Cohesity has announced the appointment of Kevin Delane as chief revenue officer. He brings more than 30 years of relevant experience working for high-growth technology companies. Delane has a strong track record in business development, go-to-market, sales operations, international sales, strategic alliances, and partner management. Delane will leverage his vast experience in these areas to oversee the sales and partner functions worldwide at Cohesity.

Prior to joining Cohesity, Delane was vice president of worldwide sales at Pure Storage, where he was responsible for the company’s global go-to-market strategy, including sales, field sales, sales operations, and systems engineering, and he was also instrumental in preparing the company for its IPO. Additionally, Delane spent more than 18 years at EMC in a variety of sales leadership roles, including senior vice president of business operations, Isilon Division.

“This was an opportunity I simply could not pass up,” said Delane. “The company has amazing leaders, culture, a partner-first mentality, a great international team, and a focus on innovation that’s helping customers win the war against ransomware. It’s no wonder the company has recently announced record-breaking fiscal year 2021 results. I look forward to working with customers and partners globally to help them advance their business and do more with data.”

“Kevin has proven success in advancing global go-to-market strategies and consistently delivering strong results,” said Mohit Aron, founder and CEO, Cohesity. “With an extensive knowledge of the technology industry, strong partner and international expertise, and a management approach that puts culture first, Kevin will play a key role in accelerating our global momentum. We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Cohesity executive leadership team at this exhilarating time.”

Fusion Phoenix will enable FNBM to enhance efficiencies, streamline processes and delight its customers with data-driven insights

Finastra today announced that First National Bank of Manchester (FNBM) has selected Fusion Phoenix as its new core banking solution to best serve its account holders and grow the bank. The decision represents an upgrade from its previous core, also from Finastra.

“A bank’s success is dependent on providing superior service to current clients, while attracting a younger generation of account holders who demand an authentic multi-channel experience which can only be delivered with modern banking services,” said Jacob Greer, Chief Technology Officer, First National Bank of Manchester. “We believe that with Fusion Phoenix, we will not only have a deeper view into our account holder relationships but will have the insight and agility to best serve those account holders with the financial tools they demand. We selected Finastra’s core to carry us beyond that status quo offered by others’ cores in the market.”

Fusion Phoenix will serve as a differentiator and engine for growth for FNBM. As a modern core built entirely on Microsoft technology, residing in the Microsoft Azure cloud, Fusion Phoenix will enable FNBM to quickly integrate new technologies. Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud open developer platform and FusionStore, will give the bank the ability to add innovative services from third party fintechs, allowing FNBM to take advantage of trends and opportunities quickly and efficiently.

The open core integrates seamlessly with other Finastra solutions already used by the bank, including Fusion Digital Banking, Fusion LaserPro, Fusion CreditQuest and others. Because of this, it provides a 360-degree view of the customer, including account holder exposure, contact history, loan balances, account alerts and more, so that FNBM can serve its customers with bespoke service and custom-tailored products.

“It was an honor to be selected by First National Bank of Manchester when it looked to upgrade its core, in order to better serve its evolving customer base and grow into the future,” said Chris Zingo, SVP and GM of Americas Field Operations, Finastra. “Over the past several years, Finastra has made bold moves to ensure that financial institutions can future-proof their technology investments, while being able to overcome industry challenges and take advantage of opportunities presented by today’s fast changing market.”

Corporate Travel Community to Benefit with UATP Acceptance in Uber Wallet

UATP and Uber for Business (NYSE: UBER) announced today a strategic partnership in which UATP will be integrated into Uber Wallet, enabling travelers to use UATP accounts for rides with Uber as well as orders through Uber Eats. These features will be available in the coming weeks.

“For businesses around the world, the way work gets done looks different these days. Yet, the fundamental goals have remained the same – continue building great products, while uncovering new ways to not just fulfill customer demand, but delight customers and keep them happy,” said Susan Anderson, Global Head of Uber for Business. “That’s why we’re proud to partner with UATP, allowing UATP corporate account holders to expense rides and meals with Uber easily and efficiently. We look forward to working with UATP to help provide a frictionless customer journey from the booking process all the way through to payment and reconciliation, while creating an intuitive way for companies to improve their operations.”

