Published
- 04:00 am
XPS Pensions Group, the largest purely pension consulting and administration firm in the UK, has signed an agreement with financial technology business RiskFirst to continue to deliver fast, high-quality and transparent reporting and modelling to clients through PFaroe’s comprehensive suite of analytics.
XPS was formed following the merger of Xafinity and Punter Southall – both of which have been longstanding users of PFaroe. XPS will use PFaroe alongside its other systems to provide value-added service, and valuation and analytics capabilities that can help to drive optimised decision making and truly successful outcomes for clients.
Paul Cuff, CEO of XPS, comments: “We are firm believers in harnessing cutting-edge technology to deliver effective, dynamic solutions to our clients. PFaroe is a key component of our technology offerings, providing detailed, accurate reporting and valuations, upon which clients can confidently base their decisions.”
Matthew Seymour, CEO of RiskFirst, says: “We very much value our longstanding relationship with XPS and are pleased they have decided to extend this relationship. PFaroe offers flexible, efficient, effective risk management capabilities which complement XPS’s suite of tools to support the needs of their clients.”
- 04:00 am
SafeCharge (AIM: SCH), the partner of choice for businesses who demand more from payments technology, today announced the opening of its new office in China less than four years after launching in the country. The new office is based in Shenzhen’s PingAn International Finance Center, a 115-storey supertall skyscraper in the Futian business district. This latest expansion marks SafeCharge’s growing footprint across the APAC region, where it already has offices in Singapore and Hong Kong with an overall team of nearly 20 people.
“Considering the increasing business with Chinese merchants and the closer relationships with Chinese payments giants Alipay, Tencent and Unionpay, establishing local customer support is a natural next step as we provide the highest quality of service to our partners,” explains Yoav Chernitz, China Business Development Director at SafeCharge. “Demand more is SafeCharge’s motto: we deepen our presence in China in order to deliver more to our customers, to interact more with them and to align our product development more with Chinese customers’ unique requirements”
“A strong presence in China is key to support both Chinese clients aiming to expand their business internationally and for non-Chinese companies looking for effective channels to deal with Chinese customers,” adds Willy Kwa, Regional Director APAC at SafeCharge. “All customers want the same, no matter where they are located: they want to be supported closely, especially when they are entering unknown markets”.
Thanks to its comprehensive business relationships with Alipay, Tencent and Union Pay, SafeCharge aims at developing further support for Western clients accepting payments from Chinese customers and marketing their product and services to local customers.
“China is taking a leading role in the global economy, specifically in the field of e-commerce and payments innovation” says David Avgi, CEO at SafeCharge. “Besides providing local support to new Chinese international players, we have expanded our footprint in China to learn and develop strong partnerships as we believe Chinese companies will play a very important role in the future of fintech innovation.”.
- 08:00 am
EML Payments USA, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of EML Payments Limited (ASX: EML) ("EML"), and PointsBet USA Inc. today announced they have launched a reloadable payments card that allows their customers in New Jersey to load funds to their gaming account and quickly access their winnings. PointsBet has experienced rapid growth since entering the U.S. market with its unique points betting product. The addition of the PointsBet card experience solidifies PointsBet's and EML's leadership in providing an unrivaled online sports betting experience in the Garden State.
"The launch of the PointsBet reloadable payments card represents an exciting time in sports betting for both PointsBet and EML. Both companies understood the importance of being first to market with an acquiring and payout solution to enhance the PointsBet gaming experience, boost brand loyalty and meet the challenges of today's rapidly evolving U.S. online sports betting landscape," said Jamison Jaworski, president Americas, EML Payments.
The combined powers of PointsBet and EML allow users to enjoy a seamless funding experience without the headache experienced by most other gaming operators in the U.S. market today, Cardholders enjoy real-time payouts that can be pushed back into their gaming account or used online, in-store, in-app or at ATMs.
"Our relationship with EML has allowed us to quickly and seamlessly integrate a withdrawal method that is unique to the U.S. sports betting market. While other sportsbooks are still trying to figure out how best to payout winnings to their players, PointsBet is able to focus on making continual improvements to our existing process and providing a VIP experience," said Johnny Aitken, U.S. CEO, PointsBet.
