STS Payments employs MYHSM’s secure and versatile HSM as a service to securely accept and process cardholder present transactions

MYHSM by Utimaco, today announces it has partnered with STS Payments, a leading payments acceptance software specialist, to deliver a complete and secure payment solution.

MYHSM is a global provider of Payment Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) as a Service, offering an alternative to purchasing and managing HSMs on-premise, with a globally accessible subscription service using two of the world’s leading HSM manufactures – the Utimaco Atalla AT1000 and Thales payShield 10K. Its fully managed service has now been integrated with STS Payments’ software, G8, enabling it to securely accept and process cardholder present transactions.

STS Payments will access the fully managed, PCI PIN and PCI DSS certified Payment HSM service without the large upfront investment costs typically expected from running an in-house solution, while benefitting from the ability to scale its infrastructure in line with future business growth. Further, it will outsource the responsibility of the hardware, infrastructure, and network management to MYHSM.

As part of the service, MYHSM is responsible for exchanging top level keys in a PCI PIN-compliant manner via a dedicated and secure portal. As a result, STS Payments is now in a position to achieve a certified P2PE payments solution with minimal investment.

Harnessing MYHSM’s fully managed service, STS Payments has further enhanced its service portfolio and core business offering for existing sectors including retail, fuel, airline, travel, logistics and government, while also opening up new market opportunities.

Steve Turner, CEO & Founder at STS Payments, said: “Partnering with MYHSM has been a gamechanger for STS Payments. We know payment acceptance inside and out but HSMs and key management were new to us, so MYHSM’s fully managed service and highly skilled engineers were the ideal solution and it’s been an exciting journey together.”

He continued: “It instantly removed the complexity and capex costs usually associated with operating our own systems. And, it meant that we didn’t have to manage the burden of owning multiple HSMs and ensuring they were compliant.  Against the backdrop of the surge in fraudulent activity, ensuring our merchants are protected is critical, and MYHSM has provided the solution.”

Darren Busby, Global Head of Sales at MYHSM by Utimaco, commented: “Our unique Payment Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) as a Service offering is agile and affordable, which means that cost savings can be passed on to their customers. More importantly, it means that their payments will be handled in a much more secure manner, with STS Payments accessing an estate of three HSMs deployed in two geographically separate data centres for resilience and 99.999% availability. We are delighted that STS Payments, and its merchants, will benefit.”

Read the full case study highlighting the details of this partnership, https://bit.ly/374Yl59

For more information about MYHSM by Utimaco, visit: https://www.myhsm.com/payment-hsm/

In 2021, global broker OctaFX celebrates its tenth anniversary. There is no denying that this Forex player is already a seasoned veteran and industry leader in many regions, successfully competing with both local and global companies.

Such a milestone in a company's life is an excellent occasion to look back on its key achievements, so that's what OctaFX has done, presenting us their ten significant results for ten years of operation. 

Here is what has been shared with the public:

• 7.5 million Forex trading accounts opened;
• 230,000 Trade and Win gifts delivered;
• over 520,000 followers on social media
• 43 Forex industry awards received
• over 100 countries with happy OctaFX clients
• 500 million trades executed on the platform since the beginning
• more than 40 charity initiatives launched within Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy
• 5,500,000 clients' questions answered in person
• 1,300 educational webinars on Finance, Investment, and Forex
• more than 4,600 active IB partners from all over the world.

These numbers show not only the broker's success but also the impact of its diversified activities on local communities, especially within the social dimension.

In the foreseeable future, we can expect the expansion of the global broker's activities in many directions both on global and regional levels. 

Fenergo, the leading provider of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) software solutions for financial institutions, is pleased to announce the conclusion of its acquisition by Astorg and Bridgepoint. The transaction completed following approval by the European Commission. 

Entering its third chapter of growth, Fenergo reinforces its commitment to developing innovative, digital solutions that equip financial institutions with the tools to navigate the highly complex regulatory environment and fight financial crime, transforming client operations, accelerating growth and enhancing client and employee experience.

