LiquidX, the global fintech solutions provider for working capital, trade finance, and insurance, today announced the appointment of Keith Raymond as Managing Director, InBlock Sales. Mr. Raymond will lead the commercial expansion of LiquidX’s ground-breaking InBlock digital working capital platform. The cloud-based InBlock platform uses leading technology to automate and optimize working capital management, providing CFOs with the opportunity to reduce the cost of their accounts receivable and accounts payable, improve the cash conversion cycle, and reduce fraud risk.

Mr. Raymond has over 15 years of experience managing functions, processes, and teams within numerous software vendors in the Corporate Finance and Treasury space, with roles ranging from sales management, sales and marketing strategy, account management, and product management. In addition to his sales experience, he also established and managed corporate Treasury, Accounts, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable departments.

“InBlock helps corporates leap ahead in their digital journeys to work faster, smarter, and cheaper. We are excited to have Keith leverage his expertise in this space to scale the only end-to-end working capital solution on the market,” said Jim Toffey, CEO of LiquidX.

“We are thrilled to welcome Keith to our growing team,” said Ali Hackett, Chief Revenue Officer of LiquidX. “Keith’s history of success selling SaaS software subscriptions and consulting services to global corporates and financial institutions will greatly contribute to the expansion of InBlock.”

InBlock is the only working capital platform that connects the inventory, purchase order, and invoicing for buyers and suppliers using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to link the digital records for operational management, monetization, and insurance. 

 Total Expert, the customer experience platform purpose-built for modern financial institutions, today announced the integration of RatePlug, a mortgage marketing platform that connects loan officers and agents directly within their local MLS system.

The integration provides RatePlug insights to loan officers directly within Total Expert, including borrower and agent contact information, new listings, open houses, contracts pending, and availability of special financing. Loan officers can collaborate with agents on co-branded marketing assets and deliver personalized communications based on customer-specific RatePlug data--all under one centralized marketing and engagement platform.

“RatePlug is a value-add for loan officers looking to double-down on agent partnerships and identify a whole new set of borrowers to connect with,” said Brad Springer, president and CEO of RatePlug. “By unlocking the power of RatePlug insights within Total Expert, loan officers and agents alike can benefit from continued partnership and streamline the homebuyer experience--from tour to offer to close.”

Loan officers can leverage RatePlug within the Total Experience Platform to:

• Access borrower and agent contacts from local MLS systems within Total Expert
• Get a more complete view of individual contacts with the addition of RatePlug insights
• Uncover new listings or contracts pending within RatePlug to tailor and personalize marketing outreach and customer engagement

“For loan officers, it’s paramount to make a quality connection right out of the gate,” said Matt Tippets, chief product officer at Total Expert. “Loan officers who tap into RatePlug insights to partner with agents, and make swift and smart marketing decisions based on real-time customer insights, will ultimately drive long-term loyalty and relationships built on trust and personal connections.”

RatePlug is one in a series of marketing and customer engagement integrations and product innovations Total Expert announced this year. The news follows the rollout of Total Expert for Consumer Direct--the first all-in-one sales and marketing platform built on a single data model for direct lending--and TrueIntent, a first-of-its-kind voice of the customer solution for banks and lenders.

For more information about Total Expert, visit totalexpert.com.

Concerns about coronavirus transmission has encouraged use of contactless cards and this trend will continue as contactless limits are increased and new habits become ingrained

Contactless payments are increasingly the norm in Europe

Global Payments Cards Data and Forecasts to 2025 shows that contactless payments still account for a small but growing proportion of total card spending as they are often subject to spending limits and therefore used for lower-value payments than traditional cards.

Usage of contactless cards still varies around the globe. In Europe it is particularly high – their convenience has led to rapid adoption by consumers and widespread acceptance exists thanks to card scheme mandates.

Convenience coupled with growing consumer confidence is driving the rise of contactless cards in Asia-Pacific, although uptake of the technology in the region varies considerably. All newly issued cards in China and Singapore are contactless while in Vietnam and Pakistan most cards still do not have contactless functionality. 

Contactless payments perceived as a safer, more hygienic option

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the world imposed lockdowns and restricted the opening hours and customer capacity of stores. Meanwhile consumers reduced their visits to merchant outlets to minimise exposure to the virus. Together these factors have seen the total number of transactions, both cash and card, decline in many markets.

However, it is against this backdrop that contactless cards have gained new relevance as they are often viewed as a more hygienic alternative to cash and traditional card payments. The PIN entry limit has even been increased in many countries to encourage the use of contactless cards. In India, a cash-heavy economy, the limit was more than doubled in January 2021. A higher limit enables consumers to consolidate their purchases into fewer but higher value contactless payments. 

