Laser Digital, Nomura’s digital asset subsidiary, announces today that it has been granted In-Principal Approval (IPA) by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), with formal regulatory licensing, subject to the fulfilment of a number of conditions. When all IPA conditions are fulfilled, Laser Digital will be granted the Financial Services Permission to provide broker-dealer services and asset/fund management services in relation to virtual assets and traditional assets.

Laser Digital chose Abu Dhabi as its destination of choice due to ADGM’s progressive and transparent approach to regulation, based on strong cross-industry dialogue and collaboration with different sector players including the digital asset sector.

Laser Digital was launched last autumn by Nomura and was co-founded by Steve Ashley, who previously led Nomura's wholesale division, and Jez Mohideen, who was Nomura’s Chief Digital Officer and Co-Head of Global Markets EMEA. Headquartered in Switzerland, with offices in the UAE and the UK, Laser Digital combines the rigor, best practices, and capabilities of global investment banking with the experience of a crypto-native team.  Jez Mohideen leads Laser Digital’s UAE entity with Cameron Dickie as Head of Distribution.

Commenting on Laser Digital’s addition to ADGM’s ecosystem, Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Market Development at ADGM said, “We are delighted that Laser Digital has been granted an ‘In Principal Approval’ for their virtual asset management services. Laser is developing investment services in virtual assets that are both dynamic and transparent, and their investment offerings align well with ADGM and the FSRA's international best practices and progressive regulatory ecosystem. We welcome them to our robust and vibrant financial community.”

Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital added: “We are very grateful to have the opportunity to set up operations in ADGM; their comprehensive and clear regulatory framework is creating a global hub for digital assets that we are delighted to be joining.”

Nutanix, a leader in hybrid multicloud computing, today announced that Paulo Pereira joins the worldwide leadership team as Vice President, EMEA Presales. 

Paulo joined Nutanix in 2016, where he hit the ground running as a Systems Engineering (SE) Manager for the Middle East. With his dedication and strategic approach, he quickly moved into managing EMEA Emerging Markets, where he has been leading with distinction for the last 5 years. Before Nutanix, Paulo spent 16 years at Cisco, working in diverse roles across Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Commenting on the appointment, Mike Phelan, SVP Global Solution Sales at Nutanix says, “Paulo’s passion for work, and life, shine through in his leadership style. Those who have worked closely with Paulo remark on his ability to simultaneously inspire, challenge and mentor others through change. He is deeply analytical, thoughtful, a straight shooter, and someone who doesn’t shy away from a challenge. I couldn't be more excited about what he will accomplish in this new leadership role at Nutanix.”

“I am truly honoured to lead Nutanix’s EMEA pre-sales team, at an exciting time when digital transformation is the need of the hour, cloud computing and AI are imperatives and no longer a luxury. In the cloud space, Nutanix is at the forefront of innovation - solving the very toughest challenges that plague organisations as they try to wrap their minds around the complexities of hybrid cloud. We understand that enterprises have unique requirements and are at different stages of the cloud adoption cycle, and our job is to identify and match technology opportunities with customers’ business issues and objectives. I’m looking forward to progressing the great work that’s currently underway and excited to move Nutanix’s business to the next level across the region,” concludes Paulo Pereira. 

Expandi Group, the largest EMEA B2B MarTech and AdTech provider, today announced the purchase of B2B account-based marketing (ABM) platform Jabmo and of all its marketing assets, including the well-known brand. 

With offices in Europe and US, Jabmo has powered ABM B2B marketing strategies for more than 50 of the world’s largest manufacturing, life sciences, and healthcare organisations. A leading provider of ABM platforms, in December last year Jabmo was inserted as one of the top nine providers in the Gartner® 2022 Magic Quadrant™ for ABM platforms.

In February 2023, the business went into administration and Expandi, in July 2023, acquired all assets of the company including the platform. The Jambo brand is now owned by Expandi Group and the platform functionalities have been integrated within the Expandi MarTech platform.

