Nutanix, a leader in hybrid multi-cloud computing, today released the Nutanix State of Enterprise AI Report, a global research study providing insights into Enterprise decision-making around AI. The report provides a holistic view into how enterprises are approaching AI technology strategy and adoption, as well as how future plans will affect IT spending and budgeting.

“In just one year, Generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI) has completely upended the worldview of how technology will influence our lives and Enterprises are racing to  understand how it can benefit their businesses,” said Sammy Zoghlami, SVP EMEA at Nutanix. “While most organisations are in the early stages of  evaluating the opportunity, the State of Enterprise AI report confirms that most consider it a priority. More importantly, the survey uncovered an important theme among enterprises adopting AI solutions: a growing requirement for data governance and data mobility across data centre, cloud, and edge infrastructure environments making it even more important for organisations to adopt a platform to run all apps and data across clouds.”

Key findings for EMEA include:

• EMEA organisations plan to embrace AI solutions but are slowed by a generative AI skills-gap. 90% of EMEA respondents said that AI is a priority to their organisation. Today, the top two AI solutions deployed by EMEA organisations include virtual assistants/customer support bots, as well as a mix of generative AI solutions. However, when it comes to AI solution implementation, EMEA respondents indicate they lack generative AI and prompt engineering skills, and they also require more data scientists and data science skills to support their initiatives.  
• AI data security, scale, and management will be top challenges for EMEA organisations. More than 90% of EMEA respondents say that security, reliability, and disaster recovery are important considerations in their AI strategy. EMEA organisations also ranked “managing and supporting AI workloads at scale” as their organisation’s #1 challenge over the next one to two years – higher than any other region. When it came to AI data governance, over half of EMEA organisations indicated that AI data governance requirements will force them to better understand and track data sources, age, and other data qualities. Addressing data security, workload scale, and data visibility/management will be critical tenets of success for EMEA AI initiatives. 
• Infrastructure modernisation and data security are at the forefront of EMEA AI decision-making – not cost. Cost ranked as the third-lowest consideration for EMEA organisations running or planning to run AI workloads. Furthermore, when we asked about the key drivers behind upgrades for AI applications or infrastructure, EMEA respondents once again ranked “cost” as the lowest priority. By contrast, over 90% of EMEA respondents agree that their IT costs and cloud spending will both increase due to AI applications.  EMEA organisations are showing a willingness to spend in support of their AI initiatives, a sentiment which AI solutions/services providers will benefit from. 

The report is based on a global research study conducted by Vanson Bourne, on behalf of Nutanix, surveying 650 IT, DevOps, and Platform Engineering decision makers between July and September, 2023. The respondent base spanned multiple industries, business sizes, and the following geographies: the Americas; Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and the Asia-Pacific-Japan (APJ) region.

Fnality – the FinTech bringing together the safety and institutional quality of central bank money with the innovative functionality and resilience of blockchain technology – today announced a £77.7m Series B funding round. This was led by Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas, with participation from DTCC, Euroclear, Nomura and WisdomTree. There were also additional investments from Series A investors Banco Santander, BNY Mellon, Barclays, CIBC, Commerzbank, ING, Lloyds Banking Group, Nasdaq Ventures, State Street, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and UBS. The culmination of this latest round brings Fnality's total capital raised to £132.7m as it readies for the commencement of initial Sterling Fnality Payment System (£FnPS) operations in 2023, subject to regulatory approval.  

Fnality’s latest funding will be utilised to continue progress towards the establishment of a world-first global liquidity management ecosystem that empowers new digital payment models in both wholesale financial markets and emerging tokenised asset markets. This encompasses key milestones such as FnPS launches in key currencies including USD, strong ecosystem and network growth, and a compelling suite of use cases that will transform payments, settlement, and collateral management in global markets. 

