New York, Toronto, Charlotte, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.

Synechron Inc., a leading digital transformation consulting firm focused exclusively on the financial services industry, has partnered with myGwork, the global networking hub and job board for LGBTQ+ professionals and students. Synechron is excited to become a ‘corporate partner’ of the myGwork network and be among the 268 organizational allies that fiercely support the diversity of individuals no matter their unique culture, backgrounds, or lifestyles. As such, Synechron is proud to maintain a dedicated webpage as part of the myGwork website, where interested, skilled professionals can learn more about Synechron’s culture and business specialties, and link directly to the company’s careers page to view current job opportunities.

The purpose of the myGwork platform is to offer the LGBTQ+ community a safe and free space to connect with inclusive employers, mentors, professional events, and offer other membership benefits. But it is far more than just a recruiting platform. The partnership between Synechron and myGwork means that Synechron will be further empowered as a company that already has a strong DEI focus, through an array of training around topics such as allyship, inclusivity, unconscious bias, resilience, inclusive language, and more. In addition, Synechron will be involved in LGBTQ+ media publications, monthly campaigns, will be sponsoring a future myGwork event, and will be making available panelists from Synechron who will speak at events.  

In announcing this partnership, Mihir Shah, Managing Director, Head of Europe, Middle East, and APAC at Synechron said, “We are honored to be among the corporate supporters of myGwork’s global network of students, professionals and broad community who are seeking to network and explore new challenges and the opportunity to advance their careers with organizations who deeply respect their individuality.” He added, “At the same time, we look forward to learning, growing and interacting with the myGwork community so that we can become an even better corporate citizen.”

May Yang, Global Head of Operations at Synechron and an instrumental leader in the company’s multi-faceted DEI program said, “At Synechron, we continually strive to form partnerships that advance and champion the interests and careers of all skilled individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender expression, and background. We firmly believe that diversity makes us better corporate citizens and supporting DEI initiatives creates better workplaces for all.”

Diversity & Inclusion are fundamental to the Synechron culture, and Synechron is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative ‘Same Difference’ is committed to fostering an inclusive culture – promoting equality, diversity and an environment that is respectful to all. As a global company, we strongly believe that a diverse workforce helps build stronger, successful businesses. We empower our global workforce by offering flexible workplace arrangements, mentoring, internal mobility, as well as learning and development programs.

What’s more, all employment decisions at Synechron are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to the applicant’s gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

“We are pleased to have an enlightened company partner, such as Synechron, join us in our commitment to providing a world of opportunities and the chance to start or accelerate their careers for our nearly one million LGBTQ+ members,” said Pierre Gaubert, Co-founder of myGwork who, along with his twin brother Adrien, founded the organization in 2014. “Synechron and myGwork are closely aligned in the myGwork mantra of ‘Connect, network, thrive’. These three principles continue to drive us and our members today and we believe will serve them well into the future,” he added.

The DPO Centre launches DSAR response service

The DPO Centre, the market-leading independent data protection resource center is launching a new outsourced DSAR response service following huge demand from companies needing help to tackle ever increasing complex data subject access requests (DSARs).

The DPO Centre’s dedicated DSAR team works with companies to provide solutions to recognize, handle, and respond to DSAR requests effectively, appropriately, and within the strict response timeframe.

The DSAR response service is delivered on an ad hoc ‘pay as you go’ basis; where organizations outsource all, some, or just occasional DSARs as required. Also providing the added confidentiality of an external resource that is required when dealing with complex HR-related DSARs.

Lenitha Bishop at The DPO Centre said “We are seeing a significant rise in the number of data subject access requests (DSARs) submitted to organizations as one of the fallouts from the pandemic.

With the complexity and volume of DSARs increasing, many companies lack the appropriate expertise, systems, and resources to ensure requests are dealt with efficiently, therefore outsourcing the process to The DPO Centre is an ideal solution.

