Tom Greenwood, CEO at Volt

“The launch of Open Banking Excellence’s presence in Brazil on 1^st September is just the latest indication of the country’s potential to emerge as a leader in the Open Banking movement. Banco Central do Brazil (BCB) has gone one step further than its European counterparts, in devising an Open Banking framework that not only envisages but acts as the roadmap to Open Finance.”

“The four-phased approach will transform data sharing between banks (phase one), before addressing consumer privacy rights (phase two), the ability to initiate transactions (phase three), and finally the application of this to other verticals within financial services, such as credit, insurance and investments (phase four).”

“This will enable unseen levels of interoperability and innovation. We expect to see a multitude of additional services around authentication and automation. Payments will incorporate different scores of Buy Now Pay Later options and treasury management will be done in ways that leads to new investments strategies, and so on. The possibilities are vast and it’s a model that we expect other regulators around the world to follow.”

“The BCB’s considered approach to building this framework will result in an Open Banking infrastructure that is more advanced than Europe. The Open Banking landscape is beginning to level up across the globe, which makes it an exciting time for us to be at the centre of the open payments revolution.”

Andre Faria, Founding Director, LATAM at Volt

“Of course, the actual deployment of such an ambitious new model is not easy. A comparison to Europe’s own Open Banking journey tells us that delays are often inevitable. Certainly, the BCB’s second and third phases have both experienced delays so far, with the latter recently moved from 30 August to 29 October 2021. Discussions around cost allocation to subsidise the tech infrastructure needed are still to be had, and the immediate impact of the second (and arguably most important) wave has not yet been felt in the weeks following its official launch in August.”

“This has made for a truly gradual process rather than the clean shift that official launch dates can lead us to believe. But the BCB has been moving incredibly fast and the industry landscape is much more primed for open banking than that of Europe. A concentration within the five big traditional banks supported by a group of well-funded digital players such as Nubank is creating a diverse but condensed environment in Brazil, in comparison to Europe’s complex network of spaghetti infrastructure supporting, say, six thousand banks.”

“Perhaps most importantly, consumer demand for more accessible and flexible financial products in Brazil cannot be overstated. That’s why I’m betting we will see Brazil move twice as fast as its precursors and quickly take the global lead in the race towards Open Finance.”

In order to help a business monitor and reliably measure the financial situation of a company, a regulatory statuary audit is vital. Not only does an audit help present a business’s monetary situation in a true and fair manner, but it also provides clarity and comfort to stakeholders that the company has adopted appropriate accounting policies and methods.

Although statutory audits can take a variety of different forms depending on the scale, complexity, and nature of your business, one may be considered more appropriate than the other. Put into some context, for a small retail company an audit will most likely be focused on stock valuation, margins, and receipts. Alternatively, an audit for the likes of a large property investment company will largely focus on property valuation, funding, and systems.

When presented to potential investors, an audit report can do more than just clarify a business’s financial situation — it can also offer the reassurance needed for investors before they make their final decision.

Furthermore, there are multiple benefits of supplying investors with an audit report, some include:

• Compliance — for business owners, shareholders, and potential investors, showing conformity to an audit process is one way to show investors that a company is credible and transparent.
• Improves planning, budgeting, and forecasting — since statutory audits give credibility to historic numbers, this information can be used to forecast ahead and ultimately limit the potential financial risks a business might face.
• The credibility given to financial statements — the main purpose of an audit is to verify that the financial statements are true and fair thus helping to build trust with an investor.

When an investment decision is being made, all investors and entrepreneurs know that business transparency is key. Audits can ultimately help increase the confidence that investors have through the reassurance provided by the audit.

Stressing the importance of audits is Andrew Millet from Wisteria Accountants, saying: “Any company that is seeking investment over the next few years should be thinking of voluntarily having themselves audited. Leaving it until the year of investment is often too late”.

How important are investors for emerging businesses?

In order to successfully encourage investors, early stage businesses that are seeking funds to grow with will need to dedicate a lot of time towards providing a reliable and accurate audit. Not only that, the likes of a credible management team, a business model, robust systems, and a good trading history will also help paint your business in a positive light. Furthermore, a statutory audit will help enhance an investor’s views on the company and confirm that the management is thorough, transparent, can operate with a heightened level of integrity, and is willing to be open to scrutiny.