Several landmark proofs of concept have already demonstrated many of these capabilities, including for real-time settlement of tokenised securities, real-time cross-border FX swaps, and real-time repo transactions, each of which evidences the potential inherent in leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT) to facilitate traditional financial activity and achieve faster, safer and more efficient exchange of value in global wholesale markets. 

The successful execution of such activity will result in the mutually beneficial use of innovative technology to streamline processes, reduce costs, and ensure regulatory compliance while offering new products and access to new markets. As a growing industry-backed consortium with both substantial digital assets pedigree and longstanding engagement with key central banks and regulators, Fnality is well placed to sit at the intersection of these converging markets, empowering both sides in the process. 

Rhomaios Ram, CEO of Fnality International, comments: "Our Series B funding round represents the financial sector’s desire for a central bank money backed blockchain-based settlement solution that bridges the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi) in wholesale markets. Each Fnality Payment System utilises DLT to provide a 24/7 payment rail with the ability to reduce settlement cycles to real-time, while significantly improving intraday liquidity management and marking significant innovation in the speed, functionality, and resilience of wholesale payments.”  

Frank La Salla, President, CEO and Director at DTCC, comments: “As the worlds of TradFi and DeFi converge, DTCC is committed to partnering with industry participants, regulators and other stakeholders to help introduce the standards and governance needed to accelerate ecosystem growth while ensuring the highest levels of market safety and stability. Our investment in Fnality builds upon our agreement to acquire Securrency and will help foster new digital payment rails that will be essential for establishing a robust digital infrastructure, enabling interoperability and driving adoption of digital assets.” 

Olivier Osty, Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking Global Markets at BNP Paribas, comments: “Collaborating with innovative companies is at the core of BNP Paribas Global Markets’ strategy and is a key pillar in remaining a meaningful partner to our clients. BNP Paribas’ investment in Fnality illustrates the bank’s continued commitment to exploring and supporting innovative solutions within the banking industry.” 

Mathew McDermott, Global Head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs, comments: “Fnality’s solution is a key enabler for the digital asset ecosystem and the company is well-positioned to be at the forefront of payment innovations and institutional adoption of DLT. Fnality’s application of blockchain technology offers a resilient way for institutions to use central bank funds across a wide set of potential use cases, including instantaneous, cross-border, cross-currency payments, collateral mobility, and security transactions. We are pleased with our investment and are looking forward to the transformative impact Fnality brings.” 

Broadhaven acted as financial advisor to the round, and Sullivan & Cromwell acted as legal counsel.  

Viva.com, a leading European cloud-based neobank, now enables French merchants to seamlessly and securely accept in-person contactless payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone and its viva.com |Terminal iOS app. Tap to Pay on iPhone accepts all forms of contactless payments, including contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets, using only an iPhone and the viva.com | Terminal iOS app, with no additional hardware or payment terminal needed. France is the third European market, following the UK and the Netherlands, where Viva.com transforms the way businesses get paid using only an iPhone.

Tap to Pay on iPhone and the viva.com | Terminal iOS app allow contactless, instant payment acceptance for products, services and more, elevating the way transactions are made. The solution features major international card schemes Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, with Diners, Discover, and CB (Cartes Bancaires), the leading payment scheme in the French market, coming soon. 

The viva.com | Terminal app is suitable for any business, of any size, in any sector; from cafes, restaurants, and retailers to hotels, taxis, and sole proprietors, allowing customers to pay onsite or on the move.

“Tap to Pay on iPhone is a game-changer that aligns perfectly with Viva.com's innovative mindset. Tap to Pay on iPhone and the viva.com | Terminal iOS app cover a multi-dimensional market space, offering simpler and more efficient payments that streamline business operations. We are certain that our French customers will embrace this novel technology, which will improve the practical issues associated with traditional payments hardware,” notes Samy Touboul, Head of E-Commerce & Enterprise at Viva.com France.

