Clausematch, the global regulatory technology (RegTech) company automating policy management and regulatory compliance at financial institutions and other regulated organizations, today officially launches its new functionality - document modifications. The decision to launch modifications comes after a request from the company's core clients.

With the release of modifications, Clausematch presents an advanced functionality that allows organizations to manage deviations to the original document and solve a number of different use cases, while retaining governance and control over the content, permissions, and workflows. Users can now create addendums to their documents and manage them separately. They can also set different levels of access and permissions to these documents on a granular level. This is the most common use case for modifications as well as translations, i.e. creating different interconnected language versions of the same document.

On a basic level, addendums are additions to main documents. They allow you to keep all the changes synchronized on a granular level. Over 300 addendums have been created for a Tier 1 US Bank who originally suggested this functionality. This comprises 10% of all governance documents, i.e. on average, there are up to 10 modifications to 1 document. Clausematch’s modifications allow simultaneous management without losing any important connections and reviewers. The bigger the company is, the more difficult the processes are. For a Top Tier Global Bank working across multiple jurisdictions, this feature comes as an absolute necessity.

What used to take 4 weeks of work to make changes across several compliance groups working with local versions of documents, is now achievable in one day. Identification of which information relates to each client can be seen immediately without any confusion.

Previously, many resources were assigned to syncing these modified versions, keeping them updated and retaining the main documents unchanged. For instance, you had one core document and you needed to incorporate 50 changes for different jurisdictions and for different local versions of that document. For 4 weeks in a row, these documents used to be in the 'work in progress' mode as all of the teams worked on them and it took time and effort to collate the changes without losing important beats. This was the starting point to kick-off the process of building the new Clausematch feature that in fact transforms the way the platform functions making it a significant add-on.

The modification documents allow inheriting full content from the original document automatically syncing the latest revisions. They also allow the content to be updated in a smart and efficient way.

Yan Shtefanets, Product Manager at Clausematch, commented: "Today, we officially present a new type of document that will help big banks and enterprises to organize global and local policies more effectively. If there is a global policy which needs amending to have a slightly different version for a local entity that will address local regulatory requirements. How can you apply these changes without changing anything in the global policy? Now you can create a copy of a global policy that will always contain the latest updates from the original document. This functionality will allow required changes to be applied on top of the original content. Work on this local policy can be assigned to relevant parties from a local entity while keeping control over the update cycle. This allows global compliance teams to work in a new way, completing their assigned tasks more quickly without having to wait for the completion of work as a whole. It also simplifies control over content as users control only their parts of the content."

Anastasia Dokuchaeva, Head of Product at Clausematch "Our customers have challenged us to rethink how to make the process of creating and managing addendums and translations to documents more efficient, where all stakeholders work on their own documents, yet in unison with everyone else. We are proud to deliver this new and innovative approach, and believe it will be a game-changer for our customers. Following the launch of this new product, we are pleased to receive feedback that we have exceeded our clients' expectations, and are excited by the prospect of them being able to maintain all documentation and its variations, synchronized and empowered by technology.”

Document modifications restores absolute and complete synchronization across an organization, aligning all of the changes in global and local documents on a granular level. This functionality reduces the challenges facing organizations that are operating across multiple jurisdictions, and makes it much easier to constantly manage and keep thousands of internal governance documents up-to-date.

Clausematch is planning to enhance and develop modifications as part of the product roadmap. The company plans to release more localization and target version use cases while also adding the possibility to merge content back which is a common scenario for compliance teams.

Clausematch received client feedback regarding the necessity to develop a new feature in January 2021. To recall, the company expanded its operation in the United States in 2020 signing 4 big clients in financial services.

• Rebrand follows years of sustained growth for MCI Club
• Coupled with the launch of finova Connect, a suite of tech-enabled broker solutions

finova, a leading mortgage and savings software provider for lenders and advice professionals, which was formally known as DPR Group, today announces the rebrand of MCI Mortgage Club to finova Payment and Mortgage Services.

finova Payment and Mortgage Services has grown the number of broker cases by 133% since 2018 and has more than doubled its lender panel in the last 24 months, making it one of the most significant entities connecting mortgage brokers and lenders in the UK.

finova Payment and Mortgage Services customers benefit from a single, innovative payment and processing package, which enables brokers to earn more on procurement fees, while utilising the latest technology. Further enhancements to the finova Payment and Mortgage Services’ proposition means that brokers now also have the option to advise on, or refer to a specialist, equity release and secured loan cases.

