• Multi-asset fintech broker has grown client base by 220 per cent
• Company announces new board, new structure, strong governance and growth
• Gold revealed as highest traded instrument in 2021

SquaredFinancial Group of multi-asset fintech brokers has today announced its Q3 trading results. Highlights include a 266 per cent growth in volume, a 220 per cent growth in its client base and a 200 per cent increase in gross profits.

The Group has continued to increase its offering during the year, providing immediate access to over 10,000 trading instruments across different asset classes and adding cryptocurrencies to more traditional asset classes such as foreign exchange, commodities, stocks and indices, with Gold being the significant driver of the increase in volume year to date due to its perceived safety in uncertain times.

SquaredFinancial Group has also appointed three new board members to further strengthen the governance and future growth of the company. Dirk Van Daele, Vusi Thembekwayo and Philippe Préval will bring a wealth of technology, entrepreneurial and financial board experience.  

Philippe Ghanem, Founder and Executive Chairman of SquaredFinancial Group, explained: 

“We set out to build something different, listen to what clients want and provide stability and security.

“In the coming months, we will continue to release new products, new funding channels, more online banking services and asset management, access financial markets and help clients towards achieving financial freedom. Each new member of our Board, each one of them brings a specific and different skillset, strengthening our Corporate Governance, Emerging Markets and Corporate Finance expertise that will help build, grow and promote SquaredFinancial in the coming years.’’

Dirk Van Daele, financial services entrepreneur and new board member of the parent company, commented: 

“This is an exciting time to join SquaredFinancial. A dynamic new model on the convergence of asset management, but with an incredibly experienced leadership team and a clear pathway for progress.

“As a global FinTech, SquaredFinancial is able to offer more products and more capabilities than most peers. I look forward to working with Philippe and the team in the years to come and continuing to build the SquaredFinancial brand.” 

Vusi Thembekwayo, venture capitalist, entrepreneur and new board member of the parent company, stated: 

“Timing and talent must meet at the intersection perfectly. The world of finance, capital markets and asset management is fast changing, and the most pressing question for customers is how to take advantage and benefit from these challenges. Crypto, broking and asset management have become mainstream, but clients need a trusted, secure provider, and this is where we want to make a difference”. 

Philippe Préval, CEO of Lusis and new board member of the parent company, said: 

“My goal is to help change perceptions of how a FinTech company should be operated. With the utilization of Artificial Intelligence in trading as in other business areas such as payment fraud, credit scoring, loyalty and recommendations, SquaredFinancial can provide customers with unprecedented service and access.” 

Smart Engines' AI-driven software was equipped in passport e-gates Sapsan at Sheremetyevo International Airport SVO for contactless border control on international flights. Passport e-gates will also be expanded for use in most Russian airports under the plans in an attempt to significantly improve the efficiency of Border Force officials’ services by reducing the manual identity and security checks. 

OCR technology scans data from passports, allowing to automate the process of checking documents. The advanced AI software eliminates security breaches and is completely secure for both passengers and airports’ border control systems. This solution helps border force officials to comply both with the local & international security standards (GDPR, CCPA, and others) for personal data processing to satisfy the strict demands of regulators. SDK doesn’t transfer data and images for processing to Smart Engines or to any third-party services, doesn’t save data or images (the processing is carried out in the e-gates’ local RAM) and doesn’t require internet access. 

The automated system for passport control Sapsan with built-in Smart Engines OCR was developed by GazIntech. As of now, Smart ID Engine has been installed in 20 Sapsan passport e-gates. Based on the latest biometric recognition algorithms and high-tech hardware, Sapsan accelerates the process of passenger control, making it convenient and understandable for citizens, which in turn significantly reduces waiting time at the borders, ensuring optimum security. 

Smart ID Engine is a comprehensive AI-based tool for automatic ID scanning with document authentication, data consistency checking of over 1810 types of ID documents from 210 issues worldwide, being installed in e-gates, queuing at passport controls could become a thing of the past. According to SVO officials, passenger satisfaction has increased significantly since the installation of the e-gates with AI-driven software. As for the throughput, it increased three times at the border control. 

“With increased international demand in border control security, time is of the essence more than ever before: no one can afford being late for a flight yet everyone wants to pass through border control securely. We are proud that our state-of-the-art technologies save time for both passengers and border control officials,” says Dr. Vladimir Arlazarov, CEO at Smart Engines.

Sovcombank has reduced its ownership stake in SPB Exchange from 12.9% to 9.99% by selling part of its stockholding. The Bank’s stake was purchased by shareholders, some of the Bank’s key partners, as well as the management company Sovcombank Asset Management. Each buyer purchased an insignificant share.

Sovcombank decided to reduce its equity stake in SPB Exchange in order to bring its share below 10% so as to treat this holding as an immaterial investment.