Contactless acceptance is high and will expand further 

The trend towards contactless payments is expected to continue even as lockdowns lift and pre-pandemic life resumes. The convenience of contactless payments – bolstered by higher PIN entry limits – makes them popular among many consumers and the formation of new habits during the pandemic will also contribute to growth.

Alongside the increasing use of contactless cards, contactless acceptance is now high – more than 70% of outlets globally accept contactless payments. Acceptance will continue to widen, driven not only by card scheme mandates and consumer demand but by merchant convenience too. Many merchants benefit from accepting contactless payments as they increase transactions at the point of sale. Wider contactless acceptance adds to the convenience of contactless cards for the consumer. 

Daniel Dawson, who led RBR’s Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2025 research remarked: “The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted an already active sector and encouraged transitions from both cash to cards and traditional card payments to contactless”.

From creating a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to building an air-gapped cold vault to enabling new sustainable digital assets, seven global crypto and digital assets startups join Mastercard’s award-winning Start Path program to access partnership opportunities, insights and tools to grow.

Mastercard announced today a new Start Path global startup engagement program dedicated to supporting fast-growing digital assets, blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. As a continuation of Mastercard’s digital assets work, seven startups have joined the program, including - GK8, Domain Money, Mintable, SupraOracles, STACS, Taurus, and Uphold, - and together with Mastercard seek to expand and accelerate innovation around digital asset technology and make it safer and easier for people and institutions to buy, spend and hold cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

Among the new program participants is Mintable (Singapore), a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace where users can create, buy and sell digital and physical assets backed by the blockchain such as digital collectibles, avant-garde artwork and even music. The Mintable platform is packed with novel features such as gasless minting and credit card purchasing that are designed to empower the everyday person to get involved with NFTs without any prior knowledge in crypto or coding. GK8 (Israel) is a self-managed end-to-end institutional crypto custody platform that offers a true air-gapped cold vault. This means that the platform is capable of creating, signing and sending secure blockchain transactions without receiving input from the internet, eliminating any potential cyberattack vectors. Taurus (Switzerland) delivers enterprise-grade infrastructure to manage any digital asset with one single platform, including crypto assets, digital currencies and tokenized assets covering issuance, custody, asset servicing and trading.

Other participating startups and fast-growing digital asset and blockchain companies have been selected to join the inaugural track of the Start Path program:

• Domain Money (USA) looks to build a next generation investment platform, bridging the gap between digital assets and traditional finance for retail investors.
• SupraOracles (Switzerland) is a powerful blockchain oracle that helps businesses bridge real-world data to both public and private chains, enabling interoperable smart contracts to automate, simplify and secure the future of financial markets.
• STACS (Singapore) provides a blockchain infrastructure for the financial industry to unlock massive value and enable effective sustainable financing. Its clients and partners include global banks, national stock exchanges, and asset managers.
• Uphold (USA) is a crypto-native, multi-asset digital money platform offering investment and payment services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Uphold's unique ‘Anything-to-Anything’ trading experience enables customers to trade directly between asset classes with embedded payments facilitating a future where everyone has access to financial services.

Founders of the digital asset and blockchain companies participating in the new Start Path program aim to address a host of pain points including asset tokenization, data accuracy, digital security and seamless access between the traditional and digital economy. Each startup is focused on solving a unique industry challenge and, throughout the program, will leverage Mastercard’s expertise to support the continued growth and development of their solutions.

Jess Turner, executive vice president of New Digital Infrastructure and Fintech, commented: “Mastercard has been engaging with the digital currency ecosystem since 2015. As a leading technology player, we believe we can play a key role in digital assets, helping to shape the industry, and provide consumer protections and security. Part of our role is to forge the future of cryptocurrency, and we’re doing that by bridging mainstream financial principles with digital assets innovations.”

Digital Assets and Fintech Innovation

Supporting the startup ecosystem is a core part of Mastercard’s ethos, and more than 250 startups have participated in the Start Path program since 2014. With the expansion of Start Path to include fast-growing crypto, blockchain and digital assets startups, Mastercard is providing access to its latest tools and solutions to help these companies scale their innovations and cutting-edge technologies. These startups use the program to connect with our ecosystem of banks, merchants, partners and digital players across the globe to deliver new solutions.

Over the last four years, consumer complaints about digital wallets and mobile payment apps in the United States surged as more and more Americans choose cashless payments.