Fenergo recently strengthened its C-suite to work alongside Marc Murphy, who will continue to strategically steer the business towards organic and inorganic growth. Fenergo will drive deeper market penetration and geographic footprint through the continued innovation of its SaaS and on-premise platforms and product line development. 

Marc Murphy, Founder and CEO, Fenergo said: “We are excited to embark on the next chapter of our story with Astorg and Bridgepoint following the conclusion of our acquisition. Both firms have a proven track record in investing in and scaling high-growth firms like Fenergo. The acquisition validates the unique value Fenergo delivers to financial institutions in today’s rapidly evolving business environment, and we look forward to continuing our growth trajectory with the support of our new investors.”

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Finastra have announced Ecuador as the first market in which they will run the pilot for their trade funding marketplace (announced earlier this year). The ICC TRADECOMM™ marketplace, powered by Finastra, aims to reduce trade finance barriers for SMEs and enable all parties to benefit from improvements in matching supply and demand, ultimately decreasing the global $1.5 trillion dollar trade finance gap.

ICC Secretary General, John W.H. Denton AO said, “We are incredibly pleased to announce Ecuador as the first pilot market for ICC TRADECOMM. We look forward to working with our colleagues at Finastra and on the ground in Quito to provide SMEs with short-term liquidity for their trade operations. At a time when our global trade system remains fractured, it’s incumbent upon business leaders and international organizations to equip SMEs with the required solutions and funding to build back their activity to pre-pandemic levels. Given that SMEs make up 99% of Ecuador’s businesses, we believe that ICC TRADECOMM will have a transformational impact on local businesses throughout the country.”

During the pilot, bank and non-bank financers are given the opportunity to finance local SME invoices via a risk-based approach. The focus will be on engaging with early adopters in region to support local platform development, with the goal being to bring the solution to all SMEs and financers there.

Carlos Zaldumbide, General Secretary of ICC Ecuador said, “We are so excited to be able to support this essential initiative to help towards reducing the growing trade finance gap for SMEs in our country and around the world. Ecuador is well placed for the pilot as we have a growing economy supported by a strong SME backbone. We are already in the process of bringing important e-invoicing initiatives to our country and this will be a tremendous complementary initiative that could really make a difference.”

Simon Paris, CEO at Finastra said, “We all have an obligation to redefine finance for good and to help drive global economic equality of opportunity. In orchestrating this ecosystem with the ICC, we expect to build a financing marketplace that will provide support to SMEs which desperately need access to a broader set of alternative financing resources. Ecuador is a growing, emerging market and we hope the pilot will demonstrate how we can help to facilitate significant levels of trade financing for local organizations, creating the showcase that will then allow ICC TRADECOMM to enable more markets where we could potentially facilitate billions of dollars in trade.”

New markets for additional pilots have already been identified and will be revealed soon.

Worldline, the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry and number 4 worldwide, today announced it has partnered with Porter Airlines to offer popular digital wallets, namely WeChat Pay and PayPal, for bookings through the airline’s website.

Porter is using Worldline’s TravelHub solution, which gives travel companies global end-to-end payment processing capabilities and regional access to markets across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. The solution includes WeChat Pay, a built-in mobile wallet from WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app. Purchases can be made using a QR code, in mobile browsers or in the WeChat app, which has more than 1 billion users.

Porter Airlines, based at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, offers flights to regional Canadian and US destinations. It has also announced plans to expand its service to markets throughout North America, including the west coast, southern U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. Porter is one of the first North American-based airlines to take advantage of Worldline’s TravelHub solution.

“Our TravelHub solution saves airlines time and resources by connecting main Global Distribution Systems (GDS)’s to WeChat Pay and more than 150 payment methods globally,” said Virginia Cicchini, Sales Director Airlines & Travel, Americas at Worldline Digital Commerce. “This allows Porter Airlines to make the process of payment the most convenient for travellers in North America while increasing the airlines’ conversion and revenue”.

