AutoRek, a leading software provider for the financial services sector, is today releasing new insights finding that 54% of businesses consider inefficient back-office processes the primary obstacle to delivering real-time payments. AutoRek polled executives in the financial services sector, as well as those in software development and IT, to explore firms’ readiness to accommodate real-time payments, highlighting the urgent need for firms to streamline their operations to meet the growing demand for instant transactions.

The poll found that inefficient processes are the most significant roadblock to delivering real-time payments, with cumbersome manual processes, legacy systems, and disparate data sources among the common culprits causing operational bottlenecks. Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents acknowledged that lack of internal skills is currently holding them back, as many technology teams are facing skills shortages, making it more challenging to develop and maintain the systems needed to meet real-time demands.

Almost one in ten (8%) noted that cost concerns are impacting the widespread adoption of real-time payments. This sheds light on the financial burden of integrating with real-time payment systems, particularly for smaller businesses that may struggle to find cost-effective solutions that meet compliance standards.

As the demand for instant payments is surging among consumers and businesses alike, many established markets are accelerating their adoption of instant payment infrastructure and rails. For instance, the Federal Reserve’s FedNow Service in the United States is designed to modernize and expedite the way funds move. However, 60% of respondents said that their reconciliation processes are not currently sophisticated enough to meet the operational flows that FedNow will inevitably create, raising questions about how firms can more easily navigate the evolving demands set by federal agencies.

“Real-time payments are a double-edged sword for businesses, opening up speed and convenience but also creating increasing operational obstacles – and firms that do not adapt their operations could find themselves in a world of regulatory hurt”, commented Nick Botha, Global Payments Manager at AutoRek. “Channelling investment into streamlining back-office processes is critical for firms that want to avoid landing themselves in hot water. Eliminating the bottlenecks to delivering real-time payments starts with upgrading the old-school legacy infrastructure that is no longer fit for purpose. Customer demand for instant payments is only going to accelerate, so firms that look to increase efficiencies now can get ahead of the curve.”

This survey comes a year after AutoRek published its first payments industry outlook, which found that 65% of firms were still leveraging spreadsheets for critical financial processes. Despite this, the majority at the time did feel ready to adopt real-time payments, however, our latest survey suggests this confidence could be misplaced. To find out more, download the 2023 report here.

Jifiti, a global leader in white-labeled embedded lending, today announced that it has been granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in Europe, following the Swedish regulator’s rigorous review and qualification process.

As a white-labeled solution provider to banks, regulated lenders, and financial service providers globally, Jifiti strictly adheres to multinational regulatory and security standards. The EMI license serves as comprehensive validation of the company’s robust compliance and regulatory standards, which also include PCI/DSS, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 certifications.

With its EMI license, Jifiti is able to serve the growing needs of its bank, lender, financial services and merchant clients with a broader scope of payment products and services. Banks and lenders that want to innovate rapidly and compete efficiently in the ever-evolving payments landscape can now do so with Jifiti with the confidence and knowledge that there is enhanced regulatory oversight.

Being licensed also furthers the company’s unparalleled ability to offer pan-European solutions for multinational banks and merchants.

“Our mission at Jifiti is to provide consumers and businesses access to responsible, affordable financing options from regulated financial entities. Becoming a licensed e-money issuer takes our company to the next level in its growth trajectory and enables us to bring even more value to our customers and partners, ” commented Yaacov Martin, CEO of the Jifiti Group.

Jifiti’s white-labeled embedded lending platform supports every B2B and B2C point-of-sale financing option, including installment loans, lines of credit, net terms and split payments. With its global presence, Jifiti gives consumers and businesses worldwide easy access to loan programs from trusted local banks and lenders from within any customer journey.

The PHA Group has been appointed by Alif Pay to lead on its PR and communication activities in the Middle East. 

Launched in the UAE in September 2023 and headed up by Shafique Ibrahim, Alif Pay enables fintech products for UAE residents with a focus on the enhanced user experience of its app. 

