CFH Clearing, TradeTech Group’s multi award-winning liquidity provider, has appointed legal and compliance expert, Julia Free to its Board.

Julia Free, a qualified solicitor, has been promoted from Compliance Officer to Director at CFH Clearing. As part of her new remit, she will take on the role of Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) and has gained a CF11 accreditation with the FCA.

Julia Free’s promotion coincides with a restructuring at CFH Clearing to merge legal, compliance and onboarding into a single department to create enhanced efficiencies for its institutional clients. Julia Free will head up this combined function. She has the ideal experience for the role, having previously also been Head of Onboarding at CFH Clearing.

Matthew Maloney, CEO, CFH Clearing comments, “We are delighted to welcome Julia to the CFH Board. Her appointment in this newly created role highlights the priority we give to ensuring our legal and compliance obligations are at the forefront of all decisions we make for the organisation.

“Julia has an in-depth understanding about our business as well as the increasingly complex legal requirements we need to adhere to as an FCA regulated firm with a global client base. She will be an asset to our Board and thoroughly deserves her promotion.”

Julia Free adds, “I am very excited about playing a more significant role in driving CFH forward. I am fully dedicated to overseeing the firm’s legal, compliance and onboarding function and to running it as a centre of excellence, helping CFH Clearing to achieve its global growth ambitions.”

CFH Clearing is part of Playtech’s financials division, TradeTech Group. The globally renowned firm helps institutional clients with their complete liquidity and technology requirements, with access to a choice of platforms and a range of technology including risk management and reporting tools. CFH Clearing has over 600 institutional clients in more than 80 countries and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For further information, please visit www.cfhclearing.com

SEBA Crypto AG & Loomis International have announced a partnership to build a TEMPEST Level A Deep Cold Storage offering for digital assets. SEBA aims to offer Custody services to institutions, corporates and individuals seeking licensed and supervised storage of crypto assets. Custody services facilitate access to and participation in global financial markets and SEBA aims to deliver these services for the crypto economy.

Loomis International, a market leader in global valuables logistics will be integral to SEBA’s crypto asset custody storage solution. Loomis offers a global high security custody model to support SEBA’s intended development.  Custody services are core to SEBA’s ambition to become one of the world’s first fully licensed and supervised crypto banks, regulated by FINMA. “A strategic partnership with Loomis underscores our commitment to meet the stringent security standards required to be a regulated entity,” said Guido Buehler, Chief Executive of SEBA Crypto AG.

The partnership is mutually advantageous to both organisations. Both companies see many more opportunities to cooperate in the emerging digital asset market. When SEBA’s ambitious plan to obtain a license materialises, Loomis will be able to offer a licensed and supervised physical asset tokenization service to its customers, and SEBA will have a ready-made market of potential clients for its asset tokenization line-of-business.

Urs Röösli, President Loomis International said, “The agreement marks a new stage in our longstanding history as a leading secure asset handling firm. Our partnership with SEBA enables us to provide a physical custody solution with a reputable visionary partner in the crypto economy.”

Saxo Bank, the leading Fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, today announces the appointment of Thomas Hovard to the position as COO of Global Distribution and Client Services, effective from 4 February 2019. 

He will report directly to Damian Bunce, Chief Commercial Officer of Saxo Bank.

Hovard joins Saxo Bank from Danske Bank where he most recently served as Global Head of DCM Sales & Research. During his 16 year tenure with Danske Bank he has held several positions in both research and sales.

In his role at Saxo Bank, he will be responsible for the ongoing operations of the Global Distribution and Client Services organisation and ensuring that the Group’s client-centric strategy is executed across markets. 

Damian Bunce, CCO of Saxo Bank, commented on the appointment:

“We look forward to welcoming Thomas. He brings extensive leadership experience and a strong skillset that will further strengthen our renowned client service and ensure we continue to meet the demands of our growing client base. Thomas shares our ambitions of leveraging innovative technology to enhance the client experience that underpins our unparalleled access to trade global capital markets.”

Thomas Hovard, COO of Global Distribution and Client Services, commented:

“Saxo Bank has pioneered in the industry with its forward-looking approach to technology, and I look very much forward to contributing to the Bank’s future growth. Saxo has a very strong value proposition that integrates award-winning platforms and products with a dedicated focus on the client experience”

Ondot Systems, the leading provider of Digital Card Services and Customer Empowerment Solutions, today announced that it was named by Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500^TM as the fastest growing Silicon Valley FinTech company, and one of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America.