“Customers are adopting new ways of making purchases and we want to give them more choices when shopping with Porter,” added Kevin Jackson, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Porter Airlines. “These options provide the convenience and flexibility many travellers are looking for.”

TravelHub launched in 2019 and provides a simple integration with the leading airline global distribution systems (GDS) and access to more than 150 payment methods and currencies.

To learn more about Worldline’s TravelHub solution, please visit: ingenico.com/travelhub  

Integration offers 100+ remittance businesses access to Vyne’s Open Banking payments platform 

 Vyne, the specialist account-to-account payments platform, today announces its integration with the leading global, technology and business services firm for the remittance world, RemitONE. 

The deal gives RemitONE’s 100+ remittance clients instant access to Vyne's payment solution, becoming the fastest, most cost effective way for their customers including Payment Institution’s (PIs) and Money Service Businesses (MSBs) to send remittances globally.

Vyne uses Open Banking to move money in real time between bank accounts, bypassing long-established but now outdated card networks and their associated fees. Vyne’s single integration means RemitONE’s clients can access the benefits of Open Banking including more secure, cost-effective, faster payments. With transaction times cut from days to seconds, RemitONE’s clients’ customers can send money abroad quicker than ever. 

Because Vyne allows customers to make payments directly from their own verified bank account, “know your customer” (KYC) checks and “Secure Customer Authentication” (SCA) fraud authentication can be carried out quickly and seamlessly, reducing friction and vastly improving the customer experience. 

Aamer Abedi, Chief Marketing Officer at RemitONE, says: “RemitONE is always seeking the most innovative payment products for our clients. The technical ease of Vyne’s payments platform allows MSBs to get up and running quickly, and offer their customers an efficient, robust and cost-effective way to transfer money. 10% of our MSBs took the first steps to integrate with Vyne within two weeks of the integration going live, with more client MSBs wanting to take advantage of Vyne’s Open Banking Solution  every day.”

Karl MacGregor, CEO at Vyne, says: “The international money transfer market is booming. Globalisation and the rise in digitalisation means there’s an increasing need to send money abroad as quickly, easily, and cost-effectively as possible. This integration combines the power of RemitONE’s renowned money transfer solution and global network, with the easy integration, instant settlement, and fraud resilience of Vyne’s payments platform. Together we are opening access to a new way to pay, allowing remittance businesses to offer the significant competitive advantage of safer transfers and more seamless customer experiences.”

PayU, an online payment service provider for emerging markets operating on four continents, announced that it will enable push payments in partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments. 

PayU is launching the Card Push service to provide businesses with quick, simple and efficient payments to end points. Thanks to Visa Direct, a real-time push payments platform, businesses using PayU Card Push will be able to instantly transfer money to a bank account linked to a Visa card.

‘With PayU Card Push, we’re introducing a solution that responds to the needs voiced by many of our clients. It helps online businesses send money to users, employees, contractors and partners. PayU Card Push will be available first to PayU’s business partners in Poland and the Czech Republic, with a view to launching it across the European Union’, said Joanna Pieńkowska-Olczak, President, PayU SA.

The first to implement PayU Card Push is crowdfunding platform Zrzutka.pl:  

‘We’re pleased that with this new service launched by PayU and based on Visa Direct,
a globally recognized push payments solution, our users will have even quicker access to funds collected from donors. It’s a vital innovation for our platform as it allows people to receive money almost as soon as their supporters order a transfer, regardless of the time or day of the week’, said Tomasz Chołast, co-founder, Zrzutka.pl. 

‘Providing consumers with frictionless, secure, and real-time access to their funds not only enhances their payment experiences, but also propels communities forward and drives the global economic recovery’, said Katarzyna Zubrzycka, Head of Merchant Sales & Acquiring, Central Eastern Europe, Visa. ‘Shaping the future of business and labor while helping people crowdfund ideas that change the way we pay and receive funds is part of Visa’s mission’.

