The revolutionary insurtech surpasses 1,000 customers in weeks of launch

Bequest is creating a digital revolution in the insurance industry with the sole purpose of simplifying wills and life insurance for the millennial market. Today Bequest announces its £1.7million investment and the launch of its life insurance offering as it strives to make sure everyone has access to life insurance that doesn’t break the bank. They also report a significant company growth of 325 per cent since the start of the pandemic.

Life insurance policies have not changed in over 100 years and are out of touch with modern life. Bequest is bringing life insurance and wills into the 21st century, placing value on a personalised, holistic approach to providing cover for families and loved ones.  Its life-admin platform is simple and easy to use, allowing customers to get cover for up to £500,000 in as little as 15 minutes, rather than the normal six weeks. Their proprietary tech involves no medical check-ups or mental health discrimination, and the process has each individual customer in mind.

Bequest is an award-winning insurtech backed and supported by insurance and tech industry heavyweights including Berkshire Hathaway’s GenRe, Covea Insurance and Founders Factory. Its advisory board includes some of the most well-known names from the likes of Bupa, RGA, Techstars and Prudential. Today’s announcement of £1.7million investment is led by Kuvi Capital and includes Clocktower Ventures and Form Ventures.

With an increase in the number of people searching for answers on how to prepare for end-of-life and next-of-kin, Bequest is a timely resource for the time-poor millennials who are looking for options that fit with their lifestyle. They launched their free will service and recently, version 2.0 of its life insurance product, Bequest Life, and has already had more than 1000 customers within weeks of going live.

James Buckley-Thorp, CEO and founder of Bequest said: “Everyone deserves the right and opportunity to take care of their loved ones. Currently, 38million families are unprotected and uninsured each year. We, at Bequest, want to make sure everyone is covered by making it relatable, accessible and something that does not cost an arm and a leg. If you look at the life insurance industry, it is out-of-date and overly complex with jargon that has plagued it for hundreds of years. Ultimately, people want life insurance online, want it quickly and want more knowledge and support - we have seen that in the hugely positive response to date to our product. With this latest funding we can now supercharge our growth and become the all-of-life platform for the millennial generation”.

Richard Sears, Kuvi Capital’s investment director added: "What initially drew us to Bequest was the nature of the life insurance market: vast, underserved and still largely undisrupted in the UK. What convinced us to lead their initial investment round was the quality of the team and their innovative approach: both in terms of creating their own unique life insurance product and developing a compelling go-to-market strategy. We're really impressed by their early traction with customers and are excited to partner with them on the journey ahead."

Bequest was voted Best UK Insurtech of 2020, as well as winning #1 Startup Helping Us Through Covid.

UK-based international bank leverages Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform to provide best-in-class customer experience

Ghana International Bank (GHIB), a UK-headquartered pan-African bank, announces today that it has partnered with Engagement Banking technology provider Backbase. The partnership will underpin the bank’s digital transformation, accelerate innovation and, by allowing GHIB to create tailor-made solutions, provide an enhanced, seamless experience for the bank’s customers.

With modern, cloud-native architecture that can support banks of any size, Backbase will act as the core strategic partner for GHIB’s digital transformation. The partnership will see GHIB adopt Backbase’s Engagement Banking platform to orchestrate customer engagement across the bank’s full range of channels. Via the platform, GHIB is set to leverage Backbase’s Digital Banking capabilities to provide highly personalised banking experiences and frictionless self-service for its customers, as well as its Digital Sales capabilities, which will modernise the entire experience of both new and existing customers.

GHIB’s adoption of Backbase’s Digital Banking and Digital Sales capabilities, which will allow GHIB to grow its corporate client base, with a focus on payments, transactions, and employee empowerment and support, will be closely followed by a second transformation phase, which will include extending the Backbase-enabled enhanced offering to GHIB’s retail customers. Bring Global is the trusted implementation partner that will deliver the Backbase capabilities as part of the digital transformation of GHIB.

By leveraging Backbase’s engagement platform and out-of-the-box accelerators across multiple business lines, GHIB’s innovation initiatives will also be supported, decreasing the bank’s time to go to market with new digital solutions.

Anas Bourani, Chief Technology Officer at Ghana International Bank, comments: “Now more than ever, banks need to respond to exaggerated customer expectations. Today’s

environment emphasises how important it is to offer convenience and choice to adapt to changing behaviour. Our digital journey, that we have set about with Backbase, has placed our customers at the centre of our digital investment, with Next-Gen technology being the critical driver in transforming our bank. Backbase’s flexibility, customer-centric user experience and impressive commitment to ongoing product development made them the natural partner for our digital investment, and the culture fit between our two companies is unmatched.”

