Deutsche Bank and HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, today announced a strategic partnership to transform the bank’s global cheque processing operations.  Under the terms of the agreement, HCL will build a cloud-based digital and fully scalable cheque processing platform for the bank.  The new IT-platform is expected to go live in 2019.

The new cloud-based IT-platform will enable Deutsche Bank to further reduce the complexity of its IT-landscape, decrease cost, increase straight-through processing capabilities and efficiencies in cheques processing. Moreover, through advanced data analytics, the bank will enable its corporate and institutional clients to use data generated out of the platform, to better manage business flows and working capital. 

“While cheques are still widely used around the world, the volumes across the industry are falling and processing them remains a labour intensive, highly manual task,” said Shahrokh Moinian, Global Head of  Cash Products, Global Transaction Banking of Deutsche Bank. “This strategic partnership is a great example where we are proactively responding to client needs and changing industry dynamics. We are turning a challenge of a commoditized product with declining volumes into an opportunity for innovation and creation of digital assets, which will ultimately benefit our customers.”

“This is a significant milestone in HCL’s long-standing partnership with Deutsche Bank,” said Rahul Singh, President, Financial Services at HCL Technologies. “While banking is becoming increasingly digitised, processing cheques is still a paper-based process. HCL will leverage its engineering capabilities to build a digital, cloud-based, paperless platform which enables Deutsche Bank and other banks to benefit from efficiencies and deliver value-added services to their customers.”

Gold-i has launched Crypto Switch™ 2.0, providing brokers worldwide with a fully cleared cryptocurrency product and a cost-effective, efficient means of accessing multiple cryptocurrency market makers who can provide deep pools of liquidity as a CFD or physical asset.

The innovative technology firm has partnered with clearing house, FXCH, to enable brokers to fully hedge their crypto flow and has integrated its Crypto Switch^TM with four of the biggest global cryptocurrency market markers, B2C2, Bluefire Capital, DV Chain and Hehmeyer.

This latest development from Gold-i is a significant evolution of its award-winning Crypto Switch^TM which enables brokers using Gold-i’s Matrix, MT4 Bridge or MT5 Gateway to access leading global Crypto Exchanges and Liquidity Providers for pricing and trading. As Crypto Switch^TM 2.0 provides a fully cleared solution, brokers only need to place funds with a single entity, transforming the opportunity for them to offer aggregated cryptocurrency liquidity to their clients and enabling them to fully hedge their risk.

Tom Higgins, CEO, Gold-i explains, “FXCH is a cryptocurrency clearing house - it acts like a Prime Broker does in the FX world. Using Crypto Switch^TM 2.0, brokers can deposit funds with FXCH who becomes their counterparty and gives up the trades like a PB, managing the risk for brokers and minimising exposure with each of the cryptocurrency market makers.

“With Crypto Switch^TM 2.0 we have created a model for brokers to have access to both physical and CFD cryptocurrencies which can be aggregated and cleared – a model which benefits the whole Gold-i Matrix NETwork.  It opens up previously inaccessible revenue streams for “Crypto Prime Brokers” who can redistribute cryptocurrency liquidity as their own. Market makers benefit by getting flow into their business for their crypto trading and the exchanges get the trading from their market makers. It’s a scalable model on a global basis and no one else in the MetaTrader world is doing this.”

For the third year in a row, Avaloq, the international fintech and leader in integrated banking solutions, has been named Star Performer in the ‘Capital Markets BPO – Service Provider Landscape with Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2018’ by Everest Group. The assessment is an industry-recognized analysis used by enterprises to make critical decisions about global services providers. Participants also look to the PEAK Matrix™ to gauge and calibrate their offerings against others in the industry or market.

Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix™ provides an objective evaluation of key service providers in the global services space. Entrants are analyzed based on their market impact (in the categories of market adoption, portfolio mix and value delivered), and their vision and capability (in the categories of vision and strategy, scope of services offered, innovation and investments, and delivery footprint).

Avaloq was named a Star Performer in recognition of its growth and achievements over the past 12 months that stood above industry average. A key factor included the creation of a new global banking operations organization to harmonize service delivery and improve efficiency, quality and control. To further improve the already high levels of straight-through processing rates, Avaloq increased their use of robotic process automation (RPA) and plans to apply artificial intelligence techniques to maximize automation levels and minimize operational risk.