A recent report “Accelerating Digital Transformation in Banking” published by Deloitte on results of a survey of 17,100 consumers across 17 countries concluded that leading technology companies have become the gold standard for digital engagement, thus driving a stronger emotional connection for consumers with these brands over their primary banks. If banks want to keep up, they must engineer their digital experience to make these emotional connections, which, ultimately, could translate into sticky interactions and more profitable customers.

“As Ondot has matured from a start-up to an established leading provider of financial technology solutions for over 4000 banks and card issuers worldwide, our solutions have redefined customer engagement from acquisition to retention to growth”, said Vaduvur Bharghavan, Chief Executive Officer of Ondot Systems. “We co-created digital card solutions with incumbent Financial Institutions such as instant digital issuance, push provisioning into eWallets, disposable digital cards, consumer card controls, instant two-way notifications with contextual conversations, location intelligence, and real time analytics with merchant data enrichment – essentially providing a one stop shop to help banks innovate and drive true transformation and differentiation in the marketplace.”

“Congratulations to the Deloitte 2018 Technology Fast 500 winners on this impressive achievement,” said Sandra Shirai, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and U.S. technology, media and telecommunications leader. “These companies are innovators who have converted their disruptive ideas into products, services and experiences that can captivate new customers and drive remarkable growth.”

“Software, which accounts for nearly two of every three companies on the list, continues to produce some of the most exciting technologies of the 21st century, including innovations in artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and robotics,” said Mohana Dissanayake, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and Industry Leader for technology, media and telecommunications, within Deloitte’s audit and assurance practice. “This year’s ranking demonstrates what is likely a national phenomenon, where many companies from all parts of America are transforming the way we do business by combining breakthrough research and development, entrepreneurship and rapid growth.”

Retail Business Technology Expo (RBTE), Europe’s largest retail solutions show from Reed Exhibitions, will combine with Retail Digital Signage Expo (RDSE) and Retail Design Expo (RDE), the UK’s leading event for innovation in retail design, as one unified show for 2019 to mirror the transformation being seen in the retail industry and better meet the needs of its show audiences. 

Reed’s three retail shows will transform into a single event, RetailEXPO, to bring together over 15,000 retailers, tech exhibitors and retail design businesses to the 2019 show, taking place on 1 - 2 of May at London’s Olympia. 

The move to unify three of Europe’s leading retail trade shows from Reed Exhibitions was based on extensive independent research, talking to over 150 senior retailers and brands that represent the shows’ audiences – from CEOs to sole traders, from multinationals to small independent shops and pureplay and omnichannel businesses*.  The findings revealed greater need for collaboration amongst retail teams, with tech, marketing and design working more closely together to deliver enhanced customer experience and the emergence of customer-specific teams and roles. 

Nicole Mills, Senior Event Director at Reed Exhibitions, explained: “There is a seismic shift going on in UK retail - every day we read about store closures, yet at the same time UK retail sales are actually increasing by 1.9% so far this year.  As the UK’s leading retail event, we had to react, which prompted us to undertake significant research amongst the UK’s most senior retailers – and they all told us the same story.  Retail survival means addressing customer needs holistically, which requires traditionally siloed departments, including technology and design, working together in a unified fashion, whilst also bringing departments, such as Marketing and Customer Experience, into decisions around technology and design.”

Borne out of the research findings, the new RetailEXPO show reflects this changing dynamic for retailers, who recognise the need to put the customer front and centre of their businesses.  By reacting to the changes in the industry and bringing the three shows together, the RetailEXPO show will evolve in the trade event that truly reflects the needs of the UK retail industry.  This will not only enhance the existing audiences’ experiences, but also significantly broadening the show’s visitor base, to deliver a single source of ideas, solutions and enthusiasm, that will help energise retailers now and in the future.

Matt Bradley, Event Director of RetailEXPO, commented: “The consolidation of all three retail shows into the RetailEXPO not only mirrors the changing dynamics of the industry and how retailers are looking to enhance customer experience, but it also allows us to deliver more innovation and inspiration to our show audiences than ever before. Through our extensive research, we’ve listened closely and carefully to what the senior retail community that attend our shows want, validating the show’s new value proposition at every stage of its development, and this is reflective in the shows coming together as a single event, RetailEXPO.” 