Between April 2017 and April 2021, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received nearly 9,300 complaints related to mobile or digital wallets, and the majority of them aimed at one platform.

According to data presented by StockApps.com, PayPal accounts for nearly half of all digital wallet complaints in the United States, almost 4,500 in the last four years.

PayPal Received 2x More Complaints than Square and Coinbase Combined

As one of the first and most significant players in the digital payments landscape, PayPal witnessed impressive growth since the pandemic struck. More than 67 million people started using its services in the last year alone, with the total number of users rising to nearly 400 million.

Unsurprisingly, given its wide user base, PayPal had the most complaints of all companies providing digital payment services in the United States. Between April 2017 and April 2021, PayPal received 4,431 digital wallet complaints, or two times more than Square and Coinbase combined, revealed the US Public Interest Research Group data. Furthermore, statistics showed most of them were related to managing, opening or closing a mobile wallet account.

Square came second with over 1,200 complaints in this period, with unauthorized transactions as the top issue.

The digital wallet service for buying cryptos, Coinbase, ranked third with a total of 755 complaints related to digital wallets or nearly six times less than PayPal. PNC and JPMorgan Chase &Co. round the top five list with 594 and 324 received complaints, respectively.

Total Number of Digital Wallet Complaints Surged by 5,200 in a Year

Although the number of digital wallet complaints has been constantly growing since 2017, the last year set a new record.

Statistics indicate that between April 2017 and April 2021, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received a total of 9,277 complaints related to mobile or digital wallets. More than 1,000 complaints were received in the first year. However, in the year preceding April 2021, the number of complaints surged to 5,200 or nearly 60% of all complaints received in this period.

Statistics also revealed there were 970 complaints in April 2021 alone, nearly double the previous complaint peak in July 2020.

The global shift towards a cashless society and the surge in the use of mobile wallets are expected to continue driving the rising number of complaints. In 2021, mobile wallets are set to become a $2.5trn worth industry, growing by a massive 25% year-on-year. Nearly 20% of the total transaction value or $468.1bn will be generated in the United States.

The full story can be read here: https://stockapps.com/blog/2021/07/27/paypal-accounts-for-nearly-half-of-all-digital-wallet-complaints-in-the-us-almost-4500-in-the-last-four-years/

 UTP Group (UTP), a European card payment solutions provider, which now has UK operations in Manchester, Hastings and Reading, is seeing increased demand for its services as more and more merchants look to quick and convenient fintech solutions to aid business recovery.  

UTP has seen:

• 300% rise in demand for same day funding via the Faster Processing solution
• Shipments of new devices 28% higher than pre-pandemic levels 
• Credit card processing up 60%* 

 *compared to the same period in June 2019 

As the UK economy begins to recover UTP, a home-grown payments provider with over 13 years spent serving UK SMEs, is experiencing a surging upward trend, like many within the fintech industry. As preferences continue to shift away from cash payments, fintech has seen an accelerated growth like no other. UTP, which supplies thousands of small and medium size businesses with a fast and secure payments service, is keeping up with this demand to help retailers provide the best service possible. 

Today*, the UK-based payment services firm is seeing a 60% increase in credit card processing volumes, as well as a 300% increase in demand for same-day funding. 

UTP works alongside Faster Processing to provide its in-store and eCommerce customers with the ability to receive fund settlement within hours rather than days and it’s proving to be a huge success. 

Michael Ault, CEO and founder of UTP Group, says: “With Faster Processing, our clients are able to receive and send funds within hours. Covid has really impacted so many of our clients, especially those in the leisure and retail sector, and we are delighted we can offer this added rapid service. Many are reliant on transactional cashflow, so same-day funding means that their funds can be accessed almost instantly and hassle free.” 

In addition, the merchant services provider has seen shipments of new hand-held payment terminals increase by almost a third (28 per cent). Accelerated no doubt by the impact of Covid, businesses are becoming more reliant on card transactions, where previously cash may have been the preferred choice of payment, card is taking over. The increase also follows the launch of the UTP Pro Android terminal in April this year in preparation for the return from lockdown and demand for increased functionality at the point of sale. 

Michael added: “Demand has increased for merchants to provide a cashless, one might say more covid-safe way for customers to pay and of course we are delighted to be able to provide a solution.  

“It’s great news to see UK businesses demanding more from their payment service providers, especially now. We are excited to see where UTP will be in the next 12 months and to be going on that journey alongside thousands of small and medium size businesses.”  

