Contour, the Singapore-based global trade finance network has today announced its partnership with CargoX, a blockchain platform for transferring documents and data including a certified electronic bill of lading solution. The news follows Contour’s transition to full production, with the network supporting electronic bills of lading as part of digital transformation of trade.

The partnership provides Contour customers another option for electronic bills of lading to be used in synchronisation with their Contour trade finance transaction. This will not only reduce the overreliance on paper documents that is common in the industry but also streamline trade processes, reducing time and improving communication.

Contour’s non-partisan network, powered by R3’s Corda blockchain technology, allows all banks, financial institutions, and corporates to improve access, communication, and transparency when conducting trade finance agreements.

CargoX’s blockchain-powered document transfer platform allows users to easily manage digital original documents, such as electronic bills of lading, and provides the tools for secure and instant transfers of those documents. The platform also provides transparency by including auditable histories of document ownership and changes.

Bills of lading have been an effective tool for trade finance due to their negotiability, allowing banks to finance goods still at sea without having to take control of an entire vessel. Digitally transforming these documents requires complicated digital registries with the support of shipping lines, banks, and corporations. Through achieving this process, bills of lading will become electronic and will no longer require ‘wet ink’ to be verified.

Carl Wegner, CEO at Contour, said: “Transforming trade finance can’t be achieved by a single company acting by itself – collaboration is central to building a trade finance network that is truly global. Bills of Lading can be a challenge for digital transformation, due to their complex nature. That is why it is a key focus for our partnerships to streamline this common pain point. Our work with CargoX marks an important milestone towards establishing an ecosystem of technology providers, banks and corporates that makes digital trade finance not just a reality, but a tangible, accessible option for all.”

Stefan Kukman, CEO and founder of CargoX, said: “The reliance on paper-based processes within international trade continues to be a challenge to improving the efficiency within the industry. Our service, enhanced through being a part of Contour’s network, allows trade to thrive and meet the demands of the modern world. Documents that used to travel for days or even weeks, with mediocre reliability and security, sometimes causing delays, loss, and damages, can now be delivered within minutes, and with extreme cryptographic security.”

Global technical body EMVCo has published a white paper which provides guidance to merchants, card issuers, acquirers and processors on how FIDO Authentication Data can be used in EMV® 3-D Secure (3DS) messages to reduce fraud and friction in the payment process for consumers.

EMV 3DS is a payment messaging protocol that enables consumers to authenticate themselves with their card issuer when making e-commerce purchases. The ‘Use of FIDO Data in 3DS Messages’ white paper focuses specifically on EMV payment use cases to demonstrate how FIDO Authentication Data can be leveraged to attest that merchant-initiated strong consumer authentication has taken place prior to an EMV 3DS transaction. This can reduce the need for issuers to authenticate cardholders for every transaction when shopping online and streamline processes for merchants, card issuers, acquirers and processors.

The ‘Use of FIDO Data in 3DS Messages’ white paper focuses on the newly defined FIDO attestation data set. Using this defined data set, merchants can deliver a structured set of data elements and present the card issuer with a consistent set of values for the same user or device (along with other data they would receive as part of an EMV 3DS transaction), reducing the need for repeated consumer authentication.

The white paper is an output of an ongoing collaboration between EMVCo and FIDO Alliance, focused on evaluating how FIDO Authentication standards can support EMV payment use cases to help reduce fraud globally, while maintaining and optimising the consumer experience. This includes efforts to define how EMV 3DS messages may be used to pass FIDO authenticator attestation data.

“Outlining exactly how the data can be used by card issuers to analyse merchant-initiated FIDO Authentication as part of their risk evaluations, can increase authorisation approval rates, streamline online checkout and reduce fraud,” comments Junya Tanaka, Chair of the EMVCo Executive Committee. “Analysing the use of FIDO data in EMV 3DS transactions is just the first step in the joint work efforts between EMVCo and FIDO Alliance, and we look forward to continued collaboration to enable consistency, convenience and additional security for EMV payment use cases and beyond.”

