The Mauritanian Bank for International Trade (BMCI) (www.BMCI.mr) has partnered with TagPay to roll out its digital bank Masrvi, aimed at providing digital, value-added financial services to its customers.
Powered by TagPay, Masrvi was launched at the end of April and responds to Mauritanians’ banking needs by providing secure and accessible banking services, across the country through mobile networks, whilst offering convenience. Masrvi enables BMCI to provide its customers with secure, simple, fast, and easy-to-access banking products and services that can be tailored to their needs, all with a convenience that traditional banks cannot match.
Moulay Abbas, President of BMCI says: “By leveraging TagPay’s next-generation Core Banking System and their teams’ project expertise, we were able to launch our digital bank, Masrvi, in record time. Within a month of launching, we have a network of 52 branches and more than 200 partner-businesses that accept Masrvi and the numbers continue to grow. Thanks to the proven robustness, agility, and short time-to-market of this solution, we will be able to rapidly grow our customers. This will help strengthen Masrvi’s product line and enable us to offer a full range of banking and financial products in the very short term.”

Commenting on the successful launch of Masrvi, Yves Eonnet, CEO of TagPay said: “By using TagPay’s next-generation Core Banking System, the Masrvi solution is leveraging an innovative and intuitive technology platform that offers a full range of banking functions. Thanks to its open architecture, flexibility, and scalability, the solution will allow the rollout or update of features the digital bank wishes to market. Certainly, Masrvi will promote financial inclusion and integration in Mauritania.”

Anyone with a cell phone, regardless of their wireless carrier, can download the Masrvi application. This enables them to open a digital bank account and conduct several types of transactions such as withdrawing, depositing, and transferring money, paying bills and retailers, and recharging phone credit.

Vantage FX, the multi-asset trading platform for retail and professional traders, today announces a series of significant upgrades to its UK services, a pinnacle moment in the group’s long-term strategic push into the UK.  

Following a period of extensive market research to find out what UK traders’ value, Vantage FX has introduced several new features and services encompassing diverse products, easy access, and a smooth user experience, all provided at a market-leading cost.  

The modern trader expects mobile access, with around 90% now trading on mobile. Seeing this demand, Vantage FX has launched a UK specific app that allows users to trade anywhere, anytime. Furthermore, traders are also increasingly keen to have a one-stop-shop where they can trade a wide range of assets. As such, Vantage FX has introduced more of the most popular UK trading instruments, such as spread betting and UK and European shares for all traders, as well as cryptocurrencies for the professional market.  

Additionally, one of Vantage FX’s main ambitions is to provide an outstanding client experience, a critical factor for traders at all levels. To enhance the user experience, Vantage FX integrated cutting edge technology, such a QR code depositing system. This provides a very simple way for users to deposit new funds in seconds and is a unique feature in the UK’s trading landscape and a technology Vantage FX has mastered in its thriving business where QR codes are already widely used.  

Recognising that traders will inevitably need support and guidance at times, Vantage FX has put into a vast amount of resource to develop its well-established Account Manager System to ensure an efficient and seamless trading experience for its clients. Each client is assigned a consistent point of contact who has a record of everything the client does on the platform. This means, when a client calls, their account manager can pull up their information and easily troubleshoot any technical challenges or answer any questions.  

David Shayer, UK CEO of Vantage FX, says: “This marks a new chapter for the UK business. We’ve been building up to revitalising our UK service and these first updates will help make the traders life as straightforward as possible. But this is just the beginning. In the coming months, my role will be to roll out our vision piece by piece, ensuring everything runs smoothly. We want to be the go-to broker in the UK and a valuable source that can educate traders, whether amateur or veteran. The ongoing expansion of these services means we’re on a big recruitment drive and have recently bolstered our sales and marketing departments. I’m extremely excited to see what we achieve in the months to come.” 

Shayer added: “Building our reputation and client base in the UK is central to the company’s long-term vision. It’s one of the biggest trading markets in the world and a thriving UK business acts as a launchpad to the other regions we have in our crosshairs. We’re putting these resources into the UK at a time when some brokers are leaving the market and moving operations offshore or seeking EU licences. This is because we’re extremely optimistic about the UK’s trading landscape and we believe we’re uniquely positioned to capitalise on the opportunity by applying the strategy that has been effective in building our Australian business.” 

Leading mortgage technology provider Twenty7Tec today announces that it has integrated with WhenFresh, a leading provider of aggregated property data solutions, enabling users of CloudTwenty7 to access property attribute data and valuations as part of the mortgage sourcing journey.

