The European online division of global payments leader, Ingenico Group, has released ecommerce transaction data insights which indicate a greater pan-European business opportunity for online merchants during highly targeted peak shopping events.

Analysing trends from Black Friday transactions over the past three years, Ingenico highlighted that sales are still on the increase, driven in part by the rapid growth of cross-border transactions throughout the continent. From 2016-17, cross-border sales rose by 16%. Last year this figure surged by 70% when compared with sales in 2017.

The increase in cross-border sales is replicated on other peak sales days throughout the year. On Cyber Monday, for example, cross-border transactions in Europe increased by 71% between 2017 and 2018.

The data represents the growing number of consumers who are using online peak sales days to find the best deals and right products across borders. Ingenico has noted that these peak sales moments – when traffic is high and consumers are on the lookout for new, unique offers – are an opportunity for merchants to attract these international shoppers.

Benoît Boudier, Managing Director, SMB Online Europe from Ingenico, commented: “Five years ago, peak sales events were still very much a domestic event, but it is clear now that with the development of social media influencers and globalisation of trends, merchants need to use these events to reach out to a broader audience across Europe.”

Looking back at the origin of Black Friday transactions, nearly half (44%) of total European sales were cross-border in 2018 – a healthy growth from 2016 which saw 23% of all transactions coming from international consumers.

Ian Jindal, Editor in Chief of InternetRetailing and CEO of industry research body, RetailX, references the recent IREU Top500 ranking of the best-performing retailers in Europe, saying that “the increased cross-border trading is a result of reduced friction in the process.”

Jindal continued: “International payment, delivery and returns are now easier than ever before, and there’s a trend towards multilingual and localised websites as the online leaders actively seek customers across Europe. The continued growth of marketplaces, and the move of brands to sell direct to consumers online, both serve to accelerate cross-border growth into 2020 and beyond.”

Since cross-border purchases are not set to slow, Ingenico is encouraging growing merchants to properly leverage peak sales days in order to expand beyond their home market and grow their customer base, advising a targeted approach.

“Shoppers are no longer tied to their physical location – as long as the shopping, checkout and delivery process feels local to them,” added Robin Soubry, Head of Product Strategy and Customer Experience at Ingenico ePayments.

Soubry continued: “Barriers may be diminishing online throughout Europe as countries become more closely connected, but each region is incredibly diverse, reflecting their own unique cultures and histories. Languages are different, tastes vary, and payment methods alternate – this should all be taken into account by merchants to ensure the best customer experience in every new region they wish to target.”

Ingenico has released more peak sales insights, which can be seen here https://www2.ingenico.group/xmasinjuly-infographic. For more on the growth opportunities for merchants or advice on expanding into other European regions, go to: https://www2.ingenico.group/Xmas-in-July-eBook.

Volt Bank, the first  of a wave of new digital providers to be granted a banking license in Australia, has chosen technology and services from FIS (NYSE: FIS) to power its mobile and card payment services.

FIS, a leader in financial services technology, will provide Volt Bank with processing services for its credit card and mobile payments products. FIS will also provide solutions for risk and compliance management as well as treasury management.

The new technology from FIS will be a key part of the bank’s overall technology platform, which is cloud-based and fully digital – providing the bank with a highly scalable, cost-effective platform for serving its customers.

“We are delighted to be working with Volt Bank and be part of its growth story,” said Raja Gopalakrishnan Executive Vice President - Banking & Payments, FIS. “As a digital bank, Volt Bank is well positioned to meet growing consumer demand in Australia for innovative payment services.”

Luke Bunbury, Deputy CEO at Volt Bank, said:

“Our mission from the start has been about building a bank that helps consumers live their lives to the fullest, by making them better off. Technology and technology partners are key to delivering on this. We have been working with FIS for several months to create a sophisticated cloud-based platform that brings innovative, consumer-focused payment products to market quickly, safely and efficiently. FIS has a long record of working with financial institutions across the world to digitise their payment operations, and we look forward to continuing to work with the team to create the kind of bank consumers want.”

