Published
- 05:00 am
Part of the larger RBI EU Digital Banking Conference, FinTech Network will host the BFC Workshop which will bring together a blend of experts who are driving the blockchain agenda within their organisations.
What can attendees expect?
• Blockchain Business Case: Assess the business case for blockchain adoption and how you can make the jump from POC to commercialisation
• Tokenisation: Understand how the tokenisation of existing assets and creation of new assets will shape the future of financial services
• Finance Use Cases: Visualise what the future holds for DLT and the role it is likely to play in the future of financial services
• Interoperability: Discuss common concerns around interoperability to dispel myths and highlight challenges helping to ensure that you’re prepared for blockchain adoption
Engage and interact with these experts who are heading up teams dedicated to advancing blockchain and other emerging technologies in a relaxed and informal setting. Download the brochure now for the speaker line-up and agenda: http://bit.ly/2UNF4wR
For further information, feel free to contact us on:
Dean Murphy
Co-Founder & Head of Blockchain | FinTech Network
t: +44 (0) 203 468 9461 | e: dmurphy@fintecnet.com
- 05:00 am
As China’s week-long Lunar New Year celebrations come to an end, we would like to take this opportunity to share our preliminary findings of Chinese consumers’ mobile payment behavior while they vacationed overseas during the holiday period. The findings are drawn from the 40-plus markets where Alipay is accepted and certainly provide a snapshot of the proliferation of mobile payment in China’s vibrant outbound tourism market.
Key findings during this year’s Lunar New Year holiday period reveal:
- Outbound travelers from third-and-fourth-tier cities made more purchases through Alipay than those from the top-tier cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
- Middle-aged travelers, which are categorized into two groups - those who were born between 1960 – 1969 and then those born between 1970-1979, were the main driving force in outbound tourism and overseas consumption.
- Specifically, the number of Alipay users from the first group increased 230% year-on-year and total consumption by this age group increased 250% year-on-year. The growth rates were the highest among all age group categories.
- The number of Alipay users in the second group also experienced an impressive increase of 190% year-on-year and total consumption by this group increased 232% year-on-year.
“We are excited to see the robust growth in the use of Alipay by overseas travelers from third-and-fourth tier cities and middle-aged vacationers. This really highlights how mobile payment is taking root in China’s outbound tourism market,” said Janice Chen, Head of Business Operation, Cross-Border Business, Alipay. “While providing a better experience for Chinese travelers, Alipay is at the same time a huge drawcard for overseas merchants as a platform to help grow their business,” she said.
The statistics also reinforce the findings from the report jointly released by Nielsen and Alipay last month. The report, titled 2018 Trends for Mobile Payment in Chinese Outbound Tourism, uncovered how the older generations of travelers are catching up with their younger peers when it comes to using mobile payment and they are also the most significant spenders while travelling abroad.
- 08:00 am
CrowdBureau Corporation, a financial technology company and index provider, announced the launch of the CrowdBureau Peer-to-Peer Lending and Equity Crowdfunding Index (tickers: CBP2P and CBP2PTR). The Index is the first of its kind marketplace lending index that benchmarks the price and total return performance of the peer-to-peer lending and securities-based crowdfunding ecosystem and designed to enable the creation of tradable financial instruments.
Amplify ETFs has licensed the index as the underlying methodology for an exchange traded fund that offers traders and investors exposure to this fast-growing industry.
The index, which consists of U.S. listed securities, has been back casted to December 31, 2017 and is calculated in real time. To be eligible for inclusion in the index, companies must operate in one of the following four segments that comprise the peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding ecosystem as defined by CrowdBureau:
(1) Peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding platforms;
(2) Financial institutions with a dedicated peer-to-peer lending platform;
(3) Social network(ing) platforms that offer or plan to offer peer-to-peer lending or equity crowdfunding services; and,
(4) Providers of technology and software solutions to the peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding industry.
A total of 36 companies are tracked in the index as of December 31, 2018.
Key facts
- The index uses a modified market capitalization weighted methodology that combines two capitalization weighted segments subject to the asset diversification requirements, and two equal weighted segments to establish an index in which a single constituent and/or the sum of the weights of the securities representing a defined group are constrained to a maximum weight;
- Reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly;
- Calculated in real time using proprietary CrowdBureau methodology;
- Prices in U.S. dollars
"The industry is maturing as more platforms are adopting and complying with the regulations of their respective countries. As of February 8, 2019, the index total return performance is up 21.03 percent year-to-date after rebounding strongly following a low reached during the market pullback on December 21, 2018. The index is positioned to bring increased transparency, liquidity and distribution to this maturing industry," said Kim Wales, the chief executive officer of CrowdBureau. Ms. Wales is an industry pioneer and subject matter expert on securities-based crowdfunding whose work contributed to the final rules of the U.S. JOBS Act, 2012 and other international regulatory frameworks on securities-based crowdfunding, equity and debt.
