By supporting existing paper-based trade finance processes as well as electronic documentation, automation enables business needs to be met now, and in the future, enhancing trade finance capabilities and easing financial organisations’ transition to digital

Automation is key to accelerating trade finance organisations’ digital journeys, according to a new whitepaper – ‘Trade finance document checking and data management: the case for automation’ – from leading banking software specialist Conpend. The paper explores the transformative potential automation has for the global trade finance supply chain, and showcases ING Bank as a notable example of what can be achieved with automation powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

According to the ICC, almost 80% of world trade relies on trade finance, which in turn, depends on accurate documentation to run smoothly. Yet, despite rapid technological advancement and an increased appetite from organisations to shift to digital in recent years – especially so during the Covid-19 pandemic, large volumes of paper-based documents persist in the supply chain. In fact, 45% of bank respondents in an ICC survey reported that physical paper for documentary transactions had been removed “to no extent”[1].

With many yet to start their paper to digital trade finance journeys – and electronic documentation not currently viable for certain supply chain markets and participants – the reliance on paper-based documentation is likely to continue within the supply chain for some years to come. But this does not change the fact that today’s global supply chain is in urgent need of a more efficient and reliable method to manually check and process the sheer volume of paper-based trade finance documents that go through the system every day. A solution that bridges both paper-based processes and electronic documentation is therefore key to driving digital change, while enhancing the processing of paper and continuing to support the trade participants that use it.

Automation converts scanned, paper-based documents into digital documents, with AI applications then able to ‘read’ the content and check it against pre-defined rules – for example, compliance requirements and legal specifications. ML enables such applications to build ‘knowledge’ from all the transactions and data it has processed, thereby generating continual improvement.

Marc Smith, founder and director of Conpend, said: “Such solutions enable trade finance processes to be transported into the future – today. With our TRADE AI app, we aim to help banks automate previously laborious, manual-only processes, such as document authentication and identity verification. Automation drastically cuts the time it takes to perform checks, driving operational efficiencies while also helping to reduce errors and optimise resources so that higher value work can be prioritised instead.”

Torben Sauer, CEO at Conpend, added: “Whether banks are dealing with paper or digital documentation, TRADE AI can traverse seamlessly between the two, thereby perfectly complementing existing trade finance processes while simultaneously driving a bank’s digital journey. Our customer, ING Bank, is a perfect example of a leading bank that sought to innovate the manual checking process of paper documents. By leveraging TRADE AI, ING Bank successfully achieved faster turnaround times, reduced errors and improved its interaction with clients for day-to-day activities.”

With charities facing intense pressure during the pandemic, a local business coach is offering support in 2021. Jamie Goral, a London-based business coach at ActionCOACH, is searching for a local charitable organisation to help achieve their operational and financial goals through his gifted coaching sessions.

“The pandemic has been challenging for charities to say the least,” said Jamie. “And many have really struggled to survive as typical fundraising activities were cancelled and volunteers were blocked by restrictions. As restrictions begin to ease, it’s about getting back out there with even more vigour than ever before but also making smart moves. This is why I’m calling for local charities to get in touch if they would like to be considered as my next partner. Business coaching will help you to become more effective when it comes to financial management, marketing, operational processes and bringing the people in your teams together.”

Jamie understands the importance of charities needing to treat their operations like that of a typical business. Team should recognise the impact that streamlining a service and becoming a lot more strategic can have on a charity - with his wealth of growth tactics at his fingertips, Jamie is ready to help them take action.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing the people I coach develop into confident leaders and successful teams. Right now, I’m looking for a local charity to make a difference by using these same principles. Whether you’re a local charity or business owner interested in taking some positive strides through the second half of 2021 and beyond, please get in touch.”

A very British success story is the continued growth of the street food scene. Once a subset of the food and drink industry, street food - and the culture, the ever evolving menus, and offerings across the nation - is now a market itself.

Figures from SumUp (www.sumup.co.uk), the London-based fintech, illustrate several key market trends:

• The number of street food vendors has increased in the UK since 2019. SumUp, for example, has seen 124% growth between 2019 and 2021 in the number of vendors using their payment technology.
• Merchants are experiencing increasingly consistent business. SumUp has seen growth of 134% in the average number of transactions through SumUp devices.
• Payment technology is now central to the success of street food vendors’ stalls. According to SumUp, 92.6% of street food vendor merchant sales were made by card payment in 2021, up from 90.2% in 2019. 
• Thursdays and Fridays tend to be the hottest days for sales - no surprises there - and July is the strongest month for sales. No single weekday or month can be picked out as underperforming.

