Citi has established a service for clients facing the SEC’s Rule changes affecting the U.S. mutual fund industry later this year. 

Ecobank (www.Ecobank.com), the leading pan-African banking group, is inviting African fintech entrepreneurs to enter its Ecobank Fintech Challenge. Now in its second year, the initiative gives African start-ups the chance to promote their fintech solutions, and potentially to partner Ecobank in rolling-out their solutions across Ecobank’s 33 markets. Ecobank is currently welcoming submissions from all start-ups and developers in any of Africa’s 54 countries to enter its 2018 Ecobank Fintech Challenge at http://EcobankFintech.com

10 Finalists will be selected to participate in an Awards and Innovation Fair at the global headquarters of Ecobank in Lomé, Togo in July 2018. Following a series of pitches from the finalists, a panel of judges will select the top three winners, who will receive cash prizes worth $10,000, $7,000, and $5,000 respectively.

All 10 finalists will also be conferred Ecobank Fintech Fellows and will qualify to explore opportunities to partner with Ecobank including:

• Multi-national product roll-out: the most commercially viable start-ups can launch their products in Ecobank’s 33 markets across Africa
• Service provider partner deals: start-ups with deep capabilities to become pan-African service partners within Ecobank’s ecosystem
• Mentoring and networking support: founders will be conferred as Ecobank Innovation Fellows for a year, which grants them access to networking and mentoring from Ecobank’s vast global network of technology leaders, fintech experts, investors and management coaches. 

Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, reiterated Ecobank’s dedication to support innovations in banking and finance across the continent, stating, “We, at Ecobank, believe that the current winds of change led by technology and innovation will redefine how banks do business, and indeed the relationships people have with their money. We want to be at the forefront of this change, in partnership with Africa’s rising start-ups, and that is why we created the Ecobank Fintech Challenge”.

Mr. Eddy Ogbogu, Ecobank Group Executive for Operations and Technology said, “The maiden 2017 edition of the Challenge proved that Africa has an impressive army of highly capable fintech start-ups. Ecobank is looking forward to another successful competition.”

Ecobank Fintech Challenge was designed in partnership with the advisory firm Konfidants and is supported by several partners across Africa and globally. Applications for the competition will close on 20^th May, 2018.
 

Israeli start-up Virtual Crypto Technologies (https://virtual-crypto.com/) Ltd., which develops and provides solutions for making cryptocurrencies accessible, has unveiled a product that allows businesses to receive real time payments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The company was founded in January 2018 by a team of entrepreneurs with extensive experience in founding and managing global companies, in research and development, and in cryptocurrencies. In March 2018 the company listed on the United States Over the Counter (OTC) venture market (QB), under the ticker: OTCQB:VRCP.

Today, Virtual Crypto is launching its first of a series of software and hardware products, which it developed under the name NetoBit. NetoBit is designed to enable the purchase, sale, and conversions of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies via ATMs, tablets, PCs and mobile devices. Virtual Crypto will distribute its products through distributors and business partners to small and mid-sized businesses such as cafés, restaurants, and shops; enterprises, such as airlines and tourism companies; government agencies; payment gateways; and online businesses.

The product launched today, NetoBit Cash, is a tablet device that enables businesses worldwide to securely receive payments in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in real time, while enjoying protection against exchange rate volatility and guaranteeing transactions up to a value of $3,000. For example, a restaurant can include its menu on the NetoBit Cash, enabling diners to choose and order meals on the Virtual Crypto tablet and pay with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through the device. The payment is cleared immediately, and the business owner can choose whether to accept the payment in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, or immediately convert it through NetoBit Cash into regular (fiat) money, which will be transferred into his or her account.

Virtual Crypto Technologies Ltd. was co-founded in January 2018 by a team of Israeli entrepreneurs, CEO Alon Dayan, Chief Scientist Dr. Royi Ithzak, and crypto expert Guy Corem. Alon Dayan was previously co-founder and CEO of the wireless communications company Celliboost and cyber company L1-Systems Ltd. Dr. Royi Ithzak, an expert in applied mathematics and big data algorithms, has a wealth of experience in applied research and in the academe in data mining, network analysis and other fields. He has developed algorithms for Gett (formerly GetTaxi), Fiverr, and others, and headed R&D teams at AT&T, HP, and Outbrain. Guy Corem, who has held positions such as CEO of Spondoolies, a provider of Bitcoin mining equipment, has accumulated vast experience in contributing to the Bitcoin community.

