Planixs, the leading provider of real-time, intraday cash, collateral and liquidity management solutions is thrilled to announce that the company has been shortlisted as a finalist in the UK FinTech Awards 2020.

With over 300 nominations in its category, Planixs has been shortlisted for the RegTech Initiative Award which recognises the most innovative regulatory technology in the market and the world’s most pioneering solution providers that address the challenges and opportunities of dealing with regulatory issues within financial services.

The UK FinTech Awards are produced by Barker Brooks Communications, the events and media company behind the well-known Yorkshire Financial Awards. They have said they developed the awards to “celebrate this incredible industry, and the achievements and successes of the country’s best and brightest.” The award ceremony will take place on 2^nd April 2020 and will be held at London’s Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s.

Founded in 2011, Manchester-based Planixs works with some of the world’s most prestigious global financial institutions such as Lloyds Banking Group, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), Scotiabank and Zenith Bank amongst many, in providing its market-leading product suite Realiti® - a cloud-based and on premise technology solution suite that delivers real-time intraday cash, collateral and liquidity management capabilities to the financial services industry.

Realiti helps firms to comply with global BCBS 248 regulatory requirements, ensuring that they meet global regulations including the UK PRA, FED and European Banking Authority regulations. The solution also incorporates stress testing capabilities, allowing banking firms to apply a range of stress scenarios in order to understand, monitor and prepare to mitigate any intraday liquidity stresses and to help size liquidity buffers.

Realiti is pivotal in driving operational savings and improving risk management for banks, financial institutions and large corporates by ensuring they gain real-time liquidity control and ensure regulatory compliance.

Last year, recognising that smaller banks have same regulatory needs as larger banks, but their budgetary constraints prevent the investment in an enterprise liquidity solution, Planixs launched Realiti® Essentials - an ‘out-of-the-box’, all-inclusive software solution that will enable any bank or financial institution of even the smallest size to become regulatory compliant and manage their liquidity using the lowest cost solution in the marketplace.

Neville Roberts, Planixs’ CEO commented, “We are very proud and honoured to be nominated for the UK Fintech Awards in the RegTech category. Our purpose here at Planixs is to help make the banking industry safer and to ensure financial institutions have full control and regulatory compliance over their cash, collateral and liquidity operations. We are thrilled that we have been recognised as a leader in the UK FinTech space and are looking forward to the award celebrations in April.”

iSignthis Ltd and NSX Limited are both pleased to announce that they have entered into a Shareholders Agreement to form a joint venture vehicle, ClearPay Pty Ltd (“ClearPay JV”), to develop a multicurrency, real-time, same day DvP platform (“ClearPay”), to be integrated with ISX’s ISXPay® and PaydentityTM.

The system will initially be utilized alongside with the National Stock Exchange of Australia’s (“NSXA”) current post-trade arrangements where appropriate. However, the NSXA, NSX’s wholly
owned subsidiary market operator, intends to ultimately process all transactions via the new platform.

With ClearPay, the NSXA will be able to offer a same-day settlement (T+0) capability which will supersede the current (T+ various days delayed for the clearing and settlement) process offered by other domestic and global exchanges.

Settlement by other exchanges is usually T+2 or T+3 days. On completion of ClearPay’s DvP platform, it is expected that the domestic and international broker network will expand and connect via industry-standard ISO20022 interface and participate using an industry-standard blockchain. This will provide the NSXA with one of the world’s most advanced DvP platforms, inclusive of an inbuilt sub-registry.

Under the terms of the ClearPay Shareholders Agreement, the first cash call for ClearPay JV post the first NSX placement will be a sum of $3.2 million for a 41% interest by the NSX. ISX will be contributing intellectual property and its subsidiary, Probanx Solutions Ltd, will design and develop the DvP platform for a fee, including the integration into ISXPay® and PaydentityTM platforms.

The second cash call will be a sum of $1.3 million contributed by NSX for a further 9% interest in ClearPay, should NSX raise at least that minimum amount under terms of a proposed further placement, being $3.8 million. NSX and ISX would at that stage equally own 50% of ClearPay JV.

