Intuit QuickBooks, the small business platform, today announces it has entered into an agreement with Payments-as-a-Service FinTech, Modulr. Modulr will power the new QuickBooks Business Account, a new digital payment account[1] designed specifically for small businesses. By providing payments infrastructure and digital payments expertise, the collaboration will allow QuickBooks to combine an industry leading business account with its suite of bookkeeping, accounting and tax tools, building on its vision to be ‘The One Source of Truth for a Small Business’. 

The QuickBooks Business Account was the marquee launch at today’s QuickBooks Connect, Intuit QuickBooks’ flagship event for small businesses and accounting professionals. Launched during the ‘Innovation Spotlights’ section of the virtual show, small businesses were shown how the QuickBooks Business Account seamlessly integrates with QuickBooks’ suite of financial management tools to solve four of the most common problems faced by small businesses - The Burden of Admin, Cash flow, Confidence, and Late Payments In and Out. 
The Burden of Admin: Small businesses waste on average 120 days a year on admin. The QuickBooks Business Account shoulders some of this burden by seamlessly reconciling with the rest of QuickBooks’ accounting software. Accounting and finances are in one place which means it’s easy to pay bills on time and budget for major expenses, like taxes or payroll.
Cash Flow: 80% of small business failures are because of cash flow and QuickBooks is committed to solving this problem. Cash Flow Planner, a tool within QuickBooks, uses artificial intelligence to predict money coming in and going out. The QuickBooks Business Account connects seamlessly with Cash Flow Planner so small businesses can have a view into cash flow 24 months in advance, while customers can also run scenarios through the Account. If a cash flow shortfall is projected, users can take proactive measures like rescheduling a bill or moving up a due date.

Confidence: Only one in four small businesses are confident in their finances. The QuickBooks collaboration with Modulr was driven by a shared vision in the power of FinTech to make finances easy and safe for small businesses. Modulr is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and it acts as a principal member of Visa with direct access to Faster Payments and Bacs and the ability to hold and settle funds with the Bank of England. As a result, QuickBooks customers can be confident in a best-in-class contractual relationship with Modulr to power their QuickBooks Business Account.

Late Payments In and Out: There is currently approximately £50bn owed to small businesses in the UK. Adding the power of payments to financial management software allows small businesses to embed payments into points along the customer journey when they’re needed most. This helps to pay and get paid on time and creates a seamless experience when paying bills directly from QuickBooks.  

Modulr will also allow QuickBooks to make the digital physical by providing a personal QuickBooks Business Account card when it becomes generally available. This means as soon as a small business is paid into its QuickBooks Business Account, funds are available to spend immediately with the card. 

Chris Evans, VP and Country Manager, Intuit QuickBooks said: “Our mission at Intuit is to Power Prosperity around the world and one of our goals to achieve this mission is to help our small businesses thrive. They power our economy and we need to do everything we can to support them. We believe we can achieve this by putting digital technology at the heart of their operation. It can automate bookkeeping, accounting and tax, help manage staff, be the centre of growth, and facilitate money coming in and going out of a business to make cash flow easy. That’s where the partnership with Modulr comes in. This combination of leading FinTechs will supercharge how small businesses use QuickBooks to manage their finances, and we’re so excited to get this capability in front of our customers to help them pay and get paid.”

Myles Stephenson, CEO at Modulr said: “We are proud to power the new QuickBooks Business Account, and to support Intuit’s vision of reducing the burden of admin imposed on small businesses and their financial lives. We are committed to delivering the superior and digital payments experience that small businesses desperately need in this digital world.
“Our direct access to the Bank of England will give small businesses the confidence, security and reliability they need to focus on what really matters - shaping and growing their business. We want to make payments so easy and reliable it becomes an invisible ‘behind the scenes’ operation, which means business owners up and down the country can get on with business.”

For more information about Intuit QuickBooks and to learn about QuickBooks products, please visit here

For more information about Modulr, please visit https://www.modulrfinance.com/

PPRO – the leading provider of local payments infrastructure – has launched its integration of popular European mobile payment method Satispay and rounded out its coverage of the Italian market. The news comes just weeks after PPRO announced new funding and a milestone valuation of US $1 billion.