Frank Uittenbogaard, Regional Vice President, Europe at Backbase, adds: “With a genuine commitment to provide a best-in-class user experience and drive growth based on its market knowledge and client relationships, GHIB’s people-driven approach aligns with the very fundamentals upon which Backbase is built. We are excited to be supporting GHIB as its strategic partner on its digital transformation journey.”

MuchBetter, the multi-award-winning e-wallet app, today announced a new international payments partnership with global gaming leader Betsson Group. MuchBetter is now available to players in multiple jurisdictions across ten popular Betsson brands, including Betsson.com, Betsafe.com and CasinoEuro.com. 

Betsson is one of the most respected companies in gaming with more than 55 years of experience in delivering high-quality casino, sportsbook and jackpot games across multiple markets. MuchBetter is the latest quality supplier to Betsson as it ensures the best customer experience in the industry. In addition to innovative, secure and seamless payments for Betsson players, MuchBetter will allow Betsson to offer instant payments in some of its high growth markets with the lowest transactions fees in the industry 

MuchBetter is a multi-award-winning payments app designed to make payments as easy and straightforward as possible across more than 180 regions. MuchBetter eliminates security and fraud concerns via the use of biometric verification and unique security features like its patented dynamic CVV – generating a new CVV code for every online or in-store card transaction. MuchBetter also has a unique transaction fee model vs other iGaming payment suppliers. Rather than charging for every transaction in and out of the e-wallet, it charges based on an operators’ winnings in each month. 

“We are now the payment supplier of choice for iGaming operators with nearly one million accounts in more than 180 jurisdictions,” said Israel Rosenthal, MuchBetter founder and CEO “Betsson has a remarkable reputation in the iGaming market and chose MuchBetter as the payment partner it could trust to help it continue its growth in new regions, under new licences and with new brands.”

“Betsson Group is expanding in some really exciting growth regions,” said Stefania Zammit Marmara, Payments Relationship Manager at Betsson. “We chose MuchBetter for its ability to help us take payments in some of our key and emerging markets. We were also extremely impressed by the security and user experience of the product, which were important considerations. We always want the best for our customers, and payments play a big part in the overall experience that customers have with an iGaming brand.”

Finclude, an Ireland-based start-up that provides credit scoring and affordability profiles using machine learning technology, today announced it has joined IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) growing ecosystem of more than 100 Global Systems Integrators (GSIs), Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), SaaS providers, and FinTechs supporting the IBM Cloud for Financial Services. The IBM Cloud Framework for Financial Services is designed to address risk in the digital supply chain through a common set of security controls that are adhered to by the entire ecosystem.

A growing portion of the $1 trillion hybrid cloud market opportunity is comprised of the financial markets industry, which is expected to increase nearly twenty percent by 2024.^[1]  Key findings in a recent IBM internal analysis suggest that cloud is expected to account for about 60% of that future market opportunity as financial institutions are accelerating innovation to meet heightened customer expectations, deliver consistent services in the face of challenges like the global pandemic, and navigate the ever-complex regulatory environment.^[2]

Finclude aims to address the lack of a common credit scoring system across Europe, which has left 58 million citizens without access to credit and created major difficulties for those moving to another European country to live and work. People with thin credit histories often struggle to secure credit through the traditional assessment process. Finclude’s credit scoring and affordability solution helps to create a digital credit score for European citizens that is surfaced in the financial systems of their home country and other European countries in Finclude’s network. The company’s solution uses machine learning technology to enhance traditional credit scoring methods with additional data and insights drawn from an individual’s financial transactions and spending behaviours. The resulting digital credit score provides a more holistic profile of a candidate and can move with them across borders.

Onboarding its solution to the IBM Cloud for Financial Services will enable Finclude to scale more rapidly by expanding its network. The IBM Cloud for Financial Services’ built-in compliance support and enterprise-grade encryption technology will also allow Finclude to help financial services clients to fulfill their regulatory requirement to ensure their customers’ data is kept private and secured.

The industry’s first financial services-ready cloud, the IBM Cloud for Financial Services uses IBM’s fourth-generation confidential computing capabilities and “Keep Your Own Key” encryption delivered via IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services to help partners and their customers retain control of their data and transact with financial institutions in a secured environment. Built-in controls are engineered to help customers accelerate innovation, unlock new revenue opportunities, and decrease the cost of compliance.