“It’s very exciting for us that the ClearPay JV will bring genuine competition to the Australian cash equities eco-system. iSignthis brings an inherent high technology capability to the NSXA, including its extensive payments and Know Your Customer’s Customer (“KYCC”) services, ISXPay® and PaydentityTM” said ISX Managing Director and CEO John Karantzis.

NSX and ISX || ClearPay JV 20th February 2020 Page 2 of 3 Mr. Karantzis will act as the CEO of ClearPay during the software development stage, with the NSXA operating the platform once full technical and business development has been achieved.

Thomas Price, acting CEO of NSX comments: “Market commentators are in broad agreement that cash equity exchanges are facing a global technology revolution which is challenging legacy methods of clearing and settlement. Having patiently monitored the development of the appropriate technology and know how we consider that this is the right time for the NSX to act.”

“The ClearPay joint venture with iSignthis allows the NSX to expedite its plans to transform its licenced exchange market within a cost-efficient framework. The introduction of an already experienced provider of RegTech and payments systems is very satisfying for us as it allows an accelerated build process.”

“More exciting is that it creates a solid foundation for the NSXA to be a true independent first-class venue of choice for companies seeking to be serviced via the most advanced infrastructure and distribution in their goal of attracting investors from both here and abroad.“

Meniga (www.meniga.com), the global leader in digital banking solutions today announces that it has been successfully registered as an Account Information Service Provider by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.

This underlines Meniga’s credentials as leading experts in Open Banking, enabling it to expand its product offer to customers beyond the financial services sector.

In the Nordics, Meniga already has extensive experience in working with non-traditional providers of financial advice such as insurers and retailers, but its new FCA licence means that the company can now provide additional, regulated products and services, including:

• Account information services such as account aggregation services i.e. aggregation of account and transaction data from financial institutions.
• Better support for institutions that are not licensed by FCA but would like to engage with end users on their finances (like retailers or telcos).

Meniga has been providing white-label digital banking solutions since 2009 and the new licence reflects the company’s increasing engagement with new potential partners such as insurers, telcos, retailers, and credit scoring & lending institutions.

The FCA licence therefore represents another step in Meniga’s journey to becoming a global, one-stop shop providing full Open Banking services. Meniga’s new offer will include licensed data retrieval, insights and analytics, and a powerful API platform complemented with award-winning UX.

Georg Ludviksson, CEO and Co-Founder of Meniga, comments: “The FCA licence is an important milestone for Meniga. We will now be able to test new innovations against the Open Banking APIs and with real use cases, which will help us develop products of outstanding quality. A top priority of ours has always been to constantly improve, and we are now even better equipped to do so across multiple sectors and in line with technological advancements, to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the end consumer.”

Investment in financial technology (fintech) ventures rose sharply in most major markets in 2019, led by gains in the U.S. and U.K. and emerging economies such as India and Brazil, according to Accenture (NYSE: ACN) analysis of data from CB Insights, a global venture-finance data and analytics firm.

Despite those gains, the total value of fintech deals globally dipped 3.7%, to US$53.3 billion from US$55.3 billion in 2018, when totals were boosted by a record US$14 billion from Ant Financial and three other multi-billion-dollar transactions from Chinese companies.

The value of deals in the U.S. jumped 54%, to US$26.1 billion, with the number of transactions rising 6.9%, to 1,232, signaling that investors remain confident about the future growth and demand for innovative digital solutions for banks, insurers and payments providers. The largest portion of U.S. funding went to lending startups and those in payments, each accounting for 26% of the total, while insurtechs took in another 18%. The country’s largest deal was the US$1 billion that consumer finance fintech Figure Technologies Inc secured from a credit facility in May.

In the U.K., fintech investments rose 63%, to US$6.3 billion — almost the same as the total for 2018 and 2017 combined. Other European markets also made big strides, with investments in German fintechs up 83% in 2019, to US$1.5 billion, and fundraising in Sweden jumping more than seven-fold, to US$1.3 billion from about US$175 million.

The value of deals in Brazil nearly tripled, to US$1.6 billion, making the country the world’s fifth-largest fintech fundraising center.

Fintech deals in China dropped 92% in 2019, to US$1.9 billion, with the US$145 million financing from insurtech Shuidi Huzhu in June being the country’s largest transaction. Most of the decline was due to China’s record-breaking fundraising in 2018, which saw four deals alone bringing in nearly US$20 billion.

