Cyber consultants call on businesses to act now, or risk budgets shrinking further in ‘real terms’ during 2022 – leading to increased cyber vulnerability 

The cyber budgets of UK enterprises actually shrank (-1%) during the pandemic, according to their cyber budget holders. This left cyber spend stagnating at an average of around £18 million ($24.9 million) for the 2021 financial year. This is despite the fact that 79% reported having suffered a major cyber incident. Of this group, the majority (73%) had experienced an incident in the past three years. 

Over half (54%) of organisations either ‘hit pause’ or decreased their cyber budgets during the pandemic. Now, IT leaders expect to increase their cyber budget by an average of 7.4% in the next twelve months, taking the average budget to £19.4 million. But taking into account inflation, which is currently 3%, this still may not be enough to make up for lost time during the pandemic. If this trend continues, a cyber spending ‘deficit’ will emerge that makes businesses more vulnerable to cyber incidents, as attacks become more frequent and more sophisticated.  

The problem is compounded by a lack of confidence among decision makers in how they spend their cyber budgets: 

• 40% said their organisation needed a better understanding of how to prioritise areas for cyber investment.  
• Half (50%) reported they had a cyber strategy but had not been able to fully implement it – meaning that cyber investments are not realising their full potential.  

“Businesses need to act now to lock in their cyber spending for next year,” said Jamie Smith, Head of Cyber Security at S-RM. “The readiness with which we saw businesses pull back their budgets during the pandemic is concerning. Next year’s cyber budgets cannot be futureproofed against all forms of disruption, but there are trends business leaders should watch closely. A major one is the rising cost of cyber insurance - premiums are going up. This is because cyberattacks are becoming more frequent. What’s more, insurers are looking to reduce the risk they take on when they provide cyber policies. As a result, insurers want companies to prove how cyber resilient they are before providing cover.” 

“UK cyber budgets shrunk at a time when the cost of cybercrime and frequency of attacks is increasing at an alarming rate. The average immediate damage of a cyber incident is in the region of £1.3 million,. But the secondary costs like higher insurance premiums and recovery services can more than double this.”  

“Businesses have been failing to keep pace, and if they don’t commit to strategic investment in their cyber security, they risk serious financial and reputational damage.” 

The analysis, developed by S-RM, will guide UK organisations who are looking to utilise their cyber spend more effectively. It also found a clear correlation in the data which suggests that cyber confidence comes from the top. Businesses with boards who had a highly proactive approach to cyber security were more likely to say they are investing cyber budget in all the right places (73%) compared to those who do not experience proactive support from the top (44%). 

Islamic Finance Heading Towards New Destination

The leading Islamic Finance consultancy services provider AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics successfully organized International Conference on Ijarah (Islamic Leasing) and Takaful. The event was held on 10^TH -11^TH November, 2021 at Radisson Blu Sisli Hotel, Istanbul Turkey with collaboration of Leasing Association of Uzbekistan and Islamic Corporation for Development of Private Sector. ICD-IsDB is one of the premier Islamic multilateral financial institutions working for the development of the private sector including the Ijarah industry. The lead sponsor for this event was Caiz Holding AG and the technology partner was Codebase Technologies. The media partner for the conference is Web-TV powered by ProShare and Islamic Finance Weekly Nigeria.  The conference hosted delegates from Canada, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Germany, Dubai, Pakistan and Turkey.

The conference agenda was to explore a new horizon for Ijarah (Islamic Leasing) and evaluation of new dimensions to the world of Takaful. This event projected Islamic finance, its challenges, global reach and future prospects, Ijarah (Islamic Leasing), products, innovative value addition in its product line, Shariah Compliance, Operational aspects, Ijarah Sukuk (Innovative solution to Governing bodies and Islamic Capital market), and Takaful (Islamic Insurance).

In the inaugural session, the Chief Guests were Mr. Ihsan Ovut (Secretary General), The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), and Mr. Botur S. Yusupov (Deputy Chairman) Leasing Association of Uzbekistan. AlHuda CIBE arranged an impressive lineup of 17 speakers from different countries on the subject matter to explore more options for Ijarah (Islamic leasing) and Takaful industry. Mr. Pervez Nasim (Chairman and CEO) Ansar Financial Development Corporation (Canada), Dr. Levent Sumer (Chairman) SMR Strategy Turkey, Ms. Ebru Cetin (Head of Turkey) The Digital Insurer, Mr. Muhammad Salman Anjum (Chief Executive) InvoiceMate, (Head of BSV Blockchain) in MENA and South Asia and many other leading names of industry have participated in the event.