Expandi is re-launching a stronger than ever Jambo ABM platform leveraging most of the features of the former tool (including integration with the major social media platforms, CRM and Marketing Automation systems) now combined with all of the innovative Expandi applications. These include the Cyance platform for third and first party intent-data analytics and the Account Based Advertising platform based on unique IP addresses database from AccountInsight.

Customers and partner agencies will have greater visibility and insights across B2B markets. They will also be able to improve the results of ABM strategies and overall return-on-investment (ROI) by delivering targeted campaigns to companies most likely to buy.

From Q4 2023, by tapping into Jabmo’s well established network in the US and harnessing Expandi’s enriched data across markets, the Group will start serving all key markets in Asia Pacific (APAC) and North America.

Raffaele Apostoliti, CEO at Expandi, said: “Expandi is now the only company with comprehensive B2B AdTech and MarTech solutions built by Europeans with Europe in mind. Our investment in Jabmo shows our continued commitment to providing unique technology platforms which fit with European markets and challenges, from privacy regulations to multiple languages and local marketing practices.”

Worldline, a global leader in payments services, is introducing a dedicated Consultancy Service for its global e-commerce customers. The Worldline Consulting Services team will deliver unique consulting services to improve the performance of online payments, optimise processing costs and maximise online sales. The new service has been in beta for 18 months and has proven to yield valuable results for them. Worldline Consulting Services sets a new benchmark in the industry as the company evolves to becoming a strategic growth partner. 

With the rapid evolution of technology, payments systems have undergone significant changes, making it challenging for businesses to keep up with the latest trends. Worldline’s Consulting Services helps improve understanding, harness revenue benefits and elevate payments operations. This is particularly effective in optimising operations in existing markets as well as identifying new markets where cross border transactions and revenues are rising rapidly. The launch is part of Worldline’s strategic objective to assist online businesses’ on their growth path and give them a competitive edge.

The highly skilled, multi-disciplined team of consultants located across the globe allows Worldline to add consultancy services on top of transactional processing which is a move away from the traditional ‘plug and play’ model most industry players offer. The new and unique service brings together three key offerings:

    -Solution design and checkout user experience: a team creates frictionless customer journey to improve the online consumer checkout experience and implement the best practices from the industry of the customer. Worldline also keeps customers up to date with the latest market trends and invite them to join innovative product pilot programs to stay ahead of their peers.
 

    -Online payments authorisation rate optimisation: this is one of the most important KPIs in the industry. A team of experts deep dive into customers payment data and analyse the accounts setup, credit card BINs, rejection codes, and other data points to improve payments performance. Consultants benchmark the performance with other players in the same industry and leverage on the data from all the different stakeholders in the online payments value chain to maximise the authorisation rates.
     -Multi-currency pricing and FX management: this service allows customers to price goods and services in foreign currencies (around 150), while continuing to receive settlement and reporting in their home currency. This can also include value-added services like guaranteed FX and tailored consulting services.
 

By utilising the combined expertise of these three teams, customers can benefit from the best practices from the biggest global players in the payments industry in a highly structured fashion. Taking a blended approach of the best software technologies available and highly skilled payments experts enables Worldline to be close to its customers on their strategic journey, helping them open new geographies and advising on local practices and regulatory challenges.

Early indications suggest that this approach can help businesses improve their authorisation rate up to 10 percent depending on the industry and region, leading directly to a decrease in charge backs, fraud rejections and 3D Secure (3DS) errors.

Matias Fainbrum, VP Worldline Consulting Services, commented: "In payments add-on consultancy services have typically been offered in a very transactional fashion with the express aim of selling additional products. Worldline Consulting Services has been set up very differently. We are adding a bespoke, value-enhancing layer on top of our existing customer support so our customers can optimise the way they operate.

Plum, the smart money app, has launched a new ‘Plum Interest’ product, allowing customers to benefit more quickly and directly from higher central bank rates. 

