Turnkey open banking platform provider, Token.io Limited, has been chosen by UK financial institution thinkmoney to deliver PSD2 compliance and open banking capabilities before the first Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) deadline in March.

thinkmoney is the innovative current account that offers customers budgeting and money management coaching. The firm is integrating TokenOS^TM into its banking platform to establish PSD2 compliance and enable the systems flexibility required for it to develop new value-added open banking services in the future, such as bank direct payments and account aggregation.

thinkmoney operates in a highly competitive, evolving financial market segment whose customers value help with budgeting and depend on fast, mobile access to banking services. thinkmoney customers rely on its current account as a hub to manage all their finances, allowing them total visibility of bills and payments to know exactly what they have available to spend. This means that customer experience must be seamless, with guaranteed access and intuitive self-service interfaces that help customers manage their money properly, so they can improve their credit score and enhance their financial wellbeing.

Michael Aldred, Managing Director at thinkmoney, comments: “With Token, we have a partner that can help us navigate the open banking landscape. We’re committed to simplicity and transparency and want to give our customers peace of mind that, with us, their data and money is in safe hands. Token has readied us for compliance at a fraction of the cost of other suppliers. We’re now able to look beyond PSD2 and can begin harnessing open banking to deliver new experiences and services to our customers.”

Following amendments to the RTS, European banks have until 14^th March 2019 to develop a dedicated interface ready for external testing by Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs) and Account Information Service Providers (AISPs). Those that are not ready must instead provide a contingency mechanism, such as a web-based online or mobile interface for TPP screen scraping.

Marten Nelson, Co-founder, Token, adds: "Banks across Europe now have three months to ready their interfaces for testing. Just because the regulatory deadline is looming, however, doesn’t mean they have to compromise on security or customer experience with shortcut options like screen scraping. thinkmoney’s long-term vision is to use open banking to deliver value to customers and support innovation. With TokenOS integrated, it need not worry about PSD2 compliance, and can focus on using the tools to develop new services instead. That’s the aim of our technology; to empower our customers to capitalise fully on open banking, free from the burdens of compliance and technical integration.”  

With TokenOS, thinkmoney can connect to any bank in Europe and has access to crypto-based security, open APIs and programmable money technology, together with the operational support, consent management, monitoring and reporting needed to succeed. The integration has relieved a variety of technical pain-points and is already delivering significant cost savings. Compared to alternative open banking solutions available, TokenOS is on average 70% less expensive to implement.

Before the RTS deadline, thinkmoney will have access to developer tools to build and access a range of new applications. This includes the ability to aggregate account information from multiple external sources, initiate bank direct payments and partner with developers to offer a frictionless and highly secure consumer payment experience, while also reducing the cost of payment acceptance.

As the open banking movement gathers momentum and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to proliferate across the industry, 25% of financial institutions worldwide will be capable of processing transactions initiated by third-party digital personal assistants by 2022. That's according to the latest predictions from global technology research and consulting services firm International Data Corporation (IDC), which believes the Middle East's banking and finance players must act now if they are to keep pace with rapidly evolving customer demands.

"The banking and finance sector is being redefined by the rise of AI, automation, blockchain, and fintech," says Jyoti Lalchandani, IDC's group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. "While standards of service previously differentiated one financial brand from another, it is the provision of a compelling digital experience that now separates the industry's winners and losers. As such, financial institutions across the region must look to redesign their customer interactions and seamlessly integrate physical and digital elements to deliver hyper-personalized services that truly set them apart from the competition."

With its focus firmly on exploring the future of the customer experience, the IDC Banking & Finance Congress 2018 will serve as the perfect platform for beginning this critical journey. Hosted at Dubai's Jumeirah Creekside Hotel on December 11, the event will combine thought-provoking presentations, robust case studies, and essential insights from influential industry thought leaders to provide attendees with the strategic guidance needed to stay ahead of the customer experience curve.

Targeted exclusively at C-level executives from across the UAE's banking and finance industry, the IDC Banking & Finance Congress 2018 will facilitate one-to-one meetings between the providers of cutting-edge tech solutions and the influential decision makers responsible for driving their implementation, while informative panel discussions will showcase the thoughts of industry luminaries such as:

Jameel Khan, Head of Strategy, Mashreq Bank
Anshul Srivastav, CIO, Union Insurance Company
Mudit Saxena, Former Head of Retail, Commercial Bank of Dubai
Shyam Kesarwani, Head of Enterprise Architecture, Digital Strategy, & Delivery, RAKBANK

Expert speakers will provide an in-depth examination of the latest trends shaping the digital transformation of the UAE's banking and finance industry, highlighting global best practices and offering advice on leveraging emerging technologies to enhance business processes, create dynamic consumer engagements, and open up new information-based revenue streams.