It’s common for businesses in the early stages to become carried away with sales and products. Although this is of high importance, they must also monitor their systems, processes, reporting, accounting, and compliance, at all times. The likes of a statutory audit will help all businesses achieve this. Investors could be intrigued by the idea of your business in theory, but the comfort and reassurance they get from the management team will be the ultimate determinant whether they invest or not.

Gala Technology, the innovative Yorkshire-based company behind the multi-award winning ‘Cardholder Not Present’ (CNP) payment solution, SOTpay, have announced a partnership with FreedomPay, the global leader in secure commerce technology for lodging, retail, restaurants, stadiums and other hospitality merchants

SOTpay enables cardholders to complete secure remote transactions, whilst remaining in control of their sensitive card information on their personal device. Transactions are fully authenticated and PCI DSS compliant, negating the risk of fraud-related chargebacks and associated costs for the merchant.

FreedomPay deliver a unique client experience that meets the merchant where they are and helps them to where you want to be next. Their Data-Driven Next Level Commerce™ Platform enables end-to-end consumer experiences by delivering dynamic offers, a customized check-out across all channels and analytics through business intelligence.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, FreedomPay responded with characteristic determination and confidence, delivering uninterrupted platform services and increased customer and partner support. To prepare their partners for the future, FreedomPay also introduced the Touchless Commerce program.

The partnership supports FreedomPay in providing its merchants with the ability to process secure and PCI DSS compliant payment transactions across a number of channels including telephone, webchat, SMS and social media platforms. The new agreement is also timely given the record number of people who continue to work from home in unprecedented situations following the outbreak of the pandemic.

Barry Stearn, Vice-President, Partnerships, FreedomPay stated “FreedomPay are delighted to partner with Gala Technology, bringing together consistently award-winning payment innovation for the benefit of our mutual clients. Both organisations share an ethos that integrations solve for complex payment scenarios, thus improving the consumer journey as a result.”

Gala Technology CEO Jason Mace, commented, “We are thrilled to partner with FreedomPay to help provide their merchants with secure and PCI DSS compliant transactions across multiple channels. Our cloud-based technology does not require any additional hardware or integration, or any amends to existing telephony and network infrastructure, which means that deployment can be swift and incredibly cost effective. It’s perfect for remote working environments.”

Latest Innovation on Proprietary Accountant and SME platform

Capitalise.com, a digital ‘super platform’ that allows accountants and their SME clients to access capital from mainstream and alternative finance providers with a suite of credit and risk tools, has raised £10 million from Experian, QED Investors, Gauss Ventures, Hambro Perks and Post Finance. 

The investment will expand Capitalise’s accountant and SME platform with a suite of integrated credit protection and risk management services designed specifically for SMEs. 

Powered by Experian and embedded within an accounting service and SME balance sheet, ‘Capital Reports’  takes up where traditional credit reports leave off.  It allows accountants to protect their SME clients from unforeseen risks of their clients’ and suppliers’ credit positions by warning of potential defaults, it analyses what is available to a business and its propensity or need to borrow, and provides real time access to Capitalise’ curated marketplace of over 100 mainstream and alternative lenders.    

Half a million UK SMEs have cash reserves of 4 weeks or less. Of those, some 230,000 are at high risk. Their average account balance is £45,000 but the average SME has £30k in outstanding delayed payments: with little idea about when, or if they will be paid. A stronger understanding of the financial risks posed by the suppliers and clients on whom they depend makes SMEs more resilient while improving their own credit rating, allowing easier access to capital at more attractive pricing from both mainstream and alternative finance providers.

Capitalise CEO and Co Founder Paul Surtees says;  “Everybody has had to think differently during the pandemic, including us, so we created a virtuous circle in which SMEs and their advisors are shielded from risk and helped to grow. Powered by Experian’s credit data, our propensity modelling and open banking, we  underline our commitment to our accounting community by bringing their data to life and supporting their SME clients, in bad times and good”.

‘Capital Reports’ will be available on the Capitalise platform which underpins the digitisation and access to capital of over 2,000 UK accounting firms and has delivered over £1billion of offers from its panel of 200 capital providers. Delivery will be through a free and paid subscription model. On launch it will be available to more than 450,000 SMEs via their accountants and many more via API and open banking partnerships". 