The integration of Satispay solidifies PPRO’s payments portfolio in Italy as one of the most comprehensive in the industry. Its full market offering includes direct integrations to popular local payment methods MyBank, Trustly, Sofort, Paysafecard, and SEPA. Such a robust selection enables PPRO’s customers – payment service providers, gateways, banks, and enterprises with payment platforms – to boost sales in one of Europe’s fastest-growing e-commerce markets.

In the wake of the pandemic, e-commerce growth in Italy has shattered records. According to analysts – who project the country’s e-commerce revenue to exceed US $23 billion this year – there has never been a better time for global e-commerce businesses to set its sights on Italy. Satispay’s recent growth underscores the opportunity. Last year, the company doubled the number of online merchants in its network and recorded a 61% increase in the number of online transactions.

Over half of all Italian e-commerce is cross-border; the top three shopping destinations for Italian consumers are China (35%), the UK (19%), and Germany (19%). The key to tapping into this lucrative market relies on creating a seamless payments experience that accounts for all the ways Italians prefer to pay. Satispay’s e-wallet is a relevant choice, as nearly one-third of all Italian e-commerce purchases are made with an e-wallet.

Satispay is a crucial part of any merchant offering in Italy due to its active user base. Currently, Satispay has over 1.5 million users and is accepted by more than 10,000 online merchants – a number PPRO plans to increase in 2021. As a growing disruptor in payments, Satispay is also expanding in Germany and Luxembourg, where the company officially launched its solution in late spring 2020.

“The future of borderless e-commerce is being shaped by payment methods like Satispay that meet specific, local consumer demands,” comments Jack Ehlers, Chief Product Officer at PPRO. “Satispay’s innovative European e-wallet provides access to millions of Italian consumers, a strategic market for many businesses. What’s more, our direct integration will deliver a best-in-class technical performance, passing on the benefits of increased conversion rates and sales to our customers and their merchants.”

Andrea Allara, Chief Business Development Officer at Satispay, adds: “PPRO is a valuable, strategic partner for us. At the end of the day, its local payments infrastructure will connect our consumers with many thousands of global merchants, allowing them to shop wherever they want for goods and services. We couldn’t be happier with this close collaboration.”

Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU), a leading Washington State financial institution, announced today the results of its ongoing partnership with digital banking technology provider Backbase as part of its modernization strategy. WSECU reports that, since launching its Backbase-powered mobile banking app in December 2019, registered mobile users have increased by 39%, and monthly active users have grown by 19%. 

The enhanced app, built on Backbase’s Engagement Banking platform, has harmonized WSECU’s mobile banking experience with its overall online banking infrastructure, providing enhanced user friendliness and functionality for WSECU members. In addition, Backbase’s platform provides a strong foundation upon which WSECU can build to develop and deploy new technologies and offerings for its members on a continuous basis. 

Core to WSECU’s digital banking strategy is completely owning the member banking journey from end-to-end, delivering a streamlined, secure omnichannel experience that evolves to meet shifting member demands. The new app has helped achieve this goal by ensuring consistent functionality across all of WSECU’s platforms – whereby all services available on the web are available on the app, creating a universal banking platform across all touchpoints and an improved member experience. 

The out-of-the-box features and flexibility of Backbase’s Engagement Banking technology have proven essential to WSECU’s success over the past year, particularly amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Backbase’s platform allowed WSECU to quickly roll out app updates to address urgent member needs in the early days of the pandemic such as new self-service options for actions like loan payment deferrals. 

Additional features available in the mobile app include member-to-member payment capabilities, new self-service functions, streamlined customer usability and additional multi-factor authentication options to heighten account security for members. 

Jim Averna, VP of Digital Services & Contact Center at WSECU, comments: “The past year has demonstrated more clearly than ever before the importance of speed and flexibility in our digital strategy. Not only has Backbase helped us develop and deploy the modern mobile banking app our members deserve; they have also helped us quickly adapt to the challenging circumstances created by the pandemic, ensuring that we can be there to support our members’ financial needs no matter what. The ability to continuously innovate and iterate upon our mobile app via Backbase’s platform has been invaluable.” 

