Allstar Business Solutions (Allstar), the UK’s leading fuel card provider, is inviting all businesses that utilise fleet vehicles for essential operations, to join the first in its series of informative webinars.

‘An Inside View: News, Views and Facts About the Fuel Landscape’, will be held on 16^th January 2019 at 10am GMT. The session will be hosted by FLEETCOR’s (parent company of Allstar) Chief Operating Officer, Paul Holland, who brings with him a wealth of experience amassed from a 25-year career in fuel management.

Having identified a range of economic, environmental, and political influences that have impacted global fuel prices, Paul will explore what this means for UK businesses operating a fleet now. The online seminar will also explore the future challenges facing fleets, as well as practical tips for navigating them.  

Paul Holland commented on the webinar series: “Allstar has worked with thousands of businesses and suppliers over the last 40 years, giving it unparalleled knowledge of the fuel landscape.

“This year is set to bring with it some huge changes that will potentially have a major impact on the fuel and fleet landscapes. From Brexit, to the increasing regulation and control of carbon emissions, it’s important for UK businesses to get a handle on the issues affecting the industry. With that in mind, I’m looking forward to not only providing insight on these challenges but sharing some thoughts as to how they can be overcome in the near future.

“This webinar series will cover a range of topics in 2019, and is designed to help UK businesses make more informed decisions about managing their fuel purchasing, given the challenging market conditions they’re currently operating in.” 

Over the course of 2019, the Allstar Business Solutions webinar series will continue to provide comprehensive snapshots of the fuel landscape, as well as provide advice on other issues relating to fuel and fleet vehicles, including cost saving and the navigation of alternative fuel sources.

Objectway announces its ongoing collaboration with BNY Mellon’s Pershing, a market leading provider of trading, clearing, settlement and custody services, to deliver Pershing's new integrated front-end solutions: Pershing Nexus Wealth®,  with digital client management portfolio management tools, and Pershing Nexus Investor, an investor portal.

Objectway has been working closely with Pershing since July 2017 to phase in all the required services. The solutions are available now and will be enhanced with the addition of execution only functionality and financial planning tools. 

“We are committed to providing a range of highly secure, flexible and innovative solutions to our clients", said Geoff Towers, Pershing's CEO, "and believe the addition of these integrated front-end tools enhance our core clearing and custody proposition and will offer a simplified solution with a single point of contact for wealth management clients across the EMEA region".

Pershing already offers clients live integration between its services and selected third-party customer relationship management, data warehouse and front-end solutions. Using Objectway’s integrated digital platform, Pershing will be able to implement a single, fully integrated, straight-through processing solution, all within a single contract.

"We are extremely pleased to have succeeded with Pershing’s extensive selection process", said Luigi Marciano, CEO of Objectway."

Objectway’s solutions will empower Pershing’s offering of workflow capabilities to wealth managers, improving management of their clients; from customisable engagement models through the whole advice process, combining human interaction with digital capabilities. The integrated portfolio management and CRM systems will also automate operational processes while enhancing service offering, in full compliance with a post-MiFID II environment.

Investors, will have a multi-channel user experience, and will be able to communicate with their advisers across many devices using online chat, video, phone or email. They will be able to check their investments, and if they wish, ask for their adviser’s help through real-time collaboration using co-browsing; thus enabling easy review and discussion remotely.

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region has announced the launch of a new VAT-based enhanced loan solution for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers.

The new loan program makes it easier for SMEs to apply for financing by providing copies of their VAT (Value Added Tax) returns filed with the UAE’s Federal Tax Authority to serve as validation of business turnover and income.

The new loan program makes it easier for SMEs to apply for financing by providing copies of their VAT (Value Added Tax) returns filed with the UAE’s Federal Tax Authority to serve as validation of business turnover and income.

Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD said, “Emirates NBD’s VAT-based loan offering symbolises our commitment to the UAE’s small and medium businesses and supports the objective of Expo 2020 Dubai to foster growth of the SME sector.”

The new program will cover home loan, auto loan and business loan products. Emirates NBD is the leading SME bank in the country offering a wide range of services comprising transaction banking, cash management, payments, lending propositions, guarantees as well as FX and investment products. Emirates NBD is also the Official Banking Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai.

Telenor Microfinance Bank, in partnership with Valyou of Malaysia, has introduced Pakistan’s first blockchain-based cross-border remittance service, powered by industry-leading blockchain technology developed by Alipay, the online payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Financial”).

The blockchain remittance service is provided by Telenor’s Easypaisa and Valyou, a financial technology company that provides remittances to underbanked communities. The plan was unveiled at an event in Islamabad attended by State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa, marking a major milestone in the country’s journey to promote financial inclusion.

