More than two fifths (43%) of UK based trustees and pension managers do not feel properly equipped to monitor and report on their pension schemes’ ESG policy to a high standard, according to analysis from the UK pensions side of the asset servicing bank, CACEIS.

From the 1^st of October 2019, new UK legislation has required trustees to outline how they approach financially material factors, including ESG and climate change considerations, into the investment decision making within their Statement of Investment Principles. 

The legislation is a step forward towards ensuring trustees have a plan of action when embedding ESG risks into trustee governance and strategic plans for schemes. Good governance involves responsible investing. However, it’s clear that implementing an ESG framework won’t always be easy to apply because of the numerous touchpoints involved. It can be very difficult, for example, to assess the Environmental, Social & Governance characteristics of a company – and sometimes analysts may disagree on their findings. This creates a governance challenge for trustees, especially as they balance the demands of pension scheme members with the new ESG and climate change requirements.

On climate change, according to CACEIS’ recent survey, nearly three quarters (73%) of participants in the pensions industry are unfamiliar with climate change-related risks and over a quarter (26%) find getting access to the right information to help with their pensions scheme ESG policy challenging. This information gap will make the necessary reporting even more labour intensive and time consuming. Trustees will want to validate the fact their funds have implemented sustainable or ESG principles’. Gaining access to the right data will be key to do this.

The momentum across the industry is firmly moving towards responsible and sustainable investing. In fact, 55% of those trustees and pension managers surveyed believe that exposure to ESG-related investments will increase significantly in the next three years. This is further evidenced by the fact that 58% feel that better ESG integration aligns with the values of their scheme members. The demand is clearly there.

Ensuring the vital message around the long-term investment consequences of all ESG factors is communicated to all stakeholders, of varying ages and exposures is an area where improved resource and education is needed.

Pat Sharman, Managing Director, CACEIS, said: "While 2019 saw ESG, and with it the improved standards of governance, creep higher on the corporate agenda; now is the year ESG becomes front and centre for UK pension schemes.

“From a corporate citizenship perspective, as well as fiduciary requirement, implementing climate change and good ESG principles will be important for pension schemes of all shapes and sizes to help manage longer term risks for the benefit of members. As a trustee myself, I fully understand the complexities involved – as a result, we are working with the PLSA for the second year running as an education partner and we’ll focus on helping trustees navigate this challenging landscape”.  

Cardiff-based fintech Sonovate has invested in the cutting-edge platform from RegTech firm TruNarrative, to enhance its customer onboarding processes.

Sonovate helps businesses working with temporary workers, including recruitment agencies, consultancies and on-demand marketplaces, to grow through smart, fast and flexible finance.

Businesses using Sonovate can access finance when they need it and can rest assured knowing all their back office is handled and that their flexible staff get paid easily and on time.

Since launch, it has provided £1 billion to growing businesses, funding invoices across 39 countries.

Using TruNarrative’s single Application Programming Interface (API) and portal, Sonovate can adapt its onboarding processes without the need for time consuming processes or resources. This allows the firm to easily tweak its strategy inhouse – simultaneously improving efficiency and risk assessment, as well as invoicing procedures and optimising case performance checks.

Following a rapid growth period – which saw a 300% business increase over the previous three years – and further plans to expand into Europe and the USA, Sonovate identified the need to invest in a smart technology solution which enables the firm to move away from its current manual processes and adopt a real-time customer onboarding experience.

Commenting on the partnership, Mike Harriss, head of commercial channels at TruNarrative, said: “We are pleased to deliver a solution that allows Sonovate to achieve its growth aspirations in existing and new markets. The platform enables the organisation to scale up its volumes, seamlessly onboard new customers without increasing operational costs and maintain the highest levels of compliance and anti-financial crime controls.

“Like many growing businesses, Sonovate initially employed a manual process – requiring employees to review hard copy documents using six different verification systems. The TruNarrative platform will allow Sonovate to automate its risk processes from, in extreme cases, a number of days down to minutes, or even seconds.”

Tom Wilson, Head of Risk and Compliance at Sonovate added: “We recognised that automation was necessary to improve efficiency in our UK operation and facilitate our further expansion into new markets.”

 “Having all fraud detection, digital document identity verification, real time IDV checks and business risk insights in one place helps us to streamline our processes, and the no-code interface means that we can edit our onboarding strategy at any time, without a dependence on costly resources.”

