Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency playing a role as an investment vehicle and also a payment medium. However, scammers are exploring the payment aspect to defraud victims resulting in losses of millions of dollars.

According to data compiled by cryptocurrency trading simulator Crypto Parrot, Australians lost an equivalent of AUD 26.65 million in scams where Bitcoin was the payment method in 2020. Despite Bitcoin being a new payment method, the fraud linked to the cryptocurrency ranked second behind banks.

Scams involving bank transactions amounted to AUD 97.65 million, which is at least 3.7 times more than the amount lost in bitcoin payments scams. Other unspecified payment methods ranked third at AUD 24.17 million while cash ranked fourth at AUD 8.57 million. Credit cards emerged fifth at AUD 8.1 million.

Elsewhere in terms of reported scams in 2020, payments methods not provided ranked top at 190,959 cases, followed by banks at 8,215. Credit cards rank third at 6,267 cases, followed by PayPal at 2,761. Other payment methods ranked fifth at 2,680 cases. Bitcoin cases emerged sixth at  1,985.

Scammers leverage on pandemic

The coronavirus health crisis partly played a role in Bitcoin being used as a payment method for scams in Australia. According to the research report:

“Amid the pandemic, most people spend more time online on social media platforms, which became perfect grounds for targeting potential victims. Notably, victims deployed social media to share their referral codes with friends and contacts, bringing more people into the group involving the fake investment scheme. Overall, social media is an excellent tool for scammers who understand most people face the fear of missing out.”

Furthermore, Bitcoin's underlying nature of being decentralized and anonymous contributed to the crypto being utilized as a payment method in scams. Notably, this status means that the beneficiaries cannot be traced easily.

Read the full story with statistics here: https://cryptoparrot.com/article/australians-lost-3x-more-to-scammers-via-bank-transactions-than-bitcoin-payments-in-2020 

Research commissioned by people analytics company Visier reveals that more than half of financial services employees in the UK expect to actively look for jobs outside their current company in the next 12 months - with almost a quarter (24 percent) already looking for new jobs, suggesting a potential peak season of resignations in the sector. Of employees actively considering changing jobs, as many as six in ten (62 percent) say they are considering moving into a new sector or career altogether. 

While the vast majority of UK financial services workers (77 percent) said they felt well supported by their employer during the last year and 72 percent said they would recommend their company as a place to work, the major reasons for seeking a new role are poor work/life balance (43 percent), salary (33 percent), feeling unvalued (25 percent) and not being encouraged to learn new skills (19 percent).

Skills training clearly plays an important role in job satisfaction. Over half of financial services employees (55 percent) said they are worried that their career will stall if they do not develop more skills. As many as 55 percent of workers said their workload impacts their ability to train and learn new skills that could further their career. Only 59 percent said they are confident their employer is bringing in the right people to keep pace with clients' expectations for digital services. 

This concern is shared by HR leaders in financial services. The vast majority (84 per cent) feel there are significant skills issues within their business and when looking for new candidates. More than two-thirds believe that the sector’s lack of available candidates is holding back their company’s digital transformation strategy. 

“An employee's work life balance and salary has always been a driving factor for moments of change in jobs and careers. However, we are increasingly seeing the consequence that a lack of skills training is having on an individual's career and we are not surprised to see that many are concerned about the impact it will have for future employment and personal growth,” said Daniel Mason, Vice President EMEA of Visier. “As financial services businesses go through yet more upheaval to the ways they are used to working, they need to be conscious of other factors that can impact the retention rate of their employees, and in addressing the skills gap head-on to drive digital transformation.”

Virtual IBAN and eCommerce bank account provider, Monneo, today announces the launch of its Monneo Corporate Visa debit card, in partnership with Railsbank, the leading global Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform.

More than just a typical corporate card, the Monneo card, issued by Railsbank, means that for the first time an eCommerce merchant can link one card to several IBANs at multiple different banks. It does this by unifying numerous IBAN accounts under one application and agreement. As such, a company will be able to link one card to the combined balance of all its IBANS held at different banks across the Monneo European banking network.

The new card is an addition to Monneo’s existing platform which connects thousands of online merchants to a network of EU and international banks to provide virtual IBANs and banking services. Merchants will benefit from only having to work with Monneo, via a single agreement they will have access to multiple IBANs and a Corporate Visa card giving choice and flexibility across a well-established banking network without the need to change or manage multiple providers.

