Series A round to $73M and takes the total funding to date to $76M. 

Every November, FxScouts publishes their winners in 20 different categories. Furthermore, the platform maintains full independence, excluding any special application channels. Eligibility to take part in their award procedure is only through merits judged by the track record and service quality of the given broker.

The FxScouts leadership emphasized this year's decision by saying, 'OctaFX has developed the leading copy trading platform, simple for beginners to understand but with the depth of detail (such as risk level, drawdown, etc.) that more experienced traders will want to see, as well—all in all, an intuitive interface. Available on the MT4 trading platform, OctaFX has lowered the threshold to allow beginners to profit from the sophisticated trading strategies used by professional traders, applying seamless integration in their trading platform'.

FxScouts began in 2012 with the purpose of creating factually correct, data-based analysis that resides in a high-quality framework, leading to educational content that remains meaningful and engaging. As a publication platform, they stress that their work should further the interest and knowledge of Foreign Exchange trading among their readers.

As mentioned above, OctaFX has received last year's 'Best Forex Copy Trading Platform 2020', as well.

Talenthouse today announces the launch of ElloU, a money management platform for creatives. As a first step ElloU is being launched in Europe but will be rolled out worldwide.

ElloU is tailored to creatives and their needs, to fill the gap left by traditional finance companies. It is a contextual money management platform that sets out to remove friction and fees, speed up payments, and give creatives access to services, such as money management, insurance, and accounting services.

Creatives face slow payments, high foreign exchange charges, expensive and rationed credit, little access to investment services, and high fees across the board

Creatives are poorly served by traditional financial organisations. Owing to various factors, such as volatile monthly incomes, creatives tend both to pay higher charges and to lack the same access to financial services as other demographics. For instance, a study from Demos in the UK found that almost four in ten (39%) independent workers have been turned down for a financial product in the last five years, making them twice as likely to turn to payday lenders as employed workers. 

Debit card, domestic and international payments, three subscription bundles for accounts

The initial product offering, which consists chiefly of a bank account, debit card, domestic and international payments, is available in three subscriptions bundles – a free account, an account at EUR5 per month and one at EUR10 per month – with differing service levels and perks. It is being rolled out across the Talenthouse platforms in Europe over the coming months, with the launch of these services to its community in the UK and the US before the summer of 2022, and new territories in the second half of the year.

ElloU is a regulated banking solution, provided in partnership with banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms.  

In order to launch quickly and to provide fully-regulated accounts and payments, Talenthouse has partnered with established BaaS platforms, such as Vodeno and Aion Bank for the European launch, which provide technology and the compliance capabilities underpinning the platform. 

Clare McKeeve, Talenthouse CEO, comments: “We are delighted to be able to launch ElloU, our vertical banking solution optimised for the needs of our 14 million members. 

The first iteration of ElloU gives creatives in Europe access to cheaper, faster and simpler payment services, but we’ll expand the offering over time to cover creatives’ complete set of financial and commercial requirements – as well as roll out across the world. 

By embedding banking into our platform, our ultimate goal is to remove the trade-off that creatives have historically faced between doing what they love, on the one hand, and financial security on the other. With ElloU, our creatives can say hello to professional freedom and financial freedom.”  

• CryptoWire is focused on providing Knowledge, Research, Training, Awareness, Information & Data based on principles of Credibility & Stability 

• We have gone live today at 10.45 am

Keeping with the tradition of foresight in envisioning creation of world-class financial markets and ecosystem by 63 moons technologies limited (63 moons), its subsidiary TickerPlant today announced the launch of CryptoWire - a global crypto super app. 

The CryptoWire seeks to empower participants in the crypto universe with a super app that will provide real-time market prices and insight, news, knowledge, research, training, information and data platform through Crypto University, CryptoTV and CryptoWire for crypto assets and blockchain.

The Company is guided by the new board with strong governance principles and its eminent members are: 

The Company which has always been a strong proponent and advocate of tech-centric, transparent and efficient solutions emphasizes that CryptoWire is Neither A Crypto Exchange Nor A Cryptocurrency but offers to empower its participants with comprehensive, unbiased information, going beyond exchanges. The CryptoWire users can access: 

• World’s 1st Crypto University – a digital university that caters to all: from ABC to PhD and super specialized courses.

• World’s 1st CryptoTV – a dedicated 24*7 crypto and blockchain YouTube channel and mobile IPTV. It provides in-depth analysis and awareness of global developments, trend reports, discussions, debates and guidance from international experts.

• World’s 1st CryptoWire – a wire service with tools like arbitrage opportunities identification, watchlist creation, lending & borrowing rates.

In short, it covers complete global market universe in crypto, blockchain, asset digitization and development.

“Following our Hon'ble PM's vision, we are creating the most credible Crypto & Blockchain universe based on knowledge, research, training, awareness, information and data from the world's best. CryptoWire will be the most credible port of call for entry into the Crypto Universe providing Credibility - backed by strong governance principles guided by the board, Stability - powered by robust technology and by giving information of most curated data,” said Jigish Sonagara, Managing Director and CEO of TickerPlant.

“At CryptoWire, we are converging the system to engage with all stakeholders and expand the sphere of knowledge to a wider community.” Sonagara added. 

The architecture’s state-of-the-art user experience, data security, and performance will allow integration with regional health plans and large-scale partners

Stonebrook Risk Solutions announced today that it has selected Mphasis to build a disruptive architecture enabling it to partner with regional health plans to transform healthcare across the United States. The digital platform will connect regional health plans, insurance companies, pharmacy benefits, consumer-directed health programs, and medical management companies into a nationwide network of providers that will compete with national health plans for mid-tier employers.

Based in Encino, CA, Stonebrook is led by insurance and healthcare industry veterans and funded by well-known strategic partners including Confidio/Rx Benefits (offering pharmacy benefits consulting and management), RenaLogic (providing dialysis and ancillary services), and Woodruff Sawyer (an innovative brokerage), Starline (offering employer stop-loss and managed care stop-loss) to offer multi-state companies a compelling alternative to the big national insurance companies.

Mphasis is a global information technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services that leads with design and architecture to deliver a portfolio of next-generation offerings and services. The company excels in creating hyper-personalized experiences that drive customer-centric transformation.

"Mphasis brings Stonebrook the ability to scale state-of-the-art, cloud-based technology, and highly-configurable market solutions that will bring our clients and partners cost-effective coverage that will exceed expectations," said Mark Angard, CEO, Stonebrook. "We conducted due diligence on a wide range of technology providers and Mphasis was the obvious choice."

“We are honored to partner with Stonebrook Risk Solutions in their transformational approach with Regional Health Plans,” said Nitin Rakesh, CEO, Mphasis. "We recognize the disruptive nature of their program and are excited to work with them to turn the vision into reality."