Trustly is thrilled to announce that it has been recognized as the Best PISP, AISP at the Merchant Payment Ecosystem Awards (MPE Awards).

The MPE Awards have, over the past 10 years, become an important benchmark of global excellence in POS and merchant payments and celebrate and honor the achievements of companies across the European merchant payments ecosystem. The PISP AISP award goes to the company that most efficiently brings open banking services to the merchant community, and provides the best customer experience. Trustly won this award for its continuously innovative approach to realizing the potential of open banking.

Leon Dhaene, Chairman of the MPE Awards, says: “Make e-commerce simple again. It could have been the slogan of a politician, but it is essential if you want to bring potential customers to effectively buy over the internet. The Jury appreciated the fact that Trustly delivers fast, simple and secure payments in only three steps.”

Oscar Berglund, CEO at Trustly, says: “We’re proud to be recognized as the Best PISP, AISP at the MPE Awards. We will continue to work meticulously on further developing the online banking payment solution that our merchants and their customers love. It feels great to have our hard work recognized by the merchant and partner community.”

On 19^th and 20^th May, 500+ senior bank executives and industry experts will gather in London to discover how pioneering banks are meeting ever-growing customer expectations through a range of self-service and digital banking solutions

Customer behaviour is changing – banks must be agile to stay in the game

Banking in 2020 is unrecognisable compared to the turn of the millennium, with many consumers now preferring to use online technologies – particularly smartphones – to access banking services. Customer interactions are changing, and the industry has seen a rise in challenger banks poaching customers from traditional incumbents by focusing on the customer experience.

Despite the rapid pace of change, many banks still operate a siloed model, working with legacy systems, and lacking smooth channel interoperability. This can cause the loss of valuable engagement between bank and customer – leaving banks vulnerable to competitors.

RBR’s Managing Director, Dominic Hirsch, comments: “Developments in technology, changing customer behaviour, new entrants and innovation are radically transforming the ways in which banking services are delivered and used. It is critical that retail banks ensure customer engagement is seamless and relevant – in every channel”.

Multinational banks lead varied two-day speaker agenda

Self-Service Banking Europe 2020 brings together over 500 delegates from banks, payment providers, hardware and software suppliers and other key industry stakeholders to discuss best practice in self‑service and digital strategy.

Topics on the agenda include mobile and cloud banking, new payment methods, enhancing the customer experience, artificial intelligence, innovation, cash recycling and ATM pooling. The dedicated Fintech Showcase shines a spotlight on some of the latest technological innovations that disruptors and start-ups are bringing into the mix.

The agenda includes a wide variety of international speakers, with highlights including keynote addresses from ING on the evolution of the customer experience, Commerzbank on the importance of customer focus within the mobile channel, Nationwide on creating a culture of digitisation, the European Central Bank on trends and developments in the Euro area, and ClearBank on disruption within the banking industry.

The agenda will also feature case studies from Starling Bank (UK), Caixabank (Spain), Eurobank (Greece), Webster Bank (USA), Odeabank (Turkey), Simmons Bank (USA), Garanti BBVA (Turkey), and Mastercard (UK).

Technology suppliers showcase cutting-edge solutions

Attendees at Self-Service Banking Europe 2020 can explore the latest technology in the exhibition hall during the networking breaks and drinks reception. The event attracts a diverse range of exhibitors and sponsors, including hardware and software providers, cloud-native payment experts, change management specialists, banking security firms, card schemes and networks.

Dominic Hirsch continues: “Self-Service Banking Europe has always had a real focus on learning and exchanging ideas – experts will be coming from all around the world to share their expertise on the opportunities for retail banks going forward”.

Self-Service Banking Europe 2020 takes place in London on 19^th and 20^th May 2020. For more information, please visit www.rbrlondon.com/ssbe.

CryptoCompare has launched a new historical data product on the Quandl platform that will enable institutional investors to monitor the nascent digital asset class and assess investment opportunities using a trusted data source.

The Nasdaq/CryptoCompare Aggregate Digital Asset Prices data feed (CAGHD) provides hourly and end-of-day pricing data (open, high, low, close and volume) for over 10,200 digital asset markets with historical data going back to 2013.

This highly granular data feed is derived from transaction level data on select exchanges and can be used for a number of purposes including trading strategy backtesting, quantitative research, NAV calculations, risk modeling, technical analysis, tax calculation, reference pricing and many others.