As we move into the new normal shaped by Covid-19, online businesses and their employees need to make payments in the most efficient and secure way possible. Monneo enables local and international payments via B2B banking transfers, while maintaining visibility of cash flow in real time. In addition, merchants can now utilise the corporate card for their employees, contractors or affiliates, and access instant reporting via a single user interface.

Lilia Metodieva, Managing Director at Monneo, highlights how the solution will make strides in the eCommerce industry: “Monneo’s Corporate Visa debit card removes a number of hurdles that eCommerce businesses face today. Many have struggled with fund flow management, as in the past, they have had to access multiple payment platforms for one solution. By contrast, Monneo brings all solutions (including the card) under one platform, which enables businesses to better oversee the distribution of their funds.”

Metodieva continues: “Partnering with a respected partner like Railsbank ensures the card is a stable and reliable option for eCommerce businesses, enabling them to carry out day-to-day operations without challenges. Any issues that do arise are resolved by Monneo, which incorporates its expert industry knowledge to resolve these challenges. We strongly believe this will make a positive difference to lots of businesses.”

Louisa Murray, COO UK & EU at Railsbank added: “The Monneo Corporate Visa debit card setup is the only one of its kind that Railsbank currently supports, which makes it an important partnership for us. The unique features really do cater to the varying needs of eCommerce merchants and the banks that service them across Europe. It mends any disconnect that has been felt in their relationships in the past and facilitates an environment where new business models have the freedom to succeed.”

Tellco AG, a specialist in pension provision and wealth management services, has selectedbs Hybrid Wealth Manager solution to assist their move to offer comprehensive wealth management solutions.

The partnership with additiv, a leading SaaS and embedded finance provider to the wealth management industry, enables Tellco to give its clients, investment advisors and portfolio managers access to additiv’s orchestration platform and extensive ecosystem. By utilizing additiv’s Hybrid Wealth Manager, Tellco will offer a ‘hybrid’ selection of full investment services via a SaaS model, enabling clients to be advisor assisted, use self-service solutions, or a combination of the two. 

Manfred Villiger, Chief Executive Officer at Tellco, said “Consumers are becoming increasingly focused on having adequate provision for their future.  This goes beyond pension and asset management products.  additiv’s intelligent wealthtech engine brings together all that is needed to create a seamless and engaging customer journey to meet this requirement.  Together with their range of front-end tools and functions, additiv is ideally suited to provide our new and existing clients with the reassurance that they need as they reach retirement."

Michael Stemmle, Chief Executive Officer and founder at additiv, said “The 20 largest OECD countries alone have a US$78 trillion shortfall in funding pay-as-you-go and defined benefit public pension obligations. As a result of this growing pension gap, clients are increasingly expecting the provision of mitigating financial services to be available alongside their traditional pension and life insurance services.“

Michael continues “We are delighted that Tellco has chosen additiv’s Hybrid Wealth Manager for their wealth management services.  By embedding investment products, via our platform, alongside pension, asset management and real estate services, their clients can access regulated investment services conveniently, at their time of need.  This creates a greater reach through a wider range of services available; ultimately establishing a deeper client relationship. “

Managing client assets of around CHF 7.4 billion, Tellco has grown from a provider of SME pension fund solutions to a comprehensive financial services provider within the pension, investment, and real estate sectors with its own banking license. The move supports the growing trend for embedded financial products within the wealth management sector - offering wealth management solutions as part of context-relevant user journeys, utilizing an Open API structure to connect to partners and clients within an extensive financial ecosystem.

Fusion Risk Management, Inc. (“Fusion”), a leading provider of operational resilience, business continuity, and risk management software and services, today announced the launch of Fusion Analytics, a new platform capability that provides organizations with enhanced data insights to bolster their resilience posture. Launched during Fusion’s annual client conference Solutions21, Fusion Analytics extends the Fusion Framework System and empowers organizations to easily identify risk and predict outcomes to make faster, more informed decisions using data visualization.