We help our clients to implement the processes and procedures to avoid being overwhelmed by complex or multiple DSAR requests. Our expert DSAR response team provides senior management with peace of mind, supporting the business to improve data subject trust and avoid regulator scrutiny by ensuring the strict response timelines are met.”

A study by The DPO Centre revealed that six million UK adults1 have considered submitting a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) after feeling that a company had mishandled their personal data. Those aged between 18 years old and 34 years old are most likely to have considered submitting a DSAR (20%) compared to those aged 35-54 (14%) and 55+ (4%). Indicating that the number of data subject access requests (DSARs) UK companies will receive from clients and suppliers are set to increase.

The new DPO Centre DSAR response service can take care of the full ‘A-Z’ of the DSAR response process, provide just an advisory and oversight service, or perform only certain aspects, such as redaction. Allowing organisations that receive complex DSAR requests and those that are struggling to comply with the required response timeframes vital support and expertise.

Lenitha continued “We work with organisations across all sectors including healthcare and financial services. No organisation is exempt from DSAR requests and the requirement to comply is here to stay, but The DPO Centre is on-hand to assist."

Leading UK anti-money laundering specialist SmartSearch has launched a new weapon in the ongoing fight against dirty cash being cleaned around the world through activity such as buying property.

Organised crime gangs and fraudsters are now thought to be responsible for up to $2 trillion a year in money laundering, which is being enabled due to a lack of basic ID checks and document verification, according to SmartSearch.

In response the multi-award winning RegTech 100 firm has now launched SmartDoc, the most advanced document verification system on the market, using a combination of cutting-edge facial ID technology and a level of expert analysis at the same level as border security officials.

John Dobson, SmartSearch CEO, said SmartDoc would not only help businesses in the property, legal and financial service sectors prevent fraud, but also help them remain compliant with global regulations which would result in hefty fines and even prosecution if breached.

He said: “We have built a reputation over the past ten years for our market-leading digital verification solution, which is by far the most effective way to carry out anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks.

“But we have launched SmartDoc to run alongside that as another weapon in the armoury for those businesses which feel the need to carry out document verification as part of their customer due diligence.

“The new SmartDoc solution incorporates facial recognition to identify forged ID documents which include photographs, such as passports, driving licences, work permits amongst others.

“SmartDoc will ensure regulated businesses can securely authenticate customer identities, preventing fraud and allowing them to remain compliant with AML legislation.

“While we would always advise customers that electronic verification is the quickest and most reliable way to perform KYC and AML checks, a document checking solution is a key tool due to the vast increase in attempted fraud as a result of the global pandemic.

“The lack of face-to-face interactions caused by lockdown opened a window for criminals to attempt to deceive, and despite restrictions being relaxed, this wave of fraud has not stopped.

“But businesses need to be aware that they are responsible for ensuring they comply with AML regulations and could face severe fines for allowing this activity to go on unchecked.”  

The new feature has been developed in part in response to feedback from SmartSearch clients and, by combining leading document authentication technology and the latest biometric verification and liveness detection techniques, SmartDoc provides an accurate picture of the customer, which removes the need for face-to-face interaction.

Not only does the technology confirm whether a document is genuine and unaltered, but that it also belongs to the person presenting it, providing an additional layer of security to identity checks.

It then provides a pass-fail result and also screens the customer against politically exposed persons (PEP) and sanctions lists.

The SmartDoc service combines machine-learning interrogation and an optical character recognition algorithmic check on the ID document machine readable zone, verifying whether the document is genuine and unaltered, with a full data integration to identify document tampering.

Where necessary, it also uses visual scrutiny by a border security trained ID document expert, who will examine every aspect to check security features found in genuine documents, as well as key indicators of potential forgery.

For more information about anti-money laundering solutions in the UK, please visit www.smartsearch.com

• Forty-five fines for money laundering failures issued in 2020; on par with 45 issued in 2019
• Fines for anti-money laundering (AML) failings globally five times higher in 2020 than 2019, totalling USD 2.2 billion
• Total fines for AML failings in January – June 2021 stand at 45% of 2020 total, totalling USD 994 million

Kroll, the world’s premier provider of services and digital products related to valuation, governance, risk and transparency, has today published new data showing that the COVID-19 pandemic has not stunted global enforcement action for anti-money laundering (AML) failings.