“Now, more than ever, retailers are having to reimagine their roles, both online and on the High Street, in order to compete and succeed in the new retail world, and success relies on innovation and collaboration – and this is exactly what the new RetailEXPO is based on,” he concluded.

GlobalPlatform, the standard for secure digital services and devices, has reported a 25 percent increase in the number of Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)-enabled processors being shipped quarterly, year-on-year. At this rate, it is expected some 10 billion devices will feature TEE-enabled processors by the end of 2018.

“The TEE is not a new concept, and standardization of the technology has been driven by our organization to support mass market deployment,” explains GlobalPlatform’s Technical Director, Gil Bernabeu. “The fragmentation caused by the deployment of proprietary TEEs makes life hard for app and service developers as they need to launch and maintain multiple versions of their apps and evaluate the security of each TEE platform. This is resource intensive and unsustainable. Our specifications and certification program give device manufacturers a standardized way to embed security that meets the needs of service providers; app developers assurance that services will be protected from attacks; and end users confidence that their data is safe.”

Enterprise IT environments, delivery of premium multimedia content, mobile payments, the internet of things, enterprise and government identification programs and more seek to balance user experience with security. The TEE isolates trusted applications, keeping them away from any malware in the device OS and separate from other apps stored in the TEE. Because of this, the TEE is an essential environment within all devices as the secure services market evolves.

By 2025 the installed base of IoT devices will be over 75.4B devices. GlobalPlatform technology is implemented across a wide range of markets globally, including payments, telecoms, transportation, automotive, smart cities, smart home, utilities, healthcare, premium content, government, and enterprise ID. Protected devices include connected cars, set top boxes, smartphones, tablets, wearables, and other IoT devices.

To enable device manufacturers to proactively market their products as meeting the needs of digital service providers, GlobalPlatform managesfunctional and security certification programs for TEEs. These objectively illustrate that a device manufacturer’s GlobalPlatform-based secure component and digital service management capabilities are interoperable and meet required security levels, providing reassurance that it will protect digital services and enable them to perform as intended in the field.

“Device manufacturers and service providers must work together to ensure suitable security is the foundation of end-user services,” adds Kevin Gillick, Executive Director of GlobalPlatform. “GlobalPlatform technology empowers stakeholders to interact seamlessly when deploying digital services, regardless of industry, sector or device type. This resulting collaboration makes mass marketing of digital services possible, while ensuring the appropriate level of security and supporting privacy requirements.”

Last month, GlobalPlatform announced it had conservatively calculated that more than 5.5 billion Secure Elements (SEs) deployed in 2017 were based on its specifications, an increase of over 1.5 billion from the previous year. Additionally, over the last three years, in excess of 1 billion SEs were embedded within mobile devices, 100% of which were based on GlobalPlatform technology. To learn more, visit the GlobalPlatform website.

The TALL Group of Companies, the UK leader in the provision of secure paper and electronic payment solutions, has been appointed authorised distributor and service partner to sell and support Olivetti banking products in the UK and Ireland from specialist manufacturer Olicom, the new owner of Olivetti banking&postal specialised printers The strategic partnership has been designed to provide the banking and financial sector with improved access to these innovative printing solutions.

Olivetti’s range of passbook printers has technologically evolved over recent years by incorporating enhanced functionality, such as the ability to capture debit and credit card details, as well as ID cards. In addition to the most well-known Olivetti PR2 and MB multifunctional printers in the world, one of the company’s most popular products is the open frame Olivetti A600K, the only scanner that combines a cheque reader (MICR) and document scanner in one single device, which can seamlessly integrate into self-service kiosks and ATMs. Its small footprint allows self-service systems to be upgraded at a low cost and it has been successfully implemented on a large scale by major ATM vendors as part of important branch transformation projects.

Alfredo Isacchi, Vice President at Olicom, said: “The TALL Group boasts a strong reputation and a significant footprint across the UK and Ireland, which will enable more companies from across this region to benefit from our world-class printing solutions. We are absolutely confident that the TALL Group’s presence and growing influence will ensure this partnership is highly successful and profitable.”

Martin Ruda, Group Managing Director of the TALL Group of Companies, said: “As an established leader in the provision of passbooks, we have huge synergies with Olicom. We have a strong and proactive sales, distribution and service department and we are very excited to offer the innovative Olivetti range to the banking and financial sector across the UK and Ireland.”