Addressing to the audience, the organizer of International Islamic Leasing Conference, Muhammad Zubair Mughal Chief Executive officer said that Islamic Finance Industry is growing all over the world, for its future direction we need to remove barriers for developing it as equally beneficial alternative financial system. Ijarah is a very convenient product to launch in those jurisdictions where there is no proper legal and regulatory environment available to facilitate Islamic banking and financial products, he added. He argued that due to this feature Ijarah products can be introduced effectively and efficiently in financial markets without introducing any additional legal and regulatory framework for enabling environment for Islamic finance products. 

Muhammad Zubair Mughal said that Takaful is a key to unlock the independence of men. He highlights the concept of Takaful based on solidarity, shared responsibility, and brotherhood among communities to cooperate and be mutually responsible for each other's unwanted uncertainties and financial damages. While narrating the theme and core purpose of the 2^nd International conference on Ijarah (Islamic Leasing) and Takaful, Muhammad Zubair Mughal resonated his thoughts that economic prosperity and well-being massively depends upon banking and finance sector in any country around the world. It is also noteworthy that those sectors are growing. In this connection the Islamic Banking and Islamic finance sectors have shown tremendous emergence globally by double digit growth from the last several years.

The conference will be followed by One Day “Post Event Workshop on Islamic Leasing” dated November 12, 2021. This Workshop will cover a variety of allied topics. To learn more about please visit: https://www.alhudacibe.com/icit2021/.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown

“UK GDP data shows the engine of recovery is still spluttering, with the economy only inching ahead on its path back to full health. Although the September reading on output came in a couple of notches higher than expected at 0.6%, a downgrade of the growth picture in the summer showed just how much of a struggle there is for the economy to regain its pre-pandemic level. The sluggish picture is against the backdrop of the easing of social distancing regulations, offering fresh indications that many companies have struggled with the ongoing supply chain crisis and labour shortages. Nevertheless the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 have gained ground despite the downbeat reading, in expectation that the Bank of England maybe more likely to hold off a sharp tightening of monetary policy in the months to come. There is no easy manual to follow to make the further repairs needed for the economy and the Bank of England have held off tinkering with interest rates just yet, over worries that could further damage the pistons of recovery. The stark worry is that with rising energy costs, cuts to benefits, and fresh price rises to come consumers are already starting to feel the pinch and may become cautious in the spending patterns.

Mining stocks are among the biggest gainers so far on the FTSE 100 amid higher inflation readings around the world, partly indicating surges in global demand for goods. Auto Trader topped the FTSE 100 leader board as revenues revved up in the first half by 82%. Demand for second hand cars has soared, amid the supply chain shortages affecting new models, turning forecourt online advertising into an even bigger cash cow. The best ever six month results for the company sent the share price soaring by more than 11% in early trade.

Investors will also be drilling down into the trade figures out today and what they mean for the UK economy. The transition to a new era of trade post Brexit is still hurting with the trade deficit widening by £3.5 billion to £4.3 billion in the third quarter. This was propelled by rising imports but falling exports especially to non-EU countries. There had been high hopes that the UK would find new profitable trading friends around the world, but those relationships have clearly been harder to foster.

The data indicates that the big bounce of recovery appears to be behind the UK, and the next few months are likely to be an upwards struggle to regain pre-pandemic levels as companies and consumers are caught in a pincer grip between rising prices and higher taxes, which may limit interest rate rises next year.’’

• GFT conducts original research which confirms the critical importance of cloud adoption. 

• Banks who implement an effective cloud strategy now will be among the first to unlock lasting competitive advantages 

• Skills shortages and lack of experience stop progress

• GFT Cloud Services Framework underpins GFT’s work with world’s leading banks

Cloud comes first - 95% of banking executives cite speed to market as a driver for embracing the cloud. But banks can’t do it on their own. 