- 07:00 am
NEXT Biometrics (Oslo Bors: NEXT), a global leader in fingerprint sensor technology, today announced that it is partnering with M-Tech Innovations Ltd. ("M-Tech") to develop and deploy biometric smart card solutions. The collaboration targets contact-based and dual interface biometric smart card solutions to address current and evolving banking card standards. It comprises NEXT`s sensor technology that is successfully being used in millions of devices in various industry segments worldwide.
M-Tech is an accredited and certified RuPay, MasterCard and VISA card manufacturer and one of the largest smart card producers in India. In addition to the company`s strong foothold in the banking sector, M-Tech`s solutions are also used in government, access control, high-security and many more applications in India and beyond.
"We are very pleased to announce the collaboration with M-Tech and the strong growth potential that this partnership offers. As outlined at the January 2019 Business Update, we are in the process of building a sustainable network with leading players in the smart card ecosystem to commercialize biometric dual interface technology in the banking sector and beyond," said Alain Faburel, NEXT Biometrics Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.
"NEXT`s flexible sensor technology offers proven high security and accuracy levels. This is particularly important for the high standards demanded in the payment sector and paramount for a secure and consistently positive user experience. The partnership with NEXT underlines our commitment to highest quality standards and continuous innovation," said Vijay M. Gandhi, Chairman & Managing Director of M-Tech Innovations Ltd.
- 02:00 am
LC LITE is the first blockchain-based platform connecting trade parties directly via a digital solution for cross-border trade transactions requiring Letters of Credit.
The founders of global invoice finance provider, Incomlend, are launching a new platform built on the blockchain, bringing the benefits of an immutable and decentralised system within the annual $2.3 trillion Letters of Credit (LC) market. Approximately 13% of global goods trade is financed by LCs.
LCs are a financial instrument to guarantee payment from an importer to an exporter upon documentary proof of a shipment’s consignment, so guaranteeing payment in advance of final delivery. In this process, financial intermediaries - usually banks - manage the financial execution of the trade on behalf of the importer (buyer) and exporter (seller), who jointly agree the terms set out within a LC.
The LC LITE units of exchange serve as means of payment booking for the LC contract, means of ownership transfer and vehicle to trade that contract between different parties on the platform. The units of exchange circulate only within the LC LITE ecosystem and are based on the intrinsic demand for opening and processing LC contracts. The units of exchange basically allow for an LC contract to become a tradable asset between investors.
LC LITE will solve many of the current challenges faced with the existing LC model related to funds, delays, fraud and centralisation. Data forgery and manipulation are regular in the current market as there are numerous intermediaries and no information immutability. As a result, 80% of LC documents contain discrepancies when presented to banks, and the costs associated with trade documentation processing and administration represent up to one-fifth of the actual physical transportation costs.
LC LITE’s new platform enables trade parties to transfer, track and validate transactional documents directly between one another, replacing traditional banking intermediaries and Interbank (SWIFT) messaging systems. Transactions occur via a secure LC LITE smart-contract on a private chain, increasing speed, while reducing fraud and double spend. The platform includes a network consensus mechanism that authenticates all transactions and LCs by LC LITE approved validator nodes.
Dimitri Kouchnirenko is the Founding Partner of Incomlend and Co-founder of LC LITE. He has more than 19 years of experience, including 10 years in transaction banking and trade finance. Kouchnirenko commented on the news:
“Letters of Credit are a huge market, perfectly suitable for implementation on distributed ledger technologies. LC LITE’s blockchain typically replaces intermediaries by capturing the unique data of a transaction in an immutable and transparent chain of records. Its smart, self-executing contract features perform transactions automatically upon fulfilment of specified conditions in a digital Letter of Credit between the buyer and the seller.
“Reducing errors, discrepancies and fraud are major benefits of our blockchain solution. The cryptographic security underlying blockchain technology renders trade transaction records stored on blockchain tamper-proof, reliable and verifiable by all parties at all times.”
LC LITE are in a strategic partnership with Coinsilium Group, a London-listed crypto investment and advisory firm.
LC LITE ensures that the platform incentivises importers, exporters and investors. The solution improves cash flow for importers and exporters through early payment from the trading mechanism deployed on the platform.
