PrePay Solutions (PPS), subsidiary of Edenred the world’s leading corporate payments organisation, is supporting Countingup to become the first mobile bank in the UK to offer invoicing and expense tools. 

First launched in 2018, the revolutionary PPS-powered mobile app initially allowed small businesses to do banking, bookkeeping and stay on top of their taxes. Building on this comprehensive product offering, the new invoicing and expense tracking tools are tailored to fit the specific needs of the UK’s small businesses.

PrePay Solutions played a key role in the creation of the Countingup’s services and its new additions by creating, operating and managing the infrastructure. The technical platform was designed to streamline accounting services, as well as provide business owners with a snapshot of their financial health. 

On a continuous mission to make the running of businesses smoother, Countingup is already popular across the UK. Since launching, it has processed over £100 million transactions and received £8 million in customer deposits for over 8,000 small business customers. The new offering will make Countingup even more appealing to business owners.

Backed by leading venture capital firms, Forward Partners, Frontline Ventures, Jam Jar Investments and partnered with PPS, the company is continuing to develop innovative accounting solutions. As such, plans are already in place to launch to grow the app with additional billing and VAT filing tools, as well as enabling multi-user access – PPS will power the app as it develops.

Ray Brash, CEO at PrePay Solutions commented: “At PrePay Solutions we are always on the lookout to support innovative technology companies that are providing tools to help UK businesses run more smoothly. We are thrilled to power the Countingup app as it provides the UK with streamlined accounting tools for the first time. The company has proved itself to be incredibly forward-thinking and we can’t wait to power their upcoming product offerings.”

Tim Fouracre, CEO and founder at Countingup, commented: “We are delighted to be working with PPS’ team of experts – who have helped strengthen our incredibly comprehensive range of accounting features. Our app enables business owners to use one streamlined software for most of their accounting needs – no longer needing to juggle several methods. We have exciting plans on the horizon and look forward to continuing work with PPS.”

iProov, a leading provider of biometric authentication technology and genuine presence assurance, today announces the launch of its Palm Verifier product at Finovate Europe 2019.

For the very first time, users will be able to use palm verification on any of their personal devices, either as a standalone mode of authentication or as an additional authentication factor, with strong assurance of genuine presence.

The launch provides a new choice for consumers, employees and enterprises, enabling them to select the secure, device-independent biometric they prefer. For example, users can authenticate themselves using Palm Verifier when conducting high value transactions, attempting to access personal information like medical records, using remote ATMs or gaining physical access to unsupervised remote sites.

Users simply hover their palm above their device and Palm Verifier will authenticate them in under 5 seconds. The process is fast, flexible and hygienic and is also exceptionally easy, intuitive and inclusive to use.

For certain users and in a number of cultures, face verification is neither a preferred nor an accessible mode of authentication. For these users, Palm Verifier will deliver an anonymous, easy, yet highly secure authentication experience that can be used in all light conditions. Unlike faces, palm prints are not shared on social media or stored in government records therefore do not provide traceable clues back to the identity of the user. This means for some users; Palm Verifier’s key benefit is its anonymity.

Palm Verifier is protected by the genuine presence assurance capabilities of iProov’s patented Flashmark technology. As recently endorsed by the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL), iProov’s Flashmark-based one-time biometrics uniquely protect against spoof and replay attacks. Replay attacks, arising from social engineering and malware, are a particular hazard to consumers.  

iProov Face Verifier has already been comprehensively proven in field and laboratory tests to be strongly resistant to the full range of spoof attacks, including 3D solid artefacts. Palm Verifier has the same strong Genuine Presence Assurance, whilst awaiting scale testing of solid artefacts which pose a low hazard thanks to the anonymity of palms.

Andrew Bud, Founder and CEO of iProov, said, “Our mission is to create a safe and secure digital environment, in which users feel protected and organisations can trust in the genuine presence of their remote customer.

Palm authentication is an exciting new way to establish trust in digital interaction and support diverse user preferences. Palm Verifier is more than just a great technology innovation, it provides customers with more freedom to choose their method of authentication whilst assuring the genuine presence of their online identity.

IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, today announced the launch of an environmental, social and governance (ESG) data collection and reporting solution for private equity (PE) firms, venture capital (VC) firms, their portfolio companies and investors.  The solution is part of iLEVEL, a sophisticated platform connecting participants in private capital markets.

A recent study by Private Equity International found that 85% of limited partners (LPs) consider ESG factors during due diligence.  However, there is no single standard for general partners (GPs) to follow and it can be difficult for LPs to collect the ESG data they need. 

ESG reporting in iLEVEL covers 29 metrics shown to be relevant to investors seeking data from portfolio companies and PE or VC funds themselves.  The metrics were developed through extensive research conducted by IHS Markit with general partners and limited partners.  Flexibility in iLEVEL also permits GPs to customize the ESG metrics they want to collect based on their investor needs or portfolio companies’ characteristics.

“General partners and portfolio companies understand the value of ESG reporting, yet it has been a challenge to identify, collect and distribute relevant data,” said Melissa Ferraz, managing director at IHS Markit.  “Integrating ESG metrics into iLEVEL’s digital framework helps GPs collect, aggregate and report portfolio data more quickly, making it easier for LPs to understand and evaluate ESG performance.”

Capturing CO2 footprint, diversity in employment, independence of board members and other ESG reporting metrics in iLEVEL helps GPs and LPs apply non-financial data to their value creation and risk management processes, two areas of interest for investors, according to IHS Markit research.  Furthermore, facilitating ESG reporting can be viewed as a competitive advantage for GPs seeking to win mandates from investors interested in social or environmental benchmarks.

Adding ESG reporting is a natural expansion for iLEVEL, a cloud platform that streamlines data collection and dissemination in private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure and private credit markets.  iLEVEL provides GPs with an integrated system for portfolio monitoring, analytics, valuation and reporting and gives LPs a standardized mechanism with which to collect portfolio information from GPs.

QuantHouse, the leading independent global provider of end-to-end systematic trading solutions including innovative market data services, algo trading platform and infrastructure solutions, today announced direct access to the Fenics USTreasuries (“Fenics UST”) platform through the FeedOS API and QuantLINK global network.

Fenics UST is a fully electronic US Government securities trading venue owned and operated by BGC Financial, L.P. Fenics UST provides buy-side participants with access to cash treasuries via two electronic marketplaces: a Central Limit Order Book designed for low latency quantitative and systematic traders and a “Block Book” designed for large institutional investors. Operating 23 hours a day, the Fenics UST platform improves transparency and minimizes execution costs by reducing tick sizes down to 1/16 of a thirty-second, allowing Fenics UST to provide tighter bid-ask spreads. 

QuantHouse’s buy-side clients now have quick and streamlined access to normalized real-time and historical data to trade the US cash treasuries market. QuantHouse’s data normalization and global infrastructure connects clients to Fenics UST and more than 145 exchanges from any point of presence, in one protocol, through one API.  

Salloum Abousaleh, Managing Director, Americas, said, “Much like other asset classes, the US cash treasuries market is moving towards more electronically traded products. Fenics UST provides a new source of rich data and an entry point into the world of USTs, opening up a previously inaccessible market to today’s buy-side participants who require greater transparency and robustness. These technology-savvy investors value data quality, streamlined integration and speed, which our two organizations strive to provide.”

Rich Winter, Senior Managing Director, Fenics USTreasuries, comments, “Fenics USTreasuries is pleased to be connected to QuantHouse’s market-leading offering. The global reach of QuantHouse’s platform and delivery of state-of-the-art data and API functionality enhances Fenics UST’s offering of fully electronic global access to the US cash treasuries market for all institutional traders. Our newly launched joint initiative will help to modernize the trading experience for all players in the cash UST marketplace.”

Specialist RegTech provider Shield Financial Compliance (Shield FC) is proud to announce it has been named as one of Financial Technologist Magazine’s List of the Most Influential FinTech Companies for 2019.

Shield FC was chosen by a select panel of esteemed financial sector experts from Barclays, EY, Lloyds Banking Group, Baringa, The Realization Group, RBC, Simmons & Simmons, Everledger, Cruxy & Co, Man Group, Credit Agricole, TD Securities, Mixpanel and Harrington Starr’s Financial Technologist Magazine. 