IDC's partners for the IDC Banking & Finance Congress 2018 include Red Hat, Intel, Riverbed, Software AG, FireEye, Palo Alto Networks, and Nutanix as Gold Partners; Quinnox as Exhibit Partner; and Financial IT and International Business Magazine as Media Partners.

To learn more about the IDC Banking & Finance Congress 2018, please visit: www.idc.com/mea/events/65285-banking-finance-congress-2018  or contact Sheila Manek at smanek@idc.com or on +971 4 446 3154. You can also follow all the latest updates about the event by using the hashtag #IDCBFSI.

GlobalPlatform, the standard for secure digital services and devices, has announced its Board of Directors for fiscal year 2019. Six Board seats were open and after a close election, the following individuals were re-elected to serve a further two-year term:

• Nils Gerhardt – Group VP and Head of Product and Project Management, Production IT and Professional Services for the Region Americas, Giesecke + Devrient Mobile Security.
• Marc Kekicheff – Vice President of Chip Innovation, Visa Inc.
• Eikazu Niwano – NTT Research Professor, Secure Platform Laboratories, NTT Corporation.
• Jeremy O’Donoghue – Principal Engineer / Manager, Qualcomm Inc.
• Christophe Colas – SVP Products, Trustonic.
• Mark Lipford – Director Global Standards & Ecosystem Development, Sprint.

Nils Gerhardt has also been elected Chairman of the Board after serving as Vice Chairman for three consecutive years. Rob Coombs, Director of IoT Device IP at Arm, will serve as Vice Chairman and Stephanie El Rhomri, Vice President of Services at FIME, who joined the GlobalPlatform Board of Directors in 2015, will continue in her role as Secretary and Treasurer.

Nils comments: “Quality, security and privacy need to be of the highest priority for all involved in the development, deployment and management of digital services and devices, especially in fast growing markets like IoT, connected cars, digital identities and industry 4.0. Standardized, foundational security is fundamental to prevent attacks on networks, devices, data and intellectual property (IP). But security should not restrict innovation and time to market, which is why we work at GlobalPlatform to create specifications, such as the Device Trust Architecture (DTA) framework, that support the development of open, collaborative and fast-moving ecosystems. I look forward to working with my fellow Board colleagues, all GlobalPlatform members as well as our industry and media partners to promote greater security, privacy, simplicity and convenience for the evolving markets and their consumers.”

Kevin Gillick, GlobalPlatform Executive Director, adds: “GlobalPlatform’s legacy of successful technical specification development has been made possible by strong leadership and cross-industry collaboration. As the industry evolves, the Board works to ensure that the technology specifications remain interoperable and ahead of the curve. As discussed at our annual seminar, ‘Security in Our Connected World’, everyone is looking for the holy grail - a secure system that will do everything, is easy-to-use and, ideally, free. Although the industry has not reached that point yet, there is certainly commitment to getting there. In 2019, GlobalPlatform will continue to work towards meeting the security requirements of the digital service and device ecosystem, with a focus on the DTA framework.

DTA is a security framework which shows how GlobalPlatform’s standardized secure component technology can be used to build a Chain of Trust to protect devices and digital services. It does this by offering secure services, implemented within a secure component, which can be used at each level of a Chain of Trust: from the boot mechanism, to the device operating system and up to the application layer. It enables seamless interaction between stakeholders when deploying secure digital services, regardless of market or device type.

Learn more about GlobalPlatform’s Board of Directors and how to become a member by visiting the GlobalPlatform website.

• 10.12.2018 -- 08:10 am

Nasdaq First North-listed Crunchfish forms partnership with JoinPad – a global provider of Augmented Reality solutions for enterprises. Several field tests are initiated including use cases in logistics and warehouses as well as a marketing project using AR glasses for reading comics produced by one of the most successful Italian publishing houses. In a pilot for the international fashion house Marina Rinaldi, part of MaxMara holding, Epson Moverio BT-300 smartglasses are combined with Crunchfish’s gesture control and JoinPad’s software platform. 

JoinPad is active in the enterprise and industrial sectors, developing and distributing Augmented Reality software solutions simplifying customers’ business processes. JoinPad’s customer list includes companies like Samsung, Siemens, Alstom, ABB and GE.

The pilot within logistics is a solution developed for Marina Rinaldi, part of the international fashion holding MaxMara, on Epson BT-300 smartglasses. AR and gesture control are used in the counting process in their warehouses to reduce counting time, increase accuracy and improve people’s daily work process by also reducing fatigue during the operations.

The new partnership adds a marketing channel and proof points that the interaction method in AR glasses is getting more and more attention from the users.

“It is critical for us to be able to meet our customers’ requests for AR-solutions with flexible and intuitive interaction capabilities. We are excited that we now together with Crunchfish can increase the value to our clients by offering a great user experience based on a solid gesture control technology,” says Mauro Rubin, CEO of JoinPad.