Fusion Analytics processes large volumes of data and presents findings with advanced and comprehensive visualizations, charts and dashboards, empowering businesses to utilize the system’s data insights, create continuity plans and avoid risks and disruptions. The new platform capability will improve organizations’ operational resilience programs with intuitive and predictive data analytics customized for every level of the business. With enhanced, tailored decision experiences, Fusion Analytics creates role-based insights for any team in the business ensuring they make faster, smarter decisions that protect business operations.

The new platform capability enables a simplified and integrated approach to operational resilience. Users are empowered to break down operational silos by compiling all relevant and required data in Fusion Analytics, including from external sources, onto a single platform, eliminating the need for multiple systems and logins. Its collaborative features ensure users can work together in Fusion, update records and share analytics and visualizations with their team and the wider business. The solution also includes mobile capability, providing users with diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive insights on the go, ensuring they can continue to work with their team from anywhere. 

“In today’s highly competitive market, businesses must demonstrate they have a robust operational resilience program and can make important, difficult decisions fast, at the speed of business. This especially holds true during times of market turbulence and volatility,” said Brian Molk, Chief Product Officer, Fusion Risk Management.

“Fusion has always been committed to listening to our clients to meet their evolving business requirements, and Fusion Analytics was created as a response to client and market need for an intuitive and predictive analytics capability that will empower today’s agile workforce,” said Cory Cowgill, Chief Technology Officer, Fusion Risk Management. “We are thrilled to offer our clients a market leading solution with Fusion’s collaborative and innovative approach to operational resilience at its core.”

The new platform capability enhances the Fusion Framework System, Fusion’s flagship offering which enables an organization’s ability to maintain resilience through one singular platform, eliminating  separate and disconnected modules across the many areas of risk and resilience, bringing them together under the comprehensive single platform to monitor and maintain operational resilience.

Scality announced today that it has been named Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) Storage Momentum Partner of the Year for 2021 during the Partner of the Year Awards at the annual HPE Discover customer event. The 2021 HPE Partner of the Year Award recognises partners from across the ecosystem for their incredible commitment to customer excellence, continued strong performance, innovative solutions and ability to drive transformative business outcomes for shared customers.

Scality is the leader in software-defined file and object storage and seamless data management in enterprise and service provider data centres. The company provides solutions for on-premises, hybrid cloud storage and data management that can span from edge to cloud. Scality focuses on ​software solutions for cloud data orchestration and distributed storage for the world’s largest data challenges. Its Amazon S3, Google and Azure cloud-ready solutions are scalable, offering the best possible data durability, freedom of choice, and the ability to dramatically lower customers’ total cost of ownership.

George Hope, worldwide head of partner sales, HPE, said: “In the last year, I’ve seen HPE partners go above and beyond the call of duty. I’m incredibly proud to honour them with accolades. As a channel-led company, HPE is committed to supporting our partners with best-in-industry innovations, initiatives and expertise to drive differentiation and deliver better outcomes to our shared customers. We are grateful for the continued strong partnership, which allows us to collaborate and grow together while setting a new standard for our joint success.”

Jerome Lecat, CEO, Scality, said: “Cloud-native applications are fundamentally transforming IT culture and how IT resources are deployed and consumed, specifically as it relates to the underlying data infrastructure. We’re proud to be working with HPE to deliver the object storage solution that meets the needs of this cloud-native era, both in traditional deployments as well as part of HPE GreenLake cloud services offerings. This acknowledgement from HPE is an honour.”

• 23.06.2021 -- 06:56 am

Qumulo, the breakthrough leader in radically simplifying enterprise file data management across hybrid cloud environments, today announced that it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Storage Competency. This designation recognizes that the Qumulo® File Data Management Platform provides proven technology to help customers drive successful outcomes on AWS leveraging the Qumulo primary storage solution.

“Qumulo is natively built for the cloud. Enabling our customers to successfully manage their unstructured data as part of their digital transformation has never been more important. Attaining the AWS Storage Competency designation underscores our ability to consistently achieve that customer success in the cloud,” said Keith Nargi, Field Chief Technology Officer, Qumulo. “No two companies have the same cloud migration journey. Qumulo is dedicated to helping customers develop a customized cloud strategy that will meet their business needs, deliver results and provide a competitive edge by leveraging the power of AWS.”