Tap to Pay on iPhone enables Viva.com’s network of merchants to use a payment solution that is easy to set up and use. On an iPhone XS or later running the latest iOS version, merchants can download the viva.com | Terminal app on the Apple App Store to start using Tap to Pay on iPhone within minutes. At checkout, the merchant will simply prompt the customer to hold their contactless credit or debit card, their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay with Apple Pay, or other digital wallet near the merchant’s iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed. Tap to Pay on iPhone uses the built-in features of iPhone to keep the businesses’ and customers’ data private and secure. When a payment is processed, Apple does not store card numbers on the device or on Apple servers.

Providing advanced encryption and security protocols, the viva.com | Terminal app is designed to be fully compatible with any designated French bank account. Viva.com’s customers in France who hold a viva.com | account will benefit from near-instant access to their funds, with transactions settled in up to 60 minutes.

Moneyhub, the award-winning data and payments platform built on Open Banking and Open Finance principles, has been placed on an authoritative global list of the top 100 fintech startups compiled by CBInsights.

Researchers selected companies from a pool of more than 19,000 startups, using criteria such as equity funding, investor profiles, business relationships, R&D activity, news sentiment analysis and market potential to make their decision. The team also reviewed thousands of analyst briefings.

CBInsight’s report highlights key investors including Phoenix Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Legal & General, Nationwide Building Society and SPWOne with $81m raised in December 2022.

Moneyhub is one of 12 startups from the UK on the list and was placed in the Core Banking & Infrastructure category.

Three-quarters of this year’s winners are B2B fintechs, including business spend management platforms, cross-border and real-time payment providers as well as core banking and infrastructure platforms. A total of 24 companies are B2C, including challenger banks, mobile wallets, and retail investing platforms.

Sam Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub, said: “We are delighted to be named among the world’s top startups. We’re on a mission to enable our clients to use explicit consent-driven data for better financial outcomes for all their customers’ on a global scale.”

“Our technology can solve a wide range of problems, from helping vulnerable customers, assessing affordability, AI interventions for Consumer Duty through to providing personalised guidance to make people's money work harder.

“We’re at an exciting stage in Moneyhub’s journey with our most recent announcement on the world's first Commercial Pensions Dashboard built with our Smart Saving technology that incorporates automated payments. There has never been a more important time to focus on financial wellbeing and we’re thrilled that CBInsights has commended our work.”

This year, Moneyhub led the way by being the first third-party provider (TPP) to connect to Chase Bank in the UK. It also partnered with MX to drive the global adoption of Open Finance.

Moneyhub is leading the transformation of embedded finance for all companies, including Vodafone, Mercer (Marsh McLennan), Aon, Willis Towers Watson, Franklin Templeton and HSBC. The flexibility of the Moneyhub platform delivers embedded finance today for innovative and customer centric businesses of all sizes.

New data from OpenPayd, a leading global Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform, spotlights an imminent embedded banking boom. While only 7% of large European companies offer embedded banking services today, 48% have specific plans to launch them in the next three years. 89% of those organisations will partner with BaaS providers to bring embedded banking services to market. 

One in five (20%) UK-based firms offer embedded banking services today, a number set to climb to 67% in the next three years. In Germany, while only 3% of firms currently offer embedded banking services, that will rise to 69% in three years. 50% of Italian, 46% of French and 39% of Spanish companies all plan on offering embedded banking services in the next three years. The remainder report giving serious consideration to launching embedded banking services, but do not have specific plans in place. Critically, every firm surveyed had discussed the possibility.

European brands anticipate that embedded banking services will make a major contribution to year-on-year revenue growth. On average, organisations anticipate a 2% revenue bump in the first year, ramping to 16% growth in five years. In total, European firms expect embedded banking to generate €297bn in additional revenues over the next five years.

“European businesses that have embraced embedded banking services are already seeing the result. They’re experiencing material revenue growth and setting the pace for adoption”, said Barry O’Sullivan, Head of Payments and Banking infrastructure at OpenPayd. 