Founded in the UK, UTP’s business is now gaining a hold on the European and global card services markets, with a launch to market in Spain planned for end of 2021, and a further two international offices planned in the first half of 2022. 

For more information visit www.utpgroup.co.uk. 

Bloomberg today announced its Market-Implied Probability of Default (MIPD) product, a fully market-driven creditworthiness indicator, is now available to both Enterprise Data and Bloomberg Terminal clients globally. MIPD enables clients to easily incorporate creditworthiness metrics within their existing workflows for a more holistic approach to credit risk management. 

“Market participants are generally aware of potential credit issues ahead of official rating downgrades or defaults; and while CDS prices can serve as indicators, they are often limited with fewer issuers traded and reduced liquidity,” said Brad Foster, Global Head of Enterprise Data Content at Bloomberg. “By quantifying market sentiment underpinned by BVAL’s rich data sets, MIPD provides a powerful early warning creditworthiness assessment for a wide range of issuers across the curve that can help investors navigate changing market conditions, including both issuer-specific news as well as market-wide events.”

MIPD provides clients with a highly responsive, transparent, daily credit risk assessment that incorporates data from BVAL, Bloomberg’s best-in-class evaluated pricing service, to proactively estimate fixed income market sentiment and quickly react to changing market and issuer-level conditions. This solution helps anticipate credit deterioration such as major rating downgrades and defaults ahead of traditional credit analysis, allowing clients to confidently make risk and investment decisions. 

MIPD is a premium Enterprise Data solution that is available to Bloomberg Data License clients, as well as on the Bloomberg Terminal through a new dedicated screen accessed via MIPD<GO>, W<GO> and via the Excel API. The solution includes implied probability of default for over 36,000 issuers and multiple sectors across the term structure from 1 to 20 years. 

Bloomberg’s Enterprise Data business produces high-quality pricing, reference and regulatory datasets, real-time market, event and news data, and liquidity analytics along with data management and distribution technologies. For more information about Bloomberg’s MIPD solution, please click here.

Payment orchestration platform Corefy has today announced the opening of the first Regional Office in the Asia-Pacific region with the aim to expand the company's global coverage.  

Corefy was launched in 2018 with headquarters in London, UK, and R&D offices in Kyiv, Ukraine. After 3 years of development, the company announced the launch of the new regional office in Manila, Philippines. Corefy's representatives in Manila joined the business development team in the roles of sales executive and customer success manager. 

‘This is an important decision for our company and one more step in our global growth strategy. The APAC market is one of the fastest-growing in the world and has a favorable environment for the development of e-commerce. Representation in the Philippines allows us to cover more clients and provide qualified services in new time zones.’ —  comments Chief Business Officer at Corefy Den Melnykov. 

According to the COVID situation in the region, Corefy's management decided to postpone opening an offline office, for the nearest time new representatives will work remotely. Once the situation gets back to normal, the company expects to find a comfortable workspace and increase the number of employees in Manila to create a full-fledged unit that will cover business development and support issues in the region.

The new Regional Office will focus its attention on Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Thailand, and other countries of the region. 

‘Our aim for the nearest few months is to onboard new colleagues, to help them understand the product and all processes. In the next quarter, we expect to see the first clients from the APAC region onboard.’ — adds Den Melnykov.
The project has grand plans for the Asia-Pacific region and future expansion. In the company's roadmap it is planned to open at least three more offices on different continents by the end of 2022. 

A new whitepaper released by Trulioo, the leading global identity verification company, explores the implications of the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD) and the European Union’s bid to tackle rampant financial crime. Since June 3, EU member states are required to adhere to 6AMLD, which introduced more severe criminal penalties for violations and broadened the scope of money laundering offences, among other key changes.

The whitepaper “Complying with 6AMLD in a heightened enforcement environment” delves into how 6AMLD obliges affected financial institutions and reporting entities to enhance their Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) processes. Implementing regulatory technology solutions that can automate KYC/CDD processes can help businesses achieve compliance and avoid costly financial and reputational repercussions. 

“Among banks, AML compliance breaches were the most common type of financial crime violation last year,” said Garient Evans, SVP, Identity Solutions. “Facing increased regulatory scrutiny, businesses need to invest in adaptable tools that will help them meet evolving compliance requirements while ensuring they deliver a convenient customer experience.”

The whitepaper also provides an overview of:

• The evolution of AML directives in the EU and major sources of financial crime

• Key regional finance risks and sectors that pose significant AML risk

• The increased fraud risks that have resulted from the pandemic

Download the “Complying with 6AMLD in a heightened enforcement environment” whitepaper here.