However, there were large fundraising gains elsewhere in Asia Pacific. Investments in India nearly doubled, to US$3.7 billion, making the country the world’s third largest fintech market. The value of deals more than doubled in Singapore, to US$861 million, and rose nearly 50% in Australia, to US$1.1 billion.

“Despite strong demand for fintech globally, it’s likely that, as startups become more mature, investments will flow to fast-growing economies, where there’s still a huge, unaddressed consumer and corporate market thirsty for innovations,” said Julian Skan, a senior managing director in Accenture’s Financial Services practice. “For now, there’s still a lot of growth, particularly for challenger banks that are expanding in their home markets and overseas, as well as for payments providers that are embedding solutions seamlessly into our day-to-day activities.”

Challenger banks see strong growth in fintech investments

Investments into challenger banks more than tripled in 2019, to US$5.2 billion from US$1.6 billion in 2018, led by the US$726 million raised by Italian digital bank and card processor Nexi, the US$683 million from South Korea’s NAVER Financial, and the US$700 million that Chime raised in two separate transactions in the U.S.

In Brazil, investors poured US$400 million into the country’s largest fintech, Nubank, and US$344 million into rival Banco Intermedium. In addition, Germany’s N26 raised US$470 million from two separate deals, and U.K. neobanks Monzo and Starling Bank raised US$144 million and US$211 million, respectively, the latter from two separate transactions.

“With Singapore, Australia and other markets all issuing new digital banking licenses and established players like Revolut and Monzo venturing into new markets, challenger banks could remain a focus for investors in 2020,” Skan said.

Investments into payments startups and lending startups took the bulk of global fintech fundraising, accounting for 28% and 25% of the total, respectively, while insurtechs raked in 13%.

Number of deals rises globally to record level, but growth rate slows

The number of fintech deals globally rose 6.8% in 2019, to 3,472, another record level. However, this was the slowest growth rate in nine years, suggesting that activity in more-mature markets might be levelling off just as it gains steam in emerging fintech centers.

For instance, the number of deals grew only 6.9% in the U.S. and 2% in the U.K. On the other hand, Asia Pacific saw much higher growth in deal volumes — 11% in Japan, 16% in Australia and 52% in Singapore — as did Europe, with gains of 37% in Germany and 79% in Sweden.

“The healthy growth in activity bodes well for the near-term outlook of the fintech industry, particularly as we see more established players interested in implementing the newest technologies through partnerships with startups, which are also eager to launch their solutions to incumbent financial firms’ large consumer base,” said Piyush Singh, a senior managing director at Accenture who leads its Financial Services practice in Asia-Pacific and Africa.

Caribbean Identity Compliance & Consultancy (CICC), a specialist provider of custom built Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) and Combatting-Terrorist- Financing (CFT) solutions, and Keesing Technologies, the leading global identity verification provider, today announced a partnership to help businesses in the Caribbean region prevent identity fraud with best-in-class AML/CFT solutions including industry-leading identity verification.

Based in Aruba and Curaçao, CICC is an independent Compliance & Consultancy firm with extensive knowledge of, and experience with, identity and risk management, AML/CFT law and regulations and compliance processes. The company provides a range of compliance, consultancy, training and identity services to the non-financial services industry and governmental sector in the Caribbean region, helping its customers to achieve regulatory compliance and prevent fraud. Jarno Sloots, Managing Partner of CICC, explains: “Our clients have to comply with AML/CFT legislation and deal with access control and risk management on a daily basis. Reliable and thorough ID verification is paramount in these processes. But they also need to streamline these processes in order to boost customer satisfaction and experience. To be able to offer our customers solutions of the highest quality meeting their demands, a partnership with one of the world’s most trusted and established providers of digital ID verification solutions is consequently a logical step for us”.

The partnership enables CICC to provide its clients with broad-based Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checking ability as part of its AML/CFT solutions offering by adding Keesing AuthentiScan. Keesing Technologies’ flagship solution offers seamless ID document verification combined with biometric checks. It enhances onboarding, screening and monitoring processes instantly as it automatically checks ID documents in real time, even remotely. The remote ID verification with AuthentiScan supports selfie-based identification including facial comparison with the photo on the ID document and a liveness detection check to ensure biological identifiers are from the proper user. Liveliness detection in particular bolsters security when identifying customers remotely.