The Uber app is available in 71 countries and over 10,000 cities, with over 16 million trips completed worldwide. UATP account holders will now have access to Uber’s on-demand network and have ride and meal information supplied on statements. Uber is the first rideshare platform company to connect with the UATP network. 

“It’s fantastic that this partnership lets UATP corporate travelers pay for rides and meals for Uber with UATP,” said Ralph Kaiser, president and CEO, UATP. “With the added pressures in today’s business travel, it is imperative to place as much ease on the traveler as possible. UATP acceptance for Uber for Business does that and fulfills a strategic vision for both companies.”

The collaboration between the two companies enables Uber for Business to have a new source of global traveler for Uber usage and UATP to have expanded Network volume. The corporate traveler gets an additional portion of the trip centralised within one payment stream. It’s a true win-win-win solution.

Citibank Hong Kong earlier partnered the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to participate in its Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Accelerator 2021. The programme allows us to enhance our connection and exchange with local and overseas tech ventures, accelerating the digital transformation for banking services.  It also serves a platform for us to create synergies with industry players, sparking innovation through co-creation to achieve viable solutions, nurturing FinTech talents and fostering the ecosystem.  Mr Nailesh Shah, Head of Digital Channels and Experience, Citibank Hong Kong attended the Partner Sharing Session at the Demo Day yesterday and shared with event participants the insights and experience of collaborating with local and overseas tech ventures.

 Vinter, the leading Swedish crypto asset index provider, announces the launch of the two crypto asset indexes HODLV and HODLX, providing investors with diversified exposure to a basket of crypto assets. The indexes will be underlying financial products available on regulated stock exchanges starting today.

The Vinter 21Shares Crypto Basket Equal Weight Index (“HODLV”) contains the five largest crypto assets weighted equally. HODLV is built on a mean-reversion strategy where assets are weighted equally.

The Vinter 21Shares Crypto Basket 10 Index (“HODLX”) is a passive index capturing the crypto asset market. It offers diversified exposure to the ten largest crypto assets. HODLX is built on a buy-and-hold strategy suited for passive investors.

Jacob Lindberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Vinter said: “We are thrilled to announce the HODLV and HODLX indexes, which will be underlying financial products available to investors. The HODLV and HODLX indexes are the first of many indexes to come which will offer diversified exposure to the nascent crypto asset market.”

Terminal manufacturers, merchants and banks using nexo standards can integrate acceptance for Mir and PURE alongside all major international card schemes and a range of domestic networks

nexo standards, which offers the payment community an ISO-based approach to global payments acceptance by standardizing the exchange of transaction data, has integrated two additional contactless kernels into its nexo FAST Specification: Russia’s national scheme, Mir; and Thales’ white-label EMV® technology, PURE, which is used by over 30 private labels and domestic schemes around the world.

“A payment acceptance terminal must have the capacity to accept a range of physical and digital payment cards, from numerous card schemes, both international and domestic,” explains Jacques Soussana, Secretary-General, nexo standards. “Each card scheme usually requires its own software and hardware component, known as a kernel, within the payment terminal to support a successful transaction. For terminal manufacturers, merchants and banks, if you want to accept and support several payment cards, this can quickly become complex and expensive, sometimes requiring multiple point of sale terminals at the checkout. Those already using nexo FAST can simply ‘add on’ Mir and PURE acceptance.”

The nexo FAST Specification significantly reduces development and testing costs for terminal manufacturers, merchants and banks by combining all the requirements needed for a point-of-sale terminal to successfully accept payments from all major international card schemes and a growing number of domestic networks. It also offers a defined approach to adding acceptance of new schemes – such as Mir and PURE based domestic labels – to existing payment applications.

Dr. Igor Goldovski, Chief Architect, at the National System of Payment Cards (NSPK), operator of Mir, comments: “nexo standards is an important part of NSPK’s strategic expansion plans for the Mir scheme, as it enables more merchants to easily accept Mir payments. Vendors, merchants and banks that align payment acceptance terminals to the nexo FAST Specification can effectively accept Mir payments alongside all major card schemes. We look forward to growing our user base through nexo’s proven, simplified and successful standards.”