Representatives from 21 global financial firms confirm that since 2018 cloud migration has become a business-critical reality. GFT’s original Hybrid and Multicloud Research Summary is available to download here. Standout findings include:

• 86% have chosen the cloud for its unlimited scale opportunities

• 62% cited organisational culture and inertia as a key challenge

• 81% of respondents chose the cloud to optimise costs

GFT Cloud Business Unit addresses skills shortage

One area of major concern is that severe skills shortages remain an industry-wide issue. Despite this, GFT has amassed a deep pool of certified and experienced cloud engineering and subject matter expertise, enabling clients to accelerate their cloud adoption and migration goals by applying practical and objective advice and guidance based on many years of experience. 

Alpesh Tailor, Head of GFT’s Global Cloud Business Unit, commented: "The report highlights several key areas where the GFT Global Cloud team already plays an important role. It’s particularly relevant because of our extensive knowledge gained from working with all the major cloud vendors. We have proven experience implementing complex technology solutions within highly regulated enterprises. To add, our new Cloud Services Framework, which underpins the entire cloud migration and adoption journey, will resonate with clients and prospects worldwide.

The summary of GFT’s original research ‘Think Cloud. Use Cloud. Be Cloud for a secure and sustainable future’, provides analysis of this important research and its impact on the financial services industry.

The Bank of England lost 161 electronic devices between September 2018 and August 2021.

The data has been obtained by Parliament Street Think Tank through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. A total of 25 devices were lost or stolen just in 2021 alone. 

In 2018 a total of 70 devices were reported missing or lost and 12 were reported stolen. In 2019, the number decreased, with 46 missing and 8 stolen. In 2021, a total of 16 devices were reported lost and 9 were stolen.

The highest number of missing devices were mobile phones, with a total of 57 lost or stolen in 2018, 30 lost or stolen in 2019 and 17 in 2021.

Laptops were the next highest devices to go missing. In 2018, 14 laptops were reported missing and 6 stolen. In 2019, 17 laptops were reported lost and 6 stolen and in 2021, 3 laptops went missing and 5 stolen.

This year The Bank of England was accused of moving too slow, according to experts, who say it needs to get a grip on the financial sector’s plans to outsource customer data storage. The loss of so many devices raises concerns that banks are not doing enough to keep data secure.

Edward Blake, Area Vice President EMEA, Absolute Software comments:

“With workforces now dispersed due to remote working, the use of personal phones and newly purchased laptops has gone up, and therefore so has the threat posed by hackers.”

“If a lost or stolen device ends up in the wrong hands, the Bank of England could be facing consequences far more severe than the cost to replace them. For example, sophisticated cyber criminals can steal the data contained on these devices, access more businesses files, or intercept emails between colleagues, for the purpose of data theft, monetary gain, high-profile scams, or ransomware.”

“Preventing this requires a robust system to ensure the latest encryption and security updates are installed to track, freeze and wipe devices in the event of loss or theft, keeping hackers locked out.”

World CX Summit - FSI – ASEAN digitally congregated some of the distinguished speakers in the CX and FSI ecosystem, while global technology leaders showcased their CX solutions in the presence of more than 200 pre-qualified delegates across ASEAN. CX visionaries shed light on key areas of CX including tech trends and opportunities in the digitization of the banking and insurance industry, where digital payments, digital banks, and fintech have gained prominence.

(An image from World CX Summit - FSI – ASEAN’s panel discussion streamed live on 21 October 2021)

As a part of the world tour, the ASEAN edition of World CX Summit - FSI gathered pre-qualified CX leaders, Marketers & FSI experts virtually on 21 October 2021; to discuss how the latest technologies and customer insights can be combined to change CX as we know it.

The fifth global edition featured keynotes, panel discussions, tech talks, private consultation rooms, private networking rooms, and more on Vmeets – a virtual events platform. CX leaders and enthusiasts had engaging sessions with speakers in Q&A sessions and emphasized the changing dynamics of customer experience across the globe.

