Five Degrees, the Dutch FinTech specialising in digital core banking software, and ieDigital, the UK market leader in digital engagement for financial institutions, together launches a premier digital banking portfolio aimed explicitly to fulfil consumer needs.

As a part of the agreement signed today, the digital banking portfolio is one of the most comprehensive solutions for financial institutions. It consists of a straight forward and cost effective method to build end-to-end banking products that help to identify and generate revenue opportunities. The offering ensures a highly personalised digital experience for the end-user, combining ieDigital’s ‘Interact’ digital engagement platform, with Five Degrees’ ‘Matrix’, a digital core banking platform.

Forrester survey data shows that decision makers in financial services firms are typically sticking to existing monolithic back-end applications that are, in many cases, decades old and focuses on the digital front end without addressing the need to update the core. This is known as the ‘Potemkin effect.’

A combined Core (Matrix) and Engagement Platform (Interact) from two dedicated experts of their fields, solve the ‘Potemkin effect’ by creating a seamless digital end-to-end experience that customers need. This allows new banking products and services to be easily designed, and quickly delivered.

The joint partnership between Five Degrees and ieDigital strengthens their position in the retail and business banking, private banking, and NBFI’s such as Motor Finance, adding value to all core banking customers and delivering faster digital channel deployments. 

Martijn Hohmann, CEO of Five Degrees, states: "Five Degrees’ partnership with ieDigital will enhance the digital experience for our customers and prospects and reinforce our proposition by adding world-class consumer-oriented solutions to our offering. Furthermore, this agreement grows our business and secures our leadership position in banking across the globe.”

“Our global vision is to give everyone the chance to have a healthier and more convenient life while choosing and interacting with financial products. Joining forces with ieDigital will help make our vision a reality much faster by accelerating the development of our digital solutions portfolio. Our joint venture provides financial institutions with the tools to offer a better experience for consumers when managing their finances daily.”

Jerry Young, CEO of ieDigital, states: “The partnership with Five Degrees is strategic and timely, with opportunities emerging in Europe and across the globe. The end-to-end digital banking offering will address rapidly to shifting end user requirements which are creating a never-ending stream of challenges for banks seeking to execute on digital transformation.”

“Our advanced digital banking platform in association with the existing Five Degrees’ core banking platform, will provide a seamless and cost effective operation for financial institutions that desire to remain competitive, and prioritise investment in this area. Our joint partnership strengthens the ability to help financial institutions to transform progressively, in order to meet future market needs while ensuring a superior customer experience."

The cyber threats faced by key financial markets across the world have been exposed by a new report published today by BAE Systems and SWIFT. 

The study examines the different levels of susceptibility and threat faced by parts of the financial markets. It considers how market infrastructures and participants could be exploited by cyber criminals to penetrate organisations across the securities, trade finance, foreign exchange, and banking and payments market segments.    

While the risks in banking and payments are well documented, this study reveals that the securities market is particularly vulnerable. This is due to the large number of participants and infrastructures, as well as the complex interactions involved. Weaknesses can be unknowingly introduced by traders, brokers, investors, other stakeholders – and the systems that all of these participants use. The study also shows how the foreign exchange and trade finance markets are also at risk. 

The report, entitled The Evolving Advanced Cyber Threat to Financial Markets, analyses the changing threat landscape and explores how the financial sector is exposed to a range of emerging cyber security challenges.

Among the main recommendations proposed are

• Securities participants should embrace the value of checks, communication and data to support pre- and post-trade activities and stave off cyber threats. 
• Securities market infrastructures need to collaborate with participants to identify risks in common practices to jointly defend market operations.
• Banking and payments participants must continue to strengthen security controls while building in protection for upstream systems.
• Trade finance participants are encouraged to review and manage areas of inherent trust, which are at risk of cyber exploitation.

In an effort to help participants combat cyber fraud, SWIFT launched its Customer Security Programme (CSP) in 2016. This programme has helped its customers across the payments, securities, trade finance and foreign exchange sectors implement security controls identified as critical to defending against, detecting and recovering from cyber attacks. But with cyber threats evolving and criminals increasingly looking for ways to steal large sums of money at speed, financial organisations are being urged to be more vigilant, and take further steps to address the vulnerabilities outlined in this report.  