In the final step, the ID document can be thoroughly verified against Keesing’s ID reference database including information of more than 6,000 ID documents from over 200 countries. This process provides CICC customers with extensive ID document verification of the highest standard.

By adding Keesing’s trusted ID document verification technology to its product suite, CICC now offers its clientele a complete AML/CFT solution for achieving regulatory compliance while simultaneously optimizing their customer identification processes. “We are excited to work with Keesing Technologies. By teaming up with Keesing we are better able to help our customers protect themselves against money laundering and other types of fraud”, says Jarno Sloots.

Keesing strives to provide organisations all over the world with easy access to its trusted identity verification solutions to help them prevent and combat identity fraud. Strategic partnerships enable Keesing to better serve local organisations and accelerate the introduction of trusted identity verification technology in the region. “We aim to help organisations prevent identity fraud on a global scale. The partnership with a professional —and in the region established—company such as CICC enables us to specifically reach Caribbean-based companies and expand our global market presence. I am convinced that the combined strengths and expertise of both parties will provide the Caribbean islands with an excellent, reliable KYC solution”, says Willem Langendonk, Sales Manager at Keesing Technologies.

Keesing works with various organisations around the world to help them streamline onboarding and screening processes and tackle identity fraud. Partnering with CICC is part of Keesing’s strategy to expand its global presence as a leading identity verification provider.

MYPINPAD announces today that Colin Greene has been appointed Licentia Group and MYPINPAD CEO, to spearhead the global deployment of its PCI-certified PIN on Mobile solution and rapidly emerging contactless on smart device technology.

Colin arrives with over 30 years’ experience in executive leadership roles within technology giants such as NCR, Intel, and Dell. For the past 13 years, Colin worked at Apple, where he most recently led the US channel retail business. Colin brings to the role a wealth of experience in retail leadership, country management, strategic planning, and the introduction of category defining technologies to markets across Europe, Asia and the US.

MYPINPAD, a Licentia Group company, is industry recognised as the global leader in software-based PIN entry on smartphones and tablets, and contactless payments on Android platforms. MYPINPAD’s transformational technology will see point-of-sale terminals and PIN entry mPOS devices replaced by iOS and Android smartphones and tablets running secure payment software. This technology will dramatically reduce cost and complexity throughout the face-to-face payment value-chain, while enabling customers to leverage the data-rich environment of connected smart devices and their vast improvement in user experience.

Colin will also oversee the ongoing expansion of MYHSM, another Licentia company which offers payment Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) as-a-service. As with MYPINPAD, MYHSM removes the need for customers to invest in expensive, single-use hardware to process payments.

Colin commented on his appointment: “I’m truly honoured to have been appointed Licentia Group and MYPINPAD CEO. My career so far has been dominated by a passion for technology and the positive impact of smart devices on people’s everyday lives. We now have the opportunity to take that customer experience to the next level with MYPINPAD, and to transform the global face-to-face payments ecosystem. The MYPINPAD team possesses unequalled innovation and payments technology expertise to deliver on that promise. I cannot wait to get started.” 

Phil King, MYPINPAD Chairman, said: “Colin’s appointment is a pivotal moment for the Licentia Group and MYPINPAD. His experience is perfectly aligned with our ambitions. I can think of no better person to head up our rapidly expanding business. Together we will build on our position as the global leader in this extremely specialised area, mass-deploy our technology, transform everyday phones and tablets into secure payment terminals and change payments acceptance forever.”

ACA Compliance Group (“ACA”) announced today the availability of its new payment and fraud risk assessment (“PFRA”) offering, which is designed to help firms identify and remediate vulnerabilities within payment flows in order to reduce the risk of costly fraud issues. The service is overseen by the ACA Aponix® division’s senior principal consultant Kamlesh Harry.