Sergey Khotimskiy, co-owner and First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sovcombank, said:

“This transaction will enable us to manage capital more effectively right away, especially in the context of the Bank of Russia’s plans to regulate dead assets. At the same time, we gave access to a first-class investment idea to our shareholders, major partners and customers. The Bank is not planning to further reduce its stake in the Exchange, and our management company may increase it.”

Amaiz, the banking app, has appointed Boura Kym Tomlinson Cann as their first Non-Executive Director.  Boura has spent the last fourteen years as Global Chief Compliance and Legal Officer at Polar Capital and previously spent over seven years at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), supervising wholesale and derivatives firms. Most recently she was an enforcement manager bringing disciplinary cases against investment firms. 

​Amaiz was launched in March 2020 to combine banking and bookkeeping into one easy to use app for businesses. It recently extended its offering to international payments and now accepts personal accounts. The company is developing a reputation for its leading-edge security methods and experiential features to prevent fraud. It uses leading biometrics, for example, to make it easy to access the app, but safe.

Amaiz Managing Director, Steve Taklalsingh commented, “We’re delighted to welcome Boura to the Board. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Amaiz that will be invaluable as the company continues to grow and take on new challenges.”

Boura commented; “It is very exciting to be able to become involved with such a dynamic and innovative company as Amaiz.“

  Amaiz, the banking app, has appointed Boura Kym Tomlinson Cann as their first Non-Executive Director.  Boura has spent the last fourteen years as Global Chief Compliance and Legal Officer at Polar Capital and previously spent over seven years at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), supervising wholesale and derivatives firms. Most recently she was an enforcement manager bringing disciplinary cases against investment firms. 

​Amaiz was launched in March 2020 to combine banking and bookkeeping into one easy to use app for businesses. It recently extended its offering to international payments and now accepts personal accounts. The company is developing a reputation for its leading-edge security methods and experiential features to prevent fraud. It uses leading biometrics, for example, to make it easy to access the app, but safe.

Amaiz Managing Director, Steve Taklalsingh commented, “We’re delighted to welcome Boura to the Board. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Amaiz that will be invaluable as the company continues to grow and take on new challenges.”

Boura commented; “It is very exciting to be able to become involved with such a dynamic and innovative company as Amaiz.“

IRIS Software Group (IRIS), one of the UK’s leading payroll software providers, has teamed up with Payments-as-a-Service platform Modulr to help solve SMEs’ cash flow problems by embedding fast, automatic and secure payments directly into its payroll solutions.

Managing cash flow has always been a struggle for SMEs, but the last 18 months have proved just how critical it is to have a strong grasp over monies going in and out of a business. According to research, more than a third of small business owners have cashflow issues, with 17% forced to pay employees late and 33% of owners paying themselves late or not at all. Clearly, this can’t be allowed to continue if the economy is to recover quickly.

Harnessing Modulr’s leading payments infrastructure, IRIS now enables SME owners and their accountants to pay salaries immediately when they run payroll each month. This crucially removes the requirement to have much-needed cash tied up for three days before every payday, as is currently the case when using BACs payments to pay salaries. With Modulr’s direct access to Faster Payments rails, salaries can be paid in seconds, which gives SMEs three extra days to manage their cash flow, and ensures funds are available for use across the business when required. Further enhanced by automatic file uploads which saves significant time with regards to reconciliation.

Relieving this cash flow pressure means SME owners and accountants can focus on growing businesses; with precious time saved, manual processes removed and costly human errors reduced. Seamlessly embedding payments within the payroll process also ensures employees are paid the right amount on time, every time, instantly.

The partnership with Modulr is part of IRIS’ long-term ‘build, buy, partner’ strategy and aligns with their mission to take the pain out of processes and enable companies to focus on growing their business. The first IRIS payroll system to make use of the Modulr integration is IRIS Earnie, with further integrations to other IRIS offerings to follow in the coming months.

The IRIS-Modulr API integration between Modulr’s payments and accounts infrastructure synchronises payroll calculations to payment entries from IRIS’ payroll software, enabling finance teams to view pending and paid payments, and approve outstanding payments from one single, secure online portal.

Andrew Burton, Head of Partner Channel, IRIS Software comments, “SME owners and accountants need to be able to plan their next critical steps to move forward with confidence. This requires a strong grasp of their cash flow, yet too often much-needed cash is tied up in payroll. Partnering with Modulr, we can empower SMEs to take charge of their financials, ensure employees are paid on time, every time, and focus on growing their business.”

Myles Stephenson, CEO of Modulr comments, “SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, but they’ve been seriously hamstrung by poor cash flow issues, especially in the last 18 months. And relying on inefficient, legacy payment processes is only compounding problems caused by external factors. We’re proud to be working with IRIS to support SME owners and their accountants as they grow and build by removing hidden payroll payment inefficiencies.”