Sanjay Samuel, Financial Services Director at BAE Systems said:
“It’s all too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security, and place too much faith in systems which cyber attackers can exploit. While the threat is greatest in the securities market, every part of the global financial services sector needs to be aware that cyber crime is evolving. Threats are becoming more intelligent, and criminals are increasingly focused on generating an ROA – return on attack – as quickly as possible.” 

“There’s a wide range of cyber threats out there, and that’s why a holistic approach is becoming critical. Cyber security is no longer just a technical issue, as attackers are exploiting weaknesses in market operations, people and processes. So security needs to be embedded and coordinated across all levels and sectors of financial services organisations.”

Brett Lancaster, Managing Director, Global Head of Customer Security at SWIFTsaid: 
“Over recent years, SWIFT has made good progress supporting financial institutions  in their  fight against well-organised cyber attackers – but this report shows that now is not the time to sit back and take the this progress for granted.”

“As cyber criminals become ever more innovative and agile, we need to continue to work together to build even stronger defences. Through our Customer Security Programme, we have been assisting the payments, securities, trade finance and foreign exchange sectors to better protect their immediate surroundings, and have facilitated better information sharing to help equip the industry with the tools it needs to combat cyber crimes. This report is a timely reminder that we need to go further still to keep ahead of the criminals.”

The Evolving Advanced Cyber Threat to Financial Markets report is available for financial services organisations to download now. Visit www.baesystems.com/evolvingthreat to find out more information and request your copy of the report.

Braintri and iCompass, two leading Polish fintechs servicing the world's largest banks and payment institutions, have begun to merge and prepare a joint offer for the global financial sector. The merger will enable the two to further expand their products and reach out to foreign markets. Until the completion of the merger, both teams will operate under their existing brands. The plan is to rebrand.

As Poland is a leader in mobile banking, Polish fintechs contribute immensely to the global financial innovation. Braintri and iCompass each has an impressive track record of market achievements.

Braintri is involved in the development of mobile banking apps for the largest Polish banks, including the FTSE large cap banking giant PKO BP and the innovation pioneer, and mobility icon mBank. It helped establish Poland's non-card payment standard BLIK, now being used by 94% of the country's population. The company is currently implementing the national open banking standard. Braintri has also created Jiffee, a token-based mobile payment technology using Bluetooth, with numerous application options in IoT, smart city, access control and loyalty programs. Jiffee is co-financed by the EU. Biffee, a core banking system offloading engine, is another Braintri product with huge global potential.

iCompass provides software for major European banks, as well as for global payment organizations, including Mastercard Payment Transaction Services. The company is a technology provider for the first Polish mPOS platform, and the developer of the universal payment gateway Octopus Payment Hub.

"The partnership is a step forward in Braintri's strategy to enter global markets," said Wojciech Zatorski, Braintri's COO.

Following its merger with iCompass, Braintri will focus on three main product lines: mobile applications, big data solutions, and payments. In addition, it plans to further develop its insurtech competence. The geographical expansion will primarily be in the EU, the Middle East, Asia, and the US. Braintri has most recently entered the UAE market.

Today, Zero Financial, Inc. (Zero) announces that it has raised a total of $16 million in equity and debt funding to date from leading investors including Eniac Ventures, NEA, Nyca Partners, and Silicon Valley Bank.

Zero replaces your checking, savings, debit, and credit cards with a rewards-rich banking experience powered by the Zero mobile app and Zerocard. The app displays deposits, purchases, and transfers in one place with a real-time net balance, giving you one simple number to spend from and track.

"Few people understand how complex it is to launch either a credit card or a checking account program, and I believe Zero is the first US startup to launch both. Zero creates an innovative debit-style experience, with an elegant design, and truly compelling rewards. It's a fabulous banking experience," said Hans Morris, Managing Partner of Nyca Partners and former President of Visa, Inc.

Zero has four card levels: Carbon, Magnesium, Graphite, and Quartz. Zerocard Carbon customers can earn 3.0% cash back on purchases and additional rewards of 1.75% annually on average net balances. Magnesium, Graphite, and Quartz level customers can earn 2.0%,1.5%, and 1.0% cash back on purchases and additional rewards of 1.00%, 0.50%, and 0% annually on average net balances, respectively. To earn cash back and rewards beyond one percent, the balance on Zerocard needs to be paid in full each month from deposits in a Zero account. Zero makes this easy -- Debit-style Experience automates Zerocard payments and prevents spending that would make your net balance negative. Learn more on Zero's website, zero.app.