AcadiaSoft  today announced a new technology partnership with CloudMargin that will provide its clients with a seamless front-to-back process for collateral and margin management. The service offers access to AcadiaSoft’s and CloudMargin’s best-in-class solutions via a single sign-on to one platform and provides real-time data and processing information that all parties can view simultaneously, enabling end-to-end workflow connectivity.

AcadiaSoft is the leading industry provider of risk and collateral management services for the non-cleared derivatives community. CloudMargin is the creator of the world’s first and only collateral and margin management solution native to the cloud.

“Our collaboration with CloudMargin enhances the industry-wide infrastructure that AcadiaSoft has developed for collateral and margin management,” said Chris Walsh, CEO of AcadiaSoft. “This partnership enables AcadiaSoft to execute on a key strategic goal of expanding our one connection, one solution initiative in time for the uncleared margin rules (UMR) regulatory timetable as well as our ability to meet industry expectations of a central service in a swifter timeframe.”

AcadiaSoft will integrate CloudMargin’s cloud-based collateral management service into its core platform to provide a seamless risk and collateral solution, from agreement initiation to margin call reconciliation and collateral processing, right through to settlement. 

CloudMargin CEO Stuart Connolly said: “We are extremely excited to work with Chris, the AcadiaSoft team and its vast user community to bring to market a truly transformative collaboration that will drive best practices and raise the bar in terms of a one-stop solution.  Our full end-to-end product not only meets regulatory demands but allows clients to achieve new levels of automation and efficiency to meet their complex workflow needs in a truly cost-effective way.”

CloudMargin’s technology optimizes the benefits of cloud technology and automation – as a Software-as-a-Service, scalable platform hosted in the public cloud via Amazon Web Services – while maintaining the rigorous security standards required by the industry. The firm provides constant updates and enhancements to the features and functionality on the platform, without any work or additional cost on the part of the end-user.

The partnership further achieves the mission of both companies to collaborate with industry vendors and other infrastructure providers, creating a fully integrated and modular infrastructure that allows clients to perform the tasks required across the margin and collateral workflow swiftly and seamlessly.

Today marks the launch of Sweep, a fully automated expense tracking system designed specifically to meet the requirements of freelancers, start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).  The new app has been built from the ground up, leveraging cutting edge technology to provide users with a fully automated transaction tracking system, smart payment categorisation and real-time expense reporting.

Following the implementation of GDPR and PSD2 regulations, a new layer of challenges and opportunities has meant that companies require a better way of processing their business expenses. Managing the time and cost linked to expenses administration is also one of the biggest headaches for SMEs in the UK. Billions of pounds are lost each year and a disproportionate amount of time is still being spent manually logging and analysing expense claims.

Billel Ridelle, founder and CEO at Sweep, is excited to unveil the new product: “Sweep can offer huge time and money savings to small businesses by improving the processes around expense claims. Following 12 months of research and customer testing, we’re extremely happy to announce that this invaluable app is here and already driving enormous benefits to small and medium sized companies, from freelancers all the way up to an SME level.’

‘Our research has also shown that the market is ripe for a new entrant that specifically meets the needs of a new type of workforce, where effective technology isn’t just an added benefit – it’s expected,’ he continued.

A new world of work

Millennials are critical to the new digital business and by 2025, according to Deloitte, will make up 65% of the global workforce. As organisations seek to recruit top millennial talent, they require technology that allows employees to work flexibly, productively and via their chosen mobile device, in order to quickly meet their ever-evolving work challenges. Sweep is a cloud-based tool that makes it easier than ever for businesses to reduce admin time, save money and drastically simplify the life of their employees.

Sweep’s advanced analytics and reporting dashboard means companies are able to integrate their internal tools and policies, automate approval, reporting and set permission levels on all levels of the business.

Sweep offers a fully automated expense tracking and categorisation system, simply download the app and safely link your bank account to it. Sweep will detect any new payment you make during your day and turn it into an expense in real-time, filling all the fields for you with information and currency conversion rates that are always 100% accurate, all you have to do is add a picture of the receipt, or opt out in the case of personal transactions.

Sweep also offers advanced features for managers and business owners, helping them approve expenses in real time, integrate to their own accounting system and generate detailed, automated expense reports. We help employees save precious time, all while increasing compliance, visibility and control for managers.

With Sweep, users never have to double check the information in the fields, all transactions are processed in real-time for them and expenses created in 1-click only.