Vincent Bezemer, Senior Vice President, Americas at Backbase, adds: “WSECU’s mission is deeply rooted in being a trusted, reliable community resource to its members, and delivering on that promise means creating a cohesive, intuitive digital banking experience. We’re pleased to have been able to support WSECU’s efforts in this area, significantly growing their members’ mobile engagement, and look forward to being a long-term partner to them in innovation.” 

INFORM, a leader in providing intelligent, customer-centric fraud prevention and AML compliance solutions, together with Netcetera, experts in delivering software for digitalization within the payments and banking industries, offer an end-to-end transaction risk management solution that protects online shoppers, issuers, acquirers, and merchants from fraud while reducing friction within the payment ecosystem.

From authentication to authorization, INFORM and Netcetera have been working closely with banks, payment service providers and merchants across Europe over the past several years to ensure online transactions are both secure and frictionless for all parties in the payment ecosystem. Now, with over 20 joint customers in Europe, both companies have set their eyes toward a global partnership rollout.

In Europe, this joint solution, including Strong Customer Authentication and Transaction Risk Analysis, has helped many financial institutions intelligently and efficiently navigate the regulatory requirements associated with online payments. The result has been a balanced approach that ensures both fraud reduction and maximization of conversion rates.

“The flexibility and added level of security offered by this end-to-end risk management approach toward online payment transactions has drawn attention beyond the European Economic Zone,” states Kiril Milev, Region Director ME & APAC at Netcetera. “We are currently onboarding three new customers in the Middle East. In the end, it is our goal, together with our strong partner INFORM, to create a payment ecosystem built on trust,” concludes Milev.

Roy Prayikulam, Senior Vice President Risk and Fraud at INFORM states: “Ensuring compliance to local regulations across the globe when it comes to online payment transactions certainly is a challenge for many financial institutions. We believe we have found the sweet spot together with our partner Netcetera when it comes to compliance, fraud reduction and frictionless payments through the added level of risk screening we provide with RiskShield to each transaction running through Netcetera’s state-of-the-art authentication tools. This approach of adding risk analysis to every participant in the payment ecosystem promotes more efficient and trustful transactions. We are excited to be rolling out this strategy together with Netcetera in the Middle East and APAC regions."

On March 10, at 03:00 p.m. CET Netcetera and INFORM will be presenting their joint end-to-end risk management solution, displaying how an integrated approach to authentication and authorization can improve both the security and flow of online transactions across the globe. The webinar is hosted by Payments Cards and Mobile and is titled: “From Authentication to Authorization – Creating a payment ecosystem built on trust”. More details and a sign-up form can be found here.

Refinitiv today announced the ‘2021 ESG Playbook: Stability and sustainability in the investment community.’  Refinitiv ESG playbook is an annual publication that explores the most important ESG trends for the year, based on conversations with 24 industry leaders who, this year, identified 23 key trends. Among our guests are Refinitiv’s Elena Philipova, Barnabas Acs, and Robert Jenkins, as well experts from the American Century Investments, HSBC, the Responsible Investment Association, Schroders, and others. 

Topics featured in the Playbook include the development trajectory for the ESG investing industry and sustainable finance as a whole, regulatory changes, transparency in ESG reporting, quality of data, emerging technologies and areas of focus, as well as impact investing and fixed income (sustainability bonds).

For a copy of the ‘2021 ESG Playbook: Stability and sustainability in the investment community,’ please visit:  https://www.refinitiv.com/en/resources/special-report/2021-esg-playbook or let me know, and I can send you a copy.

Regulated fintech and trusted payment service enabler Paynetics AD has partnered with promotional campaign expert Benamic to develop its mobile first, digital corporate card programme.     

The innovative new app solution, with a rewards engine and Apple Pay and Google Pay enabled, will initially run with a leading brand in the electricals sector, and its business customers, which will benefit from digital-first promotional activity on mobile, in store and online. 