Telenor Microfinance Bank, in partnership with Valyou of Malaysia, has introduced Pakistan’s first blockchain-based cross-border remittance service, powered by industry-leading blockchain technology developed by Alipay, the online payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Financial”).

The blockchain remittance service is provided by Telenor’s Easypaisa and Valyou, a financial technology company that provides remittances to underbanked communities. The plan was unveiled at an event in Islamabad attended by State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa, marking a major milestone in the country’s journey to promote financial inclusion.

Everton Football Club has signed a new partnership agreement with moneycorp, global specialists in currency exchange and international payments.

Baker Hill, a leading provider of technology solutions for common loan origination, risk and relationship management, CECL compliance, and smart data analytics, announced open registration for Prosper 2019, the company’s three-day industry conference designed to inform and inspire attendees. Prosper will take place April 28-30 at the JW Marriott in Nashville, Tennessee.

Prosper, Baker Hill’s premier industry event, is an insightful three-day conference designed to educate and inspire attendees. The conference will provide guests with an opportunity to discover how to best leverage Baker Hill NextGen®, the expert solution for lending, risk management, CECL compliance, and analytics, in combination with exploring new solutions to help financial institutions reduce risk, drive growth and increase profitability. 

Attendees will have opportunities to learn more about the latest Baker Hill NextGen® CECL solution. Launched in Q4 2018, the solution is the industry’s go-to resource for CECL preparedness and is the first CECL solution to fully integrate with a loan origination and portfolio risk management platform, providing the ultimate holistic view of risk in a comprehensive framework for financial institutions to establish, evaluate and validate credit risk.

Attendees can expect to interact with every level across financial institutions, including C-level executives, to exchange perspectives and other valuable expertise.  Those in attendance will also meet with Baker Hill’s leadership team and industry experts who support financial institutions’ solutions.

Prosper 2019 will feature keynote speaker, JP Nichols. Nichols is Managing Director at FinTech Forge, helping financial institutions build and leverage their innovative capacity through strategic partnerships and investments. Nichols is well known in the FinTech community, named to the FinServ 25 as one of the most influential voices in banking. He also launched and hosts Serial Intrapreneur, a show looking at leaders who battle the status quo to innovate and drive change.

Now in its fourth consecutive year, Prosper has become one of the industry’s leading user conferences, with many attendees returning year after year. “One of the primary reasons we come to Prosper is to gain insights into what’s going on across the industry,” said Will Parsons, Portfolio Risk Manager at Citizens and Farmers Bank. “The other benefit of attending Prosper is the opportunity to meet new users from other institutions that are often times sharing best practices, tips and tricks that we can then use to help get through our own complex processes.”

With various networking activities to choose from, Prosper 2019 is an ideal event for industry analysts, consultants, prospects and clients to connect and discuss the latest financial trends with other industry leaders. In addition to the conference sessions, attendees can build relationships while participating in activities such as touring the Country Music Hall of Fame, swinging some clubs at TopGolf Nashville, or exploring Nashville’s top BBQ spots and breweries.

“After the tremendous success of Prosper 2018, we are excited to use this momentum to create a conference solely for the benefit of our clients and industry experts,” said John M. Deignan, President and CEO of Baker Hill. “Baker Hill’s annual client meeting presents a forum to discover useful information and valuable networking opportunities.”

Drawbridge Partners today announced that Nathan Ford has joined the cybersecurity consulting firm specializing in the needs of the financial services vertical, as partner.   

In this new role, Ford will be responsible for supporting the continued growth, team build out, and deepening client relationships across the West Coast & Midwest.  

“Realizing our vision of becoming the most trusted provider of cybersecurity solutions to the financial services vertical requires an investment in the highest caliber of talent available,” said Jason Elmer, Drawbridge Partners founder and managing partner. “We’re truly delighted to have been able to attract such a recognized figure in the industry like Nathan.”

Prior to Drawbridge Partners, Ford spent nine years at Eze Castle Integration, a managed services provider focused on the financial vertical, where he was a member of the management team, establishing the Midwest region before relocating to the West Coast to take on a similar challenge.  During his tenure Ford established himself as a trusted expert in the financial vertical and a proven leader within Eze Castle Integration.   

“I am delighted to be joining Jason and the rest of the Drawbridge Partners team.  Cybersecurity, infrastructure integrity, compliance, increased regulatory reporting, and data privacy are all fundamental requirements for operating an investment firm, and I’m glad to be joining a firm that addresses these needs,” said Ford.