A complementary technical note from the FIDO Alliance, “FIDO Authentication and EMV 3-D Secure: Using FIDO for Payment Authentication” can be found on the FIDO Alliance website.

“This paper, as well as FIDO Alliance’s complementary technical note, provides essential information on how FIDO can be used alongside EMV 3DS to provide higher levels of security, enhanced user experiences, and better overall approval rates for e-commerce merchants,” said Christina Hulka, Executive Director and COO of the FIDO Alliance. “These papers are part of our longstanding relationship with EMVCo and our shared focus on providing answers to the questions we often receive on how our FIDO Alliance standards and EMVCo specifications can work together.”

The EMV 3DS white paper ‘Use of FIDO Data in 3DS Messages’ is available for free download from the EMVCo website. To find out more about EMV 3DS, view the resources on the EMVCo website.

Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, today released the fourth edition of its State of the Connected Customer report which reveals that while a string of crises has affected all facets of life, including a fundamental shift in how customers connect with brands, factors like empathy, personalization, convenience, and digital transformation are the keys to customer relationships. As these same customers reevaluate the role of business in society, the notion of stakeholder capitalism is increasingly factored into purchase decisions.

“Regardless of who they market, sell, or provide service to, businesses are navigating a landscape they couldn’t have imagined at the beginning of this year,” said Vala Afshar, Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce. “A massive shift to digital channels isn’t the only challenge that leaders have to grapple with. They also need to listen and respond to customer demands for empathy and understanding, innovative products and services, and a fundamental rethinking of the role of business in society. Connecting customers at various touchpoints — digital, human, or other —  to gain a holistic understanding is the first step on the path to resiliency and growth.”

The global report captures insights from over 15,000 consumers and business buyers across 27 countries, including 650 respondents from India, to help companies transform how they drive customer success.The research examines survey results across four generations of customers: baby boomers, Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers.

New for this year, interactive data by country and generation is available in Tableau, highlighting the key findings byCOVID-19 impacts, consumers and business buyers.

The key trends revealed in this year’s State of the Connected Customer show:

• Customer Connections Are Essential Amid Crises

The events of this year have upended the relationships between customers and brands. During a time when uncertainty and confusion reign, brands have an opportunity to reinforce and rebuild trust with new and loyal customers alike. In India, 94% of customers say how a company acts during a crisis demonstrates its trustworthiness.

• Understanding and Convenience Drive Differentiation

As each individual navigates change and uncertainty, empathy for and support of customers’ unique needs, expectations, and challenges are as critical, as is providing a convenient, connected experience that eliminates unnecessary burdens in a stressful time. Forty-three percent of Indian customers say it generally feels like sales, service, and marketing don’t share information.

• The Digital Imperative Hits Its Moment of Truth

Digital-first behavior is here to stay as customers develop new habits that will last for the long term. As digital engagement grows, customers expect companies to digitize their operations for multichannel, high-touch interactions. This relies in no small part on the use of personal information, and customers are calling for enhanced transparency and stewardship. In India, 94% ofcustomers say that COVID-19 has elevated their expectation of digital capabilities.

• Customers Demand That Brands Demonstrate Their Values

Long-overdue reckonings with social, economic, and ecological ills have come to the fore, and society is calling on businesses to do their part in righting wrongs. A failure to heed responsibilities to more than shareholders threatens bottom lines. Ninety-five percent of Indiancustomers say the societal role of companies is changing.

Look Ahead: Lessons from Across Sectors and Industries

Customers navigate products, services, and experiences from a variety of industries throughout their day-to-day lives, criss-crossing between the personal and professional, digital and physical, essential and supplementary. As they do this, their standards are being constantly influenced, with distinctions between sectors often blurred in their minds.

Companies seeking to differentiate themselves are wise to look beyond their immediate competition and evaluate how their capabilities stack up against other industries. Globally, 62% of consumers say their experiences with one industry influence their expectations of others.

