Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider has today announced that Beninese-American Hollywood star and model, Djimon Hounsou and famous Nigerian painter, LÁOLÚ will be exhibiting their digital artist series, “Time To Heal”, on the Binance NFT Marketplace. The new collaboration is for Binance Charity’s NFT For Good Campaign, which enables creators to convert their art and creativity into meaningful global action targeting social and humanitarian issues.

Djimon Hounsou who portrayed Korath the Pursuer in Marvel blockbuster movies, Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel, will be body painted by LÁOLÚ, the Nigerian artist behind the body art in Beyoncé’s Grammy award-winning Lemonade. The abstract image of Djimon will then be projected on a physical canvas and subsequently converted to a digital NFT version. 

The NFT collection, consisting of five unique portraits, will launch on November 10, 2021 and proceeds will be shared between the artists and the Djimon Hounsou Foundation through the Binance Charity. “I feel this compelling need, this inherent obligation to give back to my continent, to my people, and to champion the idea of reconciliation and reconnection.” says Djimon.

LÁOLÚ added: “There is so much we can do when we come together. Through my work, I’ve always sought to connect the world to my Yoruba roots. With this project, we’re doing that on a large scale by sharing not only our own stories but that of the diaspora within the digital landscape.” 

On November 9, 2021, Djimon and LÁOLÚ will also join Binance for a live ‘Ask Me Anything’ chat on Binance YouTube, discussing NFTs, their entrance into the crypto and blockchain space and how NFTs can impact African artists. 

Join HERE

Emmanuel Babalola, Director at Binance Africa, said: “We are especially excited to host creators of African descent as we see the profound opportunity NFTs and the blockchain bring to the entire continent. As NFTs transform the digital art world, it is important that African creators are provided an even larger platform with optimal solutions to reach a more global audience”.

“Nearly 4 times as many people live in modern-day slavery than during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We know blockchain is a powerful tool that can be used to help tackle complex and horrific social issues - such as this - from tackling corruption to increasing transparency to promoting financial freedom to providing new fundraising streams such as the recent NFT boom. Cross-industry collaborations such as this one between Djimon, his foundation, Láolú and Binance are essential to help harness this potential and drive forward blockchain for good.” comments Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity and Binance NFT. 

Binance NFT is an established brand within the crypto community. In just a little over a month after its debut, Binance NFT became one of the fastest-growing NFT platforms in the world, generating 25 million BUSD in sales, selling over 300,000 mystery boxes and onboarding 400 creators globally. Today, Binance NFT has sold over 900,000 mystery boxes and earned 103+ million BUSD in sales in total since launch.

The Binance NFT Marketplace shares the same account system as Binance.com. Existing Binance users are able to access the NFT marketplace and trade with their current Binance accounts. New users simply have to register on Binance.com to create or trade on the Binance NFT platform. Binance NFT has also added multi-chain support for NFT deposits and withdrawals. Users can now transfer their NFTs to and from Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum networks with ease. 

 CQG, a leading global provider of high-performance technology solutions for traders, brokers, commercial hedgers, and exchanges, today announced the launch of a comprehensive suite of exclusive execution technologies designed to give market participants new tools to achieve greater efficiencies and optimal trade execution, particularly for large or complex order types.

The new initiative builds an entire suite of functionality off of the infrastructure of cutting-edge software assets CQG acquired from Blue Trading Systems (BTS) in June 2020. It also leverages technology CQG has been developing in recent years – all aimed at providing smart trade execution opportunities for buy-side and sell-side firms that can improve pricing, provide increased visibility of aggregating different markets, and enable large global firms to efficiently match client orders in a regulatory-compliant fashion. CQG Vice President of Execution Technologies Kevin Darby, formerly co-founder of BTS who joined CQG last year to lead the integration of the software, is leading the new Execution Technologies business unit.

CQG President Ryan Moroney said: “We’re really excited to bring this new offering to market this week, based on an effort that has been years in the making. The Execution Technologies suite gives buy-side institutions such as hedge funds, large insurance companies, and commercial hedging operations that utilize the industry’s biggest banks and brokerage firms the ability to execute large, complex orders as efficiently as if they were trading a handful of contracts. We have also further strengthened capabilities for the professional trading community reflecting the myriad sophisticated order types they want to employ.”