The summit presented an impressive line-up of speakers including:

• Anthony Rogalski, Solutions Consultant, UserTesting
• Landon Barnes, Principal Solutions Consultant, UserTesting
• Gavin Neil Olsen, Regional Manager, FSI, Sitecore
• Mike Plimsoll, Snr. Director, Industry Strategy & Marketing, Sitecore
• Allan Tumbaga, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Marketing Officer, Pru Life UK
• Sourabh Chitrachar, Regional VP- IT Strategy & Transformation, Liberty Mutual Insurance
• Rachel Chen, Chief Digital Officer, Aviva Singlife
• Mohd Afdhal Bin Mohd Nayan, Chief Transformation Officer, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
• Chatrudee Ngamvalairatt, EVP, Customer Experience Management, Bank Of Ayudhya (Krungsri Bank)
• Tomasz Kurczyk, Chief Digital and Transformation Officer, AXA Insurance
• Mohamed Keraine, Head of Retail, Philippines & Head of Retail Development Asia, ING
• Mujtanibul Ahmed Sakib, Division Customer Experience Director, Wing Bank
• Jennifer Villalobos, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Prudential Life Assurance Public Company Ltd

Highlights of World CX Summit-FSI - ASEAN:

The summit started with an opening keynote by Mohd Afdhal Bin Mohd Nayan, Chief Transformation Officer at Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, where he shared his insights on, ‘How the Financial Service industry is driving Superior Digital Experience’. He was found quoting, “Delivering customer service is an integral part of banks in society, by addressing the new customer needs and concerns and improving own efficiency and effectiveness."

Sonny Supriyadi, VP - Head, Pricing and Data Analytics at Maybank; Gavin Neil Olsen, FSI DX lead, Southeast Asia at Sitecore and Mike Plimsoll, Snr. Director, Industry Strategy & Marketing at Sitecore discussed at length on topic ‘Know your customer, know your data’. Gavin stated, “The FSI sector is in the early stages of becoming digitally agile and meeting the needs of customers in an always-on platform economy. The first step is to streamline the content lifecycle and data capture to enable new services for existing customers. This is where FSI providers need to be focusing their efforts now — especially as they suddenly have a lot of customers who are online for the first time. This means implementing “content anywhere” processes to allow agility across all channels, owned, earned, and bought, from desktop, mobile, and physical channels, for all aspects of the content lifecycle. Our experience is that fully merging physical and digital channels is a huge culture shift for everyone — customers, employees, and management. The challenge is to build a seamless CX (customer experience) that reaches across all touchpoints and makes a difference to your bottom line, and brand loyalty.”

Landon Barnes, Principal Solutions Consultant at UserTesting spoke at length on ‘3 Reasons Companies Miss the Mark on Customer Centricity and How to Fix it’. He was quoted saying, “Businesses have to think from the customer perspective and how they want to do business and how quickly they want those experiences."

While speaking about ‘Digital Transformation for Banking In 2021: Leveraging low code technology to accelerate customer-facing and operational processes’, Andrew Fenton, Chief Sales Officer EMEA & APAC at Creatio, mentioned that, “There is a huge amount of disruption and challenges within the world of banking and this forces the technology trends towards omnichannel communication."

Riva Uy, Solution Architect Manager at OutSystems and Marouen Zelleg, Senior Director at OutSystems shed light on the topic ‘Reimagining Customer Experience, Empowered with Fast and Agile technology’.  Riva stated, “The demand and the supply for fintech are rising as many companies are massively evolving their business strategy.”

"Virtual events are an excellent opportunity for everyone in the industry to come together during these difficult times. Affordable and intelligent CX & FSI solutions & strategies are the need of the hour", says Mithun Shetty, CEO of Trescon.

• New architectural designs from the South Westminster Business Alliance show how the future hybrid workspace could look
• Created by Gensler, the pre-fabricated ‘pods’ are designed to be easily transported and installed in local areas to support hybrid working and encourage people back to the office.
• The ‘pods’ incorporate anti-viral features with sustainable materials and are currently undergoing feasibility testing.

New designs have shed light on what the future office could look like as businesses continue to reimagine their workspaces to suit hybrid working. 

Commissioned by the South Westminster Business Alliance, the Hexa Pods are prefabricated structures designed to create a fully COVID secure environment. They can be easily transported, modified and installed in open spaces, near to people’s homes or within urban centres to support flexible working outside of traditional office locations.

Created by award winning architects’ Gensler, the pods also have a unique ability to switch between being an indoor and outdoor space and are able to achieve far higher hygiene standard than traditional offices. Innovative elements include copper surfaces for enhanced microbial resistance, cross-ventilation and air filters to prevent the transmission of viruses.

Environmental features have also been included such transparent solar panels for the roof and the use of reclaimed wood to ensure they blend into their surroundings, as well as having a lower carbon impact in production.