The partnership with Alif Pay reflects the evolving partnership The PHA Group has shared with the wider Alif Group. 

The PHA Group first partnered with Alif in 2021. At the time, Alif was recognized as a leading fintech in Tajikistan and was looking to export its success to new markets. Since then, Alif has successfully launched into three new markets, increased its client base, and successfully concluded one of the highest funding rounds in Central Asia with Jefferson Capital, led by Chairman Khofiz Shakhidi. 

Alif has become a leading, global voice in Islamic fintech and continues to champion the talent and potential offered by Central Asia and the Middle East. 

Alif Pay joins The PHA Group’s growing portfolio of payment clients and joins the agency’s growing list of clients in the Middle East. 

Shafique Ibrahim, CEO at Alif Pay, commented: “We are excited to collaborate with PHA to elevate our communication strategies and strengthen our brand presence in the market. With their wealth of experience and dedication to excellence, we are confident that this partnership will drive our brand narrative to new heights and share the story of Alif Payment's innovative contributions to the fintech industry”.

Rhys Merrett, Head of Technology at The PHA Group, commented: “It has been a privilege working with Alif for the last two years. 

“Our mission is to partner with companies like Alif which are not only transforming society through innovative technologies but also committed to noble values. Casting a light on a region like Central Asia that is normally overshadowed by established fintech hubs like New York and London has been vital. 

“Alif Pay’s launch in the UAE is testament to this. We look forward to supporting Alif as it explores new markets, technologies and offerings now and in the future.” 

Snowflake, the Data Cloud company, announced the launch of the Powered by Snowflake Funding Program, which intends to invest up to $100 million dollars toward the next generation of early-stage startups building Snowflake Native Apps. The Powered by Snowflake Funding Program features leading venture capital firms Altimeter Capital, Amplify Partners, Anthos Capital, Coatue, ICONIQ Growth, IVP, Madrona, Menlo Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, and Snowflake Ventures. As part of the Powered by Snowflake Funding Program, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will further fuel growth and innovation by providing up to $1M in free Snowflake credits on AWS over four years to startups building Snowflake Native Apps.

“A new way to deploy enterprise applications is emerging as companies look to bring their apps and application code closer to their data. Innovative enhancements in AI-enabled through Snowpark, the Snowflake Native App Framework, and Snowflake’s industry-leading data privacy, security, and governance, make it easier than ever for startups to build, deploy, and monetize enterprise apps,” said Stefan Williams, VP Corporate Development and Snowflake Ventures at Snowflake. “With our venture capital partners and AWS, the Powered by Snowflake Funding Program will accelerate this new era of software development.”

“As more startups build and scale innovative data-intensive and AI-enriched apps, we want to offer them the resources they need to hit the market faster—and the Snowflake platform is a great example of that,” said Howard Wright, Vice President and Global Head of Startups at AWS. “AWS is thrilled to contribute to the Powered by Snowflake Funding Program and make it easier for builders to connect the dots between enterprises and their customers to deliver even better products and services.”

Apps that are Powered by Snowflake benefit from the speed, scale, performance, and ease-of-use of Snowflake’s platform for accelerated time to market, improved operational efficiency, and a more seamless customer experience. With the Snowflake Native App Framework, generally available soon on AWS, developers can build an app, market, monetize, and distribute it to customers across the Data Cloud ecosystem via Snowflake Marketplace, all from within Snowflake’s secure and governed platform. Secure data collaboration techniques allow companies building apps on Snowflake to access more data - from partners, customers, or data providers - to deliver enhanced insights which can act as a differentiator.