"I started Zero because I was frustrated with the offerings from big banks. I was torn between using a debit card to stay on top of my spending and using a credit card to get rewards, and I wanted to manage my day-to-day finances from an app that's easy to use, beautiful, and powerful. Many other people shared my belief that banking could be far better and more rewarding, so I decided to start Zero," said Bryce Galen, Founder & CEO of Zero.

Zero also announced today that it has launched to its first public customers. Zero will extend more invitations in the next few months to its 160,000-person waitlist. "We will offer the best banking experience by welcoming customers at a measured pace. Thank you to our waitlist members for your patience and support -- we're excited to invite you to apply when we reach your position," said Galen.

"We have a fast-growing team experienced in building world-class tech and banking products, and after more than two years of business development, software development, and product testing, Zero has launched," said Joel Washington, Founder & COO of Zero. Team members come from Affirm, Apple, Capital One, Dropbox, First Data, Google, Postmates, Shift, Silicon Valley Bank, The Bancorp, Upgrade, Wells Fargo, and Zynga.

Zero has partnered with WebBank, a Salt Lake City-based bank, to issue Zerocard. "With industry-leading rewards, innovative spending oversight features, and a beautiful and powerful app, Zero is a transformative banking experience," said Jason Lloyd, EVP, Strategy & Business Development at WebBank. Zerocard is a World Mastercard. Deposits are held at Evolve Bank & Trust (a Memphis-based bank and Member FDIC) and insured up to FDIC limits.

Sri Lanka has become a new market where UnionPay is rolling out its mobile payment service. After the launch of UnionPay QuickPass service in the country this August, UnionPay QR code payment service will be accepted soon. Today, UnionPay International (UPI) announced its collaboration with Cargills Group, the largest Retail & FMCG group in Sri Lanka: the two parties have agreed to roll out UnionPay QR code payment service across the country commencing in the first half of next year, through the Cargills ecosystem, including supermarkets, restaurants and cinemas, and equip Cargills' e-wallet with UnionPay QR code payment function through the digital issuance of UnionPay cards, bringing UnionPay QR code payment service to local customers.

In line with global changes in consumers' payment habits, UnionPay has developed a portfolio of mobile payment products including the "UnionPay" mobile application, QR code payment service, NFC mobile payment, and In-app payment. UPI is accelerating the roll out of these mobile payment services outside mainland China, expanding the acceptance of these services to 42 countries and regions—driving up the volume of cross-border transactions made through the "UnionPay" app grew by 150%. To date, UnionPay mobile QuickPass service is accepted at 2 million POS terminals across over 30 countries and regions outside mainland China, and UnionPay QR code payment is accepted at about 60,000 merchants in 23 countries and regions outside the Chinese Mainland.

Cai Jianbo said that this cooperation is significant in that UPI is rolling out its mobile payment products through cross-over cooperation with large retail groups. In order to promote the mobile transformation of UnionPay's business, UPI continues to enrich the acceptance scenarios of its mobile payment products, and have expanded the acceptance scope of the "UnionPay" app to transportation, hospitals, schools, cultural and entertainment establishments as well as restaurants. In addition, UnionPay is accelerating the process of business localization by launching innovative products overseas. Carrying out digital card issuance collaboration based on e-wallet products with overseas institutions, UnionPay is providing its safe and sufficient local and cross-border mobile payment service for more customers outside China. In this way, UnionPay continues to enhance its service capability outside mainland China while supporting payment upgrade of overseas markets.

China is the largest trading partner and the second largest tourist source of Sri Lanka. To date, UnionPay is accepted at the majority of merchants and ATM terminals in tourist-oriented cities like Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Matale, and about 2,000 merchants such as restaurants, department stores, supermarkets support UnionPay mobile QuickPass too. The partnership between UPI and Cargills Group will realize the acceptance of UnionPay QR code payment at local retailers and daily consumption merchants, and will provide mobile payment offers for local customers to further enhance their payment experience.