AWS enables scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solutions from startups to global enterprises. To support the seamless integration and deployment of these solutions, AWS established the AWS Competency Program to help customers identify AWS Partners with deep industry experience and expertise.

Qumulo enables customers across multiple verticals to securely store data on AWS and can offer the scale, performance, and enterprise features required to support some of the most demanding applications and workflows customers wish to run on AWS. Qumulo on AWS customers include some of the biggest names in Media & Entertainment, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Energy, and Financial Services. Qumulo’s cloud-native file data platform can unlock applications and workflows for migration to AWS that are otherwise stuck on-premises.

RegTech company, Napier, provider of advanced anti-financial crime compliance solutions, has announced its AI-led technology has been chosen by emerging Norwegian FinTech, ZTL Payment Solution.

Napier will supply the B2B payment provider with Transaction Screening, Transaction Monitoring and Client Screening. These tools will enhance ZTL’s ability to identify suspicious activity related to money laundering through transaction monitoring, while also identifying potential risk of breaching sanctions with screening solutions.

Founded in 2018, ZTL’s platform integrates with accounting system providers via API building blocks, providing a customized solution to facilitate for payments directly from the accounting system. ZTL will use Napier’s screening and monitoring solutions to meet regulatory compliance obligations, spot suspicious activities, and mitigate money laundering and sanctions risks.

Andreas Bjerke, CEO at ZTL, said: “We are one of the first Norwegian licensed payment providers and we are already seeing rapid growth for our unique service. One of our main priorities is AML compliance and we needed a more flexible AML compliance tool that will be agile and robust enough to grow with us as we scale to enter more global markets and add more products. We aim to stay at the very cutting-edge of online B2B payments and Napier’s modern solution will enable us to deliver excellent service while meeting regulatory requirements."

With a presence in the UK, North America, Australia, Singapore and Dubai, Napier also has a growing global footprint. Its increasing roster of international customers now includes recent additions such as ClearBank and Trustly. Led by its sophisticated platform technology, the company’s further growth strategy also benefits from the addition of former HSBC COO Andy Maguire to its Advisory Board.

Julian Dixon, CEO of Napier, said: “With our AI-enhanced technology we are helping financial organizations of any size to scale up their compliance systems with ease, helping them to manage risk and regulatory obligations whilst reducing false positives. ZTL now has a robust trio of tools for AML and screening to enhance its financial crime compliance effectiveness but also, crucially, these future-proof solutions will grow with them.”

Profile Software, an international financial software provider, announced today the launch of its new Digital Banking mobile-first platform, Finuevo. The digital banking platform offers a modern banking experience to end-users across channels addressing the needs of Banks, FinTech firms, Financial Organisations and EMIs. Finuevo is also a modern tool that supports interaction between Governmental organisations of financial background and citizens. The platform can easily be deployed in the cloud, on-premise or as SaaS aiming at delivering the functionality and flexibility to meet the evolving market requirements.

Finuevo has been developed to address the need for true digital transformation for all types of banking organisations and their customers that want to be up and running having a modern digital banking experience. Among its characteristics the platform supports fast time to market, multi-layer security, fully automated CI/CD, easy-to-use API connections, self-service onboarding and personalisation of services.

The cloud-based functionality offers secure and continuous access, with easy authentication via any device for payments, transfers and more. Rich information is available on one screen and organisations can drive sales through any channel without experiencing scalability issues.

Finuevo offers ease of use and transparency across transactions in an intuitive interface for unique end customer experience. It offers complete flexibility to organisations and end-users to select widgets that match his/her style and deliver a personalised approach. For the organisation the use of themes creates a powerful branding concept. The system offers readily available connections to major banking platforms so as to deliver seamless integration and interoperability across departments. Finuevo offers Digital Banking in-a-box ensuring that businesses focus their resources on what is important to them, delivering competitive services and a unique customer journey.

Profile Technologies, the Group’s development hub, is utilising modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Robotics Process Automation (RPA), Blockchain, technologies and Augmented Reality. Finuevo is the first of the new developments that the group is aiming to deliver in the coming years having invested in the technology hub that fosters talent and new technologies.

Being true to its vision, the Profile Group is continuing to innovate and develop platforms that successfully and uniquely cover market needs delivering real value to its clients.