François Lemaire, Marketing Director, Banking and Payment Solutions at Thales, adds: “As use of PURE expands globally, nexo-compliant users can easily incorporate PURE requirements as part of their payment applications. Integrating the PURE white-label kernel into nexo FAST is an important achievement, which allows PURE technology users - many of which are domestic schemes - to access the potential of nexo standards towards interoperability of payment acceptance.”

All nexo’s technical standards are freely available globally and based on ISO 20022 which addresses the complexity created by using existing fragmented and proprietary financial service standards.

“The growing community of nexo standard users, combined with the continuing number of card schemes that want to be referenced in our work, showcases the appetite from the payment community to have a simple, single approach to payment acceptance,” concludes Soussana. “We encourage any party with an interest in our work to get in touch and join the conversation.”

New pilot scheme certified by Mastercard and Visa for PIN transactions on mobile

Phos, the fintech behind the leading software-only Point of Sale system (SoftPoS), has introduced PIN to its mobile payment solution for merchants around the world. The new mobile solution enables merchants to accept PIN secure ‘tap to pay’ transactions of any value on NFC-enabled Android devices, for both in-store and online purchases. 

PIN is only required for transactions above contactless limits, not made using a digital wallet, and can be carried out on mobile. This eliminates the need for costly physical terminals such as card readers or PIN-entry devices for merchants and provides a frictionless, easy-to-use checkout experience for their customers.

The software-only solution is available to merchants as part of a pilot scheme and has been certified by both Mastercard and Visa to ensure the very highest levels of security and functionality for users. With the pandemic accelerating the shift to contactless worldwide, merchants are increasingly turning to single solution and software-only technologies to meet customer demand. 

With phos’ enhanced solution, PIN entry can be easily carried out on the merchant’s smartphone or tablet. It can be installed on any NFC-enabled Android device or the solution can be embedded into the merchant’s own app, or that of a financial services provider.

Brad Hyett, CEO at phos, said: “We’re thrilled to offer this cost-saving, secure and time-efficient solution for merchants. With consumers increasingly demanding quick and easy payment methods following the events of the last 18 months, it’s vital that merchants are equipped with the tools to satisfy these continuously evolving needs. But this doesn’t have to be a costly endeavour. By leveraging existing technology, which most of us carry around in our pocket, phos is able to deliver an affordable solution that benefits merchants and their customers alike.”

Businesses have faced many challenges over the last year as a result of the pandemic. Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics show that, year on year, there was a 4.4% decrease in non-essential retail sales in July.

As the sector battles to recover from lockdown restrictions and keep pace with changing consumer expectations, merchants are in search of tools that will allow them to operate more efficiently and reduce costs. 

Phos’ innovative softPoS technology is enabling this shift away from legacy systems. Its mobile app is cheaper and simpler to use than other cashless solutions, which often require additional hardware, have long settlement times or high fees. With the new pilot, phos becomes one of the first vendors to launch a software-only PIN solution globally. 

Hyett continues: “The retail landscape is changing fast. The last 18 months have shown that merchants of all sizes can no longer afford to rely on burdensome payment systems and legacy tech. If they want to remain competitive, they must offer their customers digital payment solutions that are simple and easy to use. At Phos, we’re proud to bring one of the first software-only solutions to market to provide PIN secure transactions on mobile, certified by the industry’s leading network payment processors.”

Phos’ leading SoftPoS solution has seen the company partner with a string of leading financial services and technology companies in recent months, including Dutch neo bank bunq, Stanchion Payments, CM.com, Tokmatech, Curb and Maxaa.

The London-headquartered business also secured €2 million (approximately £1.7 million) in equity funding in August, ahead of its Series A round next year. The new capital will enable the fintech to expand its operations into the US and make new hires in its development team.

GoCardless, a global fintech in account-to-account payments, has appointed Ben Knight as Head of Environmental Sustainability and Lena Tailor as Director of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) in a move that strengthens its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments.

Knight, who joins GoCardless from the space and telecommunications company OneWeb, will lead the fintech’s drive towards reaching net zero as a founding member of the Tech Zero initiative. His remit includes measuring GoCardless’ environmental impact, creating a responsible roadmap for reducing the company’s carbon footprint, and embedding sustainability across the business, engaging and empowering all employees to get involved. Knight will report directly to Chief Financial Officer Catherine Birkett, the executive sponsor for GoCardless’ sustainability goals.