Charles Hayter, Co-Founder and CEO of CryptoCompare, said: “Getting access to ultra-reliable and accurate market data is a prerequisite to attracting institutional flows to the digital asset markets. Our new data product on Quandl will provide investors with institutional grade data that will shape their investment decisions in this exciting asset class.”

IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, today announced that Aegon UK, one of the world's leading providers of life insurance, pensions and asset management, is live on the thinkFolio Managed Service platform. The front-office team at Aegon UK is using thinkFolio to manage the firm’s investments following the launch of a range of multi-asset funds last year that have been developed for Nationwide customers.

“We’ve recently expanded Aegon’s long standing investment capabilities with our multi-asset range that is gaining traction fast,” said Tim Orton, Managing Director, Investment Solutions at Aegon UK. “thinkFolio is a core part of our new technology infrastructure as it is supporting investment management for our entire front office across order management, portfolio modeling, cash management, trading and compliance.”

“We’re delighted to partner with Aegon UK on this strategic project,” said Keith Viverito, managing director, thinkFolio at IHS Markit. “By delivering thinkFolio as a managed service, running on Amazon Web Services, we have enabled Aegon UK to streamline their operational and investment management processes, reducing their costs, while improving operational agility and flexibility.”

Leading digital banking software provider Backbase today announced that Bremer Bank has chosen the Backbase Digital-First Banking Platform to power its digital transformation to deliver hyper-personalized experiences for their customers.

Bremer Bank is a privately held, $13 billion regional financial services company, which provides a comprehensive range of financial services, including corporate and retail banking as well as wealth management, to communities across Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. The bank rebranded in 2019 with a focus on investing in digital technologies that better serve their customers.

“Bremer is focused on investing in digital capabilities that help us meet our customers where they are, when they need us, and with value,” said Jeanne Crain, Bremer Bank president and CEO. “We are excited to partner with Backbase to provide the tools that make a real-world difference in our customers’ lives, and that help them to succeed and grow.”

Bremer’s mobile and online banking tools will be transformed using Backbase’s digital banking platform. When the projects are completed, Bremer will have the flexibility and control to deliver innovative and tailored digital experiences to its customers, based on their specific user profiles. Using a streamlined tool, the Backbase platform will provide a single experience for Bremer customers. 

Jouk Pleiter, Backbase CEO, commented: “By partnering with Backbase, Bremer Bank will be able to create seamless, digitized experiences for its customers; enjoy significant operating efficiencies by automating its manual processes; and break free from vendor lock-in. Bremer is dedicated to supporting its customers and local communities, and we look forward to working together to deliver the future-state architecture that will allow Bremer to continue delivering real value where it matters.” 

NICE Actimize, a NICE business and the leader in Autonomous Financial Crime Management, has been chosen by TONIK, a leading Southeast Asia pure-play licensed digital bank, to implement its Essentials Anti-Money Laundering solutions and support the development of a secure banking environment for its new customer base. TONIK, which was recently approved to establish a regulated bank in the Philippines, is a transformative digital bank working to revolutionize the way money works in Southeast Asia. TONIK is one of the first digital-only banks in the region providing retail financial products including deposits, loans, current accounts, payments, and cards on a highly secure digital banking platform.

AML Essentials, a cloud-based offering that is built upon NICE Actimize’s proven, end-to-end anti-money laundering platform, addresses the challenges of digital transformation and the online banking environment in which TONIK is focused. AML Essentials coverage includes Transaction Monitoring, Customer Due Diligence, and Sanctions Screening capabilities. Leveraging the power and experience of NICE Actimize’s enterprise solutions, AML Essentials offers rapid deployment and reduces overhead to make compliance easier and at a lower total cost of ownership.

“We are pleased to partner with industry-leader NICE Actimize to support our launch of the first pure-play neobank digital platform in the Philippines. We believe that digital banking is capable of operating on a higher level of financial compliance than traditional banks, and our partnership with NICE Actimize is strongly indicative of the higher standard of trust, reliability and compliance that we intend to foster in the digital banking space across Southeast Asia,” said Greg Krasnov, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, TONIK.

“As digital banking becomes more widely accepted, regulators continue to examine compliance rules for this new banking channel. We look forward to providing TONIK with the necessary support to address the changing requirements that it may face throughout the region. As innovators such as TONIK bring much needed banking services to the Philippines and beyond throughout Southeast Asia, NICE Actimize looks forward to launching its cloud-based anti-money laundering solutions in support of its secure digital banking platform,” said Craig Costigan, CEO, NICE Actimize.