To support day-to-day operations, finova Payment and Mortgage Services’ members can also take advantage of the finova Broker Platform at a discounted price, which helps to expedite every step of the mortgage process.

The finova Broker Platform includes:

• Customer Onboarding Module – a tool designed to attract new customers and make their onboarding process as seamless and efficient as possible
• Client Portal – an online module which enables brokers and customers to collaborate on their application, with all relevant documentation stored in one place and easily modifiable
• Case management & CRM – software to support the overall application process with configurable workflows and cloud-based storage
• Customer Retention Module– Using marketing automation, the module engages with consumers during the initial term of their mortgage and prompts them to renew through a timely stream of personalised emails.

Melanie Spencer, Head of finova Payment and Mortgage Services , comments:

“Our name has changed, but the high quality of service we provide has continued. As a team, we have worked constantly in the support of brokers, growing case numbers by 133% between 2018 and 2021, and we look forward to carrying this momentum into our new venture as finova Payment and Mortgage Services. We have also increased lending volumes for lenders on our panel by 162% in the same period. It’s a really exciting time, with finova’s wider transformation from DPR Group, and we’re so pleased to be a part of it.”

finova Payment and Mortgage Services member, David Mayne, director at Premier Financial Planning, comments:

“We joined finova Payment and Mortgage Services from one of the UK's largest Mortgage Clubs in August 2020 as it just made sense. The quality of their technology is second to none and the benefits of engaging a single entity for all of our market needs, cannot be over-stated.”

 Fime is the first to be approved by the European Card Payment Cooperation (ECPC) to test and certify payment terminals and SoftPOS solutions in line with the CPA Contactless Extensions (CPACE) specification. Terminal vendors and kernel developers can now confirm the Level 2 functional compliance of their products using Fime’s Eval+ cloud-based test tool and lab services. CPACE provides a foundation of interoperability for the European payment ecosystem, offering a seamless experience for consumers when making contactless payments.

Fime’s extensive portfolio of CPACE services allows players to achieve compliance with multiple schemes quickly and efficiently. This approach helps to reduce costs, mitigate risks and ensure consistency across the ecosystem.

Raphaël Guilley, VP Solutions at Fime comments: “Our unique experience allows us to support the development of CPACE as a common European platform for contactless payment acceptance. By increasing openness and reducing the time needed to develop different technologies, stakeholders can avoid vendor lock-in and focus on enabling innovation. We are proud to be facilitating interoperability in the terminal acceptance ecosystem to drive better user experiences across Europe.”

Powered by Fime Test Factory, Fime’s CPACE testing tool and services provide development teams with 24/7 access to the latest test suite, ensure accelerated time-to-market through automated product testing and facilitate collaboration between distributed teams. Learn more about Fime’s Eval+ testing services here.

 Premialab announced today that Danish pension fund P+ Pensionskassen for Akademikere (P+) will use Premialab Platform and Premialab Pure Factors® to improve their allocation and risk monitoring across fund managers and systematic strategies.

Premialab has recently launched the next generation platform 2.0, including a new portfolio construction module and state of the art look-through dynamic risk dashboards. This latest development brings more intuitive navigation between Premialab Analytics to drive actionable decisions on portfolio optimization and risk monitoring across factors and asset classes.

Andreas Karlsson, heading up the Nordic region at Premialab, said, "with the low interest rate environment, we are seeing an increased focus on alternative sources of return, and believe we are in a unique position to support such efforts."

"Our Board of Directors has recently announced the adoption of a new strategy to set the direction for the pension fund's work in the coming years," said John Hydeskov, Head of Liquid Investments at P+. "As a result, we are looking to increase our allocation to liquid alternatives, and Premialab will support our due diligence on strategies available in the market, monitor current investments, and provide additional transparency into this asset class."

"Our comprehensive universe of strategies and advanced analytics are perfectly positioned to help institutions to improve their allocation across asset classes and investment styles," said Adrien Geliot, CEO at Premialab. "We are delighted to partner with P+, and to add to the growing number of pension funds using our unique industry dataset, proprietary factor insights, and risk analytics to help make better investment decisions."