Having successfully provided innovative payment solutions to sports betting providers across the globe, EML is positioned to provide a consistent experience in the U.S. As more states push to legalize online sports betting in 2019, the partnership with PointsBet is only the first step in helping move this exciting new market forward. With the launch of this additional program, EML is now managing 11 branded reloadable prepaid programs in the gaming industry across Australia, Europe, the U.K. and the U.S.
"Gaming operators, casinos and fintechs have the opportunity to provide friction-free payment methods that encourage gamblers to keep playing. We're partnering with gaming providers we believe will shape the future of online sports betting in the U.S.," said Brandon Thompson, Group Chief Commercial Officer, EML Payments.
- 04:00 am
Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, has partnered with United Money, one of China’s largest currency exchange companies, to digitize payment processes and offer multi-currency Visa travel cards.
Jiang Zhongmo, founder of United Money, said “We are delighted to offer our customers a reliable and secure payment solution, which is backed by trusted industry leaders Wirecard and Visa. As experts in the field of foreign currency exchange, we are confident that Wirecard’s digital payment solution will fulfill the expectations of our customers, whether they are first-time or experienced travelers. We welcome this innovative and forward-thinking solution by Wirecard.”
The digital card supports currencies from the most-visited regions of the world: Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the UK, US and Eurozone. Consumers can load the cards before traveling, locking in exchange rates. United Money, one of the first officially recognized currency exchange companies in China, offers additional services in VAT refund processing and banknotes wholesale.
“As a global company at the forefront of digital financial innovation, we understand the barriers that are faced when paying in a foreign currency,” said Grigoriy Kuznetsov, EVP of Global Financial Services at Wirecard. “This is why we are proud of the collaboration with United Money, a market leader in China in the area of currency exchange. We look forward to developing further innovative solutions for United Money.”
“Multi-currency Visa travel cards are a great option for consumers travelling internationally who want a convenient, secure payment alternative to cash,” said Rajiv Ramanathan, Head of Products, Asia Pacific, Visa. “Visa’s role as a global payments network is about creating the right industry standards for people to pay digitally wherever they choose to travel, and we’re proud to work with United Money and Wirecard on this new solution.”
The multi-currency cards allow users to lock in favorable exchange rates before traveling, presenting an attractive opportunity for millions of Chinese travelers currently fulfilled by cash or traveler’s checks. A study by Coresight Research on Chinese outbound tourists found that foreign exchange rate fluctuations, especially unfavorable ones, will affect frequent travelers’ decisions when choosing a destination. By using the Wirecard-issued multi-currency Visa card, travelers can avoid this problem and take advantage of favorable exchange rates instead.
- 09:00 am
Artificial intelligence (AI) will produce more accurate, reliable and transparent credit decisions than human-based systems within five years, according to capital markets professionals surveyed by Intertrust.
Intertrust, a global leader in providing expert administrative services to clients operating and investing in the international business environment, surveyed over 500 capital markets executives to identify the impact that disruptive technology is having on jobs and skills. Of these, one in six (14%) believe that AI has already surpassed human-based systems.
In recent years, the data sources used in credit decision-making have become increasingly broad and non-traditional, now including social media activity, retail spending habits and even political inclinations.
The research revealed a division in the industry about the impact of using such data on the quality of decision-making. While a third (30%) of respondents believe that using a broader range of data reduces subjectivity, a fifth (18%) think AI exacerbates existing prejudices in the credit decision-making process.
Intertrust’s study also highlighted privacy concerns regarding expanded data sets. Although almost a third (31%) of respondents think that the use of non-traditional data such as and personalised algorithms leads to better credit decisions than just relying on detached data, 36% believe tighter legislation is required to protect borrowers’ rights when they apply for funding and to restrict the information included in the assessment. A fifth (20%) suggested that the use of non-traditional data has already overstepped the ethical line and needs to be better controlled.
Cliff Pearce, Global Head of Capital Markets at Intertrust said, “The use of AI in credit decision-making has become increasingly commonplace, with the potential to make quicker more accurate credit decisions based on an expanded set of available data.
“A challenge in this area is that AI systems are only as good as the information programmed into them. For example, while a prospect may look like a poor risk at first sight, there may be extenuating circumstances overlooked by the system that a human would have noted. Put simply, AI underlines the contrast between the prime and more specialised non-conforming lending markets.”