Exscudo Channels app offers a unique opportunity to hold and transfer digital assets. Exscudo channels app is a wallet and encrypted chat application which was developed by an innovative fintech company Exscudo. Based on the in-house blockchain of Exscudo, EON, Channels offers a unique user experience by allowing to hold and transfer various digital assets while securing all transactions within the ecosystem with the EON blockchain. In addition, Channels supports encrypted messaging and gives a unique opportunity to send money to contacts like text messages with just a few clicks!

Channels is a part of a next-generation financial ecosystem that consists of the app itself. Exscudo exchange and the EON blockchain.The newly released update brings several redefining features to the Channels app, completely transforming the user experience and opens entirely new possibilities for Channels users!

Implementation of Multi-Currency Support

With the new update, Channels gains multi-currency support, bringing users the ability to make transactions within and outside of the Exscudo ecosystem with a variety of digital assets. All internal transactions are secured with the EON blockchain using the colored coin technology, which allows making transfers not only safer but also faster. Currently supported currencies are BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC with more to be added in the future.Users are able to send and receive transactions to addresses outside and inside of the ecosystem, or take advantage of QR codes for a more effortless process. Furthermore, Simplicity is taken to the next level with a unique feature of Channels – users are now able to send transactions to contacts from their contact list in just a few clicks.Thanks to the colored coins technology, commision on all transactions within the ecosystem are significantly reduced in comparison to the outside blockchains. For example, commission for sending ETH from one channels address to another is several times lower compared to sending ETH between two Ethereum wallets.

New Design For Improved User Experience

We have reworked the UI entirely to allow for perfect user experience. The updated Channels app is a pure joy to use. The emphasis of the new UX was made on simplicity and sickness, allowing all users to start interacting and using cryptocurrencies almost instinctively.

A Brand New Wallets And Chat UI!

The UI of the wallet section was reworked to support new features. Users are now able to create new wallets in supported currencies, check the total balance of all wallets in a currency of choice and track currency rates. Chat UI has also been upgraded to offer an improved user experience!

What’s to Come in The Future

Upcoming updates will allow Channels to take advantage of the colored coins functionality fully, allowing users to tokenize almost any assets. 
This incredible functionality will redefine liquidy on the market, enabling users to divide ownership and liquify assets that are typically non-liquid and hard to manage. The goal of Channels, in the long run, is not only to redefine the current economic model but create a whole new market and transform asset management once and for all.

Lexmark, a global imaging solutions leader, today announced it has been positioned as a leader in managed print services (MPS) by leading European-based industry analyst firm Quocirca for the seventh consecutive year. 

The Quocirca Managed Print Services Landscape report, an independent vendor analysis of the global enterprise MPS marke, highlights Lexmark’s 2018 investment in “expanding its MPS offer across infrastructure management, to include responsibility for print servers and print queue management, cloud-enabled services, print-as-a-service, mobile capture and print, sustainability and analytics.”

The report further states, “The company has invested heavily to boost its capabilities to support both direct and indirect MPS engagements. As a result, it has developed services including MPS Process Analytics and Lexmark Predictive Service as well as expanded cloud platform enhancements, including configuration management services, infrastructure management and print release. As of June of 2018, the company has also refreshed over 90% of its hardware, creating a cohesive portfolio of devices to suit user groups of all sizes.”

"Lexmark is proud to be named an MPS leader by Quocirca for the seventh straight year," said Brock Saladin, Lexmark senior vice president and chief revenue officer. "Quocirca called out our significant investments in MPS capabilities and hardware in 2018, which have resulted in enhanced offerings that drive innovation for our customers and partners." 

"Our dedication to helping customers manage ever-evolving industry trends that impact their business is what separates Lexmark from our competitors in the managed print services arena and helps drive our 97% customer renewal rate," added Saladin.

Key Lexmark strengths also cited in the report include:
Global execution: “Lexmark has strong credentials when it comes to global execution. It offers a single global system to support its entire MPS business, which enables it to deliver consolidated global reporting and analytics.”

Industry expertise: “Lexmark’s field teams are organised by industry, supported by dedicated industry experts and consultants with business process and vertical expertise.” 

Investment in predictive analytics: “Lexmark is making significant investments in the use of analytics to optimise the output environments for its MPS customers, improve device availability and streamline business processes.”

