MYHSM announced today that its cloud-based Payment Hardware Security Module (HSM) service can now be added to ACI Worldwide's solutions as a building block of a comprehensive cloud payments strategy for acquirers, issuers, payment processors and banks.

MYHSM’s Payment HSM as a Service provides online access to payShield Payment HSMs, manufactured by partner Thales. HSMs are cryptographic devices that protect card and mobile payments, the use of which is mandated by the PCI Security Standards Council. Traditionally, Payment HSMs have been purchased and operated by user organisations, but MYHSM’s approach promises significant savings in terms of investment, operational costs and timescales for deployment.

ACI's Universal Payments (UP) portfolio of solutions makes fast, simple and secure payments possible around the world by connecting more ways to pay with more payment capabilities than any other provider. ACI’s portfolio includes UP Payments Risk Management, a solution that delivers banks, financial intermediaries and merchants a cloud-based, 360-degree approach to enterprise fraud management. One of Microsoft’s top 10 global ISV partners in the financial services industry, ACI helps top tier banks on their cloud journey through its work with Microsoft Azure.

"Our collaboration with ACI facilitates the smooth implementation of an all-cloud solution, with mutual users set to benefit from reduced investment needs and cost of ownership, greater flexibility and agility, reduced regulatory burden and easy scalability,” said John Cragg, CEO, MYHSM. “While we believe that more banks will be pursuing cloud payment deployments in 2020 and beyond, those users that prefer to run ACI’s UP solutions on premise can still make use of the MYHSM service as a production platform for Payment HSMs and as a cost-effective, flexible testing facility.”

"More financial institutions are embracing full cloud or hybrid deployments as part of their digital transformation strategies, due to increased agility and reduced capital expenditure,” said Ciaran Chu, Head of Public Cloud, ACI Worldwide. “But to maximise the potential benefits requires cooperation and collaboration on the vendor side—especially when it comes to ensuring security. Together with MYHSM and its data centre partner Equinix, we can address this and help reduce the complexity of cloud deployments.”

Lloyd’s has launched a new insurance policy to protect cryptocurrency held in online wallets against theft or other malicious hacks.

The first of its kind liability policy, with flexible limits from as little as £1,000, was created by Lloyd’s syndicate Atrium in conjunction with Coincover to protect against losses arising from the theft of cryptocurrency held in online, hot wallets.

It is a new type of liability insurance policy with a dynamic limit that increases or decreases in line with the price changes of crypto assets. This means that the insured will always be indemnified for the underlying value of their asset even if this fluctuates over the policy period.

The policy is backed by a panel of other Lloyd’s insurers, which includes TMK and Markel, all of whom are members of Lloyd’s Product Innovation Facility (PIF).

As part of the Future at Lloyd’s ambition to be the world’s most customer-centric digital insurance platform, the Facility is an important step towards building a marketplace that offers better value for the changing and diverse needs of customers through highly-responsive, cutting-edge risk management products and services.

This is the second new insurance product to be backed by PIF members in recent months. The first – a profit protection policy for hotels with an innovative event-based trigger – was launched in September.

Matthew Greaves, Underwriter, Atrium, said:

“There is a growing demand for insurance that can protect cryptocurrency as it becomes increasingly popular. It is a testament to Lloyd’s that the market has put together an innovative solution to mitigate these new risks and protect against theft – from physical as well as online vaults – thereby providing customers with piece of mind that their assets are safe.”

David Janczewski, CEO, Coincover, commented:

“We are delighted to have worked with Atrium and the Lloyd’s PIF members to bring such a unique and timely solution to the crypto asset market. As the crypto asset market heats up again at the start of 2020, a new wave of crypto-curious customers are standing by at the ready to jump in, having previously been put off by the lack of adequate protection against theft and loss. With this innovative new policy, we can remove these barriers and broaden the appeal of crypto. It represents another step forward in enabling cryptocurrency adoption.”

James Gadbury, Senior Broker, Prospect, the insurance broker that worked with Atrium and Coincover to create the policy, said:

“We are delighted to have provided Coincover with this new insurance cover, which demonstrates the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of Lloyd’s. We believe Prospect and the wider insurance market should support this rapidly developing sector as it moves into the mainstream.”