Maxa, winner of this year’s Snowflake Startup Challenge, set out to automate financial and operational (ERP) insights fast, without the age-old headaches associated with running one or many ERP systems. Their business was accelerated with Snowflake Native Apps. “The ability to run Maxa within our end-customers Snowflake account, where their data already lives, and in a way that they maintain complete control of it, fundamentally changed our business. Launching as an enterprise-grade startup from the very beginning, we’re able to sell and securely deliver value to some of the world’s largest companies. And being able to distribute and monetize on Snowflake Marketplace has made it easy to connect with customers,” said Alexis Steinman, co-CEO at Maxa. “As the 2023 Startup Challenge winner and a company that was born in the Data Cloud, we’ve gotten to experience first-hand the incredible technology and business opportunities available to startups in the Snowflake ecosystem.”

Snowflake also unveiled advancements that make it easier for developers to build ML models and full-stack apps in the Data Cloud, innovations that enable all users to securely tap into the power of generative AI with their enterprise data, enhancements to further eliminate data silos and strengthen Snowflake’s leading compliance and governance capabilities through Snowflake Horizon, and more at Snowday 2023.

Comments from Program Participants -

Brad Gerstner, Founder and CEO at Altimeter Capital - “Leading data and AI companies are increasingly building their entire business on the Snowflake platform. As we did with Samooha, one of the first adopters of Snowflake Native Apps, we are happy to partner with Snowflake to accelerate this incredible progress.”

Mark LaRosa, Partner at Amplify Partners - “The ability to deploy a new product offering and connect to the end-customer's data is a paradigm shift in how B2B software is sold and delivered. Historically, startups encountered a byzantine maze of security approvals, vendor reviews, and more just to get through a mere evaluation, let alone production-level access to data. Snowflake is at the forefront of streamlining this deployment and massively accelerating adoption for both companies as well as end users. We're looking forward to Snowflake Native Apps enabling a new class of startups and are excited to deepen our partnership with Snowflake to help catalyze their growth."

Sam Teden and Jeff Stapleton, Investors at Anthos Capital - “We believe Snowflake will fundamentally change how software is delivered and we are thrilled to be partnering on this funding program. Having the ability to build directly on Snowflake enables entrepreneurs and companies to go to market more quickly and eliminates common compliance hurdles faced by B2B software companies. Anthos is proud to support the effort to accelerate the shift in mobilizing data."

Andy Chen, General Partner, Coatue - “The data platform is one of the most important components of the modern data stack and we expect to see a generation of new startups that will be built on top of data leaders, like Snowflake. We are thrilled to join Snowflake and fellow investors to spark this new wave of innovation.”

Matt Jacobson, General Partner, ICONIQ Growth - "One of the most difficult challenges startups face is earning the trust of their prospective customers, especially when their product requires access to their customers' data. Snowflake Native Apps are changing this dynamic by allowing startups to deploy their data-intensive and AI-infused apps entirely within the end customer's data platform - eliminating data movement and significantly strengthening trust. ICONIQ Growth is excited to continue its long-standing partnership with Snowflake and support this new era of development helping startups build apps to put data to work.”

Shravan Narayen, Partner at IVP - “As a former Snowflake PM, I’ve seen firsthand how Snowflake Native Apps can transform development and enterprise adoption for data-intensive applications. We look forward to collaborating with Snowflake and these ambitious founders as they scale.”

S. Somasegar, Managing Director, Madrona - “Every company is building Intelligent Applications leveraging the power of data and AI that they have access to. These applications want to stay close to the data, which for many enterprises is already in Snowflake,” said S. Somasegar, Managing Director, Madrona. “The Snowflake Data Cloud and the program to nurture and support startups building Snowflake Native Apps means that enterprises will have an easier on-ramp to offering Intelligent Applications and startups will have the fuel they need to build and sell enterprise grade AI-driven applications. We are excited to work with Snowflake and start-ups through this new program.”

Tim Tully, Partner, Menlo Ventures - "We're excited to partner with Snowflake to help this new generation of software companies, which have data and AI at their core, develop innovative products and scale their businesses.”