For more information:

• Blog by Vala Afshar, Salesforce Chief Digital Evangelist: 78% of Customers Think Crisis Should Catalyze Business Improvement: New Research Shows How Customer Engagement Will Change Forever
• Salesforce Newsroom post: 15,000+ Consumers and Business Buyers Weigh in on the Future of Customer Engagement
• Salesforce interactiveTableau Dashboard with India-specific data
• Salesforce 4th State of the Connected Customerresearch report

Methodology

Data in the State of the Connected Customer report is from a double-blind study of 12,000 consumers and 3,600 business buyers across North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Data was collected between July 16 and August 18, 2020. All respondents are third-party panelists. Countries surveyed include Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, S. Africa, S. Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, UK, and the United States. Cultural bias impacts survey results. Data was weighted to accurately represent the general population.

Forter, the leader in e-commerce fraud prevention, today announced a partnership with FreedomPay, a global leader in Next Level Commerce™, establishing the first joint network for online merchants and banks to instantaneously block fraud and enable legitimate consumers to operate freely. This addresses a major issue where multiple players (the online merchant, the credit card issuer and the bank) touch each online transaction - often using different fraud solutions. This inefficiency, combined with the influx of new online shoppers, increases the possibility of false declines for no apparent reason creating a negative customer experience and the potential for lost revenue.

With online transaction volumes for new users increasing by more than 2X since the start of COVID, building repeat business and lifetime value represents a real opportunity for retailers. However, the challenge is that these new users are 5-7X more likely to be declined due to lack of data with legacy fraud prevention systems. Through Forter and FreedomPay’s global network, merchants can confidently accept users they have never seen before. 

“Our coalition of merchants, payment providers and banks fighting fraud together is a huge step forward in global fraud prevention. With over $200 billion in online transactions and over 800 million trusted users, we enable our coalition members to be way more effective in fighting fraud and growing the business with confidence,” said Liron Damri, Co-founder and President of Forter. “Partnering with an industry leading payment organization, like FreedomPay, allows us to provide its merchants with the most optimal user experience and with a trusted environment that allows them to grow with confidence.”

“Fraud prevention continues to be a pain point for merchants, and together FreedomPay and Forter provide a world-class solution,” said Chris Kronenthal, President and CTO at FreedomPay. “Forter’s fraud prevention capabilities protect merchants on FreedomPay’s Commerce Platform and ensure that only legitimate transactions are approved -- this not only increases the volume of transactions we are able to process, but also helps to build brand loyalty by providing an optimal consumer experience.”

In addition to its fraud prevention capabilities, Forter’s partnership with FreedomPay provides merchants with a global solution that meets regional and country specific compliance requirements, including 3-D Secure (3DS) and other SCA methods for PSD2.

PPS, formerly PrePay Solutions and subsidiary of Edenred, the everyday companion for people at work, today announces its partnership with Yolt, the smart money app, following the inaugural launch of its contactless debit Mastercard.

Following its first step into the payments space with Yolt Pay in 2019, the award winning fintech is now working with PPS on the launch of its first physical card.

Thanks to PPS’ technology and licensing, Yolt’s product experience is enhanced, equipping customers with an e-money account linked to a PPS powered Mastercard debit card enabling the users to manage and spend money online and instore. Together with PPS, the Yolt app helps people to save on every single purchase with round ups and cashbacks on selected brands.

Born in 2017 out of a simple mission to give everyone the power to be smart with their money, over 1.5 million users have registered with the app to date. Yolt enables customers to bring together all of their accounts in one central place from the likes of American Express, Starling, Barclays and HSBC. By having all accounts in one central place, the app enables smart spending, budget tracking and financial goal setting.

Ray Brash, CEO of PPS, commented on the partnership: “Following the recent launch of Yolt Pay, we’re delighted to support this exciting fintech in the next leg of its evolution, with its first ever card. We look forward to the future of our partnership supporting the company with a roadmap of enhancements and new functionalities.”