“We’re also seeing a clear role emerging for BaaS providers as the enabler for embedded banking projects. That brings with it enormous opportunity and responsibility. It’s critical that BaaS providers are bringing the technology, the licences and the compliance oversight to ensure the success of their partners.”

Today, Horizon Software, provider of electronic trading solutions and algorithmic technology for the global capital markets, announces that PT Korea Investment And Sekuritas Indonesia (KIS Indonesia) has implemented the Horizon Order Management System (OMS), a cutting-edge solution designed to optimize and streamline various trading operations.

Horizon OMS offers a comprehensive array of advanced trading solutions, including a single platform for CARE, DMA, and algo flows, integration for both principal and agency trading, multi-asset OMS capabilities, and advanced trading support. Additionally, the platform includes “Horizon Extend”, which allows users to customize algorithms to meet specific trading requirements.

KIS has been fostering a successful partnership with Horizon since 2019, initially collaborating to market-make covered warrants on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange. This collaboration expanded further in 2021, with the successful deployment of Horizon for ETF Market Making on SEHK, solidifying their commitment to leveraging Horizon's innovative solutions for diversified market needs.

Jay (Jong In) Hong, Director of Equity at KIS Indonesia, commented "The deployment of Horizon OMS platform marks a significant milestone in our journey toward enhancing trading capabilities and delivering unparalleled services to our clients. With this advanced technology, we are well-equipped to navigate the dynamic landscape of the financial market, ensuring efficiency and reliability in our trading operations.

Emmanuel Faure, Head of APAC Sales at Horizon, added: "We are delighted to continue our partnership with KIS Indonesia, a testament to their commitment to innovation and excellence in the financial services sector. The implementation of the Horizon OMS platform further strengthens their position in the market, allowing for seamless and efficient trading operations, and reaffirms our dedication to providing cutting-edge technology solutions to empower financial institutions worldwide."

Banking Circle S.A. today announced a partnership with Ant Group to work on a pioneering liquidity management project, exploring technology innovations on tokenised deposits which will improve efficiency and speed of global fund settlements.

Banking Circle infrastructure and the blockchain platform developed by Ant Group will be leveraged to issue and distribute the tokenised deposits. The blockchain platform can facilitate cross-border payments and liquidity management more efficiently.

Alongside the clear liquidity management benefits, the structure is Web3 compatible and provides further opportunities for cost-saving with FX and additional currencies to follow shortly.

Laust Bertelsen, CEO of Banking Circle, said: “Banking Circle is excited to work with Ant Group to pioneer innovations for global treasury management. Looking ahead, the two companies will continue to collaborate and strengthen our relationship globally.”

Kelvin Li, Head of Global Fund Platform of International Business Group at Ant Group, added: “We are glad to partner with Banking Circle on technology innovations for tokenisation, which is aimed at improving the efficiency of liquidity and corporate treasury management, and facilitate the development of scalable and sustainable FinTech solutions.”

Banking Circle, a Luxembourg based bank, provides a suite of award-winning banking solutions, including bank connections for local clearing and cross-border payments, multi-currency accounts, Virtual IBANs and Correspondent and Agency Banking solutions. Banking Circle aims to help customers reduce transaction costs, improve efficiency and transparency and optimise cash management through its cutting-edge technologies and sophisticated Treasury Solutions for its FinTech customers.

Through its collaboration with Tusk, ekko is enabling banks, merchants and payment providers around the world to embed new conservation-centric dimensions into their products or services. Moving forward, businesses can empower their customers to support animal conservation projects across the globe, allowing them to donate benefits accrued through ekko towards projects of this nature.

As part of the partnership, ekko and Tusk have curated a portfolio of African conservation projects that businesses can now support as they deploy ekko’s infrastructure to their end consumer. The portfolio consists of a range of projects spanning 13 nations and varied specialisms, including anti-poaching, conservation technology and community-driven conservation, as well as initiatives that support some of the most threatened species in the world like pangolin and mountain gorilla.