Knight said: “The role of fintech in the net zero transition – and wider sustainable development – is huge. I’m excited to join GoCardless, a company with commitment to this mission from the highest levels and employees that are already enthusiastic about sustainability. My aim is to develop a sector-leading strategy that is ambitious and transparent, delivers measurable change aligned with science, and helps create value for customers, society and the natural environment.”

Birkett said: “I firmly believe that all successful companies of the future need to have sustainability at the heart of their agenda. Bringing Ben onboard is a pivotal moment for GoCardless. With his leadership, we can take the first steps towards achieving net zero and fulfilling our ambitions to be part of the sustainability transformation which will undoubtedly evolve over the coming years.”

Tailor joins GoCardless from innocent drinks, where she spent nine years in various roles driving their People and Culture agenda, with a recent focus on diversity and inclusion. At GoCardless, Tailor will spearhead the company’s efforts around D&I in a structured and strategic way. This involves assessing GoCardless’ current practices, defining clear D&I objectives and a strategy to achieve them, and working hand-in-hand with the fintech’s existing four Employee Resources Groups which advocate for inclusion based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and disability and neurodiversity. Tailor will also partner with leaders to support progress across the employee lifecycle to enable GoCardless to attract, recruit and retain talent and proactively address any barriers.

Tailor said: "Although the tech industry is known for being innovative on many fronts, it’s currently not a leader in D&I. But, I’m confident GoCardless can pave the way because our approach so far has shown a level of commitment and investment in making real progress. In this role I hope to make diversity and inclusion inherent in how we do business and for everyone at GoCardless -- to know our strategy and talk about it with pride internally and externally; to be equipped and comfortable to have brave, safe and open conversations; and to be inspired to make big and small changes to build more diverse and inclusive environments everywhere. I’m excited to get started.”

Eva Ducruezet, Chief People Officer at GoCardless, said: “As we continue to scale quickly and internationally, attracting a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment where employees from all walks of life can thrive will be key to our success. I am thrilled to have Lena on board to lead our D&I efforts given her strategic approach. The focus she’ll bring will be crucial to helping us drive meaningful change.”

• This partnership would enable a faster rollout of the next-generation payment cards

• The collaboration has fast-tracked QPS’ expansion plans across the middle east

Zwipe and Que Processing Services (QPS) are joining forces to bring Zwipe Pay ONE biometric payment cards to banks in two key markets, Asia and the Middle East. This collaboration will facilitate a faster and smooth rollout of next-generation payment cards and address the fast-growing demand for safer and more secured payment solutions. This strategic collaboration is a part of a broader strategy of QPS to expand its reach across the key markets of the Middle East.

QPS provides a fully managed card issuance and processing platform services to various financial and non-financial institutions. The company powers modern payment experiences by offering wide-ranging physical and virtual cards with a highly innovative platform. QPS delivers innovative card programs in multiple countries including India, South Asia & Middle East.  

Speaking on the collaboration, Vinay Kalantri, Founder & CEO of QPS said: “Across every industry, modern payment solutions are disrupting the status quo. Zwipe Pay ONE Biometric Payment Cards will uplift QPS’ payments portfolio and demonstrate our commitment to bringing breakthrough innovations to the banking sector. Zwipe is a globally recognized biometric fintech company and our collaboration will provide differentiation and meaningful commercial value to our bank customers.” 

As part of this partnership, Zwipe will support QPS in the commercializing of next-generation payment cards duly backed by the certified regional card manufacturing partners delivering Zwipe Pay ONE-based biometric payment cards. “We are experiencing a growing interest in biometric payment cards and Zwipe. Partnering with well-known next-generation payment processors such as QPS will be instrumental in accelerating the deployment of the biometric payment cards to consumers and banks. As QPS is enabling banks to quickly launch new and innovative payment programs, both partners see a strong product and go-to-market synergies. We are sure that this journey will further accelerate the deployment of biometric payment cards in the region,” commented Ramzi Saboury, General Manager for Zwipe in the MENA region.