“Our purpose at Finclude is to help millions of people prosper through fair access to credit by empowering our customers and partner banks to make better financial and credit decisions,” said Ioanna Stanegloudi, Co-Founder & Chief Risk Officer, Finclude. “Joining the IBM Cloud for Financial Services gives us a security and compliance profile that financial institutions and customers can trust, allowing us to grow our partner network more rapidly and extend the reach of our services to more people across Europe.”

“We designed the IBM Cloud for Financial Services with a control framework to help financial institutions accelerate hybrid cloud adoption and drive revenue growth while addressing their need for a secured partner ecosystem,” said Brendan Kinkade, Vice President, Technology and Hybrid Cloud Partnerships, IBM. “By collaborating on the IBM Cloud for Financial Services, partners like Finclude can confidently transact with financial institutions on their journey to modernization.”

Finclude is a member of IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator’s Cohort 1, where IBM and its Accelerator team empower early-stage fintech, healthtech, and insurtech founders with technical and business enablement. The Accelerator team recruits startups from across the globe that are less than $1M in revenue and less than five years old to build and scale their businesses through access to IBM Cloud credits and business and technical mentorship. Learn more about IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator here.

Medius, a leading provider of spend management solutions, is announcing its partnership with TransferMate, the leader in payments infrastructure as a service, to offer Medius customers an integrated and seamless way to make international payments without leaving their existing spend management platform.

This agreement utilises TransferMate’s globally regulated network of payment licenses and technology to employ a faster, more cost-effective, secure and transparent way to move money across borders for Medius customers.

Per Åkerberg, Medius CEO, said: “We live in an increasingly globalised world. As such, it is imperative our customers can pay suppliers anywhere, quickly, easily and securely. Our partnership with TransferMate facilitates just that.

“Using their class-leading technology in tandem with Medius Pay, our intuitive and easy-to-deploy payments software, we’ve modernised payment processing.”

Medius Pay is embedded in the Medius Spend Management suite and fully integrated with Medius AP Automation. It provides a single, secure channel for all supplier payments, simplifying the entire invoice-to-pay lifecycle, from receipt of supplier invoice to final settlement.

The seamless process delivers absolute control and transparency, with straightforward real-time reconciliation and a simplified payment execution process that is fully auditable.

Commenting on the new partnership with Medius, Sinead Fitzmaurice, CEO of TransferMate – a subsidiary of Clune Technology Group, said:

“From inception, TransferMate was created to improve visibility, speed and reconciliation for B2B international payments. License by license, we have successfully built one of the industry’s largest settlement networks and we’re pleased to partner with Medius to offer seamless international payments to more business clients on their existing spend management platform.”

Fitzmaurice added: “Medius has not only built easy-to-use solutions, but their dedication to first-class customer support is something we admire and share.”

The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) and the Gibraltar Funds and Investments Association (GFIA) are delighted to announce a collaboration aimed at strengthening the culture, integrity and professionalism of financial services markets and practitioners.

The confirmation will mean that reciprocal arrangements will be in place for members of both organisations to access mutual qualifications, membership and continuing professional development (CPD) content.

GFIA (Gibraltar Funds & Investments Association) is a non-profit organization. It was formed in 1996 under the original name GASIM (Gibraltar Association of Stockbrokers and Investment Managers) which was renamed in 2009 to include Fund Managers. GFIA’s membership today is comprised of Stockbrokers, Law Firms, Banks, Audit Firms, Investment Managers, Fund Managers & Administrators as well as individuals involved in the financial sector in Gibraltar.

Since 2010, the CISI has been working with the Gibraltarian financial services community with a growing membership of almost 200. The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) confirmed in 2018 the CISI Level 4 Investment Advice Diploma compliant for advisors to meet the ESMA knowledge and competence guidelines. These guidelines ensure consumer protection by setting minimum competency for finance firm staff and cover qualifications, continuing professional development (CPD) and business ethics standards.

The CISI qualifications are available via self-study using workbooks and e-learning, with computer based and narrative exam testing available at Bleak House Training Institute, Europa Point, or via remote invigilation from any location of choice.

Kevin Moore Chartered FCSI, Director of Global Business Development at CISI said “We are very pleased to enter into an agreement with Gibraltar Funds and Investments Association (GFIA). It is a natural step for our organisations to collaborate and add value for our members in Gibraltar. We very much look forward to running joint events and creating CPD content together”.

Jay Gomez, GFIA Chairman (left) said: “We are delighted to have come to an agreement with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investments (CISI). We place a great amount of importance on the training and professional development of our membership, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that Gibraltar continues to deliver the best possible service and products to its clients. I am very thankful to our Executive Committee for the huge amount of work undertaken by them to deliver quality training. This agreement with CISI will allow GFIA members to benefit from access to CISI training and events and perfectly complements the suite of training already delivered to our members by GFIA.”