As the sector goes from strength to strength, there is even a supportive and highly coveted set of annual awards that the best vendors battle it out for each year. The British Street Food Awards (www.britishstreetfood.co.uk) hands out prizes for categories ranging from ‘Best Main’ to regional winners and set themes, and last year a SumUp merchant emerged victorious.

Pellizco

Pellizco (www.pellizco.co.uk), a Mexican food vendor operating in the Sheffield area, took home the award for ‘Best Newcomer’ and, talking to SumUp, described how payment technology is there for when they need it, helping them earn their crust, and is a large part of the reason for the growth they have seen in the industry. Founder and chef Daniel Pinch said that:

“Street food is so much more than just a few vans at a big event that keep people fed, it has turned into its own culture, expanding into being the focus of their own events, popping up at pubs, breweries and pretty much anywhere with a car park.

“We digitised our business in order to make taking payments faster, easier, more accessible with the benefits of no cash handling, streamlined ordering and payments. We chose SumUp because of its reliable service and competitive commission rates. We have seen a shift from maybe 80% cash to 80% card payments; people love the ease of it, a lot of people have smart watches now so don’t even have to go into their pockets.

“Having competed in the British Street Food Awards last year, I feel it gave us a confidence boost, knowing we could hold our own with the best in the country. It definitely gave us a talking point too, people would come up and congratulate us after and I believe it made people want to try our food.”

This year’s contest

Facing off in the northern semi-final in Leeds 20th-22nd August were SumUp merchants Seitan's Kebab, Colombo Street Kitchen, Broke ‘n Bone BBQ, Vegan House, Greidys Wings and Strips, Bao Bros 23, South Manny Flavaz Group and Pellizco.

Eat The Farm, ROK Kitchen and Carne N’ Carvao are competing in the southern semi-final in Portsmouth on 28th-30th August.

At stake, aside from prize money, is the serious acclaim that comes with an award of this stature. The winners will be crowned in Hull 3rd-5th September in what promises to be an exciting and closely fought contest.

On the technology underpinning the sector’s continued success, Richard Johnson, the founder of the British Street Food Awards, said:

“Running live food events in the present climate is no small feat and as well as having the best people, we are supported by the best technology. SumUp’s range of solutions have boosted the sector in what could have been a very tough time, and we are delighted to continue celebrating the British street food scene with them.”

Umberto Zola, Country Growth Lead UK at SumUp:

“The street food scene exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the booming British economy. Through innovation and hard work, vendors are delivering new and exciting foods to people the length and breadth of the UK and we at SumUp are only too happy to support this growing industry through our payment technology.”

BroadSim Solo Brings Advanced GNSS Scenario Creation to Every Engineer’s Desk

Orolia Defense & Security, the leader in M-Code solutions for Resilient PNT, has released the latest addition to its GNSS simulator family, BroadSim Solo, today at the Institute of Navigation’s Joint Navigation Conference being held in Covington, Ky. The Solo joins the BroadSim line of Skydel-powered GNSS simulators, which includes models suited for Hardware-In-The-Loop and Multi-Element Antenna/CRPA testing. 

•    See the BroadSim Solo Demo LIVE at #JNC2021: BroadSim Solo will be demonstrated in the JNC Exhibit Hall at Orolia Defense & Security booth No. 117 today through Aug. 26.

BroadSim Solo shares the same Skydel Simulation Engine that runs on a standard BroadSim, BroadSim Anechoic and BroadSim Wavefront. It supports advanced scenario creation features and the benefits provided by a software-defined architecture such as high-dynamics, 1000Hz iteration update rate and ultra-low latency of 5ms. Nearly all civilian GNSS signals can be generated through its single RF output (one frequency band at a time), along with GPS AES M-Code, jamming or spoofing signals.

BroadSim Solo’s compact form factor is designed to do away with bulk, fitting nicely at a typical desk or workstation without taking it over. But it’s more than just convenience – the Solo addresses the permanent challenge that engineers face with laboratory capacity and availability.

“Creating complex test scenarios can be a tedious process, especially when emulating challenging environments,” said Tim Erbes, director of engineering for Orolia Defense & Security. “Having the ability to create scripts at your desk significantly frees up lab time and space for running these important simulations. Also, scenario creation is no longer limited to one person fixed to one system. Imagine a team of engineers, each with a BroadSim Solo, simultaneously building tests. Having a whole fleet of BroadSim Solos? It’s game-changing.”