Pauline van Brakel, Chief Product Officer, Yolt, added: “We’re incredibly proud of the progression of the Yolt app. Now, more than ever, is a time for people to be spending cautiously and saving where they can, preparing for any uncertainty that may lay ahead of us. We couldn’t have made this launch happen without the help of innovative partners such as PPS, who can improve our customer offering. In the future, we are excited about further enhancing our product by utilising PPS’ platform.”

To find out more about PPS visit: https://www.pps.edenred.com/.

To find out more about Yolt visit: https://www.yolt.com/.

TORA, the provider of industry leading trading technology, has today announced the launch of their new Portfolio Management System (PMS). The revitalized system is fully integrated with their OEMS platform including ‘single sign on’ to provide a completely unified user experience for all fund trading requirements.

The PMS’ new functionality and features will make it the most comprehensive front-to-back end trading solution for hedge funds & asset managers across the globe. The platform will include a new general ledger, advanced SWAP contract modeling, rapid time series functions, impressive charting capabilities and dashboards.

The real time general ledger (GL) will deliver trial balances, a full balance sheet and income statements. There is also the ability to show and reconcile the shadow NAV, all features essential for today's hedge funds.

Time series reporting is also a central new feature clients will be able to access historical Profit & Loss snapshots over any time period. The cached data storage means that bespoke reports can be produced faster and more efficiently, including all data such as NAV, exposure and fees.

From an operational perspective there is greater support for complex SWAP contracts and clear customizable dashboards. The system also comes with a large number of pre-defined intuitive charts for clients to select from and has the ability to customize.

Ovidiu Campean, Director, Global Head of Product Management at TORA, stated: “We are very excited to launch the new PMS system. The team has been working extremely hard over the last 12 months to deliver cutting edge and advanced features. We have worked closely with our client base to ensure we have a ‘best of breed’ product.”

Chris Jenkins, Managing Director at TORA, commented: “The PMS release coupled with the integration of our OEMS platform into one single system for true STP, will really strengthen TORA’s position within the industry. The system also has a striking new look”.

As part of the enhanced SWAP support, the PMS can create and track specific cash flow streams during any stage of the contract. The system also offers integrated tracking of P&L indicators and daily accrued interest. The time series data solution can be accessed by dedicated User Interfaces, a specific API endpoint or can be integrated in Excel.

The PMS integration with TORA’s leading OEMS platform will give users access to advanced functions for portfolio rebalancing, pre-trade and post-trade TCA to improve execution quality combined with strong post-trade allocations and commission management tools. The integrated software package already connects with custodians, prime brokerage and trade matching providers across the globe. 

Fintech and payment service provider Paynetics AD, digital banking platform provider phyre and commercial bank Bulgarian American Credit Bank (BACB), have announced today the launch of new digital wallet product B@CB Pay. The solution leverages phyre’s digital banking platform and Paynetics’ range of payment services, including its payment tokenization technology.

As the latest milestone in the development of the Paynetics and phyre digital banking platform, the launch demonstrates its applicability across different vertical industries, and in particular the demand for this type of solution within the financial services market.

The solution aims to support those companies at the heart of the financial services sector, many of which may not have the resources to develop a digital offering in-house, to digitalise their services and ultimately better serve their customers.

This announcement follows the launch of similar platforms by large organisations across non-financial industries, including telecom provider A1 - part of the Carlos Slim telecommunication business - and VIVACOM, a leading telecoms company in Bulgaria, but is the first time that this solution from Paynetics and phyre has been deployed by a bank.

BACB has launched its digital wallet platform without any initial upfront investment and with a time to market of just three months; a vast improvement on the industry average of £2-3 million and 18-36 months that is usually required for projects such as this.

BACB customers will now benefit from a superior user experience (UX) and the use of innovative features including Tap to Pay, quick P2P transactions, seamless bank transfers and digitalised loyalty cards, vouchers and tailored offers, with the introduction of new features such as lending, utility payments and business accounts to be added over the coming months.