Trevor Maynard, Head of Innovation at Lloyd’s, added:

“As more money flows into the crypto asset market, losses from hacks are on the rise. Nevertheless, cryptocurrency companies have found ways to protect their digital assets from theft and, by working closely with Lloyd’s underwriters, to insure losses that do slip through the net.

“Lloyd’s is the natural home for insurance innovation because of the unique ability of syndicates to collaborate to insure new things. I am delighted that our Product Innovation Facility – now with almost £150 million of capacity and 27 underwriters, is providing a fast route to increase insurance capacity for difficult and hard-to-insure risks.” 

Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, is cooperating with Xolo, formerly LeapIN, the online platform for launching and running micro-businesses anywhere in the world, to offer fully digital seamless banking for entrepreneurs. The new partnership will enable Xolo, supported by Wirecard’s digital banking services, to revamp and enhance the banking and accounting aspect of its current platform. The companies are collaborating within the so-called “gig economy” which refers to digital platforms that allow independent freelancers to connect with individuals or businesses for short-term services or asset-sharing. This market was valued at $204 billion in 2018 with compound annual growth rate of 17%.

Over 30,000 so-called solopreneurs have already signed up with Xolo. Xolo offers users a holistic business platform that provides incorporation, taxation, banking and accounting services, enabling them to set up and operate a hassle-free virtual business from anywhere in the world. Leveraging on Wirecard’s banking license, Xolo users can virtually open a business bank account within 48 hours, receive a Wirecard-issued debit card, and be able to effectively manage their banking, tax and compliance activity via a unified Xolo operation center.

Allan Martinson, CEO at Xolo, said, “This new partnership marks a significant step for Xolo as we strive to establish a new virtual nation for freelancers and solopreneurs. With the addition of Wirecard’s pioneering digital banking solution, we will continue to build out our vision for enabling millions of micro-businesses to get to market quicker and without the bureaucracy.”

Leonard Coen, Head of Sales, Financial Institutions & Fintech Europe, at Wirecard, added, “We are pleased to support Xolo’s ecosystem of business users with a streamlined and integrated payment and banking experience which will allow them the freedom to innovate and harness the success they seek.”

National Bank of Yemen (NBY), one of the largest commercial banks and a prominent contributor to the economic and social development in Yemen; has selected ICS BANKS Digital Banking software from ICS Financial Systems Limited (ICSFS), the global software and services provider for banks and financial institutions, to grow its operations domestically and internationally.

The National Bank of Yemen (NBY) has recently gone live with ICSFS’ award-winning ICS BANKS Universal Banking software. Following the bank's development and modernization strategy, NBY opted for ICS BANKS Digital Banking to drive its digital transformation and enrich their customer’s user experience (UX).

Managing Director of National Bank of Yemen; Dr Ahmed Ali Ben Sanker said:

“After our go-live experience with ICSFS, we have extended our partnership to add their Digital Banking software. ICSFS has embarked on the digital banking revolution from its start and has showcased professionalism, experience and market understanding that will guide us through our digital transformation journey. We are excited to add this powerful digital software, to provide our customers with a broad range of features and capabilities through numerous touchpoints.”

Robert Hazboun, Managing Director of ICSFS said;

“Riding the technology wave is our top priority. ICS BANKS Digital Banking with its finest technology offers the best-of-breed functionalities and features to cover current and future digital banking needs. ICS BANKS not only provides technology edge to banks but also, covers all business needs. NBY will be able now to leverage ICS BANKS holistic software solutions through agile, omnichannel touchpoints, DMS and BPM in its DNA.”

ICSFS invests in its software suites by utilising modern technology in launching new products, constructing a secured and agile integration, and keeping pace with new standards and regulations worldwide. ICS BANKS software suites future-proof banking activities by providing a broad range of features and capabilities with more agility and flexibility, to enrich customers' journey experience, hence improving the trust and confidentiality between the customer and the bank. ICS BANKS has always been a pioneer in utilising the latest technology to serve financial institutions. In addition to its embedded Service-Oriented-Architecture (SOA), the system can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud.