Satish Dharmaraj, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures - "As a longtime partner of Snowflake, we continue to be excited about the pivotal role Snowflake plays in the industry for companies of all sizes, but especially those just getting started on their journey. We’re in such early innings of AI and it's incredibly impactful to see Snowflake making it easier for the next generation of Snowflake Native App builders to build and scale their businesses."

The online trading and fintech space are among some of the most competitive industries, where only the top-performing brands can truly stand out. UF AWARDS MEA 2024 will look to showcase these leaders, taking place this January at the upcoming iFX EXPO Dubai 2024.

UF AWARDS MEA 2024 are the financial service industry’s most prestigious rewards, highlighting the best B2C and B2B brands in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). These unique honours recognise excellence, pioneering achievements, innovation, and significant contributions made in the online trading and fintech space.

Perhaps most importantly, the UF AWARDS acknowledge leading brands that provide traders and businesses with an industry benchmark and standard that other companies aspire to trade and do business with. These honours constitute the most distinguished in the industry with the biggest titles on the line to kick off 2024.

Nominations Round Underway for the Coveted UF AWARDS MEA 2024

No two UF AWARDS are the same, with companies vying for these special titles and the bragging rights that come with them. Does your brand have what it takes to win the industry’s highest honours? The road to victory for the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 starts with the Nomination Round, which is now open.  

The Nomination Round for the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 brings participants one step closer to being recognized as the industry's elite. Despite having just opened, industry enthusiasts are already presently lining up to show support for their brands of choice.   The hype surrounding these awards is real, and with so many B2C and B2B companies looking to stake their claim as the best in the business, the competition is already heating up.

Honouring Excellence Across the Middle East & Africa

The UF AWARDS MEA 2024 Ceremony will be held on January 17, concluding the first day of the iFX EXPO Dubai 2024 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. iFX EXPO is the world’s leading online trading event. For over a decade, this landmark exhibition has brought together professionals in online trading, fintech, and financial services across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Unsure of how to nominate your brand? Brands looking to make a splash or stand out from the crowd across a wide range of B2C and B2B categories can do so by simply registering on the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 website and filling in the nomination form. As a reminder, only registered users can nominate a brand, so sign up today and make your voice heard!

Nominations for the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 will remain open until December 15. This will be directly followed by a subsequent voting round that will last from December 20 until January 10. Registered users will have a chance to cast their votes from a short list of nominated B2C and B2B brands.

What Makes the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 Unique?

There is no shortage of accolades in the industry, but only the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 reigns supreme. This is because nominations and voting are done by industry peers with the most prestigious industry titles for the year on the line.

The stakes for the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 simply could not be higher with unrivalled brand exposure for targeted audiences up for grabs. Just how important would winning these awards be for your brand?

Celebrate validation and the ultimate recognition for your brand’s achievements as an industry elite. Indeed, only the most trusted brands can lay claim to these awards, enhancing brand image, gaining international publicity, and standing out from any competition.

Introducing the Categories Up for Grabs

The UF AWARDS MEA 2024 spans a diverse list of categories from both the B2C and B2B space. Discover your brand's perfect match by exploring each exciting category via the following link.

This includes some of the most sought-after titles that can elevate your brokerage or fintech brand to the vanguard of the industry:

BEST BROKER – MEA

MOST TRANSPARENT BROKER – MEA

MOST TRUSTED BROKER – MEA

BEST TRADING PLATFORM – MEA

BEST B2B LIQUIDITY PROVIDER – MEA

BEST SOCIAL TRADING SOLUTION – MEA

Are you ready to be recognised as one of the most trusted names in the industry today? The path to glory and the UF AWARDS MEA 2024 starts with your nomination.

Nominate now and become a part of history this January in Dubai.

New data published by Rimm Sustainability reveals that over three-quarters of UK SMEs (77%) are using technology, as well as a sustainability platform, to facilitate their goals.

The report, “Leading the Charge on Sustainability: Moving from Awareness to Action” explores the views of 500 C-suite executives from SMEs from a range of industries across the UK towards sustainability and the steps they are taking to put their net zero plans into action.