Capitalise CPO and Co Founder Ollie Maitlaind says; “Managing credit risk is central to lender activity but SME owners typically overlook it. This restricts their growth and jeopardises their survival. While the digitalisation of financial services was on course to deliver SMEs with efficient access to new capital providers, the pandemic highlighted the fragility of their supply chains. As they emerge, their ability to recover and protect capital, while boosting their appeal to the lending community will be crucial. Capital Reports will make an unprecedented and timely contribution to SMEs’ ability to survive, and grow, in the UK within the coming months, in South Africa in Q4 with more countries to follow.

Yusuf Ozdalga, London Partner at QED Investors says; "Capitalise’s unique platform helps accountants better serve and help their clients by demystifying and streamlining the funding process, and bolsters their position as trusted advisors. This is an exciting stage in the Capitalise growth story and we are excited to be a part of it".

Costs of mobile and web-based fraud reported as high as 8.3% of revenue with 84% of organizations experiencing account takeovers in the past year

PerimeterX, the leading provider of solutions that secure digital businesses against automated fraud and client-side threats, today released Quantifying the Impact of Credential Stuffing and Account Takeovers in Financial Services, a comprehensive report that examines how attackers have found credential stuffing attacks and account takeovers (ATOs) against organizations in the financial services industry to be a highly effective, highly scalable way to commit fraud.

The study, conducted by the Aberdeen Group, quantifies the risk of credential stuffing and account takeovers for four segments of the financial services industry in the United States: commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions and fintech.

Key findings of the report include:

• Financial consequences have grown to a level that goes beyond a mere “cost of doing business,” to become a material business risk.
• To address the issue of credential stuffing and account takeovers, organizations in the financial services industry are about three times more likely to invest in fighting malicious bots than to take steps to reduce weak passwords and password reuse.
• Advanced bot detection and mitigation services top the list of technical capabilities being adopted to combat automated credential stuffing attacks.

In particular, bot-driven credential stuffing attacks are prevalent, and growing. 84% of all respondents reported that some number of their online users had experienced a successful account takeover in the previous 12 months.

Respondents were asked about the direct consequences from attacks on their customer accounts. The survey found that:

• 45% of organizations experienced fraudulent transactions
• 31% saw the creation of new accounts, e.g., credit applications
• 24% reported transfer of funds or other fungible value, e.g., loyalty points, rewards

"Throughout the financial services industry, the monetary consequences of credential stuffing and successful account takeovers — both direct, and indirect — have grown beyond a basic 'cost of doing business' to become a material business risk,” concluded Derek Brink, CISSP, vice president and research fellow for Aberdeen Strategy & Research. "Given the central role of digital credentials in the management of long-term, account-based relationships with their customers, it’s clear that addressing these risks now demands much closer attention."

Aberdeen’s quantitative analysis also estimated the median cost of an attack ranges from 2.7% to 6.4% of the revenue generated from their monthly active users for each of the four market segments: commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions and fintech companies.

“The business impact of ATO-related fraud on an organization is higher than many people realize, which is why we undertook this important industry analysis. For example, the median revenue for the credit unions that responded to the survey is $65 million, and the median amount lost due to a data breach is 5.2% of revenue, which is more than $3 million. Preventing and fighting these attacks requires an investment in people, tools, technologies, services and data, but these costs can really add up so accuracy and efficiency are paramount. PerimeterX is committed to supporting our financial services customers to meet these challenges head on, helping them assure their account holders, investors and stakeholders that they are taking a strong, proactive approach to security,” said Kim DeCarlis, CMO, PerimeterX.

A US Government crackdown on unregulated digital exchanges and stablecoins has long been on the cards, according to broker dealer and pioneering secondary market ATS operator Rialto Markets.

But rather than trying to kill off this emerging sector, Rialto Markets’ Head of Market Structure Lee E Saba expects and welcomes an official drive to create a regulated investment environment:

Caption: Crackdown by regulators aims to protect investors entering a more digital world

“The ‘digital genie’ was out of the bottle so, rather than stifling innovation and emerging demand - which might encourage a shadow or ‘dark’ trading arena - the authorities should now seek to put pragmatic legislation and sensible oversight in place.”