WhenFresh brings together over 200 proprietary, private and public datasets in one place to form the UK's residential property "data supermarket”, covering virtually every property in the UK. WhenFresh data is used by 8 of the top 10 high street banks, the Bank of England and many leading insurers.

Property data from WhenFresh can now be automatically populated into the CloudTwenty7 platform. The data available includes property type, property style, property tenure, years left on lease, presence of flying freehold, number of floors, wall construction, roof construction, age of property and a property valuation range modelled by WhenFresh data scientists.

Where the proposed property valuation falls within the property valuation range, it is highly likely that the property is transacting at the correct value and that the lender is likely to be able to proceed with an AVM rather than a full valuation, reducing costs and speeding up the application process for the client. 

Phil Bailey, Sales Director at Twenty7Tec, noted: “Advisers will find that this solution means that they are instantly able to access key data about a property, helping them quickly select the most appropriate lender for their client. The valuation ranges provided by WhenFresh will also support advisers in understanding how realistic their clients are being on their assumed valuation, what the likely LTV for that loan is going to be and provide a strong indication of the extent to which the case is likely to pass easily via an AVM, as opposed to being referred for a physical survey."

James Tucker, CEO of Twenty7Tec said:

"Our mission at Twenty7Tec is to make things easier for the customer, and for all others involved in the house buying process. This is a significant step forward in terms of making the process simpler, faster and more efficient. Advisers will no longer need to ask the customer for property details or estimated valuations as this will already be available to them inside our platform. In our experience, that time saved means advisers get to spend more time with their clients, giving them better, more tailored advice.

WhenFresh co-founder and CEO Mark Cunningham, added: “Whilst we already supply data to many of the banks, it’s great to see that selected WhenFresh property data will, for the first time, be put in the hands of 1000s of mortgage brokers while they process live applications via the Twenty7Tec platform.  It’s exactly how WhenFresh property data should be used, in making the mortgage process faster, simpler and less expensive for all parties, so we’re delighted to be supporting James and the excellent Twenty7Tec team to fulfil their vision.”

The industry leading payment orchestration platform, IXOPAY has partnered with Aplauz, the go-to payment method for conscious spending.

The strategic partnership will see IXOPAY and Aplauz provide clients with a payment solution that enables them to make every payment a conscious choice. It is also an opportunity for online merchants to reach new and previously untapped audiences via traditional brick and mortar stores where Aplauz vouchers can be purchased.

As a best-of-breed payment orchestration platform, IXOPAY’s architecture gives merchants complete control of their payments by providing the best payments processing options per country, intelligent routing, cascading, and unparalleled risk management function. From just one API, users benefit from simplified integration of acquirers, payment service providers, and risk service providers. It also has state-of-the-art centralized reconciliation and settlements services.

Aplauz is a prepaid digital credit that empowers people to take control of their online payments. Vouchers can be bought at convenience stores and used to make online purchases — giving its users independence from credit cards and complete control over how much they spend. It is an ideal solution for those who don’t want to disclose financial details online or who simply want to set specific limits for themselves and those who they support financially. 

Aplauz is currently available across over 2,000 convenience stores in Switzerland and will expand across Europe this year.

“What attracts us to Aplauz is their payment conscious model. It is about taking control of your finances, which is a mirror of IXOPAY’s platform which gives merchants control of their payment stack. It is about giving people their own agency, which is incredibly powerful.” Said Rene Siegl, Founder and Executive Chairman of IXOPAY.

“We are delighted to work with IXOPAY whose flexible nature and reach make for a smart business decision, but more than that, our culture and philosophies align which is what makes it really special, and I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.” Added Goran Abramovic, CEO of Aplauz.

With one simple connection, online merchants will now be able to reach a new group of customers who were previously unable or unwilling to make online payments.

 Mollie, one of the fastest-growing payment service providers in Europe, has appointed Julien Cordonnier, as its Chief Operations Officer. Julien joins from Uber where he held the position of Head of EMEA Community Operations, while also being a Supervisory Board Member of Uber Payments, and previously served as VP, International Consumer Products at American Express. Julien’s role will be to ensure exceptional customer experience & operations excellence remain at the heart of Mollie’s operations while scaling the business.

Joining Uber in 2015, Julien played a key role for Uber operations in EMEA throughout six years of exponential growth, enabling and delivering many product and market expansions. He was responsible for creating its customer operations department (including customer support, safety & compliance) from scratch to its current scale (1,500+ employees) and ensured customer success across 30+ markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At Mollie, Julien will focus on ensuring Mollie’s customer experience can scale as the business grows whilst also protecting the company’s culture which has become a key pillar of its business. 