The findings highlight the most common driver for firms to adopt sustainability platform is to receive guidance around sustainability regulations and requirements (34%). This is closely followed by advice on taking action to improve (33%), education on sustainability (33%), to achieve net zero goals (32%), data collection (32%) and analysis and reporting (30%).

The report highlights that the motivations also vary depending on the size of the businesses. Firms with revenue below £20 million are more focused on using technology for educational purposes, whereas firms that raise more than £20 million in revenue are more interested in advice on regulations and reporting requirements. 

Ravi Chidambaram, CEO of Rimm Sustainability says: “In today’s business landscape, we know that transparency is paramount to build the trust of consumers, and so it’s fantastic to see that an overwhelming majority of SMEs in the UK are adopting sustainability tools and are using them to communicate their progress to stakeholders, and to ensure they are compliant with regulations that are constantly evolving. These technologies are not only allowing firms to verify their own credentials, but also that of their supply chain, and this is helping them to paint a much fuller picture of the progress they have made on their sustainability journey.”

Zelig is delighted to announce that it has acted as sole financial advisor to Accelex, a leading provider of AI automation for private markets data acquisition, reporting and analytics, on its $15 million Series A funding round led by FactSet. Existing investors Illuminate Financial, AlbionVC, SixThirty Ventures and Expon Capital also participated in the round.

Accelex’s technology is already a key enabler in FactSet’s private markets growth strategy. Hence, this transaction further strengthens the relationship between the two firms as they work together to bring innovation to the alternative assets industry, helping market participants gain a deeper understanding of the drivers of investment performance.

Unlike traditional assets, investments in private markets are plagued by unstructured content, often requiring expensive and error-prone manual processing. Accelex is transforming the way investors address this challenge by employing market-leading data science to automate the end-to-end workflows from document acquisition and data extraction to reporting and analytics.

This funding comes at an exciting time for Accelex. Over the past 24 months, the firm has embarked on a phenomenal growth trajectory. Accelex has won a large number of top-tier asset owners and allocators along with asset servicers and service providers as clients. These firms now represent a combined asset base of over $1.5 trillion, invested in more than 13,000 private market funds across 4,000 asset managers. The capital infusion will allow Accelex to expand its operations further, enhance product capabilities, and enlarge asset class coverage.

“Data-driven decision-making is critical for our clients, particularly as their portfolios increase in exposure to private capital, where the acquisition, aggregation, and analysis of investment data has been a challenge. We are thrilled to partner with Accelex on this journey to bring innovative solutions to private markets, united by our shared commitment to empowering the alternative investment community with superior data and analytics, enabling better investment outcomes."
Rob Robie, Executive Vice President, Head of Institutional Buyside at FactSet

“This partnership will solidify our position as a leader in the alternative investment data management and analytics space. Today we serve some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated investors and their service providers, delivering better data, faster while reducing their operational burden.”
Michael Aldridge President, Accelex

"We are delighted with the completion of this latest financing round with FactSet and the continued support from our financial partners. This further validates the Accelex team, our approach to innovation, and the unique value proposition we offer our private markets clients.

Zelig’s advice throughout was insightful and effective, especially in managing the process and aligning objectives of the multiple stakeholders involved.” 

Franck Vialaron Chief Executive, Accelex

ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking for financial institutions, today announced that, subject to regulatory approval, it has appointed Shonaid Jemmett-Page as Chair of the UK Board, following the departure of David Gagie.

David has been Chair of the UK Board since 2018 and has been instrumental in the growth of the organisation to date, with his experience being pivotal in leading the Board.

Shonaid has been a part of ClearBank’s UK Board as asenior independent director since its early establishment in 2017. She is an experienced director with extensive business leadership experience in the financial services, sustainability and digital sectors. Shonaid was previously Chair of MS Amlin and has held a number of senior roles during her executive career including as Chief Operating Officer of CDC Group, Global SVP Finance and Information at Unilever, and a partner at KPMG.