Plum customers in the UK and five EU markets - France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and Ireland - are now able to hold their money in government-backed assets that closely reflect the respective interest rates offered by central banks. Plum is the first company to offer this type of product both in the UK and multiple EU markets. 

Plum Interest is designed to offer a compelling location for people to hold their money rather than remaining dormant in a low-interest account, as it combines higher rates with daily returns. Currently, the variable annual rate is:

• 4.94% for UK customers

• 3.60% for EU customers*

The product offers similar benefits to a savings account, without the withdrawal and deposit restrictions associated with some high-interest products. Money held in Plum Interest will be easily accessible and there are no transaction costs for moving money into and out of accounts. There is also no minimum or maximum deposit, and no subscription fees. All monies are also subject to regulatory safeguarding rules, which means they will be secured in a separate, segregated account. 

Victor Trokoudes, Founder and CEO of Plum, said:

“Many high street banks have been failing their customers on interest rates, leaving hard-earned money sitting idle and eroded by inflation. For example, just 8% of the rises in the ECB rate had been passed onto customers in Spain, which is unacceptable. Meanwhile, larger banks are happy to ramp up the cost of lending when everyone’s finances are under immense pressure.

“It’s time to shake up the industry and offer an alternative for cash holdings. People don’t have to accept the same old from traditional banks that don’t have their best interests at heart. At Plum, we’re going to provide our customers with an account that generates returns close to central bank rates. And they won’t have to face the typical withdrawal or deposit restrictions that are often included with high-interest savings accounts. People have worked hard for their money so their money should work harder for them, and we’re committed at Plum to supporting this with the best options out there”. 

Plum has partnered with one of the world's preeminent asset management firms, BlackRock, who are providing the money market fund that supports Plum Interest. The product is based on a type of highly liquid money market fund that is broadly considered the safest of its kind. That’s because it invests fully in short-term assets issued and guaranteed by the Government.

Money market funds had been traditionally used by pension funds, large corporations and wealthy individuals to park their money and protect their money against inflation, while also being able to access their money more quickly thanks to these funds’ higher liquidity. 

Victor added: “Money market funds shouldn’t be just the preserve of the few who can afford to access them, so we’re making it easier for people to benefit from them. They’re already a mainstream option for people to park their money and avoid low savings rates in the US. That’s because more people are recognising the added safety that comes with assets fully guaranteed by governments. 

“With our Plum Interest product, you won’t have to worry about constantly switching banks to get a higher rate as the product tends to track changes in the central bank base rate. We’re bringing this revolutionary cash management option to our customers so they can diversify where they hold their money”. 

Currencycloud, the experts simplifying business in a multi-currency world, has more than tripled its Chinese customer growth rate across Asia-Pacific since establishing its APAC headquarters in 2021, with its Chinese client base expanding from four to 12 organisations across the region.

As one of the world’s largest economies, China plays a pivotal role in cross-border transactions and currency flows. The country’s rapid adoption of digital payment methods along with the rise of e-commerce, has led to a substantial increase in the volume of cross-border transactions in recent years.

“China stands as a pivotal cross-border market poised to emerge as the epicentre of a flourishing fintech ecosystem,” said Rohit Narang, VP of Visa Cross-Border Solutions, APAC. “We aim to continue facilitating swift and seamless transactions with higher visibility, at lower costs and greater interoperability for our customers”.

Collaboration at the heart of customer growth in China

Currencycloud is also collaborating with local partners and institutions to drive advancements in cross-border payments and multi-currency account management.

To that end, Currencycloud has partnered with XTransfer, a financial technology company headquartered in Shanghai, China, to render one-stop, cross-border financial and risk management services to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Violas Xiao, Singapore CEO of XTransfer, said: “The seamless integration of our payment collection service with Currencycloud's plug-and-play platform optimised our payments infrastructure, enabling us to elevate our service offerings and expand our clientele to countries such as Canada, Europe, and the United States. We are also able to provide customers with accelerated trade cycles and streamlined payment flows through Currencycloud’s APIs, simplifying our clients' experiences while reducing our operating costs by 80 percent.”