In a new study published in March 2018, Transparency Market Research predicts a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 31% for cryptocurrency hardware and software from 2017 through 2025. The report estimates that the hardware and software business in this industry will soar from $574 million in 2017 to $6.7 billion in 2025.

Virtual Crypto's solution is different from many other solutions in at least three ways. First, Virtual Crypto's validation algorithm can very precisely and quickly predict if a cryptocurrency transaction will be approved immediately by a blockchain at the moment of the transaction, before the block is digitally signed. This quick process allows the approval of the crypto transaction within seconds to minutes, rather than between 20 minutes and 24 hours and following a process of six confirmations, as is the case today. Consequently, Virtual Crypto can create a pleasant and immediate transaction experience, minimizing the risk of fraud, which can occur in the usual lengthy transaction approval processes. 

Second, cryptocurrency trade supplier usually allow the customer carrying out the transaction to interact with only one crypto exchange, shackling the customer to the exchange rate which that exchange offers. Virtual Crypto allows the customer to work with several crypto exchanges simultaneously for each transaction. In this way, the Virtual Crypto algorithms can immediately locate the best crypto deal and offer the most attractive exchange rate and the lowest commission while the transaction is underway. This ability enables the company to protect the transaction from currency volatility that is liable to occur during the current lengthy transaction approval process and offer guarantee for transactions of up to $3,000.

Third, Virtual Crypto's backoffice capabilities can operate a very large number of cryptocurrency ATMs and points of sale and provide tools for managing how the currencies accessed. The backoffice capabilities include setting currency price limits for each transaction, defining the KYC (Know Your Customer – customer identification), conforming to different regulations and configurations in different countries, managing risk, and providing useful statistical data on transactions and points of sale. These capabilities are different from many other solutions that offer backoffice capabilities which can manage only one transaction center. 

According to Alon Dayan, co-founder and CEO of Virtual Crypto, "Virtual Crypto's objective is to make a unique contribution towards achieving two important global targets, each of which represents a huge market.One is creating blockchain products and services and that are accessible to businesses and users in every industry and second is helping to turn Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies from dormant assets sitting in users' digital wallets into money that functions like real money that allows making and receiving easy, user-friendly and secure payments in real time."

Dayan added: "Unveiling the technology that underpins the NetoBit series, which will allow the purchase, sale, and conversion of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, is a concrete and clear step toward achieving our vision. NetoBit Cash is just one example of how Virtual Crypto will turn cryptocurrencies into a means of exchange that functions as real money."

Today, Mitratech a leading provider of legal and compliance software, announced the acquisition of ThinkSmart LLC, creating an end-to-end platform designed to transform legal operations into a center of innovation and excellence. With the addition of ThinkSmart and the ThinkSmart Automation Platform (TAP), Mitratech's TeamConnect platform can now bring people, processes and information together like never before, by leveraging TAP's easy-to-use workflow automation engine to extend TeamConnect's reach across the entire enterprise.

In today's rapidly evolving legal landscape, there is a need for a truly evolutionary Enterprise Legal Management (ELM) platform.  ELM systems have delivered on the operational efficiencies, centralized view of information, security and data integrity required by professionals within legal departments.  As leading legal departments have grown into strategic partners with the rest of the business, the need for technology that securely and rapidly extends legal operations and services across the business is increasingly prevalent.  Combining TeamConnect with TAP uniquely addresses that need. 

With the combination of TeamConnect and TAP, Mitratech has built on the success of the most widely used ELM platform. Legal departments can now:

• Securely extend the virtues of TeamConnect's single source of truth throughout the entire organization to power collaboration across the enterprise, respond to emerging risks and improve business results.
• Accelerate time-to-value through the rapid integration of legal and compliance-related workflows that can be quickly designed and securely executed.
• Quickly and easily design, build and deploy automated workflows such as legal intake/new matter requests, automated NDA's and contract management to accelerate processes and transform organizations.
• Act as the core of the entire business, both as an archetype of efficiency, agility, and compliance, and as an accessible, easy-to-leverage strategic partner throughout the enterprise.  