Before joining ACA, Kamlesh was an Executive Director at J.P.Morgan, where he led various teams across the firm’s technology, client support services, cybersecurity, and payment fraud functions for over 13 years. Amongst other key contributions, he was instrumental in developing controls for the EMEA Wholesale Banking payment platforms and accelerated the Cyber Security Education and Awareness program across their EMEA Corporate Investment Banking client base. Prior to J.P.Morgan, Kamlesh held positions within leading South African banks, overseeing regional technology, security and risk functions, successfully maintaining secure and stable business operating environments. He is a Certified Information Security Manager (“CSIM”) by ISACA .

Kamlesh is part of ACA’s team of highly experienced consultants, which includes specialists in payment fraud, cybersecurity, and technology risk from various industries, including investment management, banking, and healthcare. ACA’s PFRA offering includes reviews of clients’ existing systems, controls, workflows, third-party relationships, and technology dependencies to identify potentially exploitable vulnerabilities.

 “ACA Aponix strongly believes that a team built with extensive knowledge of payment fraud and other cyber risks will provide our clients with a unique, well-rounded approach to risk management,” said James Tedman, Partner at ACA Aponix. “Kamlesh will be instrumental in developing our PFRA offering and serving as an invaluable resource to our clients in helping them assess and protect their firm against payment fraud.”

Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING, will step down from his position and leave ING as of 30 June 2020. After 29 years at ING he will join UBS on 1 September 2020 and will become Group Chief Executive Officer per 1 November 2020. Over the past six years Ralph Hamers has transformed ING into a leading digital bank, on the way to become the go-to financial platform for our customers. He created value for all stakeholders and played a leading role in driving sustainability efforts in the financial industry.

Hans Wijers, chairman of the Supervisory Board of ING said: “Ralph has done an exemplary job in preparing our bank for the future with our Think Forward strategy. His vision and customer focus have been an inspiration throughout the years he served as CEO. We will continue to build on the foundations Ralph has laid and we have strong confidence in our strategic direction. We regret to see Ralph leave but want to thank him for all his contributions to ING and wish him well in the new role he will take up later this year. In the coming months Ralph will continue to lead ING and prepare for the transition of leadership.”

Ralph Hamers said: “I am proud of what we have accomplished during the more than six years I had the privilege to lead ING. We completed our restructuring plan and paid back the Dutch State in full. We set the strategic course for ING based on our purpose of ‘empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business’. We grew our customer base by over 20%, with an increase of 70% in primary customers. I am convinced that the steps we have taken to prepare ING for a digital and mobile future will continue to pay off. In the coming months I will do my utmost to ensure my successor can sustain ING’s success. This decision has been very hard for me having in mind the many talented and dedicated colleagues and friends I have worked with over the past 29 years. But I am also honoured to get the opportunity to lead an established institution like UBS.”

Ralph Hamers has been ING’s CEO since 2013. After joining ING in 1991 he held various management positions across the bank among which country manager in Romania and Belgium. In 2013 he was appointed to the Executive Board and Management Board Banking and later in the year became its chairman and CEO.

Until 30 June 2020 Ralph Hamers will remain in his role as CEO, running the daily business and working with the Executive Board and Management Board Banking to ensure a smooth transition. The Supervisory Board has full confidence in ING’s strong management team and the continuation of the execution of our strategy. Further announcements on the succession process will be made if and when appropriate.

Finastra has brought its core banking platform, Fusion Phoenix, to the cloud, with Commerce National Bank & Trust of Winter Park, Florida, and Commencement Bank of Tacoma, Washington being the first US banks to access the core solution via public cloud.

“Bringing core banking to the cloud in the United States marks an important milestone in core delivery,” said Vincent Pugliese, Senior Vice President and General Manager, US Retail & Lending, Finastra. “Now, new and existing customers of our open, modern core can choose to access it via Microsoft’s enterprise-ready, trusted Azure cloud platform, for faster access to innovation, transformation at scale, and accelerated time to market. Institutions can consume rather than own and run core applications, freeing up IT resources to focus on competitiveness and growth. They can also access enhanced capabilities to mine data for meaningful insight and scale services to keep pace with bank and evolving technology needs.”

“Legacy cores are often a roadblock to innovation,” said Pat Sideman, Vice President, Deposit Operations Officer, Commerce National Bank & Trust. “With an open core, using a platform approach, we can easily integrate new solutions and cutting-edge capabilities - developed internally or externally - into our core. Combined with a cloud delivery model, access to innovation becomes even easier, with updates being managed by Finastra and pushed out in real-time.”