As we emerge from the pandemic, businesses are still not out of the woods yet. Effects of Brexit are being felt with supply chains and recruitment at breaking point for some sectors. It’s been a tough 18 months for four Bristol-based businesses who all chose to take a positive mindset over the lockdown periods.

Alastair Donnelly, co-owner of Inside Travel Group, a worldwide Asian specialist travel company, had to adjust massively to the challenges of the pandemic.

“Due to the nature of our business, we were receiving early signs of trouble when internet traffic dropped on our site in January of 2020. However, we would never have expected the level of business disruption the pandemic caused. Regular business just stopped and we had to accept that we wouldn’t be operating tours for the foreseeable future.”

Throughout the pandemic, Inside Travel Group worked with local business coach Gary Keating to come out as a stronger business.

“Gary helped us view the pandemic as an opportunity. Since we launched in 2000, we have grown to a multi-national company with offices in America, Australia, and Japan. This growth has been incredible, but it had started to feel like we needed to restructure the business due to its massive development. Applying our learning from Gary’s coaching, we used the lockdown to consolidate everything we have achieved, so no matter where you are in the Inside Travel Group network the same systems and processes are now in place for success. We then built a new website and set about developing exciting new destinations such as South Korea, ready for that bounce-back.”

Co-founder of NOCO Hair, Noel Halligan, saw his award-winning hair salon close overnight, “We were massively impacted - our sector was forced to close, and we were terrified about losing all the ground we had gained in the previous year when we had appointed Gary as our business coach.

“Rather than give up on our dreams, Gary encouraged us to purchase our second premises - a spa and beauty salon in Wells, which is four times the size of our original salon. We committed to establishing ourselves as the leaders in our market, spending lockdown attending seminars with some of the world’s best hairdressers, so when restrictions were lifted, we had built an expert network to collaborate with.”

Manager of kid’s soft play company Little Giggles, Laurie Coventry, took the business in an interesting direction as soon as their premises were allowed to re-open, “We decided to re-utilise the space by securing an alcohol license which we could use for night-time entertainment. The shows have been massively successful, and we’ll continue to use them as part of our revenue stream in the future. Without having the sounding board of a business coach to give us confidence in such a stressful time, I’m not sure we would have emerged from lockdown with a long-lasting business model.”

Sarah Cunliffe, Director of True Freedom Counselling, had just started the move to virtual sessions before COVID-19 hit, “Before I started coaching with Gary, all my business was in person. I love Gary’s radical candour - he told me that if I didn’t pre-empt where my sector was heading by moving online, I would be left behind. He always likes to say that winter is coming, you need to be prepared for when the unforeseeable happens - my goodness was the pandemic one heck of cold blast! As a result, before the pandemic, I’d already started diversifying my business model by moving some of my clients online. This new system ensured that when the restrictions came, I was able to continue working with all my clients with confidence.”

“Our team at ActionCOACH Bristol swore that no business owner would be left behind if they wanted our help over the pandemic. Since March 2020, we’ve gifted 150 hours of business coaching to Bristol’s businesses. To see the immense impact these businesses can now have on the local community is beyond fulfilling.”

 BSO, the global pioneering infrastructure and connectivity provider powering the digital age, announced today it has become an approved international network provider for Brazilian stock exchange B3.

B3 (Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão), headquartered in São Paulo is the largest exchange in Latin America and BSO is now the lowest-latency vendor registered with the exchange and connecting international traders to the Latin American hub. By strengthening its Latin American offering and widening access to the region, BSO is providing international traders with faster, more cost-effective access to one of the world’s most promising financial services market.

The connection is bolstered by BSO’s recent introduction of a direct ultra-low latency connectivity route between Brazil and Europe, in partnership with express optical platform EllaLink. The route, the first direct connectivity route between the regions, cuts latency in half making it easier than ever for institutional traders in Europe to connect to the major Brazilian trading hub. The route also opens up a wider range of possibilities for proprietary trading firms, capital banks, hedge funds and other market participants, across multiple asset classes.

“We are so thrilled to be working with B3 at a strategic level, to put in place ultra-low latency connectivity and infrastructure to help it succeed in its drive to extend its international reach. With our experience in delivering connectivity around the world, BSO is well-placed to help trading participants globally access the B3 exchange and capitalise on the immense opportunities that it offers,” said Michael Ourabah, CEO of BSO.