The offering is available through multiple platforms, including CQG Integrated Client, CQG Desktop and various CQG-supported application programming interfaces (APIs). The suite includes numerous components now available to all interested clients, including:

• CQG Algos – A comprehensive set of pre-built algorithmic order types, employing a co-located low latency trading engine, for optimal server-side execution of Arrival Price, VWAP (volume-weighted average price), TWAP (time-weighted average price) and other algorithms. Each algorithm is built to track or beat benchmarks with specific implementations dedicated to in-depth analysis of microstructure, resulting in more passive order fills;
• Custom Algo SDK – A software development kit allowing users to mix and match CQG Algos with their own custom C++ algorithms, minimizing development and testing cycles;
• Algo API – A client-side interface used to control and compose server-side algorithms running inside of Custom Algo SDK, coupled with an evolving set of back-testing and analysis tools;
• AlgoAnalytics – An augmented transaction cost analysis (TCA) tool that provides a transparent view into the core value proposition of the offering, with benchmark and micro-structure analysis;
• Internalization Engine that allows large banks and brokerage firms to match orders from different clients internally, giving them cross-trade opportunities that reduce exchange fees and compliance risk, and providing a file or audit records of internalized orders to post to back-office systems;
• Server-side Aggregation that provides a pooled liquidity view of cross-listed, fungible assets while allowing smart order routing into the constituents of the pool, according to user preferences.

Also in the works are new components slated for introduction later this year and in 2022, including:

• Additional algorithmic order types for multi-leg futures trading and a suite of options algorithms;
• CQG Spreader 2.0 – a sophisticated new version of the firm’s existing functionality, which will include new low latency spread routing, with considerably faster execution times that allow users to employ their existing CQG Spreader interface.

Darby said: “Our core technology for CQG Algos facilitates ultra-low latency access to markets with an emphasis on strong, lightning-fast analytics, as well as flexible, reliable algorithms. Through novel implementation of order types, we’re able to deliver high-quality fills with the goal of reducing implicit trading costs and market impact involved in accumulating a listed derivatives position for buy-side firms. The SDK allows us to partner with long-time clients like proprietary trading groups for high-value trading strategies, while respecting the sanctity of their intellectual property.”

Raisin DS turns Raisin Bank into one of the first German cloud banks. Mambu’s flexible technology strengthens Raisin Bank’s position as a BaaS provider for fintechs.

Raisin Bank, the company-owned servicing bank of fintech Raisin DS, has publicly launched its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering using Mambu's SaaS cloud banking platform. All of Raisin Bank’s existing customers have been migrated to the Mambu platform and can now leverage state-of-the-art digital solutions for business models that require a banking licence. 

This move makes Raisin Bank, which was founded in 1973, one of the first German cloud banks. Since its acquisition by Raisin DS in 2019, the bank has focused on offering the most advanced digital solutions in account management, payments and lending for financial vendors and start-ups. In the last two years Raisin Bank has established itself as a leading European BaaS provider, with a German banking license passported in every country in the European Union.

Andreas Wolf, Chief Commercial Officer at Raisin Bank, explains, "Migrating all of our services to Mambu’s platform enables us to add real value to our many partners and clients as well as to Raisin DS. For our continued growth as a Banking-as-a-Service provider, we now have one of the most modern and agile IT platforms among European banks. With Mambu, we have multiplied the speed with which we can scale processes and develop new applications. This step positions us to meet the rapidly increasing demand for digital banking solutions."

Mambu’s SaaS banking platform offers maximum flexibility and speed, enabling financial institutions to rapidly configure and deploy new products, giving them a unique competitive edge.

By building with Mambu, Raisin Bank has the flexibility to swap out components as required, avoiding vendor lock-in and wholesale re-platforming. The bank has additionally created its own architecture on top of Mambu, developing interfaces for embedded banking solutions and automating previously complex processes for more efficient customer onboarding, credit decisions, repayments and real-time notifications.