Pauline van Brakel, Chief Product Officer at money app Yolt, comments: “The changes to the furlough scheme due to come into effect tomorrow will make it more expensive for employers to furlough workers, and as a result could understandably cause concern for those still using the scheme. Despite the fact many restrictions have lifted, and things feel like we may be returning to some normality, we know that many continue to receive government support – with the latest figures showing that 3.4 million people² are still relying on furlough. It is likely that the full financial impact of the pandemic won’t be felt until government support is fully removed – which could place increasing financial pressure on those who have been using it. Our recent research found that this financial pressure extends beyond just those who have been on furlough, with 14% of UK adults anticipating they will feel worried about being able to afford essential bills over the next 12 months."

Although the future feels uncertain for many, preparation and planning ahead where possible is wise. This might seem tough for some people, but there are some small, manageable tips that all of us can take to manage our household spending and that may put you in a better place to protect yourself financially:

1.Budget, budget, budget

Take a look at your essential outgoings, (like rent or mortgage payments, energy bills and grocery shopping) and total these up. This will give you the minimum you need to get by each month. When you take that away from your income, you’ll see how much wiggle room you have. It’s a good idea to try to live well within your means, even during less financially challenging times.

2. Spend smart where possible

 Review all your expenses and consider making cuts wherever possible – you could discover some direct debits you might have forgotten about and free up funds that way.

You may even be able to save on your ‘fixed’ costs. By using comparison sites (like MoneySuperMarket) you can make sure you’re paying a competitive price on your household bills – switching providers can often result in saving hundreds of pounds.

Yolt have also recently launched an evolved version of their app to help people save whilst they spend – encouraging people to save through features such as earning them cashback on their purchases at selected retailers and rounding purchases up to the nearest pound.

3. Turn your debt to dust

It’s easier said than done, but during challenging times it’s even more important to reduce debt. Although you may not be able to pay everything off in one go, it’s good to prioritise downsizing any financial obligations you have. Because when you’ve got less committed spending, you may find yourself with more free cash each month, which you could then put towards paying off any debt you may have.

Try to pay off the right debt: credit card bills and loans (particularly any high-interest short-term loans) may be the place to start.

4. Grow your nest egg

Although savings rates are at historic lows, it’s still a good idea to have a nest-egg put aside and readily available for a rainy day.

Even if you haven’t got one yet, don’t panic! It’s never too late to start saving. A great way to begin squirreling away is the 50/30/20 split.

• Earmark 50% of your income for essential spending
• Bookmark 30% for luxuries
• Mark 20% for saving

If you’d like a little more to fall back on, you could even flip your “luxuries” and “saving” splits. So you could put 30% into a saving account and leave yourself 20% for treats. This split may not work for you during these unprecedented times. You can always tweak these amounts to suit your budget - just try to stick to a set amount of savings each month.”

As part of its ongoing commitment to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) advancement, MDOTM, the European leader in developing AI-Driven investment strategies, announces that it has become a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). Among the 4000 signatories representing more than $70 Trillion in assets, MDOTM is the first AI-Driven Advisor to join the leading international network of institutional investors committed to including ESG criteria in their investment process 

MDOTM’s models are adopted by leading institutional investors such as banks, asset and wealth managers, pension funds, insurance companies, and family offices, reaching over €700 M in Assets under Advisory as of 2021. Thanks to proprietary technology, the models use AI to analyze asset classes’ correlations and monitor market dynamics, building portfolios that are able to adapt as markets change. As a result of MDOTM’s commitment, this technology is used to develop ESG investment solutions that benefit from the efficiency brought by AI.

Since its founding, MDOTM has pioneered the integration of ESG in its AI-Driven investment strategies and fostered scientific research in this area through the MDOTM LAB – the company’s Research Hub that comprises over 30 researchers among university professors, Ph.D. and Master’s students. Most recently, a novel approach developed by MDOTM to integrate Climate Risk in Asset Allocation with Artificial Intelligence has been proposed to the S&P Global Academic Challenge, sponsored by Portfolio Management Research and The Journal of ESG & Impact Investing. 

"We are in a unique position to lead the adoption of sustainable investments with Artificial Intelligence in Asset Management”, says Tommaso Migliore, CEO & Co-Founder of MDOTM. "We are proud to take this step forward as the first AI-Driven Advisor to become a UNPRI signatory. We made this commitment to play an active role in bringing science, reliability, and sustainability into our investors’ portfolios."