Some key UK stats:

• 65% of UK SMEs currently have no travel and expense management solution in place
• 33% of employees have had to borrow money due to long time refund
• 51% of employees have had to business expenses on their personal cards
• £1.9 billion is lost each year to fraudulent business claims

What platforms support Sweep and where can I download it?

iOS & Android app stores and marketplaces

 Finastra announced today that revverbank, a Manchester-based new bank for regional businesses and savers in the UK, has selected Fusion Essence in the cloud to power its end-to-end core banking capabilities. The solution will support revverbank as it launches its services to SMEs and retail savers in the UK, giving it maximum scalability and flexibility to grow its business.

Arpan Gautam, Founder & CEO of revverbank said, “We’re trying, in our own small way, to address one of the largest issues facing our economy by ensuring access to capital and resources for businesses to grow, invest and develop in the regions. SME businesses in the UK regions have historically struggled to find a lender amongst the traditional banks that can meet all their needs in terms of agility, speed of decision making and product relevance. Similarly, savers have often found it hard to place their funds in a bank which promotes regional economic development and provides competitive rates. Finastra’s Fusion Essence in the cloud solution will give us the ability to serve customers personally and efficiently, allowing us to focus on regional lending relationships and great saving rates. Our proposition will be underpinned by Microsoft’s Azure platform, which gives us comfort that our content is in secure hands.”

revverbank values the modern, open and digital end-to-end capabilities and scalability of the Finastra solution, and the benefits of the Microsoft Azure trusted and secure cloud platform. Finastra’s approach means the solution is highly scalable, allowing the bank to benefit from a low cost of entry, ease and speed of deployment, and the ability to increase business volumes and diversify its product set cost-effectively, while also benefiting from ongoing software updates. In time, revverbank will also be able to benefit from further innovation via FusionFabric.cloud, Finastra’s platform for open innovation.

Anand Subbaraman, General Manager, Retail Banking at Finastra said, “As a new entrant in the UK business banking sector, revverbank has spotted an opportunity to harness digital technologies and a lower-cost operating model. This helps set it apart from more traditional banks by offering the type of services and speed of response that SMEs really want. Fusion Essence in the cloud is ideally suited to the needs of this market, which means revverbank can achieve a speedy return on investment and will be continuously supported by highly experienced teams at both Finastra and Microsoft. This is a breakthrough deal in the UK market for Finastra’s Retail Banking Cloud offering and we look forward to working closely with the revverbank team as they prepare for launch.”

Richard Peers, Senior Director Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft said, “For “neobanks”, the core business model is centered around their customers. By choosing Fusion Essence, powered by Microsoft Azure, revverbank demonstrates that they are focused on offering a first-class customer experience, delivering new services at speed and handling data in a secure and compliant way. We’re delighted to be joining Finastra in welcoming this first “neobank” on Fusion Essence core banking platform and look forward to many more.”

Solactive is pleased to announce the relocation of its headquarters in Frankfurt. On July 5th 2019, Solactive moved its operations to Frankfurt’s Kastor Tower, opposite the city’s most prominent business hub, Frankfurt Messe. The relocation reflects the growth spurt that Solactive has recently experienced.

After four years, Solactive has left its former office, located in Westend Frankfurt. With its new facilities, Solactive paves the way for future expansion. Solactive occupies two floors in the new building. The new office houses 110 of the company’s 210 employees.

“Moving into the new office marks an important step in Solactive’s company development and signifies the continuation of the success story that we’ve witnessed over the previous decade,” says Steffen Scheuble, CEO of Solactive. “We are proud to see ourselves transform from a fintech start-up into a company operating on a global scale.”

The address of the new location is Platz der Einheit 1, 60327 Frankfurt am Main. All other contact information, including phone numbers, remains the same.

Kinesis Money – creators of a robust blockchain-based currency the value of which is tied 1:1 to underlying physical gold and silver holdings – has achieved a major step forward in its vision to offer a superior alternative to mainstream central bank-mediated fiat monetary system.

Thanks to close collaboration and partnerships with a number of key regional organisations – including the Indonesian government, regulator, the state-owned post office and the Jakarta Futures Exchange – Kinesis is now commencing the launch sequence of its offering into the under-banked Indonesian market on a large scale.