Raisin Bank offers BaaS products for platforms and ecosystems, and utilizes these within Raisin DS itself for all banking operations. This means that customers profit directly from the improvements of the Raisin DS integration. With Mambu, the bank has future-proofed its IT stack. As an API-first and cloud-native platform, Mambu aligns with Raisin Bank's customer-first philosophy, empowering the bank to create transparent, real-time customer experiences for their partners' business models. All of Mambu’s core banking processes and interfaces are cloud-based, allowing Raisin Bank’s customers to innovate and integrate services faster in a low-maintenance set-up. 

Eelco-Jan Boonstra, Managing Director EMEA at Mambu, added, “The future of modern servicing banks lies entirely in the cloud. Building a licensed BaaS offering and migrating all customers is a fantastic achievement and we are proud to have supported Raisin Bank in becoming one of the first cloud banks in Germany. Their customers and partners now benefit from innovation, security, and resilience of the platform, all at scale. We know this is just the beginning for the Raisin Bank team and are looking forward to being part of their story as they keep revolutionising banking services across Europe.”

Distribution Opens to Global Clients of Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC, E*TRADE; Hudson River Trading Commits as a Lead Market Maker

FairX, the new regulated futures exchange built for the active retail trader, today announced it is positioned for significant growth, as industry-leading firms including Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC as well as E*TRADE have completed certification, opening up distribution to the respective firms’ global clients. The new client access comes as FairX volume consistently reaches highs, with average daily volume growing 33% week-over-over week since launch in June.

Also poised to play a role in the exchange’s growth is Hudson River Trading, a leading global market maker and liquidity provider, which has committed to provide streaming around-the-clock quotes for FairX products, joining Virtu Financial and XTX Markets, which have served as FairX Lead Market Makers since launch. 

“We’re thrilled that clients of Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC and E*TRADE – two of the largest, most recognizable retail brokerage firms in the industry – can now trade FairX products that meet the needs of today’s active individual investor,” said Neal Brady, CEO at FairX. “And to have Hudson River Trading join as an additional Lead Market Maker will further deepen the exchange’s around-the-clock liquidity, providing new and dramatically lower-cost trading opportunities for the retail trader.”

“We continue to see demand from retail traders and investors to access futures markets, and we are excited to offer access to FairX as another destination for our clients choosing to utilize futures in their overall portfolios,” said J.B. Mackenzie, Managing Director at Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC.

“E*TRADE is pleased to open up distribution to our clients as FairX’s offering aligns with our mission to empower retail traders with the tools and service they need to make futures part of their portfolio,” said Dan Ryba, Executive Director at E*TRADE.

Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC and E*TRADE join a rapidly expanding distribution network of retail-focused brokers and vendors offering access to FairX futures, including Tradovate, Ironbeam, Stage 5, EdgeClear, Bookmap, CQG, Rithmic, Sierra Chart, TradingView and dxFeed.

Last week, FairX launched Micro Crude Oil Futures (OIL), representing the most cost-effective way for active retail traders to trade and hedge the price of crude oil. OIL is now listed alongside FairX futures on the Bloomberg US Large Cap Index, tracking the largest 500 companies by market cap, and on the SuperTech Index, tracking 15 of the largest and most actively traded companies engaged in high-growth technology, media and manufacturing industries. Both FairX products are offered in Nano and Micro sizes.

• MBO at Suffolk tech distributor following record year of 30% revenue growth
• Business targets further revenue growth with plans to expand its product range and training programmes
• Shawbrook Bank supports investment house with £2 million loan to support buyout

A Suffolk technology consultancy and distributor has been acquired by Merino Private Equity, after growing revenues by 30% during the pandemic, with support from Shawbrook Bank.

Multithread Consultants’ management now aim to drive further growth following the management buyout (MBO) with investment from Merino Private Equity.

The company provides consultancy for, and distribution of, wireless networking products. Its strong team includes software designers and developers, with network and wireless specialist advisers.

Nick Shore has been appointed Managing Director after 20 years within Multithread Consultants, most recently as Chief Technology Officer.

Nick said: “New standards of connectivity mean businesses can enhance their IT network infrastructure with wireless solutions.

“This creates an opportunity for us and our installer partners to work with organisations and help them facilitate the new hybrid ways of working that have emerged in the last two years, and to build on the success we’ve already had helping organisations to adapt their infrastructure to meet new requirements.

“The addition of Merino will help us as we target growth from these opportunities. And the quick decision making of Shawbrook Bank ensured a swift completion of this deal, helping us to focus on growing the business with the support of our new owners.”