The findings come from the company’s annual Global Enforcement Review 2021, which shows that, globally, 45 fines for AML failures were issued in 2020, the same as in 2019. Moreover, the first half of 2021 seems to be following suit, with 17 fines issued between January and July this year, just under half of 2020’s year-end total.

Despite the consistency in the volume of fines issued, the total value of AML enforcement has rocketed, reaching USD 2.2 billion (bn) at the end of 2020, which is five times higher than in 2019 and over two-thirds of the record levels recorded in 2018 (USD 444 million (mn) and USD 3.3 bn, respectively). Similarly, the total value of AML fines as of June 2021 is nearly half of the 2020 total, standing at USD 994 mn.

Claire Simm, Managing Director, Financial Services Compliance and Regulation at Kroll, said:

“The figures show that investigations were not paused for COVID-19. While the number of fines remained constant, the value of fines surged as regulators imposed tougher penalties, continuing to send the message that despite any obstacles, enforcement remains a top priority for non-compliant behaviour.”

Key failings

Kroll’s report also highlights the four key AML failings from 2016-2021 that regulators across the world have consistently identified through the fines they imposed:

·                     AML management (124 cases)

·                     Suspicious activity monitoring (98 cases)

·                     Customer due diligence (94 significant cases)

·                     Compliance monitoring and oversight (57 cases)

Simm continued:

“Despite the increasing value of fines and consistent enforcement from regulators worldwide, we still see the same key AML failings being sanctioned. This year, the FCA launched criminal proceedings against a bank for inadequate AML systems and controls. Interestingly, a separate bank was fined GBP 102 mn by the FCA in 2019 for the same AML failings.

“The FCA’s decision to exercise its criminal powers is the first of its kind in the UK and a clear warning from the regulator that compliance failures will not be tolerated, on top of the already significant deterrents of mega-fines and reputational damage.”

Global breakdown

Over the past 18 months, a number of global regulators have joined the U.S. in imposing significant fines for AML failures. In 2020, Australia imposed the greatest proportion of the global total (41%), followed by Sweden and Hong Kong. The Netherlands is currently leading the way in 2021, accounting for 59% of the total value of global fines to end of June 2021 following a single fine of $582 million.

Simm concluded:

“These fines show that across the world, regulators continue to put high importance on financial crime enforcement. We can expect to see mega-fines and criminal enforcement continue through 2021 and beyond.

“Domestically, a lot of attention is focused on how the FCA will assert its regulatory powers post-Brexit. We expect the UK’s Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, which came into force following Britain’s exit from the EU in December 2020, to lead to greater levels of enforcement action in the future.”

Decimal’s first banking partnership for Saarathi expedited loan sourcing and processing for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank during restrictive lockdowns

Decimal Technologies, one of India’s leading fintech firms and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (USFB) Limited, a leading mass market bank entered into a partnership through which Ujjivan SFB and its channel partners will use Decimal’s digital lending platform – Saarathi. This collaboration will enable the Bank to digitize loan sourcing through its sales force as well as Direct Selling Agents (DSAs). This is part of the Bank’s strategy to strengthen its digital infrastructure which has been on one of it’ s key focus areas.

Launched in 2020, Saarathi is an AI-based, ready-to-use digital lending platform specialising in digitisation of loan origination journeys. Saarathi can be used by bank’s sales channels to source loan files digitally. Unlike any digitisation project, Saarathi requires no upfront capital investment and significantly reduces the time-to-market by 95% (i.e. from 6-9 months to one week).