The PEAK Matrix™ Assessment follows a number of industry awards for Avaloq achieved over the past couple of months. It was recently named overall winner in the 2018 IDC Fintech Rankings Real Results Awards, for instance, and was named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Global Retail Core Banking. 

Juerg Hunziker, Avaloq’s Group CEO, said: “We are thrilled to be named a Star Performer in ‘Capital Markets BPO – Service Provider Landscape with Services PEAK Matrix™’ by Everest Group. This award is a testament to Avaloq’s focus on developing innovative solutions for our clients, helping them best service their own clients in turn. This is a strong acknowledgement of our success with our clients who partner with us as a way to drive their digital agendas and achieve efficiency gains with standardization.”  

Fintech startup Sharegain, whose securities lending platform allows any investor to generate revenue through loaning out their financial assets, has raised a total of $12m (including $5m in the latest round) to support the roll-out of its platform to private banks, online brokers and robo-advisers, as well as scaling up its operations with family offices and asset management firms in line with significant early demand. The funding, over two rounds, comes from leading Venture Capital firms Blumberg Capital, Target Global, Maverick Ventures Israel, Rhodium and private investors from the financial industry.

For over 40 years, some of the world’s largest investors have made additional gains through securities lending - loaning out their stocks, bonds and ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) in return for a payment known as ‘lending revenue’. Securities lending is a $2.5tn market, but this represents a tiny proportion of the industry’s potential; there are over $40tn in assets currently sitting idle, globally. Until now, the sector has been confined to a small number of large institutional investors. As the first fintech to receive FCA approval to offer its SLaaS platform to retail investors,

Sharegain aims to create a more transparent and effective market that’s open to any investor with all the benefits that will bring, from greater liquidity, to better data, to eventually building long-term trust in capital markets. The Sharegain team blends the best of two worlds - British capital markets expertise and Israeli technology talent. Its senior team has a combined 70 years’ experience in technology and finance.

Boaz Yaari, CEO and co-founder, also brings deep personal insight of capital markets and securities lending. With 14 years’ experience in capital markets, he has held roles as a derivatives trader at a top-tier bank, and portfolio manager at various European hedge funds. For financial institutions seeking additional revenue in a low-yield and volatile environment, Sharegain will simplify the securities lending process at scale - with a regulation-proof platform that is effortless to implement. For private investors and wealth managers, Sharegain opens up the opportunity of securities lending for the first time with a transparent, controlled, and simple solution. An undisclosed group of lenders are already using the Sharegain platform; the business is also collaborating with global financial institutions to drive best practice and a more transparent approach to securities lending.

Boaz Yaari, CEO and Co-Founder of Sharegain, explained: “This is a 40-year, $2.5tn industry whose full potential has never been fulfilled. A performant securities lending market will not only benefit all investors in an increasingly volatile and low-yield environment, but it will be good for the market overall. It brings greater liquidity and efficiency, ensuring the settlement of certain trades, promoting price discovery and facilitating market making. “The old way of securities lending was complex, opaque and outdated, in a ‘need to know’ system that few understood and even fewer controlled. Now, for the first time, it is effortless, effective and open to any investor. We’re excited to be on-boarding investors globally and helping their wealth work harder for them.”

Mike Lobanov, General Partner at Target Global, added: “With a first class team, strong market fit and significant early demand from institutions and private investors, Sharegain already displays a mix of market-shaping potential and ability to execute rarely seen among startups in capital markets. We’re excited to be working with the Sharegain team as it scales-up operations and unlocks the huge potential of the securities lending category.”

OpenFin won the award for ‘Best use of the Agile methodology by a technology vendor’ at the 12th annual Buy-Side Technology Awards held at the May Fair Hotel in London on Friday, 2nd November.

Hosted by Waters Magazine, the 2018 Buy-Side Technology Awards aim to recognise leading technologies and vendors in their area of expertise; winners are selected by a panel of 9 judges made up of buy-side focused technology consultants and experienced WatersTechnology journalists.

The recognition for ‘best use of the Agile methodology by a technology vendor’ was awarded for OpenFin’s collaboration with technology providers such as Algomi and Trumid, who have deployed their desktop applications on the OpenFin operating system (OS) to provide the buy-side with tools used in their daily workflow. Installing the software needed to deploy new or updated applications, such as those used for trading, order management, market data, research, or analytics onto buy-side desktops can be an arduous and slow process. The OpenFin operating system (OS) solves this problem by enabling fast and iterative, agile development and deployment for desktop apps.