Visa Cross-Border Solutions launched in Asia-Pacific

The news comes following the announcement of Visa Cross-Border Solutions, a division of Visa Inc, which combines the best of Visa’s existing cross-border and cash management solutions with those of Currencycloud, which it acquired in late 2021. Visa Cross-Border solutions, which will offer sophisticated cross-border money movement solutions to banks, fintechs, and corporates, is a major next step for the firm’s strategy in China and the Asia-Pacific region more generally.

The solutions suite will enable a range of capabilities including receiving payments in multiple currencies, foreign exchange (FX) with persistent and real-time rates, multi-currency wallets that hold more than 35 currencies, and the ability to send payments to more than 180 countries.

Unified Payments (UP), Nigeria’s premier financial technology service provider, has successfully launched its e-commerce gateway services built on the new state of the art payment gateway platform from Compass Plus Technologies. The strategic move further strengthens the 18-year partnership between the two technology titans and has enabled UP to become the first institution in the country to achieve 3DS2.2 certification, enabling secure and frictionless payment processes. Additionally, UP will now be able to introduce a range of new and convenient payment methods, including Pay-with-phone-number, phone-number-on-file, card-on-file and pay-by-link.

UP’s mission is to become Africa’s dominant and world-class e-payment service provider by leveraging the most advanced technology available. To maintain its position at the forefront of the market, UP needed to migrate its existing payment gateway to a solution that would enable it to achieve 3DS2.2 certification in the shortest time frame possible and provide enhanced payment experiences.

UP selected the payment gateway from Compass Plus Technologies due to its revolutionary mobile-first approach to accepting payments online. The new payment gateway will help UP maintain its market-leading position by enabling it to offer secure omnichannel payment journeys and quickly adapt to changing consumer preferences. The project was completed in just three months, marking the smooth and successful migration of its payments gateway and the achievement of 3DS2.2 certification.

“We are delighted to have successfully migrated our payment gateway to Compass Plus Technologies,” commented Emmanuel Ejembi, Group Chief Technology Officer at Unified Payments. “This makes us one of the first institutions in Nigeria to be 3DS2.2 compliant, ensuring we deliver the smoothest and most secure payment experiences possible. It also put us in the perfect position to introduce a range of new payment methods to our customers, solidifying our commitment to being Africa's dominant and world-class e-payment service provider. Compass Plus Technologies has been our valued partner for 18 years and our close relationship ensured the project was delivered seamlessly and quickly yet again.”

“We are proud to have helped UP become the first 3DS2.2 compliant institution in Nigeria,” said Rustam Bagautdinov, Key Account Manager at Compass Plus Technologies. “Over the years, we have worked with UP on a range of projects to help them drive innovation in the African payments industry, and it’s always a pleasure to work with such a forward-thinking company. We look forward to further supporting their business and other innovative projects in the future.”

Finastra has today announced a new deal with Tonik, renewing its partnership to power Tonik’s end-to-end core banking capabilities with Finastra Essence. As part of the renewal, Finastra will strengthen the partnership with the deployment of dedicated consultants to help accelerate Tonik’s development and launching of new products and services.

Greg Krasnov, CEO, Tonik, said: “From the start, Essence’s open architecture and sophisticated functionality have given us the flexibility to build the right technology stack for our needs – whether that was launching the bank on time and on budget or fueling our rapid growth – as well as the agility to develop revolutionary new products and bring them to market quickly. This has been key to our success, helping us reach one million customers in less than three years, and with new dedicated resources from Finastra we will be able to accelerate our innovation even further.”

John Guest, Managing Director, APAC, Universal Banking, Finastra, said: “Tonik’s remarkable success shows what can be achieved with truly innovative thinking, backed by the right technology, and we are proud of the contribution our partnership and open platform have made. As well as being grateful for Tonik’s continued confidence in us and our technology, we are excited to help the bank bring cutting-edge digital banking and financial inclusion to even more people in the Philippines.”