Oliver Sutton, relationship director at Shawbrook Bank, said: “The case to back this change of ownership was exceptionally strong. The longstanding expertise of Nick and his team positions the business well for tapping into a booming market buoyed by changing working patterns and new technologies.

“We’re also well aware of Merino’s track record of supporting its portfolio companies to scale-up their operations from past deals we’ve supported them with.

“We worked closely with the Multithread Consultants team to understand its business model and working capital cycle, ensuring that we provided the new owners with a finance package with terms that will help to enable its growth.”

Jack Kinnersley, investment director at Merino Private Equity LLP, said: “We are thrilled to have completed the MBO of Multithread Consultants, and particularly to partner with Nick and the wider team. The business has built a great reputation off the back of high service levels and a compelling product range. Shawbrook Bank has been a valued partner throughout this deal, which is made possible thanks to its team’s fast and considered approach to funding.”

Survey of 12,000 banking consumers explores how and why they engage with banking technology through unique motivations, desires and expectations

Diebold Nixdorf, a global leader in driving connected commerce across the financial and retail industries, and NielsenIQ today announced results from the “Motivations in Modern Banking” report, based on a representative survey of 12,000 consumers in 11 countries. 

As banks continue to transform due to digitalization, increasing competition, regulatory complexity and the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping track of how consumers’ needs and behaviors are changing is critical to any transformation strategy. The results of the report help financial institutions better understand what’s behind the way consumers engage with banking and technology. By understanding these unique motivations, organizations can improve outreach and service quality, win loyalty, and invest in solutions that resonate with consumers and deliver operational efficiency.

The report uncovers five “Tech Types”: distinct financial consumer segments, each with a unique set of motivations, desires and expectations around banking technology. While local representation of the Tech Types varies country by country, each segments’ distinct motivations and patterns remain consistent and entrenched. The following is a breakdown of the various Tech Types and their representation in the U.K.

1. Simplicity Seekers (28%) represent the largest consumer segment in the U.K. This Tech Type manages risk by avoiding unnecessary complexity and not relying on others, resulting in a demand for technology-driven banking services that follow the principles of simplicity and self-determination. 

2. Guarded Explorers (19%) crave human reassurance and will lean towards technologies with a human touch. 

3. Struggling Realists (27%) find financial management to be a challenge. Only 17% of the U.K. sample feel comfortable about their financial state, and only 36% claim to have a good understanding of financial topics. Hence, they crave financial security and appreciation. 

4. Established Traditionalists (20%) perceive change as a risk. This Tech Type prefers to stick with long-standing habits and will only adopt technologies as they become widely accepted and safety proofed.

5. Empowered Self-Starters (6%) are an elite segment expecting hyper-personalization. U.K. members of this Tech Type are twice as likely as the average consumer to be open to share more personal information in exchange for more personalized services and offerings.  

Özlem Yilmaz-Daniel, NielsenIQ, Consumer Insights Team Leader, said: “Companies used to just look at gender and age, maybe financial state, and make their assumptions on what services would be most suitable for a customer. That is not enough to speak the same language. Think of their life stage, their beliefs and values, their habits and attitudes; these do not adhere strictly to certain ages.”

Simon Powley, Head of Advisory Services and Consulting at Diebold Nixdorf, said: “For banks to truly understand how to cater their technology experiences to their consumers, they must understand the ‘Why’ - the motivations that drive what consumers crave from their banking experience. Those banks that can understand these motivations will improve outreach and service quality, win higher loyalty, and focus investments on areas where they will make the biggest difference.”

To download a copy of “Motivations in Modern Banking - Beyond the ‘Who’: Understanding Why Consumers Respond in Certain Ways,” please visit DieboldNixdorf.com/DiscoverTheWhy. The results from this study were revealed at DN Intersect Online on October 26, 2021, where the best and brightest in the financial industry explore common themes and discuss the latest global banking trends. A replay of the webinar is available here.

Industry-leading ADAS Solution Uncovers Reduction in Claims Frequency to Help Benefit U.K. Motor Insurers’ Pricing Accuracy

Admiral, the U.K.’s largest motor insurer[i], is set to use Advanced Driver Assistance Systems[ii] (ADAS) data in its pricing and underwriting through LexisNexis® Vehicle Build, developed by data, analytics, and technology provider, LexisNexis® Risk Solutions.