What is Kinesis’ monetary system?

The currency is designed to combine the flexibility and convenience of modern digital systems with the older ‘gold standard’ principle. Each unit of the currency corresponds 1:1 with real gold and silver assets, and users are able to physically redeem their holdings whenever they so wish. At the same time, it is designed to be as easy to spend and use as any debit card tied to a traditional modern bank deposit account, including for smaller transactions and micropayments.

The direct connection to two of the most stable and reliable stores of value in the world – gold and silver – gives the currency a major advantage over similarly blockchain-based ‘crypto-currencies’, which are notoriously volatile. High processing speeds and percentage-based transaction fees, connected to real-world payment infrastructure, ensure its suitability for everyday real-world use as a currency, as opposed to a vehicle for financial speculation. Separately, the currency provides a means for investors to directly invest in precious metals in a way that generates a return, as opposed to merely incurring a storage cost.

The need for such a currency is particularly acute in a country such as Indonesia. Although the country holds tremendous economic potential, particularly in relation to its young and burgeoning middle-class, two thirds of its 260 million citizens don’t have a bank account. On the other hand, gold is a major part of the nation’s savings culture, and is regarded as a legal investment under Sharia law (Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world). Kinesis’ monetary solution is well-tailored to these circumstances.

Thomas Coughlin, CEO at Kinesis Money comments: “Blockchain-based currency is a fantastic idea with many potential applications, but so far this potential has been squandered, generating more heat than light. The panoply of so-called cryptocurrencies that have come to market in recent years are extremely volatile, rarely based on any underlying assets, and very difficult to use for ordinary transactions, and hence have become objects of frenzied speculation rather than anything lasting and useful.

“By constrast, Kinesis’ system, in tying its value directly to physically-held quantities of gold and silver, and thus in a sense resurrecting the gold standard, can provide a more stable and reliable source of value than even many mainstream central bank-backed currencies, while retaining all the convenience of use. Our expansion into the Indonesian market shows how far this is from a pipe dream or blue-sky concept – major, prestigious institutions across Indonesia have bought into the vision, and use of the new monetary system will soon be a fact of everyday life for millions of ordinary Indonesian citizens.

“The application in Indonesia is a perfect example of how the system can be used to drive financial inclusion within historically under-banked regions and countries that nonetheless have a high level of mobile technology adoption. However, the advantages are global. In an increasingly volatile global economic environment we believe the prospect of a convenient gold-and-silver-backed-currency that simultaneously provides a way to invest in these precious metals for a return will look increasingly attractive. We look forward to further expansion in the future.”

What does the Indonesian launch entail?

In order to create the right conditions for launch and develop the necessary infrastructure to make the digital gold currency a success, Kinesis has worked in close collaboration with key stakeholders including the Indonesian government, and has partnered with a number of major national organisations for delivery:

·       Kinesis worked closely with the Indonesian government and financial regulator to foster the regulatory environment required to allow for the implementation of Kinesis’ monetary system, culminating in new rules regarding physical gold trading in February 2019.

·       The new rules state that any technology for online or exchange-based physical gold trading products must be deliverable and physically located within Indonesia. To this end, Kinesis has agreed, together with OZL (part of the Liechtenstein Precious Metals Group) and the state-owned post office PT POS Indonesia to build, develop and operate Indonesia’s first purpose-built bullion vault, according to international best-in-class standards.

·       Kinesis has partnered with Allocated Bullion Exchange (ABX) and the national commodities exchange – Jakarta Futures Exchange (JFX) to establish the spot Jakarta Sharia Gold (JSG) contracts to enable the physical trading, vaulting, vault management and logistics of Sharia Compliant physical bullion. PT Kliring Berjangka Indonesia (KBI), Indonesia’s state-owned commodity clearing house, will have oversight responsibilities; Kinesis as the Indonesia vault facility provider, when operational and ABX and PT POS as physical bullion agent and logistics provider.

·       In terms of distribution and enabling widespread usage, Kinesis has partnered with PT Bullion Ecosystem International (BEI), a leading Indonesian e-commerce and financial technology company which provides mobile applications for gold trading, collateral gold finance and Sharia gold financing. BEI’s technology will allow for delivery of white-labelled Kinesis products into the hands of millions.