According to the South Westminster Business Alliance around one third (35 per cent) of office workers in London are still concerned about contracting COVID-19 when returning to work. Six in then (62 per cent) say that taking public transport worries them while the pandemic is ongoing.   

Over the last eighteen months, businesses have been weighing up options for how their offices will look in the future. The CEO of the South Westminster Business Alliance, Ruth Duston hopes these designs will serve as inspiration as we come to live alongside COVID-19.  “It is a fact of life that we will be learning to live alongside COVID-19 for many years”, she commented.

“Thankfully we have a tremendously effective vaccine but we also need to think boldly about how our offices will look. These designs are just one example of how we can fundamentally rethink these spaces to make them safe, flexible and welcoming environments which support new ways of working. We need people back in offices not just so companies can build collaborative cultures but also to ensure our city centres remain vibrant places.”

Ian Mulcahey, Principal, Director of Cities, Gensler, said: “As we are finally returning to the heart of our cities for work once again, we see our streets filled with sound of people meeting, socialising and enjoying their city. The Hexa Pod provides an exciting first step for the return to the office where colleagues can finally meet, collaborate and focus on work together in an open air setting in Central London.’

The Hexa Pods are currently undergoing feasibility testing to see if they could be rolled out in Westminster and Victoria.

    The Indian tech firm sets up global headquarters in London working with support from the Department for International Trade

·      Eyeing a revenue of USD 100 million globally in the next 2 years

QPS, the world’s leading card issuance and processing platform, today announced that it would be hiring more than 200 employees across verticals to support its aggressive expansion plans in the overseas market. Currently at a strength of 40 employees, QPS plans to double its workforce in key office like Dubai and London. Apart from that, major focus would also be given to expand its technology team which is based out of Bengaluru.

Speaking on this development, Vinay Kalantri, Founder & CEO – QPS Global said, “Launched in 2019, QPS Global is the new kid on the block in terms of Card Issuance operating across categories – Prepaid card, debit Cards and Credit cards. We have successfully disrupted the mould of the legacy infrastructure and rapidly becoming the partner of choice for multiple companies trying to adopt new and innovative technologies. In the last 6 months we have successfully expanded our business operations cross India, Europe and the Middle East. We are eyeing a revenue of USD 100 million in the coming 2 years.”

QPS is focussed on breaking the mould of this legacy ecosystem by constantly evolving its backend technology. With the help of world-class APIs along and a dedicated developer portal with a modern core banking platform, QPS provides an instantly accessible private sandbox environment for its clients. Companies could now have a modern card system showing real time data points on credit limits, reward points, transactions, etc. It also gives companies a unique plug-and-play model that would enable them to launch new features with absolute ease.

QPS has recently expanded its business operations across Europe by investing £10m and setting up an office in London. Post which, QPS also announced an investment of USD 10 million to expand its operations across the Middle East and setting up its office base in Dubai.

Vinay further added, “We have invested heavily in our technology team thereby creating a disruptive back-end stack that benefits our customers tremendously. Traditionally, if legacy platforms had to launch a new service, it would have taken them anywhere between 3-6 months to launch, test and execute their new offering. However, with our technology stack, our clients can now launch new products and services directly to their customers within 3-4 weeks. We offer a simple ‘plug-n-play’ solution to our clients that enables them to offer new services and increase their revenues.”

Going forward, the start-up is also looking at expanding its business operations across markets like India, UAE, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bahrain Egypt, KSA and Bhutan.

Today, we announce that multinational group Prytek Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“Prytek” or the “Group”) has completed a strategic investment in Hirewell, a US-based talent acquisition solutions firm, as it continues its expansion.

Prytek enters the Human Capital space by investing into Hirewell, a US-based talent acquisition solutions firm and merging ICV, an AI sourcing solution (a Prytek technology company) to create a vertical integrated holding and delivering a managed service solution. This combined solution includes data technology, natural language programming, and business intelligence to marketplaces and offers an entire recruiting managed service.

Prytek will provide strategic capital to accelerate Hirewell’s organic growth and invest in technology to integrate it into its managed services. Prytek will became a majority holder in Hirewell and with this partnership, will combine Hirewell’s 20+ years of recruiting expertise with Prytek’s technical acumen. As part of this investment, Hirewell is acquiring Tel Aviv based software company, ICV.