Paynetics is a regulated e-money institution, licensed across the EU and a Principal Member of Mastercard, Visa, SWIFT, and SEPA. It offers next-generation payment technology solutions, spanning across card acquiring, issuing, IBANs, money transfers, BIN Sponsorship, eWallets, and software POS.

Antonina Martinova, CEO, Paynetics, commented: “Our work with BACB is testament to the strength and value of our payment solution portfolio and digital banking platform proposition for any company who is looking to meet consumer demand for secure and streamlined digital payments services. We’d love to work with more European banks and financial institutions in order to help them deliver superior digital services to their customers and think that our platform is perfectly suited to this purpose.”

Ivo Gueorguiev, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Paynetics, commented: “We’re proud of our work with BACB as it demonstrates the applicability of our services to a range of different industries, including the banking and financial services sector itself. Working with regulated fintechs such as Paynetics can empower more traditional, entrenched players in this market as we’re able to bridge the gap between disruptive innovation and the restrictions of the industry, through our deep understanding of the complex regulatory frameworks that must be adhered to.”

Tzvetelina Borislavova, Chairman of Supervisory Board, Bulgarian American Credit Bank, added: “At BACB, we understand the modern citizen’s need for lifestyle-based solutions to everyday troubles. We want to be involved in the consumer’s day-to-day life. In our ambition to do so, we revitalised entire processes within our organization and combined forces with Paynetics and phyre, two leading fintech companies, thus creating B@CB Pay - the bank’s first digital wallet.  B@CB Pay is the epitome of the bank’s seamless transition into the virtual banking space, committed to discovering and providing green and sustainable financial solutions.”

Konstantin Djelebov, CEO, phyre, said: “Traditional institutions have been under such a big pressure from the booming fintech competition. This project with BACB is a great example of how fintechs can work with banks in this tough situation to help them match, and even beat, ever-increasing customer expectations. The combination of phyre’s cutting-edge platform technology and agility and BACB’s experience and heritage in banking are a recipe for success!”

Zopa has launched its first ever credit card, challenging industry standards with a product specifically designed to help customers stay in control of their money and their debt. 

Recent research from the digital bank revealed that 17% of Brits surveyed don’t believe they have tools to manage their credit cards efficiently. While one in five is unaware of their limit on their credit card and a quarter (25%) admitted to going over their limit – on average three times a year.   

Using its 15 years of lending experience and tech expertise, Zopa has builtits card with unique features that help people manage their money more efficiently. 

Zopa’s credit card provides a unique feature called ‘Safety Net’ which allows customers to lock away part of their available credit balance for small unexpected expenses. Customers set their own personal financial buffer when they initially set up their card, and receive an instant notification to let them know they’re getting close to their Safety Net limit. Should they want to access it, they can do so by unlocking it in the app. Customers will not be charged any fees should they need to use their Safety Net funds.   

Zopa’s credit card also includes real time balance updates after purchases showing exactly how much credit they have remaining, often customers have had to wait hours or even days for their transactions to show up in their balance. With only 20% of Brits knowing how much their limit is on their credit card, real time updates put the customer even further in control as it will reduce the risk of them going over their limit and the possibility therefore of their card being declined.   

Additionally, customers receive instant notifications on purchases and spend tracking is available in the app so they can see the key categories they spend in. 

Customers can manage theirZopacardinapp, allowingcontrol overtheir credit card via their mobile phoneandalsohave peace of mind thatif they need furthersupportZopa’s award-winning customer serviceteamis on hand. 

When customers receive the card, they will be welcomed with a short ‘to do list’ to help them get the most out of the card and ensure they have full control of their spending from day one. 

Additional features on Zopa’s credit card include instant freeze and unfreeze, the ability to turn on/off certain spending such as gambling and cash withdrawals, and contactless payments up to £45 via the card. 