Finastra selected Azure as the platform to provide its cloud-hosted solutions, which already include Finastra’s Fusion MortgagebotLOS, Fusion uOpen, Fusion Global PAYplus, Fusion Essence and FusionFabric.cloud. The addition of Fusion Phoenix is part of Finastra’s ongoing commitment to offer its clients choice when it comes to cloud deployment for all major products. Together with Microsoft, Finastra can offer some of the highest standards of security, resiliency, performance and operating excellence.

“The future of banking technology is in the cloud,” said Bill Borden, corporate vice president of Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft Corp. “As financial institutions push to digitally transform their businesses to successfully compete, the cloud is unlocking and accelerating new opportunities to optimize operations, empower employees, transform products, and deliver the differentiated customer experiences that drive competitive advantage.”

“Banks want to take products to market faster but are often hampered by long and expensive IT costs associated with change,” said Stephen Greer, Senior Analyst, Celent. “Banks are considering the needs of a platform from a customer-centric design viewpoint, where new products, changes, and integration are seamless. The cost of innovation is reduced by de-risking the build process and shortening time to market.”

Baker Hill, the leading financial technology provider in delivering solutions for common loan origination, risk and relationship management, CECL, and smart data analytics, today announces a renewed partnership with Washington Trust Bank. Washington Trust Bank will be migrating to Baker Hill NextGen®, Baker Hill’s unified solution that streamlines loan origination and portfolio risk management for commercial, small business and consumer lending. 

Washington Trust Bank, the oldest and largest privately held commercial bank in the Pacific Northwest, is a diversified financial service holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington with more than 40 financial centers and offices in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Since 1902, Washington Trust Bank has endeavored to provide customers with quality service and financial stability. With an emphasis on customer service and relationship lending, Washington Trust Bank contains a strong commercial and industrial portfolio. Other concentrations include agriculture, commercial real estate, and professional lending. 

By utilizing Baker Hill Advisor, Washington Trust was able to minimize the number of systems that their relationship managers needed to work with for their commercial and portfolio risk management. Their solution suite also includes online loan application and consumer loan origination. Choosing to build upon its existing relationship with Baker Hill by migrating to Baker Hill NextGen®, the bank will gain a modern user interface that is engineered to adapt to the evolving needs of clients and offer access to all functions and data within a singular platform. 

“We’ve been more than satisfied by our existing relationship with Baker Hill over the years, making this transition into Baker Hill NextGen® even more exciting,” said Jack Heath, president and chief operating officer of Washington Trust Bank. “Being our trusted solution provider made choosing Baker Hill NextGen® an easy decision and we look forward to continuing to grow with them in the future.” 

Washington Trust Bank’s decision to transition to Baker Hill NextGen® solution was driven by a desire to serve customers more efficiently while offering the industry’s best resources for portfolio management. With Baker Hill NextGen®, Washington Trust Bank can automate, integrate and streamline commercial lending processes, allowing small and medium-sized businesses to increase productivity while minimizing risk. 

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Washington Trust Bank into the logical next phase of collaboration,” said John M. Deignan, president and chief executive officer of Baker Hill. “We’re looking forward to this evolution of the relationship with the expanded capabilities and software needed to support their requirements with Baker Hill NextGen®.”

Baker Hill NextGen® is a unified, responsive, cloud-based solution for loan origination, portfolio risk management and business intelligence, designed to meet the modern needs of financial institutions in a single platform. Baker Hill NextGen® is also the expert solution for relationship management, CECL and analytics for financial institutions. Other features include commercial loan origination for judgmental decisioning, client relationship management and exception tracking. The solution combines comprehensive loan origination features with the latest technical advancements in cloud and mobile computing, streamlining lending processes and portfolio risk management while improving accuracy and enabling a better customer experience.

This news follows the announcement of Baker Hill being selected by Aite Group as best-in-class commercial loan origination system. The analyst firm’s 2019 Impact Report, “Commercial Loan Origination: Evaluating Vendors That Hone The Tip of the Spear,” recognized Baker Hill’s breadth of product features, superior client services, and client loyalty in the market.