BroadSim Solo with the Skydel Simulation Engine offers an intuitive user interface, comprehensive API (supporting Python, C++ and C#), automation tools and custom plug-ins that will speed up development cycles, increase performance and ultimately drive innovation. What’s even better is the BroadSim Solo’s remarkably affordable price-point.

“In an effort to enhance the customer experience and expand the reach of advanced GNSS simulators, we wanted to offer an affordable solution with all of the same core features as our most advanced BroadSim systems,” said Tyler Hohman, director of products for Orolia Defense & Security. “This gives our customers the opportunity to place more simulators in the hands of engineers and scientists without sacrificing capabilities. Our hope is that customers will find value in having a simulation ecosystem that is scalable based on their requirements.” 

New HR and Operations Features Help Small Business Owners Take Better Care of Their Teams, Stay Organized

Invoice2go, a one-stop-shop solution for small business owners and freelancers, announced today that its users can now access Gusto’s payroll and employee benefit features and Bench’s online bookkeeping service. Both are available through the Invoice2go Integrated Apps hub.

Gusto offers an integrated platform that automates HR, payroll, and benefits, and is trusted by more than 200,000 companies worldwide. Bench is America’s largest professional bookkeeping service for small businesses, making it easy to connect financial data, stay on top of monthly bookkeeping, and file taxes at the end of the year.

The common thread in these new partners is simplicity and productivity for small business owners, for whom time can be the most valuable commodity. As businesses begin to grow their employee and contractor base, having access to Gusto’s HR tools and services and Bench’s bookkeeping platform will save administrative time and energy so small business owners can focus on their passion and still take care of their teams and finances.

“As small business owners bounce back from the hardships of this past year, taking care of employees is going to be essential, now more than ever, to the health and success of a business,” said Mark Lenhard, CEO of Invoice2go. “Partnering with industry leaders like Gusto and Bench helps us to continually expand our offering to meet even more of our users’ business needs and better support their entrepreneurial endeavors.”

Through this partnership, Invoice2go users can seamlessly set up an account with both Gusto and Bench directly through the Invoice2go Integrated Apps hub, with users offered a 30% discount for their first three months of Bench’s service and first month free for Gusto’s service. While in Gusto, whether setting up benefit deductions, creating payroll cycles and reporting, or calculating payroll taxes, users can quickly jump between tasks via a single customizable and intuitive platform. With Bench and their expert human bookkeeping teams, users get easy bookkeeping and tax filing. Invoice2go users can get started at https://bench.co/partner/invoice2go/, receiving 30% off their first three months following a free trial.

“We were inspired by Invoice2go’s commitment to helping small businesses succeed and are excited to provide small business owners and employees the peace of mind they need to do their best work,” said Somrat Niyogi, Head of Partnerships at Gusto. “By joining forces with Invoice2go, we can help small businesses scale successfully and thoughtfully manage their hardworking teams.”

“With Invoice2go, we see a partner aligned with our mission to make a profound difference in the lives of small business owners,” said Ian Crosby, Bench’s CEO. “Invoice2go and Bench present a unique combination of services enabling entrepreneurs to effectively run and grow their businesses, and ultimately thrive.”

This new integration builds upon Invoice2go’s recent feature expansion, giving its users access to more resources to make their lives simpler through a comprehensive platform. Gusto and Invoice2go recently announced plans to build an embedded payroll experience through Gusto Embedded Payroll, with more details to be announced later this year.

Backbase, an Engagement Banking technology provider, announces today that it has partnered with eToro, a multi-asset investment platform that empowers people to grow their knowledge and wealth, to enhance eToro’s digital onboarding capabilities and back-end compliance infrastructure. The collaboration will see eToro adopting Backbase’s Digital Sales solution to deploy a fully digital and seamless account opening experience across its global user base, as well as a new Know Your Customer (KYC) architecture to better support the platform’s growth and compliance across the full customer lifecycle.

With customers from more than 100 countries, eToro operates in a highly regulated global industry which does not have a unified approach to rules and regulations. As eToro tailors its offerings, products and services to the regulatory requirements and limitations of each of the jurisdictions within which it operates, it required a technology partner with a robust global presence and sophisticated architecture to allow the platform to continue to grow exponentially – while providing state-of-the-art security and global compliance support. Backbase’s Digital Sales solution advances these goals by meeting KYC and other compliance needs for both new and existing eToro users, in addition to providing back-office support through its Case Manager solution so that eToro users are able to register and invest on the platform with minimal friction.