The culmination of several years of research and development, LexisNexis Vehicle Build is a new solution to help insurance providers understand and evaluate the specific standard and optional ADAS fitted to a vehicle at a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) level, to help improve loss and expense ratios and support competitive pricing.

The data scientists at LexisNexis Risk Solutions analyzed more than 2.7 million vehicles and have been testing the solution with motor insurance providers in the U.K. and Europe over the past year. This analysis has revealed the increased penetration of ADAS in vehicles in the U.K. and the corresponding need for insurance providers to factor for ADAS in pricing. LexisNexis found that on average, there are eight safety features per vehicle in the U.K. car park, making the U.K among the leaders in the adoption of automated vehicle safety systems across Europe.  

Mark Gabriel, head of van insurance and motor product for Admiral said: “The more we can understand about the specific ADAS fitments to the car, the more accurate our pricing. This is not only fairer for our customers who have invested in ADAS-equipped vehicles, but having this insight through LexisNexis Vehicle Build also helps prepare for the future where cars will have increasing levels of autonomy.”

Within LexisNexis Vehicle Build, there are a set of core ADAS features that have been found to deliver a reduction in claims frequency. 69% of cars analysed in Europe by LexisNexis Risk Solutions were equipped with a core safety feature and are therefore less likely to have an insurance claim. As technology develops, this percentage is expected to increase. Data from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders[iii] shows eight in 10 new cars are currently available with driver assistance systems. 

Carla McDonald, senior manager, motor insurance, U.K. and Ireland, at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said: “Having a key industry partner like Admiral on board cements what we knew all along - that this type of enrichment will be business critical as ADAS becomes more prevalent in the driving behaviour of newly manufactured vehicles. The crucial benefit of LexisNexis Vehicle Build is the ability to provide ADAS fitment information on not only standard but also optional features at a VIN-level, which have been normalised by LexisNexis across automakers in the market. A good portion of these features are selected extras, and trim-level information as an alternative simply can’t tell you if that optional feature is on the vehicle or not.

“ADAS features exist to avoid or reduce the seriousness of collisions, so as the features become more common, the dynamics of claims will change. For insurance providers like Admiral, this aligns to their business objectives, helping to improve their bottom line. Using our classification of ADAS from millions of lines of data, motor insurance providers can understand and use the features of a car and their relative performance to improve their pricing accuracy.”

Digital Asset, a leading software and services provider helping enterprises build economic value through interconnected networks, today announced that Goldman Sachs will use Daml, Digital Asset’s core technology, to develop its end-to-end tokenized asset infrastructure supporting the end-to-end digital life cycle across multiple asset classes on permissioned and public blockchains.

“Globally, regulated capital markets have been on a multi-decade journey to full digitization,” said Eric Saraniecki, Co-Founder and Head of Strategic Initiatives at Digital Asset. “Tokenization done right offers a dramatic step change in capabilities and operational efficiency. Daml-based tokenization platforms can provide the capability to capture the full complexity of rights, obligations, and cash flows throughout the life cycles of complex regulated assets on the assets themselves, and they can make that digital representation and workflow accessible and fully automatable across distributed interconnected ecosystems of participants. We are thrilled that Goldman Sachs has selected Daml to explore the full potential of tokenization in its new multi-asset platform.”

“We are very excited to work with Digital Asset,” said Mathew McDermott, Managing Director, Global Head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs. “As we continue to build out our tokenization capabilities, we needed solutions that could rapidly capture the full complexity and diversity of assets at the heart of our business for both digitally native or tokenized traditional assets, and interoperable across multiple blockchains. It is critical to create distributed networks and digitization workflows across financial institutions and clients, interconnecting traditional and new market infrastructure. Daml-driven solutions, selected by leading market operators, could be an accelerator for us to achieve this.” 

Daml is a platform for building multi-party applications that run seamlessly across new technologies and legacy infrastructure. It is the first system to fulfill the key requirements of a network-of-networks for global commerce. Daml solutions have been selected for production rollout at several of the world’s top exchanges, as well as powering the daily processing of around $35B in repo transactions.