ISA investors will need a minimum investment rate of return of 1.84% to beat inflation this ISA season, according to Assetz Capital’s indicative ISA calculator.

The marketplace lender’s calculator projects how much tax investors can save when investing their ISA allowance, and whether their ISAs’ target returns are beating the current inflation rate of 1.8%.

The calculator shows that taxpayers who invest the maximum yearly ISA allowance of £20,000 at a rate of 1.84% will receive an effective annual interest rate of 0.01% when adjusted for inflation, yielding a projected annual growth of just £1.38 in real terms.

According to the latest UK Savings Trends Treasury Report by Moneyfacts, the average rate of return for a traditional one-year fixed rate ISA is currently 1.12%. This equates to an effective annual interest rate of minus 0.70%, representing a £140.03 annual loss for investors when inflation is factored in*.

Assetz Capital’s Quick Access Account, which can be wrapped in the marketplace lender’s Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA), is currently offering a target interest rate of 4.1%. According to the calculator, taxpayers who invest their ISA allowance into this account could receive an effective annual rate of 2.23% after inflation, which would produce an annual growth of £445.24 in real terms*.

More than £100m has been invested through Assetz Capital’s IFISA since it launched in 2017, with over 5,000 of the lender’s IFISAs opened to date. An average of more than £19,000 is held in each of these accounts – nearly three times the average of £6,409 that is held across all ISA types, according to the latest statistics available for the whole market.

Stuart Law, CEO at Assetz Capital, said: “Investors that are looking to grow their money this ISA season will find little value in the traditional ISA market. With many conventional ISA products effectively causing people to lose money when inflation is factored in, investors may have to look elsewhere to receive a decent return.

“Assetz Capital was founded to give people fairer returns on their hard-earned cash. Our investors have invested over £100m in our IFISA to date, earning over £7,000,000 in tax-free interest in the process. The banks are unlikely to increase their rates in the near future, so we expect investments in our IFISA to increase as more people eschew traditional ISA products and join our growing community of 38,000 investors.” 

Avaloq, the global fintech leader, has been chosen as the provider of the Best Core Banking Platform in the latest Asian Private Banker Technology Awards. The award is the first Avaloq has won in 2020 and follows a strong year of industry recognition in 2019.

As part of its goal of enabling inclusive prosperity in the country, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) inked a partnership agreement with Germany-based financial services provider Wirecard to make banking services more convenient and efficient for corporate customers in the financial services ecosystem.

The partnership was officiated with a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony last December at UnionBank Plaza in Pasig City, Philippines. Under the partnership, Wirecard will leverage solutions within UnionBank’s robust banking ecosystem, such as business banking, electronic fund transfer, and checkwriter in the Philippines. These solutions will allow Wirecard’s Philippines entity to disburse funds easily and securely to suppliers and vendors, and settle payments to merchants via checks and wire transfer.

UnionBank Corporate Banking Center Head Antonino Fajardo said through the partnership, businesses will be empowered with a wider range of banking and finance services, which in turn will enable them to create greater positive impact on the economy.

“Businesses play a big role in the country’s growth. They provide jobs, they contribute to our GDP, and they help build the country through their various corporate social responsibility efforts. With this partnership, we will be able to magnify all of that,” Fajardo said.

General Manager for Wirecard in the Philippines Martha Borja expressed her excitement about the partnership and said they will work hard towards the common goal of both companies to promote financial inclusion in the country.

“As a global innovation leader in digital financial technology, we are committed to providing innovative solutions and services for cashless payments. We are delighted to collaborate with UnionBank – who not only shares the same vision as us to promote financial inclusion in the country, but is also at the forefront of digital transformation in the Philippines, embracing technological innovations to empower customers. Through our cooperation with UnionBank, we can provide our customers with secure and reliable banking facilities that meet their needs,” said Borja.

Meanwhile, UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista cited the country’s exponential growth and said that for the whole nation to benefit, everyone must work together to ensure inclusive prosperity for all.

“The country is moving at a fast rate in terms of growth, and with this comes the possibility of the widening gap between those who make money and those who get left behind,” said Bautista. “We want as much as possible that when the tide rises, all boats get floated, even the small boats.”