The service has just launched as part of an initial trial in which SME customers and sole traders can benefit from cashback on popular power tools for a limited time, enabling them to upgrade or move to the brand’s popular product line. 

Amanda Harrison, VP, Head of Business Development, Paynetics commented: “We’re thrilled to be the issuing and payment partner of choice for Benamic and their extensive client base. Paynetics, and our technology partner phyre, is at the forefront of digital transformation in Europe. 

“Together with our partners, we’re continuing our mission to simplify payments. We’re excited to see the success of this initial promotion and look forward to collaborating with other leading brands to innovate their product propositions.”

Paynetics and Benamic entered a new card issuing agreement as part of the Wirecard UK and Ireland (WUKI) acquisition. The transfer process ensured there was no disruption to Benamic’s physical corporate card programme and business continuity. 

The new digital programme showcases virtual branded cards, embedded in a plug and play mobile application, with mobile payments enabled. It also provides the added convenience of a newly-developed corporate portal which enables Benamic to manage customer card transactions in real time. 

With an ambitious timescale to launch the reward programme, Paynetics leveraged its in-house technology partners to deliver the leading-edge solution for an initial rollout in February 2021. 

The fintech was able to accelerate speed to market by continuing the development, testing and accreditation milestones over the festive period.

Ann-Marie Smee, CEO, Benamic, said: “Working on this programme with Paynetics and our client, we were able to optimise our digital solutions in support of our client’s business objectives, enabling them to engage with their users in an easy and seamless way, and to reward their loyalty. Digitalisation, as we know, isn’t just a trend but a new market reality and, as our portfolio of services demonstrate, we utilise an array of tech to offer unmatched customer experiences. Offering Google and Apple pay enabled prepaid cards as reward incentives further compliments our exciting service offering.”          

The new branded solution will enable the launch customer to implement repeated promotions to its wider territories in the UK and European Economic Area. 

It also marks a successful use case of Benamic’s technology for other brands that want to extend their physical card programmes to virtual only, or a combination of physical and digital products, offering greater choice and reaching more markets and users seamlessly. 

Paynetics is a regulated e-money institution which is licensed across the EU and is a Principal Member of Mastercard, Visa, SWIFT, and a member of SEPA and UnionPay International. It offers next-generation payment technology solutions with an all-encompassing technology stack under one roof, including issuing, acquiring, state of the art payment services, IBANs, money transfers, eWallets, mobile payments and software POS.

The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and London-based fintech company Origin have successfully completed the first fully digital listing of a debt security on LuxSE via Origin’s digital platform. The very first bond issuance to be listed at LuxSE through the digital process of the Origin platform was a EUR 10 million senior note issuance by Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL), issued and listed on LuxSE on Friday 26 February, 2021. 

“This digital listing marks a milestone for our exchange and for our productive collaboration with Origin. We are convinced that digital workflows and streamlined processes will bring multiple benefits to issuers and other parties involved in a bond issuance. Digital solutions make capital markets more efficient and easier to navigate, and we are excited to be driving this change,” commented Arnaud Delestienne, Director of International Capital Markets and Member of the Executive Committee at LuxSE.

 Simplifying and automating processes

Through digital deal execution and automated documentation flows, Origin makes the issuance process for new financial debt instruments more reliable and efficient, and reduces the risk of errors stemming from manual processes.

Origin’s platform makes it possible for market players to generate, share and approve fully customisable term sheets and final terms. Once the final terms of a bond issuance are confirmed, the security can be listed on LuxSE via the Origin platform. This seamless listing of a debt security is made possible via an Application Programming Interface (API) developed by LuxSE that allows the documents and information created on Origin’s platform to be shared with the exchange without the need for the issuer to take any action apart from selecting LuxSE as listing option on the Origin platform.  

“It is vitally important to us that the work we do, and the products we build ultimately add value to our clients and make their lives easier. That’s why we are so excited to have crystallised our collaboration with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange with this very first digitally listed transaction for BIL, and we hope this will be the first of many such transactions. Enabling digital listing is an important part of the roadmap towards building a truly digital capital market,” stated Raja Palaniappan, CEO of Origin.