Shiran Weitzman, CEO and Co-Founder at Shield FC stated, “We are honoured to be included in this year’s list by the expert panel. We believe our unique RegTech platform is the future of automated and intelligent regulation compliance and continue to enhance and develop it to meet evolving needs and developments in the sector. Recognition in this list is a perfect example of our expertise as we continue building and growing Shield.”

Shield FC’s platform offers the complete solution for regulation compliance monitoring and reporting. As well as providing data compliance across the whole lifecycle (from capture, to secure analysis and flexible but comprehensive investigation) it is future-proof, constantly evolving to meet future challenges from new legislation and advances in technology. 

Reflecting upon why Shield FC made the 2019 list Shiran Weitzman added, “As well as a uniquely powerful technology, our business also features an exceptional team of talented experts in both systems and business excellence, a strong and rapidly growing partner network across Europe and beyond, and field-proven solutions that can be deployed rapidly and easily with existing systems for immediate benefits.” 

Much of the current legislation (such as GDPR and MiFID II) and forthcoming regulations (such as the forthcoming EU e-Privacy legislation) mean that the traditional manual compliance monitoring has become impractical, expensive and unreliable – ensuring excellent RegTech solutions are a necessity for financial firms. 

Shiran Weitzman commented, “On average, some 20% of operational costs are spent on compliance and 10-15% of employees are currently manually monitoring compliance alerts and this is set to double by 2020, which is unsustainable and simply unacceptable! Financial firms need a holistic and automated but totally reliable solution that is also cost effective.”

Shiran Weitzman concluded, “Undoubtedly 2019 will be a very exciting year for Shield FC. We are determined to transform the financial sector’s approach and attitude to regulatory compliance, continuing to fine-tune and perfect our platform and growing our business to meet the burgeoning market demand for change.”

Shield FC’S platform continues to gain attention and praise, having recently also become a finalist in both the ‘Best Trade Reconstruction Solution for Best Execution’ and special ‘BSO Award for Fintech Innovation’ categories of the TradingTech Awards Europe 2019. 

Blockchain Expo, has today announced key expert speakers at the Global conference, Olympia London, 25-26 April 2019. An opportunity to hear from thought provoking content within blockchain solutions for enterprises, blockchain technology solutions, blockchain platforms & strategies, fintech, solutions & regulations, blockchain for business and innovations & investors.

Blockchain Expo has been embraced by the blockchain community with notable experts and leading organisations joining the conference agenda. The conference will explore the industries that are set to be disrupted the most by this new technology, including; manufacturing, retail, financial services, legal, healthcare, insurance, energy, music, government, real estate and more.

Event attendees can expect to meet with over 6,000 like-minded individuals, 350+ exhibitors such as Hyperledger, Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, Consensys, Factom Protocol and Stratis, in a series of networking opportunities. The Blockchain Expo will also allow you to ask questions to the events 200+ thought leading speakers in Q&A sessions. These speakers include:

• Nitin Manoharan, Global Director, Head of Enterprise Architecture & Tech Innovation at Philip Morris International
• Anwar Mirza, Global Head of Data Governance at TNT
• Ken Marke, CMO at B3i – The Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative
• David Ferguson, Head of Digital Innovation at EDF Energy
• Efrat Kaufmann, Emerging Technologies Business Development Lead at Bank Hapoalim
• Achim Jensky, Head of Processes/IT at Daimler Real Estate
• Ildefonso Olmedo, Head of Innovation at Santander
• Emmanuel Marchal, Managing Director at ConsenSys
• Amit Patel, Head of New Ventures at Bupa
• Julian Gray, Technology Director, Digital Innovation Organisation at BP
• Nkiru Uqaje, Blockchain Strategy lead for UKI Enterprise at Dell
• Marta Piekarska, Director of Ecosystem at Hyperledger
• Andrew Speers, Director, Product and Innovation at Natwest
• Michele Curtoni, Digital Product Development at State Street
• Udai Kiran Chilamkurthi, Lead Architect – Retail & Logistics at Sainsbury’s
• Vincent Doumeizel, Vice President Food and Sustainability at Lloyd’s Register

Blockchain Expo Europe will also take place at RAI, Amsterdam on 19-20 June 2019. Blockchain Expo North America will take place at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the heart of Silicon Valley on 13-14 November 2019.