·       Kinesis partner BEI has an exclusive agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned postal office company, PT POS to provide multiple gold and collateral financing mobile applications. With a reliable and comprehensive distribution system across Indonesia covering over 58,700 point-of-sale service points, PT POS, the world’s third largest postal service, offers a wide range of financial services and is Indonesia’s largest non-bank financial institution, serving an active customer base of 10 million and facilitating over US$10 billion in cross-border remittances alone annually. PT POS to integrate the Kinesis Monetary System, together with BEI, to permit Kinesis digital gold (KAU) as an accepted method for sending and receiving cross-border value  for its customers, including migrant workers.

·       In order to further promote uptake, Kinesis has partnered with the Nobel-prize-nominated Muslim organisation Nahdlatul Ulamsa (NU), which has agreed to support Kinesis products as a Shariah-compliant option for its members. With over 100 million active members, NU will act as an investor base, facing millions of downstream users.

Gilarsi Setijono, President Director at PT POS Indonesia comments “Gold is a very important investment and savings asset class in Indonesia across all segments of society and the first and only purpose-built vault facility will give significant access and confidence to the market. This vault project together with Kinesis and OZL, as well as other government-related gold savings initiatives, will be of long-term benefit to Indonesia and Indonesian citizens.”

Stephanus Paulus Lumintang, President Director at Jakarta Futures Exchange, comments: "JFX is committed to providing the best solutions and services in the futures and derivatives industry.

“It's increasingly become clear to us that the benefits of distributed ledger technology, or 'blockchain' will unlock tremendous amounts of value for Indonesia and Indonesian people.

"Blockchain regulation in Indonesia is currently in progress, and it is quite an important, yet difficult task. However, JFX is ready to be a blockchain exchange company in Indonesia, in compliance with any legal and regulatory requirements.

"Our future partnership with Kinesis and ABX will enable us to not only tap into these advantages but to create a secure and transparent blockchain network that provides a credible alternative to existing systems of exchange."

Ebury, one of the UK and Europe’s largest fintechs, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Martin Fest as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Ebury, which services a global client base through its global trade and transaction banking platform, has appointed Martin to strengthen Ebury’s finance function. He will work directly with CEO and Co-Founder Juan Lobato as the company embarks on its ambitious growth strategy outside of Europe.

Fest, who holds an MBA from INSEAD, joins Ebury from fellow fintech Molo, where he was also CFO. Prior to Molo he led investment managementstrategy at Man Group and spent seven years at Barclays as an investment banker. Before banking, Martin worked in McKinsey’s risk management and financial service practice.

Jean-Michel Richard has also been appointed as a Non-Executive Director and will sit on Ebury’s Board to lead the Risk and Audit Committee. His most recent assignment was CFO and SVP Finance at Dialog Semiconductor Plc (2006 2015), one of the fastest growing European public Semiconductor companies at the time.

Prior to that he worked for On Semiconductor and Motorola in the USA and across Europe. Since leaving Dialog, Jean-Michel has sat on the Advisory Boards of a number of technology startups in the UK and France, and currently advises  QUALTERA. He holds a Master in Economics from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Ebury currently serves over 35,000 small and mid-sized companies and institutions around the globe, executing over $2bn per month in transactions. Its rapid growth reflects the global trends of disintermediation of transaction services, as global banks focus on their core offerings.

Juan Lobato, Ebury’s Co-founder and CEO, commented: “I am delighted that Martin is joining the team at Ebury as he brings valuable experience and expertise in the banking and broader finance sector.

“Martin joins Ebury at a significant period of growth for the business – we continue to open new offices and are hiring around 50 new employees every month.

“The appointment of Jean-Michel will strengthen our Board – he brings superb business insight, particularly regarding financial performance. It is a testament to the trajectory of Ebury that we were able to attract a Non-Executive Director with Jean-Michel’s level of experience.”

Martin Fest, CFO of Ebury added: “Ebury is one of Europe’s most dynamic and rapidly-growing companies and I am delighted to be joining Juan and the team during this exciting time for the business.”