Embracing digital

Origin’s platform for bond issuance is particularly relevant for repeat issuers who are active in capital markets and who are looking for ways to streamline and automate the issuance process. 

The BIL deal that became the first issuance to be listed on LuxSE via Origin is a fungible tranche, an increase of a transaction of a total size of EUR 271 million. Deutsche Bank acted as the dealer on the transaction.

“As a Luxemburg issuer, we were pleased to be a pioneer to test the e-listing of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange through the API solution set up in collaboration with Origin. This innovative experience enabled all parties involved to ramp up the automation and strengthen efficiency all over the issuance process,” said Olivier Habay, Head of Long Term Funding at BIL.  

LuxSE initially acquired a 10% stake in Origin in 2019. In 2020, LuxSE strengthened its investment in the company as other investors entered the Series A funding round.  

NeoXam, a leading financial software company, and French asset manager Richelieu Gestion, have expanded the scope of their current relationship, to include client’s reporting services and an extension of their partnership on Portfolio Management Systems (PMS).

The agreement means that Richelieu Gestion, which currently manages nearly €1billion assets under management (AUM), has broadened the partnership by reinforcing the use of NeoXam’s Managed Services, while selecting its client reports production solution, Impress Client Edition.

The partnership began in 2019 after Richelieu Gestion chose to host NeoXam Investment Management, the company’s PMS. The selection was made due to NeoXam’s quality of services  and their ability to quickly deploy a hosting platform. After a successful initial partnership, Richelieu Gestion decided to commit on a 4-year agreement to have one single supplier for both PMS and Managed Services. Such a process guarantees operational efficiency and data security. In addition, it optimizes communication between both teams which is key to executing tasks quickly.

When it comes to reporting, Richelieu Gestion was already using Impress Digital Edition, NeoXam’s digital client reporting solution, used to enhance client communication about management decisions. The fund manager decided to take on Impress Client Edition to streamline its client report production. Thanks to its production workflow module and its template’s customization capabilities, the application will enable Richelieu Gestion to fasten its reports production while being more responsive toward any specific client needs such as new client onboarding, client RFP and custom requests.

Commenting on the expanded agreement, Laurence Adam, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Richelieu Gestion, said: “We are in a dynamic of development and needed to gain in efficiency on the operational aspects and in digitalization We extended our agreement with NeoXam to provide our clients with personalised and detailed reports on the reporting side”.

Gilles Kammerer, head of R&D at NeoXam, added: “NeoXam is pleased to offer its clients one cloud solution covering all needs from the investment decision to final reporting”.

additiv, a leading SaaS provider to the wealth management industry, today announces a partnership with Clarity AI, a global sustainability and data science tech platform, that brings wealth managers sustainability insights to build smarter portfolios, provide client support and comply easily with regulation.

The partnership reflects the growing demand for sustainable and ESG investing, which takes into account non-financial sustainability factors. According to Swiss Sustainable Finance, the ESG and sustainable investment market has been growing exponentially, by 62% in 2019 alone, and now accounts for over 30% of all professionally managed investments.

Through the partnership, additiv clients will include Clarity AI's sustainability insights into their investment decisions. Through the use of big data and machine learning, Clarity AI accurately assesses the sustainability and impact of a portfolio's investments. Wealth managers will be able to better understand the true impact of companies and build portfolios that better match their customers’ preferences and concerns, whilst reporting to them in a simple and intuitive way.

Javier Penalva, Head of Strategy from Clarity AI, commented: “This is an exciting partnership for us. We are passionate about helping wealth managers make smarter decisions around sustainability and assess the impact of companies on our society and planet. The partnership with additiv will expand the reach of our sustainability and impact insights to private banks and wealth managers globally.”

Christine Schmid, Head of Strategy at additiv added: “Sustainable investing is a crucial and fast-growing part of the wealth industry. It is also a key area for providers to differentiate themselves. Clients want to invest in companies that conform with their values and make an impact, being able to do this accurately and dynamically will set wealth managers apart. It will also help wealth managers to better meet new regulatory and disclosure requirements with respect to sustainability.”