Sending transactions to billions of endpoints around the world requires security at scale. Thanks to PayU's integration with Visa Direct, businesses working with the provider will be able to make quick, easy, and efficient payments to their clients, partners and employees
– including fast payouts to workers, which is critical during a worldwide push for economic recovery.

Visa Direct makes it possible for PayU Card Push to serve many business models that were previously unavailable to card payments – including insurance disbursements, tax refunds, prize payouts, and many more. Visa Direct is also an opportunity for many businesses to grow and go global.

Visit PayU Card Push and Visa Direct websites to learn more about a new way to transfer money.

• Klarna today launches a £3m Small Business Support Package to help 100 retail SMEs get back on their feet
• As new research reveals 46% of SME owners’ main priority is to simply survive next six months with 38% worried that their business won't survive the pandemic
• Personal toll is clear with 44% of senior managers feeling COVID related business struggles have negatively impacted their mental health 
• Support package will include free use of Klarna products for one year, WeWork All Access passes and Klarna media support to boost customer acquisition  
• Ten-part Accelerator programme launched alongside the package will provide any SME across the UK with access to tips and guidance to help grow their business 

Klarna, the leading global retail bank, payments, and shopping service, has today launched a new £3m Small Business Support Package to help British SMEs recover from the pandemic. The package comes as new research reveals a quarter (24%) of SMEs aren’t confident their business will survive the next two years with 46% of owners stating their main priority is to simply survive the next six months.

The Support Package will provide 100 retail SMEs  with access to much needed support across different elements of their business, from office space and customer acquisition to advertising support. Specifically, the fund will provide SMEs with WeWork All Access for 3 months, complimentary use of Klarna’s Pay later products for one year and £15,000 of Klarna media services. Together this package equates to over £30,000 of support for each business. 

The recipients of the package  will be decided by a hand-picked panel of judges including Matt Vickers MP for Stockton South and Co-Chair of the APPG on Future of Retail, Alex Marsh Head of UK for Klarna and Mathieu Proust, General Manager, UK, Ireland & Emerging Markets at WeWork.  

Support will be split across  four categories: 

• Retail Innovator - For the small businesses who have been breaking barriers and bringing innovation to the retail industry
• Omnichannel trailblazer - For those leading the way on omnichannel retail, and creating exceptional cross-channel experiences for their customers.
• Sustainability Champion - Celebrating the retailers who have made a commitment to our planet, and champion sustainable retail as part of their business.
• Pandemic Impact - For those who have been heavily impacted by the pandemic - from physical store closures to impact on demand.

The Support Package comes after Klarna-commissioned research highlighted the specific issues senior SME leaders have faced in the past 16 months. It found that nearly two fifths (38%) of SMEs didn’t think that they’d survive the pandemic with a further 39% feeling  they are still yet to recover. The impact on wellbeing is also startling, with 44% of SME leaders noting that pandemic induced business pressures had a negative impact on their mental health.

The initiative  will also support those who want to make a positive impact on society, notably in sustainability. A third (32%) of SMEs want to make a positive contribution to society over the next 6 months and 50% are committing to focus on sustainability over the next year. As part of its 1% Pledge, Klarna is committed to supporting those who align with their climate goals. 

Alex Marsh, Head of UK at Klarna said: “SMEs are at the core of our economy and it’s vital that they’re given all the tools they need to survive. At Klarna, we are determined to help small retailers navigate their way back to pre-pandemic levels and we hope that this fund, together with our Accelerator Program, will inspire and boost confidence across the SME sector.”

Matt Vickers, MP for Stockton South and Support Package judge said: “It has been a monumentally difficult year for our SMEs, and as we recover from the pandemic, it’s vital that we can provide all the support we can. Klarna’s £3m Support Package and Accelerator Program will be instrumental in rebuilding business health and confidence and I encourage every SME to get involved.” 