Backbase’s Digital Sales solution will be deployed via Microsoft Azure – ensuring that, as eToro grows, its digital architecture will be able to scale alongside it. Operating in a cloud environment will allow Backbase to rapidly deploy new product features and updates to help eToro stay fully compliant with evolving regulatory requirements on an ongoing basis.

Israel Kalush, Vice President of Engineering at eToro, comments: “Our mission is to open the global markets so that everyone can trade and invest in a simple and transparent way. Since our founding in 2007, innovation has been in our DNA and we require partners whose technology can scale with us. eToro is growing rapidly – we added over 5m new registered users in 2020 and a further 3.1m in Q1 2021 and we’re looking to Backbase to support us as we continue this expansion. Best-in-class KYC provides peace of mind for our users as well as the global compliance standards we need as a regulated broker. Through our collaboration with Backbase, we look forward to bringing our customers a first rate, frictionless onboarding experience that ensures we are fully compliant in an ever-evolving regulatory environment.”

Matthijs Eijpe, Regional Vice President, EMEA, at Backbase, adds: “We are thrilled eToro chose us to support their vision of building a scalable, future-proof onboarding architecture. eToro are true fintech pioneers, and their decision to work with us is a testament to Backbase’s commitment to – and success in – building innovative technology solutions that support our customers’ near- and long-term growth ambitions while still centering the end-user experience.”

NiyoX records 500,000 customers’ milestone in just 150 days

NiyoX – a 2-in-1 wealth plus savings account powered by India’s leading digital banking fintech - Niyo is seeing tremendous traction among the millennial population with one NiyoX digital savings account being opened every 30 seconds. This has led to the digital banking fintech on-boarding 500,000 customers within 150 days of its launch. The gaining popularity of digital banking services among millennials can be witnessed from the fact that over 82% customers of NiyoX are below 35 years of age. The convenience and accessibility provided by such products holds increased importance among this population thus making them the early adopters.

Since its launch, NiyoX has seen more than one crore transactions. With more than 50% of the transactions on the app being done via UPI, highlights the growing demand of the payment option among the digitally-savvy millennials. According to NiyoX, the top categories where customers spend the most include food delivery, ecommerce and entertainment.

NiyoX has also emerged as a popular option among millennials for their investment requirements. According to Niyo’s internal data, the average ticket size of the SIP investments for a NiyoX customer is INR 2000. Small-Cap Funds, ELSS and Index Funds are the most popular mutual fund categories.

Commenting on this achievement, Niyo’s co-founder and CEO Vinay Bagri said, “At Niyo we are committed to making banking simple while adding value to the users are every step i.e. On-boarding, transactions, fund transfers, chat besides our popular 007 offering. This is just the beginning as we add more features and products to delight our users. Half a million accounts is a humbling milestone and motivates us to work harder to ensure great banking experience for all.”

Although NiyoX has on-boarded customers from almost all states and union territories in India, the digital banking platform has seen 58% adoption from metro cities as compared to 42% adoption from non-metro cities. The top 5 cities with maximum customer base for NiyoX are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. 35% of the customers on-boarded NiyoX for its industry-high 7%* p.a. interest rate feature, followed by 25% customers who were driven by the 2-in-1 account facility as well as the ease of banking provided by the platform. 20% of the millennial customers joined the platform for its 0% Commission on mutual funds and zero balance savings account features.

Virender Bisht, Niyo’s co-founder and CTO said, “We have witnessed a tremendous response for our product since the time of its inception. The demand for a safer, better and faster banking experience is now more than ever and we at Niyo are trying to fulfil just that. We have tried to create a power-packed product with multiple features to provide a seamless banking experience to our customers. Our product lives up to the promise of instant digital on boarding with customers being on-boarded as fast as under 100 seconds. We plan to keep adding multiple layers to this product in the future, thus making NiyoX a one-stop solution for every individuals’ banking needs.”

It is interesting to note that Tuesday’s and Friday’s are the days when Niyo is witnessing the most activity on their platform.

Niyo was the first consumer neo-bank to go live in India with NiyoX - a state-of-the-art mobile banking solution for millennials in partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank and Visa. NiyoX account provides access to a full wealth management suite besides the savings account. The comprehensive wealth management suite powered by Niyo Money offers zero commission mutual funds, facility to track all your investments at one place, robo advisory and a feature that analyzes your investment, savings and expenses. Niyo will soon launch exciting products like Invest the change, Zero Forex Markup and Salary rewards.