Saba’s comment follows on from: US financial commissioners asking for more Congressional powers to regulate the ‘crypto-universe’; new digital/crypto provisions tacked onto US infrastructure bills; plus news of all-new legislation being drawn up to regulate the nascent industry - all in one week.

But Saba – also co-chair for the FIX Trading Community global industry standards organisation – added: “The authorities seem to appreciate some form of cryptocurrency is inevitable and is reviewing ‘stablecoins’ - digital currencies pegged to stable reserve assets like the US dollar or gold, thereby avoiding the volatility of unpegged cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

“Stablecoins are already a serious market sector; the top five USD players (Tether, USDC, BinanceUSD, Paxos, and TrueUSD) have a combined market cap of over $102 billion (source: coinmarketcap.com).

“Theoretically, a stablecoin can be used right across the financial framework – crypto or traditional – with users confident that they can convert it back to a real dollar or reuse that stablecoin to pay for other goods and services. 

“But, as the financial authorities have realized, assets underpinning a stablecoin are not clear cut. Some of these can mix US Treasuries, Commercial Paper, Certificates of Deposit, Municipal Bonds, and Corporate Bonds, for instance, as well as dollars and gold.

“Not that there is anything wrong with those particular assets, but it does show how a stablecoin may be supported currently by a raft of assets that really needs defining and regulating.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has said: “Make no mistake - it doesn’t matter whether it’s a stock token, a stable value token backed by securities, or any other virtual product that provides synthetic exposure to underlying securities.

“These platforms – whether in the decentralized or centralized finance space – are implicated by the securities laws and must work within our securities regime.”

And Rialto Markets’ CEO Shari Noonan commented: “Chairman Gensler is saying that if the SEC deems stablecoins, are backed by non-dollar assets then they must register and comply with all US securities laws.

“These are the rules our experienced Wall Street trained management team know well, but outsiders tamper with at their peril, bringing down official scrutiny and regulation we now see being exercised. 

“It will mean that any future trading of these new securities must happen on a regulated execution venue – an Alternative Trading System (ATS) such as our own Rialto Markets secondary MarketBoard or an exchange. 

“This gives regulated ATSs and exchanges an increasingly important role within the digital asset landscape, that what regulators consider to be securities will be steered onto approved execution venues.” 

Noonan also highlighted that stablecoins was a lead topic in a new crypto bill going before Congress, seeking to give the US Federal Reserve approval of and authority over any dollar backed stablecoin. 

● From 545,080 monthly active users in July 2020 to 10,354,279 in August 2021, MetaMask has grown over 1,800% in just one year
● It is the fastest growing non-custodial wallet in the world in terms of monthly active users
● There are now more than 10 million monthly active users across the globe using
● MetaMask to access the decentralized web where they swap tokens, borrow, lend, mint and buy NFTs, play games, and much more.

— ConsenSys, the market-leading blockchain technology company founded by Ethereum co-creator Joseph Lubin, announced today that MetaMask now has more than 10 million monthly active users. This represents a 19x growth compared to July 2020, and positions MetaMask as the leading non-custodial wallet by users globally. MetaMask is both a mobile app and browser extension that functions as a cryptocurrency wallet for interacting with the Ethereum blockchain and any Ethereum-compatible network like Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

The Drivers Behind MetaMask’s Growth

MetaMask’s exponential growth has tracked closely with that of the Ethereum ecosystem. In 2019, $2 billion in crypto assets were committed to Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Today, Ethereum supports a flourishing Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem with over $80 billion in assets under management.  

MetaMask is the primary way a global user base interacts with DeFi applications, along with the vast universe of approximately 17,000 unique Web3 domains, which include rare digital goods marketplace OpenSea and NFT-based online games.

MetaMask was first created in September 2016 and has been a central catalyst in the adoption of decentralized applications on Ethereum. The launch of the mobile version in September 2020 has played a crucial role in rapidly bringing new users from global markets such as the Philippines, Vietnam, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Brazil.

The launch of token swaps on MetaMask mobile in March 2021 also exponentially accelerated user growth.