The result is an increase in organizational efficiency, visibility and collaboration while decreasing cost, time and overall risk impact. The acquisition of ThinkSmart allows Mitratech to further help customers reduce risk overall whether legal, regulatory or operational, by providing them with unprecedented visibility, predictability and control.

"Individually, each company has been a factor of change in the industry. Combined, we're positioned to open up the 'next frontier' for legal operations", said Mitratech CEO Jason Parkman.  "Legal and compliance teams will be able to extend processes and best practices throughout the enterprise to proactively manage risk. By securely extending the virtues of TeamConnect through TAP, the legal department becomes a trusted advisor and the center of innovation for the business."

"We are truly excited for this new opportunity to help TAP customers further innovate legal operations," said ThinkSmart CEO Paul Hirner. "Our existing customers will greatly benefit from expanded service and support, as well as significant increases in product development investments, while still experiencing the service, culture and commitment of the ThinkSmart team."

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technology (ICT) is today launching with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) a new digital platform to expand global access to key ICT data and reporting. The new ITU iLibrary is accessible via www.itu-ilibrary.org. 

The new ITU iLibrary digital platform, allows users across the globe to access key global ICT data and reports from a single platform, supporting the expanded sharing of knowledge and the increased development of ICT capacities worldwide. It includes the most trusted global ICT sector data sources, including among others:​

• • Annual Global Cybersecurity Index – country ranking
  • Yearbook of Statistics - Telecommunication/ICT Indicators 
  • High-Frequency Broadcasting Schedule
  • Annual Measuring the Information Society Report and accompanying ICT Development Index – country ranking
  • The World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database – containing more than 180 telecommunication/ICT statistics covering fixed-telephone networks, mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions, quality of service, Internet (including fixed- and mobile-broadband subscription data), traffic, staff, prices, revenue, investment and statistics on ICT access and use by households and individuals. 

The ITU iLibrary covers the full range of ICT sector topics, including:  Accessibility, Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change and e-Waste, Cloud Computing, Consumer Information and Protection, Cybersecurity, Digital Inclusion, eHealth, Emergency Communications, Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields, ICT Infrastructure and Technologies, Innovation, Internet of Things, Regulatory and Market Environments, Smart Cities and Societies, Space Research and Satellite Communication. 

"Policy makers, academics, companies and other ICT stakeholders around the globe will greatly benefit from the new ITU iLibrary digital platform, as it provides them with access to the widest breadth and depth of ICT related data and reporting – through a single source," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. "This new tool is a very valuable resource to those within the ICT sector whether they are interested in policy, standards, trends or other key aspects of the sector."

Key benefits of the new ITU iLibrary platform include:

• • ​​Streamlined content discovery features supplemented by advanced search functionality.
  • Inclusion of all ITU publications and indicators dating back to 1975. 
  • Access to the 2017 world telecommunication/ICT indicators database containing almost 200 telecommunications/ICT statistics and more than 230 economies worldwide. 
  • Ability to create a personalized profile, which allows users to save content and read it later.

Luxoft Holding Inc., a global IT service provider, today announces it has built a blockchain adapter for Appian's (NASDAQ:APPN) rapid application development platform. It is now available exclusively to businesses using Appian's Business Process Management (BPM) tool and will allow its users to integrate a blockchain network into their day-to-day business processes, creating a secure, digital environment that facilitates data sharing.

"The launch of this adapter is about helping businesses realise the potential of blockchain by making it easier to use," said Vasiliy Suvorov, Vice President of Technology Strategy at Luxoft. "Problems integrating blockchain into existing in-house systems are often the biggest obstacles to its adoption. Now, by integrating blockchain into a BPM, a business can leverage the benefits of a decentralised model whilst retaining its existing IT architecture. This means business don't have to rip out their old IT systems to use blockchain."

Luxoft will demonstrate how the adapter can be used to benefit the healthcare sector for the first time at Appian World in Miami, FL, US at the Luxoft booth (#16). In particular, Luxoft will show how the blockchain adapter can reduce claims processing errors and inaccurate medical bills. The blockchain creates a secure, reliable and auditable way for medical and pharmacy systems to share and update real-time accumulators, meaning medical insurers, healthcare providers and pharmacies using the Appian Platform instantly have access to the same claim data.