One such example is CLAWS, a project that combines cutting-edge technology for lion conservation and protecting local livestock without risking animal lives. By undertaking science-based projects, the organisation has been helping to reduce conflict between people and predators since 2014. Thanks to ekko and Tusk, the organisation will now receive additional backing to support this important effort. 

Other projects included in the ekko and Tusk’s portfolio are South African based vulture conservation organisation VulPro, Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association and Painted Dog Conservation, Zimbabwe. Together, the two companies are committed to amplifying conservation projects, which help to preserve critical habitats, protect endangered species, combat the illegal wildlife trade, empower local communities and promote environmental education. 

Speaking on the partnership, Oli Cook, CEO and co-founder of ekko commented: “The importance of this collaboration cannot be understated in the context of the sustainability movement. The intricate balance of animals, natural landscapes, and indigenous communities forms an essential pillar of the global ecosystem. Alongside Tusk, we share a commitment to nurture and safeguard our planet.”

Oli continued: “Fintech has an incredibly exciting role to play in our global challenge to be more sustainable. Combining forces with the incredible teams at Tusk to bring sustainability to every payment in the world has the potential to make a seismic impact on one of the most important challenges facing the global community.”

Speaking on the partnership, Dan Bucknell, Executive Director at Tusk commented: “Tusk is thrilled to join forces with ekko. Our shared mission is clear: to create profound, lasting impacts that benefit both the vibrant communities and the diverse wildlife of Africa. This partnership signifies a bold step forward in our continued commitment to the continent’s enduring legacy.”

Charlie Mayhew OBE, founder of Tusk, added “The emerging potential of embedded fintech’s role in funding conservation is exciting to witness. This is a really promising partnership and we look forward to collaborating with ekko on the journey to a sustainable future for businesses and consumers.”

A renowned leader in the global conservation movement, Tusk has pioneered hundreds of successful conservation initiatives in more than 20 countries in the past three decades. By partnering with this leading light, ekko has further underlined its burgeoning reputation as a true innovator in the growing fintech for good movement.

Robo.cash analysts have compared the yields of European continental P2P lending platforms to other financial instruments* based on 2018 to Q3 2023 data.

According to the study results, commodities and stocks are showing positive numbers. While the former has just come out of the “doldrums”, estimates of annual growth rates for stocks are above trend: the real yield increased from -16.81% in Q2 to 0.53% in Q3 2023. 

The first place among instruments with negative yields is occupied by cryptocurrency. "Crypto is in the stage of waiting for the so-called halving, which is to occur in 2024, and the approval of the U.S. SEC to issue a number of spot ETF funds. These two factors point to the imminent start of a “bull cycle” in the crypto market." - the specialists comment.

Following the cryptocurrency are the global real estate market and precious metals. "Despite solid growth over the last year, the trend estimate of annual yields on real estate investments is at -16.2%," - the experts add. - "For precious metals, in general, it is difficult to give unambiguous forecasts. While gold is at a historic high, other metals are in the ranks of “outsiders”, which makes the average yield of the asset group negative."

It is worth noting the behavior of the bond and deposit market. Both instruments have reached their historical maximum. However, while deposits remain an attractive risk-free instrument, in the case of the debt market the level of risk is quite high and real yields are still negative.

"As for P2P investments, the average return of continental European platforms increased by 0.2% in Q3 to reach 10.6%. With such a trend the P2P instrument looks like a good alternative for bonds and deposits in terms of yield. The other part of the financial market is unlikely to bring stable returns over a six-month to one-year horizon". - the analysts summarize.

* The analysis included: European P2P market, MSCI All Country World index, 10Y World Bonds Yield, TR Corecommodity CRB index, S&P Global Property, S&P GSCI Precious Metals, Deposit Rates, Cryptocurrency Market.