“MetaMask defined a new kind of cryptocurrency wallet, where users don't just interact with currencies, but with decentralized applications, and we are constantly making these new kinds of applications more safe and accessible to a broader audience,” said Dan Finlay, MetaMask CoFounder. “We're letting users explore new ways of establishing trust on the internet,” he added.

MetaMask Users Geography

As of August 2021, the top 15 countries using MetaMask include: The Philippines, United States, Vietnam, United Kingdom, China, India, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Germany, France, Canada, and Spain.

Asia is the number one region in terms of users’ growth, followed by Europe and North America.

DeFi is addressing the limits of “Traditional Finance” (TradFi) such as: substantial geographical barriers around the movement of capital, extensive paperwork, tons of intermediaries, lack of transparency, and high fees. It is challenging the existing TradFi policies that sometimes exclude minorities and low-income earners. The early and massive adoption of crypto in emerging markets is an example of how DeFi is solving TradFi market inefficiencies. 

Non-Custodial Wallets vs Custodial Wallets

Until recently, custodial wallets were leading the democratization of access to crypto assets. The main uses were focused on trading different cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, through a wallet where the private keys are held by a third party: the custodian. This means thirdparty custodians operate with full control over user funds while users only have to give permission to send or receive payments. Like a bank, but digital.

MetaMask is different. It is now the leading non-custodial wallet which allows users from all over the world to hold and own their private key, giving them full control of their funds. There is no need to trust a third party to secure your funds and return them if you want to trade or send them somewhere else. MetaMask allows users to be their own bank and take control over their own finances in a private and secure way.  

“MetaMask owes its growth to our community. They are constantly coming up with new ways to build and organize, and are always pushing us to improve in countless ways. As long as we can continue to help unleash their creativity, while keeping users safe, I think we'll have an exciting future,” concluded Dan Finlay.

Early results show steep increases in approval rates and automation

Leading global AI-powered credit decision platform provider, Scienaptic AI today announced that Gesa Credit Union has completed implementation and is now live on its platform. The deployment enables Gesa to make automated, AI-driven, smart credit decisions while enhancing credit access to members. Using Scienaptic's AI, Gesa automated approvals for more than 50% of auto loan applications, and the approval rate increased by up to 20%. Gesa expects a similar impact for their Visa Card program when it goes live on the platform next month.

Gesa Credit Union is the second-largest credit union in Washington state, serving over 250,000 members around the world. Gesa has a rich history of providing financial services to Washington state and reflects the early-day credit union motto, "people helping people." Through Scienaptic's AI, Gesa continues to add services and products that are convenient, economical and desirable for members.

“At Gesa, we continue to look for ways to provide the necessary products and services to help our members overcome their financial stressors,” said Kevin Willborn, VP of Consumer Lending at Gesa Credit Union. “Deploying Scienaptic's AI-powered credit decisioning platform is another step of our journey to rethink the customer experience and enhance our credit decisioning capabilities, putting members' needs first. Scienaptic's platform is enabling us to auto-approve more than 50% of our vehicle loan applications while increasing overall approvals by 20%. We are confident that in days to come, Scienaptic’s AI will deliver similar business impact for our credit card portfolio.”

 nCino, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCNO), a pioneer in cloud banking and digital transformation solutions for the global financial services industry, today announced its participation in the Middle East Banking Innovation Summit Plus 2021 (MEBIS Plus 2021) on September 15-16, 2021, in Dubai, UAE. As the Middle East’s largest banking innovation and technology event, MEBIS Plus 2021 brings together experts and executives from across the financial sector to discuss how digital transformation is pushing the industry into the future and creating a dynamic, growth-focused banking culture.

As part of the conference program, nCino will host a booth in the Banking Innovation Lounge and have representatives available to address how the ongoing COVID pandemic has reshaped priorities for Middle Eastern banks and how leveraging cloud banking can drive business innovation to achieve greater scale, speed and innovation.

“We are incredibly excited to lead this conversation at MEBIS Plus 2021 and to join our close colleagues from Salesforce in sharing key insights into cloud banking with our industry peers,” said Davis Brannan, EVP, Global Channels & APAC at nCino. “We believe single-platform cloud infrastructure is a true game changer for today’s financial institutions, and we’re eager to exchange perspectives on digital transformation with such an esteemed group of colleagues from the Middle East.”