Essence provides a unique combination of advanced technology with rich, broad and deep banking functionality, developed with over four decades of experience helping banks in Asia and across the world. Digital to the core, Essence is cloud-enabled and delivers next-generation, comprehensive retail and commercial banking capabilities, both conventional and Islamic. The solution delivers an omnichannel experience with all essential components pre-integrated, leading to a lower cost of ownership and reduced operational risk.

Alveo, a leading provider of cloud-based market data management services, announced today, Wilshire Indexes, a leading global benchmark platform, has selected the Alveo Data-as-a-Service (“DaaS”) solution for corporate actions data management.

Alveo’s DaaS solution sources, cross-references, compares and validates corporate actions from multiple data vendors. In case of discrepancies, the Alveo DaaS offering provides root cause analysis and issue resolution. The result is a master feed for corporate actions that Wilshire Indexes uses as input for its index solutions. The scope of the service encompasses approximately 30 different corporate action types that impact security prices including splits, reverse splits, delistings and capital distributions including dividends.

Paul Grimes, Chief Operating Officer at Wilshire Indexes, said: “Having access to multiple sources of corporate actions data and a data quality management service is critical to developing our solutions to meet the new needs of global investors. We are pleased to work with Alveo to enhance our corporate actions data and further strengthen our efforts to transform the way investors use benchmarks to realise their objectives.”

Mark Hepsworth, CEO, Alveo said: “We are delighted to welcome Wilshire Indexes to Alveo’s growing customer base. Wilshire Indexes is a highly innovative, data-driven firm that – that like all of our customers –  aims to make the most of its market and reference data. Wilshire Indexes uses a wide range of global corporate actions and we have worked closely with their operations team during implementation to improve automation and processes. Timely awareness and accurate corporation actions are essential to index providers and we are very pleased to be delivering the service.”

Based on industry research it conducted during Sibos, payments and transaction data management company, Intix, has today announced new findings that examines the biggest challenges facing financial institutions when it comes to compliance, regulations and gaining actionable insights from transaction data.

This research asked attending guests four questions regarding challenges, expectations and outcomes of both transaction data, data management software, and corresponding regulations and compliance requirements.

Key findings from the report include:

• 31% of respondents found that compliance and regulation record-keeping ranked as the most difficult challenge companies face around transaction and payments data
• Payment regulatory reporting regulations were voted as the most challenging to implement within a company
• Over 50% of those asked said that the ideal outcome of transaction data management would be to secure a better understanding of what the data can provide and gaining actionable insights, while making the data itself more easily accessible
• 34% of businesses want a solution that will provide fast outcomes that assist in providing the best possible client experience  

This new research shows that companies are having a major problem with payment and transaction data management, in particular keeping track of transaction data and then using it to meet required compliance and regulations. The data reflects Intix’s current approach on the importance of transaction data management tools to provide actionable insights that help in supporting businesses achieve growth.  

In the past, achieving this level of data management performance would have been difficult but providers, such as Intix, are now able to handle the task. Utilising its presence at Sibos this year, the company conducted live research to help highlight the ongoing issues around managing large volumes of data, obtaining insights, and finally meeting regulatory and compliance regulations quickly and easily within the industry. The findings have shown the need for reliable and efficient solutions to help fix any frictions in the transaction flow.

Speaking on the results, Antoine Cuypers, Director of Strategic Alliances and Key Accounts at Intix, said: “Through this research we were able to get a deeper understanding of the challenges our customers face and how transaction data can be used to greatly benefit the industry. The data has allowed us to identify where businesses are struggling with the sheer volume of information, with meeting their compliance and regulatory requirements, and most importantly, the impact on customer service and expectations.”.  

These findings are the latest push from the transaction data management company to improve the streamlining process of transactions and helping to enhance visibility and control over transaction processing for financial institutions, empowering them to better serve their clients. The company recently hired Kurt Florus as CTO to support its exciting growth plans.