- 05:00 am
Australia Post is pleased to be offering its customers a new choice for paying bills by piloting state-of-the-art mobile payments app, Sniip.
General Manager Payments and Financial Services at Australia Post, Deanne Keetelaar, said Sniip’s mobile payment technology means customers can pay their bills from their smartphones within seconds.
“Australia Post is very excited to be working with Sniip on this pilot project, which supports our commitment to continually improving the bill payment experience for customers,’’ Ms Keetelaar said.
“We will initially be offering our customers the ability to pay bills from selected billers using Sniip and seeing how they respond. Sniip has proven through its current billing partners that bill payers see the need for a simple user experience that is both secure and fast,” she said.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sniip, Damien Vasta, said the company was excited to be working in partnership with Australia Post, introducing the new payment option via a simple scan of ‘Post Billpay’ barcodes, which currently appear on many bills.
“We see it as a great vote of confidence that Australia Post is working with us to offer Sniip as a bill payment option to its vast customer base,’’ Mr Vasta said.
Sniip offers substantial benefits to billers including cost savings compared to other payment methods, quicker payments and conversion to paperless bills via in-app push notification of bills to users.
“With Sniip now available as a payment tool, users can scan the “Post Billpay” barcodes and pay their bills within seconds, eliminating the need to enter a long account number, reference number or bank account details.
“The Sniip integration makes payments easier and safer on a mobile, allowing customers to manage their bills more efficiently in-app and reducing instances of misplaced bills, forgotten emails and late payment fees,’’ Mr Vasta said. “We’ve already helped customers including Brisbane City Council and Queensland Urban Utilities to improve the bill payment experience for their customers and we look forward to extending this to Australia Post.”
Mr Vasta said that with an estimated 80% of Australians owning a smartphone, and people using them for almost everything they once did on a desktop, offering customers the ability to both receive and pay a bill on a mobile is simply responding to a market need.
“There is a consumer expectation that everything can be accessed on a mobile, and everything should be easy to use. Paying a bill is never pleasant, but Sniip has tried to offer customers the ability to make it happen quickly and easily,’’ Mr Vasta said.
Mr Vasta said that 88% of current Sniip users paid their bills before the due date, which is considerably higher than the national average for billers. The Australian-developed mobile payment app has been well received by the market, growing transaction volumes by 15% quarter-on-quarter since 2016.
- 07:00 am
The Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC), the leading association for the blockchain ecosystem, has appointed Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets℠ and head of Corporate Business Development at Fidelity Investments, to its board. Tom’s appointment to GBBC’s board will be formalized at the next general assembly meeting.
In his role as president of Fidelity Digital Assets℠ - Fidelity’s institutional digital asset platform -Tom is responsible for directing the company’s long-term vision to create a full-service enterprise-grade platform for digital assets to service an institutional investor client base. He has additional responsibility as head of Corporate Business Development at Fidelity, leading an internal team focused on identifying and executing strategic opportunities including acquisitions, divestitures, strategic investments and partnerships.
Tom’s appointment will place GBBC in a stronger position to advise companies in the financial services industry on the successful incorporation and implementation of blockchain to enhance their offering and services. This is especially important following recent research from GBBC that reveals that the vast majority (69%) of professional investors believe that blockchain will have the biggest impact on financial services/banking in the next five years over other industries such as digital identity (45%) and healthcare (34%).
Prior to Fidelity, Tom was president of Chain, a leading provider of enterprise blockchain solutions to global financial institutions. He oversaw all facets of Chain’s commercial strategy including sales, marketing, and strategic business development. He also previously served as global head of technology business development for Goldman Sachs.
The GBBC brings together innovative organizations and founding thought-leaders from over 40 countries to advance understanding of blockchain technology amongst global regulators and business leaders. Tom’s appointment to the GBBC’s Board is yet another marker of the GBBC harnessing stalwart industry expertise in order to serve as the focal point for all things blockchain.
Tomicah Tillemann, Chair of the Board of the GBBC, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tom to the board. He brings an unparalleled knowledge of the blockchain ecosystem that will help guide our operations in the years ahead. As we ramp up the GBBC's several global initiatives, we are certain that Tom’s expertise will strengthen the Council's work on behalf of the global blockchain community.”