Mathieu Proust, General Manager, UK, Ireland & Emerging Markets at WeWork, said: “WeWork is fortunate to be home to some of the UK's most exciting start-ups and SMEs and we know the power of the right resources, space and network on driving success. After such a challenging year for SMEs, we're looking forward to welcoming the Support Package beneficiaries into our community and to providing space designed for collaboration and innovation to help them grow and thrive”

Alongside the Support Package, Klarna has also launched a ten-part Accelerator Program hosting a series of free training masterclasses with industry experts from various partners including Shopify, WeWork, Global-e, dotdigital and more to provide SMEs with actionable insights to boost their business. 

The first of these sessions ran yesterday, with over 400 attendees and is one of many initiatives being undertaken by Klarna as part of its commitment to supporting SMEs.

To apply for the fund, please head to: https://www.klarna.com/uk/business/small-business-support-package 

Applications are open until 8th September. 

To attend the Accelerator Program, head to: https://www.klarna.com/uk/business/small-business-accelerator-programme/  

• Pakistan’s Silkbank reimagines digital banking for retail and business customers with AI-powered Temenos Infinity to accelerate adoption, build engagement and drive market growth
• Digital banking powered by Temenos Infinity will help Silkbank to attract and retain customers and drive customer growth

Temenos, the banking software company, today announced that Silkbank, a leading commercial and Islamic bank in Pakistan, has gone live with Temenos Infinity, the world’s #1 best-selling digital banking platform, to power up its digital banking for retail, corporate and SME customers. Temenos Infinity enables Silkbank to offer seamless digital onboarding and get to market quickly with ready-to-go digital banking features designed to attract new customers and increase customer engagement.

Silkbank’s existing digital banking offers a broad range of retail and business products and services, including account and card management, funds transfers, bill payments, mobile top-up, loans and loan management. However, using disparate legacy systems, the customer experience was disjointed and inconsistent across its web and mobile channels.

Temenos Infinity gives the bank a unified digital banking platform to bring these services together to create frictionless, personalized and secure banking experiences and increase customer satisfaction. The improved digital onboarding and banking experience gives Silkbank a competitive edge the bank expects will increase its new retail, corporate and business customers by 15 percent this year.

Running on Temenos Transact next-generation core, the addition of Temenos Infinity delivers a seamless front-to-back solution, enabling Silkbank to reduce operational costs and launch engaging digital solutions for individuals and business users much faster.

Silkbank plans to migrate its complete user base of more than 350,000 customers to the new digital banking platform within four months and increase transactions through digital channels to 70 percent within 12 months of launch. The implementation was carried out by Xpert Digital (XD), a certified Temenos Services Partner specializing in delivering exceptional digital experiences.

By modernizing its digital banking with Temenos Infinity, Silkbank benefits from an open and flexible platform to deliver an outstanding omnichannel customer experience. As a result, Silkbank can remove friction across every single journey and touchpoint, allowing the customers to get things done efficiently.

The powerful analytics and Explainable AI engine also allow Silkbank to learn from every customer interaction and identify attrition, abandonment and bottlenecks in the customer journeys to improve business processes.

Javed Yousuf Edhi, CIO and Group Head – Technology & Digital Innovation Group, Silkbank, commented: “With Temenos Infinity, we can accelerate our digital transformation initiatives and reimagine how we engage with customers digitally. For example, our retail and business customers increasingly want to do more of their banking by mobile app and internet, and expect the experience to be effortless. Whether onboarding new accounts digitally, providing an omnichannel experience, offering exceptional service, or a combination of all, Temenos Infinity makes it possible.”

Jean-Paul Mergeai, President - International Sales, Temenos, said: “Covid-19 has prompted a strong shift in the behavior of bank customers towards digital banking. While Pakistan is still heavily reliant on cash transactions, the trend indicates a promising future for digital financial services in the country. Silkbank is a pioneer of digital banking technology and, with Temenos Infinity, is well-positioned to capitalize on this growing opportunity. Together with Temenos, Silkbank can now take digital banking to the next level, making digital banking more human to offer the personalized experiences customers want from their bank.”

Temenos Infinity is the top-selling digital banking platform worldwide, according to the IBS Intelligence Sales League Table 2021.