As part of the partnership, Decimal’s ‘Saarathi’ is enabling 100% digitisation of Ujjivan SFB’s loan offerings, providing a simple user interface and helping to carry out business operations during lockdowns. Saarathi is dispensing verified and trusted channel partners to send digitized loan applications with a detailed risk assessment to Ujjivan SFB. Saarathi is also integrated with Credit Bureau, NSDL, document verifications systems, Google Maps for geo-tagging, bank statement analyser and more, resulting in improved efficiency of credit underwriting for Ujjivan SFB.

Lalit Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, Decimal Technologies, said, “We are extremely delighted to be the technology partner for Ujjivan SFB. This is our first ever banking tie up in this model and through this partnership, we will deploy a robust digital infrastructure to transition loan processes from manual to digital and help the Bank create digital financial solutions through our financial services distribution platform, Saarathi, and elevate the loan delivery process. With this partnership, we want to strengthen Ujjivan’s loan disbursal process with technology integration.”

Speaking of the partnership, Mr. Dheemant Thacker, Head- Digital Banking, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, said, “This partnership with Decimal Technologies digitizes our loan origination journey through assisted mode and significantly improves TATs without incurring huge capital expenditure, thereby strengthening our overall business operations. We continue to build a robust digital infrastructure to offer greater customer convenience and a superior customer experience through such fin-tech engagements”.

After receiving the green light from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), Hijra Bank, the second fully-fledged interest-free bank in the country has engaged in a highly competitive bidding and selection process which resulted in the selection and signing of an agreement with Path Solutions for the implementation of its AAOIFI-certified core banking platform.

Hijra Bank will be providing interest-free financial services – a strategy to capture the growing market share of the tech savvy devout customers wishing to comply with the principles of Islamic law, as well as those who prefer ethical and socially responsible banking services.

After over a decade of Ethiopians petitioning for Islamic banking products, Africa’s second most populous nation saw this year its second Islamic bank, increasing the people’s confidence in the sector and boosting the country’s financial inclusion plans. Additionally, with Ethiopia’s close proximity to Middle Eastern countries and major Islamic finance jurisdictions, and with the support of IsDB, the introduction of Islamic banking is expected to attract much-needed foreign investment and drive the government’s plan to liberalize its financial sector.

Mohammed Kateeb, Path Solutions’ Group Chairman & CEO said that the synergy of the partnership with Hijra Bank empowers them to deliver impactful technology solutions. “We are excited to collaborate with Hijra Bank and to support them in realizing their vision of bringing Islamic finance to Ethiopia through advanced technology and great customer experience. Hijra Bank will be able to utilize flexible, scalable and highly customizable core banking platform catering to the diverse needs of their individual and corporate customer segments across Ethiopia. We look forward to the successful implementation and to enabling Hijra Bank to effectively compete on innovation in the new open banking era”, he said in a statement.

As a newly established bank, Hijra Bank will have the advantage of capitalizing on the latest version of iMAL from Path Solutions and reap the benefits of the robust growth opportunities of digital banking since more customers in the country are becoming literate of the digital services. The bank believes it is now the perfect timing for their incorporation to gain a foothold in an ever-growing financial market space by meeting the demands of more knowledgeable and sophisticated customers.

Dawit Kenno, the newly appointed acting CEO of Hijra Bank, said, “Along the lines of our vision to be the most preferred interest-free bank in Ethiopia, we need to create a robust foundation to drive growth and to have the agility to innovate continuously, especially with the fast evolvement of financial technology to remain relevant ahead of the competition. Path Solutions understands the vital role of IT in our business to bring value, ensure convenience, functional and service quality and improve profitability. The company’s Islamic banking domain know-how and extensive international experience will allow our bank to launch unique interest-free banking products for the best market fit along with an outstanding customer experience”.

Further details on Hijra Bank are found here www.hijra-bank.com

Majic Wheels, Corp. (OTC Pink: MJWL) ("Majic" or the "Company"), a Delaware corporation, that is positioning itself as a player in the disruptive industries of fintech and software development by means of acquisitions, announces it will be hosting an online presentation of its wholly owned subsidiary CGCX.