In the LC LITE ecosystem, importers and exporters will directly establish smart contracts digitally replicating the LC instrument. Once the contract is digitally sealed, importers submit the title to the trade to investors for the corresponding value. Then, this contract value will be conditionally credited to exporters. The amount will appear on the exporter’s eWallet and will be released once trade conditions are met, guaranteeing payment for the exporter. The title and LC value will also appear on the investor’s eWallet as due for payment by the importer. Once the goods have been shipped, exporters also have the added benefit of being able to sell their units of value through the LC LITE marketplace to other participants within the ecosystem, thereby obtaining early cash on the payment due. Holders of the contract title will be able to discount it for early cash as well.
LC LITE was created by the founding members of trade finance provider, Incomlend. Incomlend is a global multi award winning invoice exchange that allows trade parties to obtain early cash in exchange for their cross-border export receivables. Incomlend currently processesfunding volumes worth approximately $240m annually and plans to reach more than $1bn in the next three years.
Kouchnirenko added:
“LC LITE revolutionises the Letter of Credit market by offering a secure and cost-effective solution for importers and exporters. Our trading mechanism is designed to provide trust in cross-border trades, allowing trade parties to issue and manage their own Letters of Credit, without the involvement of intermediaries.
“LC LITE is built on the trade experience, commercial networks and technical understanding of Incomlend’s founders. We are excited to be part of a growing and vital market for Letters of Credit as it is a perfect real-world application for the use of blockchain technology. LC Lite’s digital LC product suites complements perfectly with Incomlend’s global invoice discounting offering.”
The company will deploy its solutions globally, with priority regions in Asia and the Middle East, including Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea and India.
- 04:00 am
Nets, a market leader in the payments industry, today announces a strategic alliance with Przelewy24, a leading online payment service provider in Poland. Following the recent acquisition of Dotpay/eCard, Nets will attain a majority stake of 51% in the consolidated Polish group that will include Przelewy24 and Dotpay/eCard. Piotr Kurczewski will continue as CEO and shareholder of Przelewy24, with 49% of the consolidated group. Andrzej Budzik will continue as CEO of Dotpay/eCard.
The two deals represent a significant entry by Nets into Poland, a country characterised by solid growth in e-commerce volumes and high growth potential through cash to digital payments conversion.
Group CEO of Nets, Bo Nilsson, says: “Przelewy24 has performed very well in recent years, achieving continued growth in volume and revenue. This strategic alliance increases our presence in the merchant services area in Poland and in combination with our acquisition of Dotpay/eCard, we aim to further strengthen our presence in Poland through consolidation and strong commercial initiatives.”
Przelewy24 has a comprehensive product suite within e-commerce. As part of Nets Group they will benefit from a broader portfolio of state-of-the-art e-commerce solutions, increased industrial scale and synergies through joint innovation.
CEO of Przelewy24, Piotr Kurczewski, comments: “With our offerings in the e-commerce area we will further strengthen our combined merchant services portfolio, and as part of the Nets Group we will be able to speed up innovation, building on our joint capabilities to the benefit of merchants, partners and consumers.”
Przelewy24 employs around 100 people and its 2018 gross revenues were more than EUR 20 million. The agreement is subject to customary approvals by the relevant Polish authorities.
- 08:00 am
Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, is supplying its Cogent Automated Biometric Identification System (CABIS) and LiveScan technology to the Ugandan Police. These biometric solutions enable the police force to better solve crimes through the electronic collection, storage and processing of fingerprints, palm prints and facial captures.
Gemalto LiveScan solution will be deployed in police stations and courts nationwide and will allow capture of biometric data, along with the subject's mugshot and biographical data. Its local partner ISSUL will assist in the installation, project support and maintenance.
CABIS will enable the police to map distinct characteristics in fingerprints, palm prints and face images and use these to accelerate the matching process. In addition, client tools help forensic specialists to confirm identities and establish robust evidence that will aid conviction of guilty individuals.
Uganda Police Force will be also trialing Gemalto Mobile Biometric Identification solution, which helps officers capture individuals' fingerprints using a convenient mobile device. Biometric information is securely submitted to the CABIS over-the-air with matches relayed back to the officer directly via the handset.
"Reliable biometric data is an extremely powerful tool for identifying individuals and bringing offenders to justice," said Muhirwa Rogers, Police Undersecretary for the Uganda Police Force. "Investment in Gemalto CABIS and LiveScan technology is the latest step forward in the modernization not just of Ugandan law enforcement, but our wider homeland security infrastructure."
"Gemalto CABIS, LiveScan and Mobile ID technology reinforce the efforts of Ugandan police to tackle crime," said Tommi Nordberg SVP, EMEA Government Programs for Gemalto. "Highly scalable and interoperable, our solutions not only meet the current requirements of the Ugandan authorities, but can grow and develop in line with their future demands."