Prytek builds vertically integrated solutions by merging deep tech SaaS companies (which Prytek owns) with manage service companies to increase efficiency and by replacing basic human functionality with AI. Prytek focuses on several industry sectors including fintech (through its financial services division Delta Capita), cyber and digital transformation training, HR-tech and cybersecurity, and was founded by Igor Rybakov and Andrey Yashunsky in 2017 . 

Hirewell is a US-based talent acquisition solutions firm, that offers a wide variety of services, including Managed Recruiting Services, Interim Talent Solutions, and embedded On-Demand recruiting. Hirewell has dedicated recruiters with deep functional knowledge in technology, digital marketing, human resources, sales, finance & accounting, and real estate services

For four years ICV has been perfecting technology that utilizes Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to greatly reduce the time recruiters spend searching for talent. Embedding ICV’s technology into Hirewell’s Managed Recruiting Services will differentiate both firms in a competitive market. The combined organizations will allow organizations to hire the best talent in a cost-effective manner.

Other managed services which Prytek has built is Delta Capita (financial services division of Prytek) and QAssure (which merged with prooV, which is the information technology division of Prytek).

Andrey Yashunksy Prytek’s Co CEO & Co-Founder stated: “This investment enhances our vertical supply chain to ThriveDX (a portfolio company of Prytek) where we build vertical integrated solutions for Cyber and IT education for universities and corporates. Now, we will not only be able to create new experts, but also manage their placements and solve corporate clients end to end for their recruiting needs. ”

Matt Massucci, Founder and CEO of Hirewell stated: “The talent acquisition space has evolved and skill sets have gotten more complex over the last 20 years. Yet, technology has struggled to truly disrupt the industry. Recruiters are increasingly relying on multiple tools. Most of which don't integrate, or have limited functionality. We are thrilled to partner with Prytek and ICV to address these challenges. We are excited to continue delivering successful results to our clients, while integrating best in class technology to make the process more efficient.”

Ran Weiss, CTO and Co-Founder of ICV stated: “After years of intensive research on natural language processing and machine learning technologies, we developed smart matching and sourcing solutions for human resources and are thrilled about introducing our technology to the North American market. Combining our technology with Hirewell's decades of experience will address the difficulties in recruiting employees in today's current job search jungle. The merger is a natural fit and we're ready to propel Hirewell's technology efforts forward.”

• The fintech banking platform finalizes a seed round with Banca Sella as lead investor
• Platform is aimed at around 6 million small companies, professionals and self-employed in Italy

Tot is a new fintech banking platform that aims to digitalize the administrative and financial management for professionals, freelancers, and microenterprises with up to 10 employees, creating efficiency and offering simple planning and control tools. The goal is to free up precious time and give small businesses that are crucial to the economy the access to advanced administration and planning resources they need to help them grow. Tot will allow them to easily monitor and manage their expenditure, collection and earnings, along with the timetable to set aside provisions for taxes, and much more.

The international evolution of the fintech market and regulation has so far affected mainly the payments sector, reshaping the way consumers use financial services. This evolution in now beginning to impact services dedicated to microenterprises and professionals, and Italy’s fintech sector continues to confirm its ability and readiness to seize market opportunities.

The Tot start-up is aimed at microenterprises, which in Italy alone number 821,000 - equal to 79.5% of total companies*. This number, when added to the over 5 million self-employed with VAT numbers**, represents an enormous pool of users that until now has been underserved by traditional financial institutions. Due to the lack of a targeted product offer, these businesses do not yet see digitalization as a priority. As a result, they risk losing efficiency and competitiveness in the medium term.

This strong market potential, combined with the skills and experience of its three founders, has enabled Tot to finalize a first seed funding round for €2 million, led by Banca Sella, ahead of actual market entry, scheduled starting from Italy for early 2022, with the aim to expand in further European countries in the following years.

Tot’s three founders are Doris Messina, current Chief Digital Transformation Officer of Banca Sella; Bruno Reggiani, former Country Manager Italy of Penta; and Andrea Susta, formerly in the Digital Marketing team of Fabrick.

Doris Messina, CEO and Co-Founder of Tot, said: "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to generate added value by bringing services to the market that we hope will quickly contribute to improving the lives of small businesses by supporting their development. We are also happy that Banca Sella, among the most innovative banking operators in Europe, is the first important investor. We are certain that Banca Sella will bring value in terms of vision along with its financial resources.”