Working at Uber was the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m very proud of all we’ve built .” comments Cordonnier. "However, Mollie presented a unique opportunity to join a fintech unicorn active across Europe. The pandemic has spearheaded rapid growth in the e-commerce sector and this has taken Mollie to huge heights in a very short period. It's an exciting time to join and I’m looking forward to helping Mollie achieve its mission of becoming ‘the most loved’ PSP in Europe.

Following a 90 million Euro Series B round, which valued the company as a unicorn, Mollie has since announced several new hires including Shane Happach as CEO, Eli Leenaars as Chairman, Muz Ashraf, as a member of its supervisory board and Rogier Schoute as CPO. 

It is great to have Julien on-board as the team and wider business expands,” said Happach. “Julien’s tenure at Uber and American Express has given him the expertise to understand the world of tech and financial services, and how the two interconnect. This insight will be critical in ensuring Mollie can deliver on its mission for customers whilst ensuring Mollie remains a place we all love to work. I look forward to Julien bolstering the operations team, and watching it grow over the coming months and years.

Consumers across the globe are expressing a heightened sense of fear over their online privacy and personal data. With nearly half of global consumers (48%) admitting they have lost control over how much data is stored about them and 49% feeling that COVID-19 restrictions forced them into expanding their digital footprints, a new wave of concerns are coming to the fore. 56% have expressed worries over losing track of their digital selves entirely, and they are now seeking to regain control over their data. In recent months, over three-quarters (77%) of global consumers have taken steps to reduce their digital footprint.

These insights have been surfaced in the Global Consumer State of Mind Report 2021, an annual benchmark report produced by Trūata, the privacy-enhanced data analytics solutions provider. The global report captures the views of 8,000 consumers across the UK, France, Brazil, South Korea and the USA to understand the challenges and fears that consumers face around data privacy globally, alongside the differing attitudes across countries and generations.

The report found that almost two-thirds (64%) of global consumers have increased their use of tech during the pandemic (increasing to 67% in the USA and 79% in Brazil), with 60% of business owners and senior managers admitting that they have used tech solutions during COVID-19 that they previously wouldn’t have used due to privacy concerns. Having now assessed the data exchange that enabled them to carry out their everyday activities in a remote and predominantly contactless world, consumers say they now want to take back control of their privacy, with more than 6-in-10 (61%) globally wanting to reduce the amount of personal data stored about them once the pandemic is over.

Despite an increase in stringent data protection regulations around the world, consumers are now calling for more to be done to ensure their right to privacy is respected. The sentiment echoed across countries is that the onus should not be on consumers to protect their data and safeguard their digital selves; they want brands to step up and take responsibility for the data they are storing and using. Almost three-quarters (74%) of global consumers want stronger transparency around data governance from the brands they use, and this issue is felt most strongly in Brazil, with more than 8-in-10 (82%) demanding more openness from organizations. Critically, nearly 7-in-10 (69%) global consumers say they are more likely to be loyal to a brand if they trust them to use personal data appropriately (increasing to 71% in the UK, and 74% in both the USA and Brazil).

Felix Marx, CEO, Trūata, said: “There’s no denying the accelerated pace at which the COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized the way we live, the way businesses operate and the way global society functions. A go digital or go dark dichotomy left little choice but to harness the internet and technology to stay connected in all aspects of life.

“However, with personal data exchanges acting as the price for entry into this new, not-going-anywhere, digitally-driven economy, the initial acceptance of a temporary takeover by our digital selves was short-lived. With so much of life happening online, questions around safety and security have come to the fore, triggering a tipping point for trust and digital privacy, which is highlighted by the findings in this year’s Global Consumer State of Mind Report. Having felt a loss of control, consumers are now seeking to reclaim ownership and demand the protection of their digital selves.”

Given the growing level of vigilance around expanding digital footprints, catalyzed by COVID-19, an unsurprising 79% of global consumers affirm that data privacy is now essential to them (increasing to 88% in Brazil, followed by South Korea (83%). However, one of the main reasons they are now looking to take action to reduce their digital footprint is because nearly 6-in-10 (59%) feel businesses have overstepped the mark, when it comes to data usage. This rises to nearly two thirds (65%) in South Korea, with consumers making a stand and demanding better from brands. In addition, two-thirds (66%) of global consumers believe that behavior tracking is invasive. Despite the perceived benefits of sharing data with brands, 55% now say that they would prefer not to receive personalized offers if it means being tracked, and 57% warn they will stop using brands that ‘stalk them online’.