Fraudsters targeting general accounts to facilitate criminal behaviour

New technologies such as Machine Learning helping businesses identify more fraud

New research from Experian has revealed that bank account fraud is now tracking at its highest level for more than three years. Drawing on the latest data from the National Hunter Fraud Prevention Service, the analysis uncovered an alarming surge in fraudulent activity targeting British businesses and consumers.

• The fraud rate for current accounts rose by 13% in Q2* compared to the previous quarter and was up 24% when compared to the same period in 2020.
• Confirmed fraudulent openings for savings accounts rose by 170% - the fraud rate now being three times the rate in the previous quarter and five times when compared to the same quarter last year.
• Loan fraud rates rose also by 40% in Q2, its highest reported level in the last three years, and up 63% on the same period last year.
• First-party fraud related to loans - where an individual gives false information or misrepresents their identity to access a product on more favourable terms - also rose by 18%.

Eduardo Castro, Head of Identity and Fraud Experian UK&I, said: “Fraudsters assume opening a savings or current account is a relatively straight-forward process and then use them to receive and quickly distribute illegally-obtained funds, as well as giving them access to other financial services offered by the bank or building society they’ve selected.

“Both consumers and businesses need to be made aware of the threat that scams pose. Our analysis serves as a warning that fraud prevention should be a priority for all organisations.”

The rise in rates can also be attributed to financial services’ fraud teams using a sophisticated combination of new technologies such as Machine Learning to successfully identify and prevent fraud.

Lenders, for example, can also better accurately assess a person’s suitability for a loan at the point of application, thanks to improved affordability capabilities, rather than relying what is claimed by the individual on the application form.

Castro adds: “New technologies are helping firms to flag potentially fraudulent activity right at the beginning of the application and account opening process. Meanwhile, customers are becoming increasingly comfortable using sophisticated security methods such as physical biometrics and facial recognition, and pin codes sent to mobile devices to verify their identity.

“Businesses which can deploy these means of verification will feel the benefit of both assuring their customers they take security seriously and knowing that who they are dealing with are who they say they are.”

Jim Lewis, Managing Director of National Hunter Ltd, said: “It is encouraging that users of the National Hunter service are continuing to detect and prevent fraud, in the face of more fraudulent activity. Even more so when you consider that many organisations have had to completely change their working practices during the pandemic. We are continuing to onboard new members into our data sharing community and it’s more important than ever that we work together to fight fraud.”

• The use of contactless payments is set to make up 47% of all UK payments between 2021-2022, and will be the most common type of transaction
• Contactless payments are up by nearly a third (30%) since the start of the pandemic, when chip & pin payments were still the most popular way to pay
• Between 2021 and 2022, cash payments will account for just over one tenth (11%) of all purchases
• Forecasts show almost three quarters (72%) of payments will be made by card within the next year

Contactless spending is expected to account for almost half of all transactions by the end of 2022 (47%), as it becomes the most popular payment method for the first time, according to new research.¹ 

The VoucherCodes.co.uk Life after Covid: Prospects for online retailing, physical stores and how we pay report, carried out by the Centre of Retail Research (CRR), examined the pandemic’s effect on the way UK shoppers pay for goods.  

The study shows that pre-pandemic in 2020, chip and pin was the most popular payment method, accounting for over a third (37%) of all transactions in the UK. During the same period, only 17% of all payments made were contactless. However, between 2021-2022, chip & pin payments are forecast to decline to just 25% of all purchases and cash payments will see a sharp decline, accounting for just over a tenth (11%) of all payments by the end of 2022. 

The switch, which will constitute a 30% increase in contactless payments from pre-pandemic to the end of 2022, was accelerated by changing consumer and retailer behaviour when it comes to paying for goods during Covid-19. Shoppers swapped cash for card for hygiene reasons, many retailers also stopped accepting cash altogether, and the contactless payment limit increased from £30 to £45. 

Looking ahead to next year, card payments are expected to account for almost three quarters (72%) of all transactions. 

Breakdown of preferred payment methods amongst UK shoppers  

Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk, commented: “Covid-19 has forever changed the way consumers spend their money. With exponential increases in online orders during the pandemic, combined with increased contactless limits and retailers implementing cash bans, people have quickly adapted to relying on contactless payments for the bulk of purchases as a result.   

“It remains to be seen whether the government will amend laws relating to legal tender, enabling retailers to permanently refuse to accept cash if they wish.  

“Ultimately, only time will tell, but in the immediate future, whereby cash was once key, contactless is our future.” 

For more details, the Life after Covid: Prospects for online retailing, physical stores, and how we pay report can be found here: https://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/savings-guides/guides-reports/life-after-covid-prospects#online-retailing