For further information contact:

Blockchain Expo

Emma Clapp

Senior Marketing Manager

enquiries@blockchain-expo.com / +44 (0)117 980 9023

www.blockchain-expo.com

TIBCO Software Inc., a global leader in integration, API management, and analytics, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with IHS Markit, a provider of critical information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. Through TIBCO Spotfire and related technologies, this partnership will deliver advanced analytics capabilities that provide accelerated and meaningful insights, by making vast amounts of energy data more readily available, as well as speeding up the exploration of data.

“IHS Markit and TIBCO mutually serve most of the world’s energy customers and by entering into this agreement will enhance exploration and production workflows through our acclaimed visualisation and analytical tools,” commented Name, Title, TIBCO Software. He continued: “This agreement marks a strong commitment to addressing this growing need for improved workflows by providing the analytics necessary to bolster interaction, accessibility and analysis capabilities for customers exploring critical data points and information.”

TIBCO Spotfire will be used to both enhance IHSM’s existing products as well as offer new solutions.  Providing improved visualisation and integrated analytical tools to the energy industry, this agreement will propel IHS Markit in the increasingly competitive oil and gas information marketplace. The agreement will also benefit the mutual customers and prospective customers of IHS Markit and TIBCO in the energy and natural resources industry, by enhancing their ability to access, interact, consume, and analyse data. 

Commenting on the partnership, David Hicks, IHS Markit’s SVP Energy & Natural Resources – Upstream said: “IHS Markit has been providing smart data and BI solutions to the oil & gas community for decades. By integrating at a fundamental level with one of the industry’s leading analytics platforms, we’re enabling energy firms to analyse core assets and extract value at levels never seen before.” 

Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk & Reporting (FRR) business has been invited to take part in an industry roundtable, organized by the Bank of England, which will discuss proposals designed to ensure U.K. banks are accountable for their own resolvability - the Resolvability Assessment Framework (RAF).

The roundtable takes place today and includes Partner level participants from law firms, consultancies and accounting firms. Wolters Kluwer is the sole technology provider taking part in the event and will be providing expertise relating to regulatory reporting implications.

Consisting of two consultation papers, the Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published the RAF package in December 2018. An important step in the Bank’s commitment to Parliament that major U.K. banks will be fully resolvable by 2022, the package is designed to make resolution more transparent, better understood and more successful by creating a common assessment framework across all firms.

Representing Wolters Kluwer at the roundtable will be Nicos Kynicos, Product Manager for Regulatory Reporting, U.K., Ireland and Nordics at Wolters Kluwer FRR.

The decision to take part in the event is part of Wolters Kluwer’s ongoing commitment to share its regulatory insights with regulators and the industry as a whole. “This advisory roundtable provides a useful opportunity to hear directly from influential thought leaders that are contributing to this important subject for the U.K.’s banking sector,” commented Nicos. “The approach and objectives of the RAF are certainly welcome. It makes absolute sense to internalize the externalities associated with failure of major financial institutions. I look forward to discussing the wider implications of the package and hearing what the Bank and other experts believe to be the key areas for focus in the proposals.”

Wolters Kluwer FRR, which is part of the company’s Governance, Risk & Compliance division, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions. It supports regulated financial institutions in meeting their obligations to external regulators and their own board of directors.

Wolters Kluwer FRR receives frequent independent recognition of its excellence and innovation. In mid-2018, Risk magazine awarded the company its coveted Regulatory Reporting System of The Year Award and Central Banking magazine recently named OneSumX for Regulatory Reporting its Best Technology Solution For Regulatory Compliance. Wolters Kluwer FRR is also this year’s Category Winner for Regulatory Reporting in the annual RiskTech100® report. This comprehensive study of the world’s leading risk and compliance technology companies is compiled by Chartis Research. Notably, this is the seventh time in eight years that Wolters Kluwer FRR has achieved this honor.