Consumers across the world are speaking up to warn brands that they are already taking action to mitigate their privacy issues, with nearly 4-in-10 (38%) having rejected website tracking cookies, over a third (36%) unsubscribing from email lists, and 30% having used private browser modes online. Interestingly, over half of South Korean consumers (51%) believe that “having multiple online personas is a way to manage [their] data privacy”, which raises concerns over how data accuracy and the quality of insights could be impacted if brands don’t evolve with a privacy mindset.

As more and more brands look to harness data to grow and evolve in a digitally-driven economy, there are lessons to be learned when it comes to rebuilding consumer trust and loyalty in a post-pandemic world. Moving forward, more than two thirds (67%) of global consumers agreed that they will look to engage with brands that make it easier to control how their data is used, a figure that increases to 72% in the USA and 74% in Brazil, with a 3% net agree increase (from 63% in 2020 to 66% in 2021) across the UK, USA and France. While advancements in tech and business rely on data and, therefore, present significant challenges around consumer privacy, brands also have a clear opportunity to gain a competitive advantage if they listen and adapt their approaches based on long-term consumer expectations and preferences.

Marx added: “The findings from our report send out a clear message that brands across the globe have some rebuilding to do to repair lost loyalty and trust with consumers when it comes to data practices. The good news is, however, consumers have outlined just how brands can get them back onside by being more accountable and transparent.  

“In a privacy-centric, post-pandemic world, it will be those brands who look toward emerging technologies and automation that will be able to cut through the torrent of consumer concerns, shake off the privacy paralysis, and begin to take advantage of the data opportunity ahead of them. The analytical advantage is no longer gained by how much data you have at your disposal, but how much privacy plays into your commercial mindset.”

Following accreditation by the British Business Bank, Atom has today started to offer quotes on its award winning secured lending products under the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS). Having been one of the leading providers of broker-led secured lending to new and existing customers under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Atom’s accreditation for RLS confirms the bank’s continuing support for businesses across the UK.

RLS gives UK businesses access to finance as they recover and grow following the COVID-19 pandemic, with funding that can be used for managing cashflow, investment, and growth. Through RLS, Atom will offer secured loans from £250,000 up to £5m, subject to eligibility criteria, via its network of 200+ independent brokers across the UK.

Atom has built a business lending book of over £725m and the Durham-based mortgage and business lender finished the last financial year with income well above business plan, and a Net Interest Margin in excess of 110 basis points.

With simple, transparent and competitively priced secured business lending products, and a history of lending to UK SMEs since 2016, Atom has invested in a programme of Open Banking and automation capabilities as it seeks to deliver a further £1bn in business lending over the next two years. 

Paul Elliott, Head of Mortgages and Business Lending at Atom said:  “Atom is delighted to have been accredited by the British Business Bank and to start lending under the Recovery Loan Scheme. Ever since we started lending to UK SMEs in 2016 we have been committed to supporting business owners. Having been a leading lender of broker-led secured lending to new customers under CBILS, we will continue to welcome new customers and to support our rapidly growing group of existing customers with secured RLS loans.”

ADYEN (AMS: ADYEN), the payments platform of choice for many of the world’s leading companies, today announced the launch of Planet, the company’s latest addition to its Impact product suite[1]. Planet allows Adyen’s merchants to offer their shoppers the opportunity to offset the carbon footprint of their purchases at the end of the checkout process. This optional feature, which can be implemented at no additional cost to the merchant, directly supports climate action projects (e.g. reforestation or renewable energy). Planet is easy to integrate for merchants and causes no additional friction in the payment process, as the option to balance out the carbon footprint occurs after checkout. 

In order to ensure the data quality of emissions per purchase calculated, Adyen partnered with South Pole to build its own greenhouse gas emissions[2] calculator. For the selection of climate action projects, the South Pole partnership will continue to play an important role - providing over a decade’s worth of experience in delivering positive environmental impact.

One of the first merchants to activate Planet is Kazidomi, an online supermarket chain with a health-based mission.

“We choose to partner with businesses that maintain a forward-thinking approach to sustainability, as we are a frontrunner in sustainable consumerism. Innovating over shared beliefs, like we did when integrating Planet, is illustrative of how we like to work”, said Olivier Vangest, Head of Technology of Kazidomi. “We are excited to have added Planet to the frictionless payment experience we were already offering our shoppers via Adyen’s single platform.” 

“Taking responsibility for our environmental footprint is part of our license to operate in today’s society. To go further than that we built Planet, a feature that leverages our technology to help our merchants support environmental sustainability projects”, said Ingo Uytdehaage, CFO of Adyen. “By joining forces with our merchants, we can generate positive environmental impact at scale.”