Tom Jessop said: “GBBC has a strong reputation among the digital community for its commitment to global blockchain development. I look forward to joining the team and working across GBBC’s network to advance the understanding of blockchain technology among global regulators and business leaders.”
- 02:00 am
New benchmark data from ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW), a leading global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, revealed a 13 percent increase in fraud attempts in the click and collect channel during the 2018 peak holiday season. Based on hundreds of millions of merchant transactions, including some of the UK’s leading global retail brands, click and collect also saw consumer transactions peak at 20 percent right before Christmas as shoppers bought last-minute gifts before the holiday.
Principal findings from the data include:
- Overall volume of purchases increased by 16 percent, while overall value increased 9 percent compared to the same period in 2017
- Click and collect transactions increased 20 percent, peaking the weekend prior to Christmas
- Fraud attempts on click and collect increased 13 percent
- Volume of purchases increased by 27 percent while the value of purchases increased by 17 percent during the weekend after Thanksgiving (November 24 and 25) in 2018, compared to the same period in 2017
- Volume of fraud attempts increased by 1 percent, while the value of fraud attempts increased by 6 percent in 2018 compared 2017
Black Friday
- Volume of transactions on Black Friday increased 20 percent in 2018 compared to 2017
- Volume of fraud attempts on Black Friday decreased to 1.30 percent compared to 1.59 percent in 2017
Cyber Monday
- Volume of transactions on Cyber Monday increased 9 percent in 2018 compared to 2017
- Volume of fraud attempts on Cyber Monday decreased to 0.84 percent compared to 1.28 percent in 2017
“We saw genuine consumer transactions outpace fraudulent transactions this past holiday season as merchant fraud strategies kept pace in the market. In addition, merchants have become savvier as they are spreading out the volume of sales earlier in the holiday season (October through November) compared to years past, to reduce fulfilment and delivery bottlenecks,” Dietrich continued.
ACI’s UP eCommerce Payments solution offers integrated, real-time fraud management capabilities, which utilise artificial intelligence, advanced machine learning and predictive and behavioural analytics designed to maximise revenue conversion while thwarting fraudulent activity. The award-winning solution offered in ACI’s cloud is designed to scale for real-time fraud prevention at peak and high volumes.
- 04:00 am
Capital Markets technology specialists Neueda has launched a comprehensive service aimed at helping investment firms enhance competitiveness, improve efficiency and streamline costs through test automation.
Combining Neueda’s industry experience and its leading automation technology, Scrutiny has been developed to reduce cost of ownership of front office applications to capital markets firms and improve time to market through test automation and process optimisation.
Through its Scrutiny service, Neueda provides capital markets firms with a full analysis of their current development processes, access to a team of skilled experts and a suite of solutions to deliver process improvements quickly.
“We have extensive experience working within the front office, helping evolve capital markets firms’ technology assets, alongside the fast-paced electronic trading, exchange and regulatory landscape,” explains Colin Pattison, MD Capital Markets, Neueda.
“Our Scrutiny service is essentially a combination of three elements – process, people and technology – providing our customers with a strong foundation upon which to build their automated test solutions.
“We begin by carrying out a detailed analysis of our customers’ processes and architecture, to identify an automated test approach and process efficiencies.
“Leveraging our technologies, we develop solutions that facilitate test automation. We work with customer teams to optimise development process, removing the need for manual testing and ultimately improving productivity for the customer,” Colin said.
Neueda has developed a number of products and frameworks to facilitate test automation. These include its Etiqet and Exchange Simulator solutions.
Etiqet is an Open Source test automation framework, developed in Cucumber and designed to make testing of front office messaging applications easier. Etiqet is released under the MIT license and our customers are welcome to freely access and use as they require.
Neueda’s Etiqet software can be accessed via https://github.com/blu-corner/etiqet
Another solution available via Neueda’s Scrutiny service is the Exchange Simulator, an exchange matching and connectivity simulation environment that replicates the behaviour of global exchange platforms. Neueda Exchange Simulator provides a full matching environment with order entry and market data interfaces for multiple exchange protocols including LSE Millennium, FIX, Deutsche Boerse Xetra, Nasdaq Ouch and Euronext Optiq. It offers a repeatable test environment and the ability to configure complex market scenarios.
Neueda is a trusted partner to major capital markets firms across the globe.