Adam Toms, CEO of OpenFin Europe, said: “We’re delighted to win the award for ‘Best use of the Agile methodology by a technology vendor’. We are obsessive about collaboration and innovation, supporting the entire ecosystem of technology vendors, along with the buy-side and sell-side in securely deploying financial applications directly onto permissioned desktops. It’s great to receive industry recognition for our efforts and this award is testament to our team’s hard work throughout the year.”

The OpenFin OS is now being used to deploy more than 1,000 applications to more than 1500 major banks and buy-side firms, across 60+ countries and more than 175,000 desktops.

This announcement does not constitute a prospectus and nothing herein contains an offering of securities. No one should purchase or subscribe for any securities in Adform A/S ("Adform" or the "Company") except on the basis of information in any prospectus published by the Company in connection with the potential offering and admission of such securities to trading and official listing on Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S (“Nasdaq Copenhagen”). Copies of any such prospectus will, following publication, be available at the Company’s registered office and, subject to certain exceptions, through the website of the Company.

Adform announces intention to launch an Initial Public Offering on Nasdaq Copenhagen

Adform, an advertising technology company, today announced its intention to launch an Initial Public Offering ("IPO") and to list its shares on Nasdaq Copenhagen. 

The contemplated IPO is expected to consist of sale of newly issued shares, to raise gross proceeds of DKK 750 million to support Adform’s strategy by funding its strategic initiatives and strengthening its balance sheet, as well as a potential sale of existing shares by certain of the current shareholders in Adform. The total offer size will be announced in connection with the publication of the prospectus.

Adform is currently owned by GCM Holding ApS, VIA Equity Fond I K/S, Accredonet Holding ApS, Stefan Juricic (collectively the "Selling Shareholders") and Danica Pension, Livsforsikringsaktieselskab.

Chairman of the board of directors, Peter L. Ravn, said:
“We are investing in accelerating Adform’s growth on several dimensions and intend to seek funding of the rapid market expansion, continued product development and a strengthening of our balance sheet through an initial public offering. It is our firm belief, that Adform’s multiple growth levers, business model, and high-growth markets constitute an interesting investment opportunity for new investors." 

CEO, Gustav Mellentin, said:
“Since Jakob, Stefan and I founded Adform 16 years ago, we have focused on building a unique product portfolio for lead-ing customers, while driving towards sustainable, long term growth.  

It’s been quite a journey from a basement in Nørrebro, Copenhagen to today having more than 850 fantastic colleagues across 24 countries, but I am convinced the most exciting times are still ahead of us. We have ambitious goals for the fu-ture, and we believe that our unique proposition forms a solid foundation for future growth. I am thrilled by the prospect of inviting new shareholders along for Adform’s continued successful journey.”

China International Import Expo ("CIIE") is being held in Shanghai with more than 3,000 enterprises from over 130 countries attending. UnionPay International, leveraging on its advantages in network, products and services, is offering smooth payment service to visiting guests and export and import settlement service to traders.

Offering payment convenience for exhibitors visiting mainland China

To date, over 100 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 48 countries and regions outside mainland China. And in many countries and regions, UnionPay is the No.1 card brand in terms of card-issuing scale. In addition to providing great convenience to overseas residents in local markets, these overseas-issued UnionPay cards also facilitate overseas residents' visits to China. In the third quarter of this year, the volume of transactions made in mainland China with overseas-issued UnionPay cards grew by 12% year-on-year.

Exhibitors may use UnionPay cards issued outside mainland at almost all merchants and ATMs in mainland China. If with RMB or dual-currency UnionPay cards that with a RMB account, the spending in mainland China will be settled in RMB, thus effectively lowering the currency conversion cost. In addition, exhibitors are able to apply for UnionPay debit or credit cards in banks in China with effective identity certificates. Currently, many banks in China are offering card application express channels for foreign exhibitors.

Since the opening of CIIE to February, 2019, UnionPay International are providing special offers of up to RMB588.00 for cardholders with overseas-issued UnionPay cards at restaurants and hotels in Shanghai.