- 05:00 am
Barclays announces the appointment of Riaz Ladhabhoy as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Internet Banking, Americas in the Technology Banking Group.
Mr. Ladhabhoy joins Barclays with close to 15 years of experience in banking, most recently as a Managing Director and Co-Head of Internet and Digital Media Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank. He has advised on more than 100 transactions including initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, equity follow-on offerings, convertible bond offerings, leveraged finance transactions and private capital raises, working with clients including GoDaddy, Match Group, Netflix, Ancestry, LegalZoom, Uber, Snap, Carvana, NIO, Fitbit, Francisco Partners and Siris Capital.
“Riaz’s addition to the team will further enable us to provide our Internet clients with sound strategic advice and flawless execution,” said Laurence Braham, Co-Head of Technology Banking, Americas. “He has an outstanding track record, and deep relationships with key players in the Internet space, a critical area of investment for our Technology franchise.”
“Serving our Technology clients is a primary focus for us at Barclays,” added John Miller, Global Head of Banking Coverage. “Riaz’s appointment further builds our expertise and footprint, and will ensure that we continue to deliver differentiated and standout services for our clients.”
Mr. Ladhabhoy will start at Barclays early in the second quarter.
- 01:00 am
ABN AMRO and Dell EMC today opened a laboratory in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, where scientists and students can perform data research.
Access to modern hardware, expertise and support
In the Dataistic Center, users have access to modern hardware and support for conducting experiments. They can also re-use other users’ data and benefit from networking with like-minded data professionals. The Dataistic Center also offers expertise in banking, doing business and technological developments. The first experiments with a data cluster have begun. A group of students are using the cluster to perform advanced analyses for cancer research in collaboration with Erasmus University Medical Center and the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG).
More data, more value
Micha Rentier, Head of the Technology Lab at ABN AMRO: “In the past two years, we have worked together with scientists on data analyses and have achieved some great results. For instance, during one of the hackathons, we performed analyses on medical data sets to generate information that is vital to cancer treatment. The results were astonishing. Based on these experiences, we are now taking the next step together with Dell EMC by opening the Dataistic Center.”
“We live in a world in which data is becoming ever more important and plays a key role in many sectors, like healthcare and education,” says Patrick van de Coolwijk, Commercial Managing Director at Dell EMC Netherlands. “More and more data is becoming available every day, and can be used by scientists to create value. We see it as our mission to support initiatives like the Dataistic Center and are pleased to work with ABN AMRO to help students and scientists in their groundbreaking research,” Van de Coolwijk adds.
- 09:00 am
Central 1, creating digital solutions that make everyday banking easier, today announces the launch of technology that allows financial institutions to offer SecureKey ConciergeTM, a single sign-on authentication service, to their members.
The seamless integration of Central 1’s product means financial institution customers can access additional online services using their existing digital banking credentials, providing fewer complex logins to remember and simplifying login access for over 80 government websites. Vancity credit union and Conexus Credit Union are launching the integration of SecureKey Concierge into their systems, providing the convenient and secure service to their members.
“Canadians have come to expect new digital products and services that make their lives easier and, once again, Central 1 is proud to be delivering just that with SecureKey Concierge integration for financial institutions,” says Mark Blucher, President and CEO of Central 1. “We’re pleased to be launching the service with Vancity and Conexus credit unions and bringing increased security and ease to their customers.”
SecureKey, a globally renowned Canadian company with over 10 million Canadian users, provides a secure digital ID solution that is not only easy to adopt and use, but has proven capabilities in keeping incidents of phishing fraud at bay. Using a TRIPLE-BLINDTM configuration, SecureKey has integrated heightened security measures to ensure that unintended parties are not privy to users’ sensitive or personal information.
Central 1 developed the product to simplify the integration of SecureKey Concierge for credit unions and financial institutions. By building the technology to allow a seamless connection to SecureKey Concierge, it enables financial institutions to offer this service to their customers without needing to develop any software.
“We’re pleased to have worked with Central 1 to develop this product, which not only benefits our members by making life easier and saving them time, but also helps the wider credit union community access an important digital service,” says Atul Varde, Senior Vice President of Digital Solutions and Business Technology at Vancity.
“The launch of SecureKey Concierge brings new digital functionalities right to our members’ fingertips, while making their online life safer and easier,” says Conexus’ Chief Digital Officer, Jeremy Trask. “We are continually looking for ways to serve our members’ needs and provide solutions that are timely and relevant. SecureKey Concierge enables just that for our members, especially with tax season just around the corner.”