Charles McManus, Group CEO of ClearBank: “I would like to thank David for his outstanding contribution to ClearBank over the past five years. He has played a vital role in our success to date, and we are enormously grateful for his stable and effective leadership of the Board during his tenure.

“We are pleased that Shonaid will be David’s successor as Chair of ClearBank UK. Shonaid has significant experience in financial services and her expertise and leadership has served ClearBank well. We look forward to working with her in the new role.”

David Gagie, ClearBank UK Board Chair: “I am immensely proud of what the organisation has achieved and feel privileged to have led the Board over the last five years. I am pleased by the choice the Board has made in appointing Shonaid and confident that her experience and range of skills will complement and further strengthen the ClearBank UK Board in the years to come. I look forward to working closely with her to ensure a smooth handover.”

Shonaid Jemmett-Page, Senior Independent Director: “I am honoured to take on the role of Chair of ClearBank and to follow in David’s footsteps of strong leadership and commitment to the Company. I look forward to working closely with the other members of the Board and Charles and his management team, to help guide and position ClearBank for future success.”

New research finds millions of people in the UK could be heading for difficulties later in life, as poor understanding and low take-up of long-term investing risks their financial security. 

The analysis by online investment platform InvestEngine forms part of its new report, Building a nation of investors, and comes as half (56%) of UK adults have stopped saving or investing amidst the cost of living crisis.

Drawing on research across European markets, freedom of information requests, and third-party data, the analysis reveals that people in the UK lag behind others when it comes to knowledge and adoption of investing. 

Nearly half (48%) of adults in Germany, for example, said they would prefer to invest their money than save it, compared to only a third (33%) of adults in the UK. Specifically, just one in seven (14%) adults in the UK have a stocks and shares ISA - equivalent to 6.6 million adults. 

Germans were also more likely to have knowledge of different types of investment products compared to Brits, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs)**, with the number of Germans making monthly contributions to ETF saving plans projected to hit 20 million by 2026. 

Financial education in the UK is also lacking. More than half (55%) of adults in the UK – equivalent to nearly 26 million people – either disagreed or were uncertain if investing money offered better long-term returns than cash savings, despite evidence showing this to be the case. 

Nearly two-thirds (61%) feel their own education did not equip them with enough understanding of how to invest their money. Most (68%) said they had to self-teach when it came to managing their finances, with 73% of middle-aged adults (35-54s) saying they wish they’d started investing or saving at a younger age. 

With the Government keen to encourage greater long-term investing, InvestEngine is calling for ISA and financial education reforms ahead of the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023. InvestEngine has written to the Treasury with its findings and to call for the following:

• A single, all-purpose ISA account for both cash savings and stocks and shares to be introduced, simplifying the process of moving funds into investments and avoiding confusion over managing multiple accounts. 

• Rename ISAs to ‘tax-free accounts’ to make clear the main benefits of using them in order to increase engagement. 

• Bring pensions and investments under a single ‘investing’ banner, recreating measures like those in place for pensions to encourage employers to make investing more readily available in workplace benefits, and working with the financial industry to achieve this.

• Boost financial education from an earlier age so more people understand the benefits of long-term investing and reducing cash savings as the default for many.

Andrew Prosser, Head of Investments at InvestEngine, said: “Change is badly needed, both in terms of our culture towards personal finances and in the role that industry and government can play in facilitating that change.

“When it comes to growing your wealth through investing, the best route for many will be via ‘little and often’ investing through an ISA, utilizing diversified and low-cost funds like ETFs. As the Autumn Statement approaches, we’re encouraged to see the UK government exploring ways to simplify the ISA landscape to make it easier for people to save and invest, but there needs to be further action to simplify the system and boost financial literacy. 

“This will be crucial if we’re to ensure more people can achieve greater financial security later in life.”