Comprehensive security portfolio: “Lexmark has a comprehensive range of security offerings, which it has further enhanced with the launch of Lexmark Secure Document Monitor (LSDM), which provides advanced data loss prevention capabilities.”

 Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in enterprise cloud computing, today shared the findings of its first annual global Enterprise Cloud Index, measuring enterprise plans for adopting private, hybrid and public clouds.* The new report found enterprises plan to increase hybrid cloud usage, with 91% stating hybrid cloud as the ideal, even though only 19% have that model today. The findings also revealed that application mobility across any cloud is a top priority with 88% of respondents saying it would “solve a lot of my problems.”

The report found public cloud is not a panacea, with IT decision makers ranking the ability to match applications to the right cloud environment as a critical capability and interoperability between cloud types seen as important by 23%. The ability to move applications back and forth between clouds (16%) also outranked cost (6%) and security (5%) as primary benefits of the hybrid approach.

Nutanix commissioned Vanson Bourne to survey IT decision makers about where they are running their business applications today, where they plan to run them in the future, challenges in setting up their cloud environments and how their cloud initiatives stack up against other IT projects and priorities. The survey resulted in approximately 2,300 respondents from multiple industries, business sizes and geographies in the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) regions.

Other key findings:

• Hybrid cloud better addresses business needs over single public cloud, including the price tag: 87% of respondents said that hybrid cloud was having a  positive impact on their businesses, and more hybrid cloud users reported all their needs were being met (49%) compared to single public cloud users (37%).
• Security is front of mind for determining workloads: 71% of respondents surveyed for the report ranked data security and regulatory compliance as the top factor in determining where to provision workloads.
• App developers circumventing IT: 57% of respondents said developers are circumventing IT when it comes to deciding where applications run, putting the organisation at potential risk.
• Finding hybrid IT talent is difficult: With clear benefits to a hybrid model, respondents say scarcity of hybrid experts is a challenge.
• EMEA is expected to surpass the Americas with hybrid cloud adoption: UK businesses, in particular, plan to decrease data centre workloads by more than half in the next two years, and double use of hybrid clouds.

“As enterprises demand stronger application mobility and interoperability, they are increasingly choosing hybrid cloud infrastructure,” said Ben Gibson, chief marketing officer for Nutanix. “While the advent of public cloud has increased IT efficiency in certain areas, hybrid cloud capabilities are the next step in providing the freedom to dynamically provision and manage applications based on business needs. However, the findings of this study reveal an important gap in the market: organisations need IT talent to manage their hybrid cloud models, especially in the next 12 to 24 months.”

* For the purposes of this study, hybrid cloud “describes the combined use of at least one private cloud and at least one public cloud service, with some degree of integration between the two cloud environments.”

The Banque & Innovation awards recognise innovation and performance by companies presenting products or services directly related to banking innovation. Avaloq, a leading fintech company and international provider of software as a service (SaaS) and business process as a service (BPaaS) solutions to banks and wealth managers, won the prize in the BLOCKCHAIN category. The trophy was presented at the Banque & Innovation 2018 trade fair held at the Pavillon d’Ermenonville in Paris on 16 October.

After its deliberations, a jury of professionals and experts from the world of banking and innovative technologies awarded Avaloq the prize in the BLOCKCHAIN category at the Banque & Innovation 2018 trade fair for its crypto investment solution integrated into its SaaS/BPaaS platform. This cutting-edge innovation allows users to sell and transfer cryptocurrencies in complete security and aggregate crypto positions with all other investment assets. The solution integrates Metaco’s* private key storage solution, which provides the required “military-grade” security. These keys, which are needed for clients to trade cryptocurrencies, are securely stored inside a hardware module that signs transactions with private keys. 

“This award confirms our vision for the blockchain,” said Product Innovation Manager Philippe Meyer, who gave a speech at the trade fair entitled “Integration of cryptocurrencies: towards the convergence of two worlds”. “It is the core element of this new solution: converging the world of traditional finance with that of cryptocurrencies while ensuring the highest level of security,” added Thomas Beck, Chief Technology Officer at Avaloq.

*Metaco is a Swiss company specialising in blockchain and cryptocurrency in which Avaloq holds a 10% stake.