“B3 is a strong, thriving market and we are especially delighted to be able to help more European traders access it with the lowest latencies available between the two continents, as they seek to discover alpha strategies for achieving the highest returns” said Tony Jones, BSO’s Head of Low Latency. “With this partnership we are now going further establishing direct links between B3 and other exchanges around the world including London, France, Singapore and Turkey.”

“BSO, with all its connectivity capacity and ultra-low latency infrastructure, will help B3 expand its operations with international investors, who, in turn, can access assets available on one of the most important stock exchanges in the world”, says Claudio Jacob, International Business Development Managing Director at B3. “Bolsa do Brasil is committed to providing a necessary experience for its clients and, therefore, understands the need to continue investing to stay ahead in performance, security, scalability and transparency. This partnership further strengthens our range of connectivity products”, reinforces Jacob.

   Irish consumers will be able to split purchases into three instalments with no interest or fees

·       Klarna to help Irish retailers adapt to a changing retail landscape and drive growth by accessing a community of 90 million Klarna global consumers

·       Irish customers can shop with Klarna at all retailers, through the Klarna app

Klarna, the global retail bank, payments and shopping service with 90 million users globally, officially launches in Ireland today, empowering Irish consumers with a better shopping experience and greater control, transparency and choice over how they pay. Irish consumers will be able to shop online and split their purchases into three interest-free equal payments (‘Pay in 3’) through both the Klarna app and directly via integrated partner retailers.

Klarna’s launch of an interest-free and fee-free alternative to high-cost credit comes as Irish consumers shift away from credit cards towards debit for most of their day-to-day spend. Spending on debit cards grew three times faster than credit cards between 2015 and 2020^[1].

In the Klarna app, Irish consumers will be able to ‘Pay in 3’ at any online store, regardless of whether they are a Klarna retailer or not, thanks to the innovative ‘Shop Anywhere’ function.

Similarly, consumers who use Klarna at a partner retailer’s online checkout will be able to split their purchases interest-free. With a range of domestic and international retailers including Gym + Coffee, Perspective, Yummie, Cult Beauty, Greene’s Shoes,  Luna by Lisa and Yours Clothing all teaming up with Klarna, consumers will benefit from greater control, transparency and choice over how they pay.  

Klarna’s launch will help Irish merchants, both big and small, adapt to a shifting retail landscape enabling them to improve their customer experience in response to changing consumer preferences whilst accessing a much wider community of global consumers.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s Co-founder and CEO said:

“Ireland is a really exciting market for us, as people turn away from credit cards. As the older-style financial institutions exit the market we’re here to create more competition, which is in the best interest of the consumer. At Klarna we believe that everyone deserves a better way to shop and pay, with more control, choice and flexibility. Traditional high-cost models like credit cards are built on charging interest and late fees to the rest. That’s why we offer flexible, transparent and fair payment options without charging interest or fees.”

Colin Creagh, Head of Business Development at Klarna in Ireland, adds:

“We’ll be working with our Irish retailer partners to help them access a global marketplace. With coverage in 17 markets across three continents, we can accept payments from almost every country in the world, unlocking huge growth opportunities for our partners. As a key European market with a population of keen digital adopters, Ireland has long been part of our expansion strategy in our mission to offer safer, more sustainable payment options to customers around the world.”

Lee McNamara, Ecommerce Manager at Gym + Coffee commented:

“We’re thrilled to partner with Klarna and offer payment options that make it easier for our consumers to purchase with confidence. This sort of flexibility, convenience and financial control that paying with Klarna brings is the future of retail and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this shopping revolution.”

How the app works.

Through the Klarna app, people can shop anywhere online and split the payment into 3 equal monthly payments, with no interest or fees. All payments can be managed and tracked within the app, which is designed to help consumers manage their spending and payments.

The Klarna app also gives consumers:

·       Collections, save the items you love, spark your inspiration with curated wish lists or find the hottest items from your favourite retailers. Wish lists can contain items from any retailer and can either be kept for private use, or shared with friends and family.  

·       Price drop notifications, consumers can set up alerts for the products they love, and only pay for them when they’re comfortable with the price, offering the best value for money on their purchases.

·       Exclusively curated content from the world of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.

Klarna carries out robust eligibility assessments on each and every transaction. Its business model is built on people paying back on time -  because consumers aren’t charged interest or late fees Klarna has a strong incentive to only lend to those who can shop responsibly and meet repayments.