“We are very happy about the collaboration with JoinPad. They have an interesting business on a global market with applications that can truly benefit from our gesture control software. The immediate field tests targeting several of their customers make it even more exciting,” says Joakim Nydemark, CEO of Crunchfish.

SGG Group, a leading investor services firm, backed by Astorg, is pleased to announce that regulatory approvals have been received and the transaction to acquire Augentius has successfully completed.

This acquisition reinforces SGG Group’s position as the 4th largest independent investor services firm and one of the top 3 independent administrators to the alternative investment community in the world, with the deal growing its assets under administration to over USD 400 billion, and further strengthens its reach and footprint.

The services offered by Augentius will complement SGG Group’s current funds offering, including a leading technological platform and experienced and specialist teams with a reputation for providing a high quality service. 

The combined business offers a complete suite of fund administration, regulatory hosting, depositary, AIFMD reporting, regulatory compliance,  FATCA/CRS and investor solutions to institutional investors across 24 locations and employing over 2450 dedicated professionals.

Augentius will continue to operate under its existing brand name until further notice.

Justin Partington, Group Fund Solutions Leader at SGG, said:

“The completion of the Augentius’ acquisition marks a very important milestone for SGG. It reinforces our commitment to become the leading global partner for the alternative investment industry, offering a comprehensive spectrum of services to asset managers and their investors in all key fund domiciles.

Over the past two years, SGG has acquired a number of leading industry leaders including Augentius to help us achieve our global growth ambitions and our senior leadership team is dedicated to ensuring that those firms are well integrated to meet our overall long term goal of creating a sustainable firm for our clients and employees.”

Ian Kelly, Managing Director of UK and Ireland and former CEO and Executive Director of Augentius, commented:

“This is a hugely exciting time for our combined business, everyone within it and especially for our clients. We have found in SGG a partner that shares our values and our drive to build a sustainable business which provides the highest quality of service to fund managers and their investors. The remaining Augentius executive team has re-invested in the combined business as we strongly believe in the future of this firm. We look forward to working closely with our new colleagues to bring our combined business to new heights.’’

The Board of Directors of SIA, meeting today under the chairmanship of Giuliano Asperti, has appointed Nicola Cordone to the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Company, after having co-opted him as Director.

Cordone (52) has a degree cum laude in Electronic Engineering from Genoa University and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Bocconi University Business School.

He has worked at SIA since 2000 with increasing responsibilities up to his appointment as Deputy CEO and Senior Vice President Global Business Solutions in 2016.

Previously he had worked at several companies, first as Senior Business Consultant (AT&T-Unisource, Siemens Telecomunicazioni, Italtel and Ansaldo) and was subsequently employed by Servizi Interbancari (now Nexi).

Within the SIA Group, Nicola Cordone is also Chief Executive Officer of the subsidiary P4cards.

"The appointment of Nicola Cordone as the new CEO of SIA recognizes his contribution in recent years to the growth of the company on the national and international markets. I applaud the choice made by the shareholders as it allows our internationalization strategy to continue and I believe that Cordone, together with all the people of SIA, will be able to carry forward this story of innovation which is the main characteristic of the company”, said SIA Chairman Giuliano Asperti.

"I wish to thank SIA’s Board of Directors and all the shareholders for confirming their trust by appointing me as CEO of the Company. My commitment is to continue the international development of SIA with the aim of creating the leading digital payments operator in Europe, through the development of innovative services for clients as well as extraordinary operations such as the recent ones concerning the card activities of Ubis - UniCredit Group - and of First Data in 7 central and south-eastern European countries. A path that I am proud to share with a highly professional team of managers and people specializing in fintech and capable of achieving significant results", stated Nicola Cordone.

corfinancial, a leading provider of specialist software and services to the financial services sector, announces the appointment of David Veal as Senior Executive – Client Solutions.

Veal joined corfinancial as Senior Executive – Strategy and Product Management for salerio in 2015, to support the strategic development of salerio (the post-trade confirmation, matching, settlement and tracking solution), as well as working on new business development. Prior to corfinancial he spent eleven years as a founder, Chief Operating Officer and Principal Consultant at Pentagon Consulting, a management consultancy specialising in investment management technology. Veal was also Assistant Director of Operations at Rothschild Asset Management for ten years.

“In this new role, David will be coordinating across CO-STARS, paragon, BITA Risk and salerio to optimise synergy within the group and leverage the individual product successes. David and I, together with the product Heads, will be focused on establishing the strategic foundations of the business and developing a detailed plan for our current, exciting phase of growth. In essence, David’s role will cover two main elements: business strategy and product technology strategy.” said Hobson.