Objectway, a leader in the Digital Wealth & Asset Management software, achieved its eighth consecutive awards recognition – the third time in a row for its WealthTech Suite – by Goodacre, the UK leading specialist consultancy for the securities industry.

Awarded “Best Wealth Management Solution”, the Objectway WealthTech Suite is the front-to-back intelligent and modular platform supporting the entire digital investment management process, and designed to respond to the challenges wealth managers face against the increasing demand for innovation.

The long-established Goodacre Systems in the City Fintech Awards are the leading endorsement for suppliers of services and systems to the regulated financial services sector. Based on an independent and factual annual accreditation process, they are an important point of reference for user firms assessing the suitability of their operational infrastructure.

“We are proud and grateful for the unceasing appreciation shown once again by clients who voted for us and by the market experts that have been confirming our leadership,” commented Alberto Cuccu, Objectway UK CEO, on the award recognition.

During the conference that preceded the awards ceremony, Alberto Cuccu highlighted the near future scenarios for the Wealth Management IT business spending, where investments will be mainly addressed to front-office and specifically on frictionless advisor and client journeys’ enablers, such as digital onboarding, hybrid and intelligent AI assisted advice.

“In the upcoming future,” he affirmed, “despite much uncertainty remaining, wealth firms will be allocating greater resources towards the front-office, considering it a competitive differentiator. Investing in technology will be an imperative to avoid the risk of being eclipsed by competitors.”

Stephen Pinner, Managing Director at Goodacre, said “This was another record year for Systems in the City submissions and those companies nominated have done exceptionally well. Objectway are to be congratulated for picking up the Best Wealth Management Solution award for the third year in succession for their continued comprehensive support for the sector.”

PayNearby, India’s leading branchless banking and digital payments network, announced that it will onboard 10,000 Women BC Sakhis from Self Help Groups to offer banking services to various Gram Panchayats in Uttar Pradesh. The company thus aims to digitize transactions worth ₹1000 crores through the Self Help Group (SHG) ecosystem across Uttar Pradesh, while enabling BC Sakhis to earn additional revenue. The company has entered into a partnership with YES Bank to onboard BC Sakhis across 9 districts in the state. 

The business processes and transactions that happen through SHGs are mostly cash-based. As of March 2019, an estimated ₹1,00,000 crores have been transacted within the SHG ecosystem, the bulk of it being in cash. With cash in short supply and digital payments on the rise, there is an urgent need to redesign the processes and transit from a predominantly cash transaction to a digital transaction. To aid this, as part of the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) program, the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) has decided to appoint one Business Correspondent (BC) - Sakhi (BC-Sakhi) from the members of the SHGs in each of its 58,000 Gram Panchayats. In line with this directive, PayNearby has been allotted the mandate of 9 districts across Uttar Pradesh, viz.  Badaun, Sitapur, Etah, Ballia, Ghazipur, Behraich, Balrampur, Gonda and Azamgarh. 

Business Correspondents have played a pivotal role in financial inclusion, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic as they acted as Direct Benefit Transfer collection points and ensured offering uninterrupted banking services to citizens across the country. As banking agents, these women are playing a crucial role in acquainting people with banking services. The project is thus aimed at improving banking access in rural UP and enhancing the household income of these women and empowering them. Post the onboarding, PayNearby will work on upskilling BC Sakhis on the usage of the digital ecosystem while also providing them digital solutions to further the cause of financial inclusion across the state and bring many to the formal banking fold. 

Commenting on the development, Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO said, “Our country is going through a digital revolution and it is therefore important that we empower our women to lead this change. It is important our women have access to digital and financial tools that give them better control over their earnings and savings. While the Business Correspondent model ensures low-cost delivery of accessible banking services to every section of the society, the SHG platform has proven to be pivotal in this task, owing to its comprehensive reach and influence at the community level.  

The UPSRLM program is an excellent initiative by the government of Uttar Pradesh and PayNearby is extremely honoured to be a facilitator of this program and drive empowerment. With the SHG members having the basic financial literacy and the experience of handling money, they are best suited for the role. They can play a significant part in handholding and getting the community members oriented to digital transactions while driving financial inclusion across the remotest villages and towns in the state.”  

PayNearby represents the country’s largest retail merchant network today with more than 15 Crore customers. The company has played a significant role in driving digital financial services within the interiors of the country across 17,500+ PIN codes. It has bolstered easy, low-ticket transactions and created an all-inclusive acceptance framework for a less-cash India.