Disburse B2B payout capabilities now spans 200+ countries to help cross-border platforms streamline payment to distributors, sellers, and suppliers

Rapyd, a global Fintech as a Service company, today announced new enhancements to its industry-leading Disburse and Collect Platforms, delivering new end-to-end infrastructure for B2B firms to pay suppliers and sellers while getting paid by customers around the world more efficiently.

Rapyd has extended its Disburse platform capabilities across 200+ countries, enabling organizations to make payouts in leading global trade currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, and SGD anywhere in the world, along with leading regional and local currencies. In addition, Rapyd clients can now disburse with Real-Time Payments (RTP) in 50+ countries across the globe providing more control and visibility over payout timing.

To further its B2B payment acceptance offering, Rapyd clients can now also use Virtual Accounts to accept payments in Singapore and Europe to pay in their locally preferred currency.

"The pandemic accelerated the need of every business large and small to participate in digital ecosystems for trade, procurement, and labor, whether on a gig-platform to find and pay workers, a B2B trade platform for supplies, or a cross-border B2B eCommerce marketplace to sell globally. We can now serve cross-border B2B firms with the most flexible, end-to-end payments solution anywhere," commented Joel Yarbrough, Managing Director of Rapyd Ventures and Vice President of Asia Pacific. "Rapyd's platform is unique in that we can serve both Enterprises and SMEs, process local and cross-border large ticket transactions typical of global trade, along with higher velocity, lower ticket transaction sizes common in consumer and SME payments."

B2B eCommerce on the Web and via marketplaces already generates nearly 4X as much revenue as its consumer-facing counterpart globally, and B2B eCommerce has continued growing during the pandemic. The global B2B eCommerce market size had already been projected to reach $20.9 trillion by 2027, expanding at a 17.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2020 to 2027, according to Grand View Research^[1].

With Rapyd, B2B buyers and sellers not only have the most payment and payout methods in Asia and across the world than any other provider, but can now leverage a single, unified cloud-based solution to service the broadest array of countries, currencies, business types, and transaction sizes.

Temenos SCALE is the most comprehensive financial software Developer Conference for banks, partners, and consultants working within Temenos’ fintech ecosystem.                                                                                    Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced a stellar line-up for SCALE 2021, the financial software Developer Conference for banks, partners, and consultants working within Temenos’ fintech ecosystem. Temenos SCALE is the most comprehensive financial software developer event in banking and boasts more than 40 live and on-demand sessions.

Industry leaders BIAN, Microsoft, Red Hat and Oracle, ground-breaking fintechs including Bud as well as banking changemakers, ABN Amro, Blueshore and Credem, all feature at this year’s online event 16-17 November. Register for free here.

Temenos SCALE 2021 opens the door to the developer community to harness the potential of the world’s #1 banking platform used by more than 3,000 banks and financial institutions. Attendees will experience presentations and demonstrations with a focus on inclusivity and sustainability. Here’s just a snapshot of some of the session highlights:

• Experience app development with Microsoft and how to unleash developer velocity using Microsoft Azure, GitHub, PowerApps and Visual Studio
• Hear from Red Hat on open sourcing in banking, co-engineering between fintechs and vendors and the implications for intellectual property and security.
• Join a fireside chat with the Chief Architect at the Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN) discussing the future of banking.
• Learn from the Digital Accessibility Centre how to create a digital experience that is accessible to everyone, and meets best practice accessibility standards and legislation.
• Discover how Bud is providing a carbon footprint service and how developers can leverage this capability to deliver highly relevant features within their apps and services.

Attendees will also hear from Temenos’ senior leaders, including a keynote from CEO Max Chuard and technical session with experts in areas including AI, payments, digital experience on topics such as how to unlock the power of real-time data and how to prepare for a cashless future.

Paul Roberts, Director, Temenos Developer Community and MarketPlace, Temenos, said: “Our lives, communities and the environment are intrinsically linked with banking, and we’ve made sustainability and inclusivity a focus at this year’s SCALE. Whether leveraging technology to drive banking inclusivity, enhancing sustainability awareness by integrating carbon trackers into banking apps, or understanding best practice accessibility standards and legislation, SCALE provides the inside track.”

All SCALE sessions will have subtitles, and through a partnership with Grow-Trees Temenos will be planting a tree for everyone who attends as part of its investment in carbon removal projects.