Supporting cross-border trade between China and other countries

Over the past few years, UnionPay International is actively offering payment support to the cross-border trade between China and the rest of the world. For instance, about 600,000 UnionPay Commercial Cards have been issued outside mainland China, and UnionPay cross-border remittance service is launched in 45 countries and regions outside the Chinese Mainland. In answer to the digitalization of cross-border trade, UnionPay International has launched its Cross-border B2B Payment Service Platform, to provide enterprises with secure and convenient online import and export settlement services.

So far, a number of cross-border e-commerce and traditional export companies in Africa, Central Asia, and mainland China have connected to UnionPay Cross-border B2B Platform. After selecting goods at these e-commerce websites, domestic and overseas purchasers are able to make safe and convenient payment via UnionPay Cross-border B2B Platform.

To better serve CIIE, UnionPay International collaborates with several banks to provide one-stop import and export settlement service via the UnionPay Cross-border B2B platform. Enterprises can complete online the whole process of payment, order review, foreign currency purchase and settlement, and declaration, saving the trouble of going to the bank outlet for remittance and filling in the customs declaration materials. Furthermore, UnionPay International is a strategic partner of the official transaction service platform of CIIE, and will deliver long-term services to exhibitors even after the closing of CIIE.

Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) has been selected by Orica (ASX: ORI), one of the world's largest manufacturers of commercial explosives and innovative blasting systems, to migrate Orica's IT infrastructure to the cloud. This important initiative will enable Orica to achieve higher levels of efficiency, agility and business impact, while optimizing Orica's capital investment and operating costs. 

Orica selected Cognizant as technology advisor and managed cloud-platform provider to develop a highly available, scalable, and resilient IT platform on a pay-per-usage model, to enable "anywhere, anytime, any device" mobile access to core enterprise systems. As a part of this initiative, Cognizant has designed and implemented a managed platform-as-a-service based on the SAP® S/4HANA intelligent ERP solution on Microsoft Azure. Furthermore, as part of the ongoing implementation, eight of Orica's core enterprise business processes are being transitioned to the new S/4HANA platform in 57 countries around the world.  

As a partner of Microsoft, SAP® and SUSE, Cognizant leveraged its innovative service delivery model through the  Cloud Assessment and Transformation Framework to design and develop the SAP® S/4HANA systems on Azure. 

"New technologies hold great potential for us to align with the needs of a fast-changing market by driving innovation and enabling new ways to work across every part of Orica," said Gabriela Azzali, 4S Program Director, Orica. "Cognizant leveraged its deep cloud technology and platforms capabilities to architect, design and build SAP® systems on HANA deployed on Microsoft Azure. They built business critical SAP® systems to kick-start the program right on schedule and implemented automation processes in operations to keep infrastructure costs under control."

"Cognizant is the right technology partner for us, with their strong credentials in architecting managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS) for SAP® on Microsoft Azure. Hosting SAP® S/4HANA on Azure needed a best-in-class foundational design and Cognizant's technology architects were able to create an effective technology governance model that laid the basis for this implementation," said Sascha Wenninger – Technology Lead, 4S Program, Orica.

"The Orica 4S transformation project has achieved solid business outcomes on time and on schedule. SAP® S/4HANA certified VMs on Microsoft Azure and other Azure services have enabled Cognizant and the Orica project team to rapidly deploy SAP® systems as and when needed. Orica will also benefit from Microsoft's world class datacenters, security, SAP®-certified infrastructure with High Availability solutions and the added assurance of Azure Site Recovery for Business Continuity and DR," said Brett Shoemaker, Business Group Leader, Cloud & AI, Microsoft Australia. 

"Making business critical systems such as SAP® S/4HANA highly available requires a well-defined architecture, and Cognizant, Microsoft and SUSE worked together to build a collaborative solution based on multi-node iSCSI server configuration. Significantly, this configuration is the first ever such deployment on Microsoft Azure," said Thomas Di Giacomo, SUSE CTO.

"The ability to quickly and cost-effectively deploy, manage and operate modern, dynamic and scalable architectures on industry-leading cloud platforms is crucial for enterprises to achieve the future of work today," said Rajesh Balaji Ramachandran, Senior Vice President, Global Delivery Leader for Enterprise Application Services at Cognizant. "We are pleased to be helping Orica embrace the cloud and develop powerful provisioning, monitoring, and automation capabilities to increase operational resilience and manage market volatility. Cognizant's future-ready CRI framework providing IT on demand will help Orica empower employees, improve speed-to-market, and make operations safe, secure and reliable to deliver sustainable value to its stakeholders."