“We are known in the industry for the quality of our custom software development and services across multiple asset classes and technologies. In launching the Scrutiny service, we’ve taken an innovative approach by packaging our industry expertise and process, combined with our technology, to deliver value to our customers in the form of a new service,” commented Malachy O’Neill, MD North America, Neueda.
Founded in 2006, Neueda is a privately owned software development and IT organisation with a customer base spanning, both public and private sectors as well as capital markets. With a headcount of 325 resources, the company is headquartered in Belfast, with further offices in London and Malaga.
- 02:00 am
BSI’s global centre of excellence for Cybersecurity and Information Resilience has forecast three key emerging trends across the cybersecurity landscape for 2019.
1. ePrivacy Regulation and related international standards
As organizations continue to grapple with the implementation of the GDPR, a new EU regulation will set additional rules to protect privacy and confidentiality in electronic communications. The ePrivacy Regulation will repeal the current ePrivacy Directive and is anticipated to come into force late 2019. The ePrivacy Regulation aims to guarantee the rights laid down in Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, which guarantees the right to a private life and private communications.
Stephen O’Boyle, Global Head of Cybersecurity and Information Resilience Services at BSI said: “The proposed sanctions associated with breaching this new regulation indicate its significance, as with the GDPR, organizations will be expected to pay 4% of their total worldwide annual turnover or a fine of up to €20 million. However, unlike the GDPR, this future ePrivacy Regulation will come with significantly more complex requirements, including architectural compliance and integration. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) adds weight to the claim that the ePrivacy Regulation is fast-approaching, as it prepares for the publication of its new ISO/IEC 29101 ‘Privacy Architecture Framework’ and ISO/IEC 19086-4 Cloud computing; Service Level Agreement (SLA) framework; Part 4: Components of security and of protection of PII. In 2019, it will be vital that all Information Technology and board level professionals acquaint themselves with this new regulation.”
2. Upsurge in malware
Once considered to be more robust operating systems than their competitors, BSI identifies Linux and MacOS cyber-attacks as another key area for growth in 2019, with the volume of Linux malware reported to have tripled since 2016.
Stephen O’Boyle explains: “A commonly held belief that these operating systems are less susceptible to cyber-attacks, could expose the systems to challenging situations. This perception is counterproductive as it means fewer security controls are implemented and, more troublingly, given the reported rise in Linux-based attacks, many Internet of Things (IoT) devices and many web-based systems use Linux operating systems, which could lead to an increase in security breaches if this trend continues to grow. Subsequently, a re-evaluation of security requirements is needed to maintain cybersecurity.”
BSI also highlights crypto mining malware as a significant area which will experience a surge. ‘Cryptojacking’ is a relatively new term which refers to the remote use of malware to take over a computer’s resources and uses them for cryptocurrency mining without a user’s explicit permission.
“The upward trend involving the unauthorised use of individuals’ IT assets to mine digital currencies will persist, however these attacks will move away from being browser-based and instead will originate within your operating system. This underscores our concern surrounding the integrity and resilience of operating systems - securing these cannot be taken for granted. That is why we advise organizations to perform periodic testing to identify and evaluate evolving malware threats,” says Stephen O’Boyle.
3. Critical infrastructure as key targeted sector
In 2019, critical infrastructures will continue to be involved in the cyberwarfare geopolitical landscape but will probably be subjected to more disruptive and offensive cyber-attacks.
Stephen O’Boyle explains: “The rise of state sponsored investment in cybersecurity will continue as a trend, largely in response to the offensive strategies of a select few nations. To counter this growing threat to international relations, the deadline set by EU regulators for the adoption of the Directive on security of Network and Information Systems (NIS Directive) will hopefully push member states to implement best practice surrounding the security of their essential services.”
“The increase in laws and regulations will require high levels of expertize in 2019. Malware attackers and phishing campaigns will continue to be present, characterized by augmented persistence and undetectability. Targeted sectors such as critical infrastructure will remain a primary target in the geopolitical landscape of cyberwarfare. The innovation of technology will continue to be accompanied by unanticipated cyber risks. When it comes to cybersecurity, preparation is vital and forecasting upcoming threats, fixing vulnerabilities and mitigating risks are essential steps in strengthening an organization’s cybersecurity posture,” concludes Stephen O’Boyle.