The features launched today are just the start of Zopa’s credit card journey as it plans to continue developing new features with the customer in mind. 

Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa, said: “The credit card market hasn’t caught up with the standard of other digital products and customers have been waiting too long for a better experience. At Zopa, we believe that credit cards need to be revolutionised so we have built a card designed around putting the customer in control. Industry firsts such as our Safety Net feature and handy tools like real time credit balance updates help customers manage their money effectively, enabling them to build a good credit profile. 

“As an agile tech-first company, we’ll continue to develop our Zopa credit card inline with customer feedback and offer even more innovative, beneficial features in the future.” 

With 15 years of lending experience as a peer to peer lender, Zopa has used its expertise to build the credit card. It has lent out over £5billion to people in the UK through personal loans and secured car finance and helped over half a million people get the most out of their money. Zopa also offers Real Rates to loans customers which allows people to know ifthey’ll be approved and the loan rate they’ll receive before getting a mark on their credit file. This allows customers to have full control over their credit file and allows them to shop around for the best deal that works for them. 

____________________

·        Zopa’s credit card has a representative rate of 34.9% APR variable based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 

·        Research conducted by Opinium between 2^nd October – 5^th October of 2,000 nationally representative adults 

Tru Technologies (Tru), a B2B fintech company focusing on providing securities lending automation services, has partnered with global business information provider IHS Markit to improve the manual securities lending process and reduce the potential for naked short selling in Korea. As part of this effort, Tru announced today that it launched a commercial version of TruWeb equipped with securities lending data from IHS Markit, making it the first company in Korea to introduce systematic securities lending. Tru’s system prevents erroneous transactions by improving the manual process of borrowing and lending securities, while the data provided by IHS Markit enables users of the so-called “blind market” to trade systematically at an optimal lending fee.
 
Over the last couple of years, naked short selling has become a social issue amongst the retail population in Korea, and there have been several incidents which disrupted the market, leaving investors uncomfortable with this practice. The Securities and Futures Committee under the Financial Services Commission announced last month that it had decided to impose fines on four foreign companies for violating Korea’s short selling law by not having a borrow in place. In order to solve this problem, the country's financial authorities and politicians are reportedly seeking ways to strengthen penalties for naked short selling.

However, the argument is that merely strengthening the penalties for naked short selling cannot fundamentally solve the problem. Ha, Jae Woo, the CEO of Tru, who previously worked as a securities lending trader at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong said, “Most, if not all of the naked short selling incidents are due to errors that occurred in the lending transaction process. They are caused by a manual process using, for example, online messengers.”

According to Ha, to solve the problem, “The financial authorities have considered an option of imposing a real-time position check prior to each sale. However, this will inevitably cause a delay in execution and will have a negative impact on the overall market. By simply removing the manual process in securities lending, it is possible to prevent naked short selling.”

Ha further revealed, “In the overseas markets, such as the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong, systematic securities borrowing and lending is common. It provides built-in trade validation and prevents errors in the securities lending process. In addition, it allows prompt execution of multiple transactions through the use of market reference data, including an average lending fee.”

At the product launch event held at Tru's office in Mapogu, Seoul, Korea, Ha said: “Korea has one of the strictest regulatory requirements for short selling, but the general public simply wants more. Naked short selling is not a problem that can be easily solved. It is important that the technology companies with market expertise, such as IHS Markit and Tru, contribute to solving the issue.” 

Karen King, APAC Head of Equity Business Development at IHS Markit in Hong Kong said, “Through the partnership with Tru, we are able to provide our global securities lending data to more domestic institutions in Korea. This data lowers the information barrier allowing participants to better manage inventory, eliminate manual negotiation, and improve the operational process, enabling safe and prompt securities lending trades.”

Concluding, Ha said: “We are confident that we will be able to solve the problem of naked short selling through systematic trading without imposing restrictions on execution. IHS Markit’s market-leading securities lending data will play an integral role in the process.”