The Presentation will be hosted on the
Majic Wheels Corp, Inc. website on
August 22^nd, 2021, at 19:00 Eastern Time

To view the presentation, investors are invited to register on the Majic website here:

https://majiccorp.co

“We are excited to share more about CGCX with shareholders and prospective investors alike. There has been a rising interest in CGCX’s exchange platform and its ecosystem. We couldn’t be more excited to share CGCX’s current achievements and future” said Dr. Vin Menon, founder of CGCX.  

As part of the presentation the Company will be delving into further details about the current roadmap set for the Company’s subsidiary CGCX. Items discussed during the presentation will cover Actual Revenues, Projected Revenues, Business Lines and Planned Upcoming Developments.

Following the online presentation, the Company will be attending a Discord Q&A session to further discuss any questions shareholders may have about the presentation. The Q&A will be hosted on the Company’s usual Discord Channel hosted by Apollo Assets.

Clearpay iQ helps brands capture next generation consumers

Today Clearpay, a leader in “Buy Now, Pay Later” payments (known as Afterpay (ASX: APT) outside the U.K. and Europe), introduced its new merchant analytics platform, Clearpay iQ. With this powerful new tool, brands gain access to valuable customer-centric analytics to help optimise investment and drive growth. 

The Clearpay iQ platform provides:

● Easy Data: AI-powered insights, visualisations, and real-time data delivered in one, highly accessible self-service user interface.

● Single Source of Truth: Brands can evaluate marketing performance, omnichannel shopping volumes, and demographic summaries down to the store level.

● “Next Best Actions”: A recommendation engine offering insightful actions to optimise business performance based on analytics. 

“Our partnership with Clearpay has helped Pandora make data-powered marketing decisions which has improved our ability to target new audiences, which ultimately has led to higher conversion rates and larger AOV, “ said Jennifer Glass, Director of Owned and Paid Digital Marketing of Pandora. “Working together, we have been very successful in capturing new, highly engaged young customers for our business.”

Clearpay Next Gen Index:

Also today, Clearpay introduced the Next Gen Index, its latest quarterly report on global Gen Z and Millennials’ consumer spending behaviors and preferences. The report reveals that Millennial and Gen Z share of spending will increase to 48% by 2030 1 - demonstrating their continued strong influence on the economy as these cohorts reach peak earning years. The report also showed that this generation has an increasing preference for BNPL. In the U.K., BNPL spending has grown by 315% compared to a 4% increase for debit and credit card purchases. 

“Gen Z and Millennials are driving change at the intersection of culture and commerce - so it's no surprise they have been key adopters of Clearpay and BNPL more generally," said Rich Bayer, UK Country Manager at Clearpay. “Having built our business by connecting this next generation of shoppers to the best brands in the world, Clearpay is in a strong position to help its retailers navigate this demographic by providing unparalleled insights into the world's hardest to reach customer cohorts.”

Clearpay’s Next Gen Index also found that in the UK spending by Gen Z and Millennials has recovered faster than older generations, up an average of 7% for Gen Z frompre-pandemic levels. Small business spending is also increasing among Gen Z and Millenials, up an average of 900% since early 2020 and making up two-thirds (70%) of all Clearpay spend on small businesses. While the majority are still spending on Fashion, the Home and Recreation categories are growing fast, up 300% year-over-year. 

Bhairav Trivedi, CEO Crown Agents Bank comments, "Global events over the last two weeks in Afghanistan and Haiti have been life-changing for many people. While very different situations, both countries are in crisis and the need for humanitarian aid is at a breaking point.

Crown Agents Bank is committed to delivering funds to those affected, moving money where it is needed most. It is more important than ever that aid providers, UN agencies and International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), can deliver crucial relief swiftly to countries in crisis.

These events bring to the fore why the world needs to get better at transacting across borders. To truly deliver aid in an efficient manner, financial institutions need to join us in working with local on-the-ground experts to open up the channels we can use to deliver fast payments when they matter the most."