"The disparate systems used by pharmacies, healthcare providers and insurers to manage medical information are extremely complex. They are not designed for the smooth exchange of data," said Sam Mantle, Managing Director of Digital Enterprise at Luxoft. "The Appian blockchain adapter will be a step towards seamless integration across the healthcare ecosystem enabling payers, providers and patients to exchange and verify data in a safe and compliant way."

"At Appian we value our partner ecosystem and are committed to supporting them as we grow in the key Healthcare market," said Marc Wilson, SVP Global Partnerships & Industries at Appian. "Blockchain impacts organizations across all industries, but it is an especially difficult challenge within the Healthcare industry given the complexities they face. Through our partnership with Luxoft, our customers now have a solution specifically designed to address these needs within the Appian platform."

Luxoft built the Adapter on Appian's Platform, as it's used extensively across a variety of industries, from financial services to healthcare, in areas such as provider data management, medical management and clinical trials. The move is part of a push to commercialise Distributed Ledger Technologies and accelerate its deployment in established business processes.

JCB says it will soon be dropping PIN authentication and will conduct a pilot trial of its latest JCB Biometrics Card with fingerprint authentication.

JCB’s Contactless payment solution is provided by IDEMIA, a global Augmented Identity provider, supported by Toppan Printing which will also take part in the demonstration trial in respect of card personalization.

Users first record one or more fingerprints for authentication purposes. When they want to buy something, they need only touch the fingerprint sensor on the card’s lower right corner with their finger so as to authenticate payment. The fingerprint record is only kept in the card, and given that fingerprint authentication is also done on the card, merchants do not need any further equipment to accept payment.

While currently most contact chip cards rely on users entering a PIN number for authentication, will be replaced by the fingerprint authentication. With the new JCB Biometrics Card strict security is upheld with fingerprint authentication for any payment method, while maintaining efficiency and speed.

The pilot trial first involves issuing the JCB Biometric Card to JCB employees from April. Once card users have recorded their fingerprints using a smartphone or tablet app, they can make purchases via fingerprint authentication at merchants accepting JCB Contactless payments. The purpose of the pilot is to validate whether the solution is convenient for consumers and practical for the payment.

JCB will continue to explore and develop various authentication solutions in order to provide consumers with reliable and secure customer experiences.

Richard, organizer of the original Bitcoin, Ethereum and Blockchain Super Conference, held in February, is hosting a follow-up conference in September. Like the first conference, the second offers attendees a rare opportunity to network with many of the most respected players in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space – including developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and “smart money” hedge fund managers who are now piling their capital into blockchain assets.

Headline speakers include major industry leaders like Tim Draper (the billionaire venture capitalist who famously bet on Skype before it got bit), Mark Yusko (founder of Morgan Creek Capital Management, who manages $4.5 billion), Nick Spanos (founder and CEO of Blockchain Technologies Corp.), and Lyn Ulbricht (CEO at Ross Ulbricht Defense).

When asked why he decided to organize a second conference, Mr. Jacobs responded: “So much has changed in the crypto space since February. There are a lot of new threats and new opportunities that nobody seems to be talking about. So, we decided to bring together dozens of the most respected players again, and some who couldn’t make it last time, so they can fill in investors on the latest developments.”

Mr. Jacobs continued: “What people really loved about the last conference was the networking. We had a ton of exhibitors outside, so it partly felt like being at the Consumer Electronics Show, but for crypto and blockchain. We had a lot of great speakers too! Folks said they learned a lot. But what they loved most was the chance to spend three days with a bunch of other smart people, making valuable connections, talking shop, exchanging blockchain investment ideas, and even creating joint ventures.”

The second Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference is expected to have over 1,000 attendees, 70 top-notch speakers and 100+ exhibitors from the world of cryptocurrency, blockchain, and, in a few cases, other future techs – as well as talks from ICOs and blockchain start-ups.

Tickets are now available here:

https://www.thefuturetechexpo.com/register/

Press contact:

Richard Jacobs

organizer@thefuturetechexpo.com

(888) 448-4590

About the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Blockchain Super Conference II:

This three-day conference will be held at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center at Dallas from Friday September 14^th to Sunday September 16^th, 2018. We are expecting more than 1,000 attendees, at least 50 headline speakers, and upward of 50 exhibitors – with talks from founders, developers, and early-stage investors of cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups, including many that are planning ICOs throughout last 2018 and 2019.