MTN has announced a collaboration with Africa’s leading independent banking group, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) (www.Ecobank.com), enabling both companies  to leverage each other’s assets that will ultimately offer more value to their respective customers across the continent. MTN’s large subscriber base, comprehensive distribution, innovative digital products and drive for mobile financial services are being linked with Ecobank’s trail blazing digital banking products to provide instant bank accounts and remittances through Africa’s largest bank by network.
The two entities, with an extensive footprint on the continent, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop this partnership agreement, which will allow them to innovate and enhance access to affordable financial services via MTN Mobile Money and Ecobank Banking services.
This includes;

• Enabling Ecobank and MTN Mobile Money customers to transfer money between mobile money wallets and bank accounts.
• Leveraging of Ecobank and MTN’s assets to digitise international remittance, foster product innovation in the field of mobile saving and lending, and offer digital payment solutions to consumers, merchants and corporates.

Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO of Ecobank said: “The changing landscape of digital banking and mobile telephony is creating unique opportunities in the way and manner customers are served. Africa will need to digitise financial services to rapidly scale up client acquisition and patronage. MTN and Ecobank are taking the big step today at this grand event to support this agenda”

Further he reiterated that “Ecobank’s digital strategy has long been committed to ensuring transaction convenience for the market. We have made giant strides in our mission to ensure financial inclusion and today’s agreement with MTN will greatly accelerate the easy availability of banking services to the previously unbanked.”

Commenting on the collaboration, MTN Group President and CEO, Rob Shuter said: “Partnerships between banks and mobile money operators are fundamental in the mobile money ecosystem, hence our long-standing partnership with Ecobank in many of our markets aimed at driving financial inclusion. We are excited to be taking this partnership to the next level as this latest development will spearhead innovative initiatives which will deepen financial access on the continent.” 

CloudMargin, the award-winning creator of the world’s first and only collateral and margin management solution native to the cloud, announced today the completion of a new round of investment in the company totaling US$10 million to support the firm’s rapid growth. The new investors are LVC, the venture investing arm of Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE: LUK), the publicly traded investment holding company and parent of Jefferies, the global investment banking firm; and IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions. Existing investors, including Illuminate Financial Management, also participated in the round.

In addition, CloudMargin significantly expanded the scope of its commercial alliance with IHS Markit announced last June. This will enhance the ability of IHS Markit to provide a more seamless and comprehensive suite of collateral management services to its customers.

“CloudMargin had the foresight to disrupt the industry with an innovative collateral solution native to the cloud that is robust, agile and cost effective,” said Ed Chidsey, Managing Director and head of pricing, valuations and reference data at IHS Markit.  “These were key factors in our decision to not only to invest in the company, but to embrace them as a strategic commercial and technology partner as well.”

“We are pleased to partner with CloudMargin in its next phase of growth,” said Raphael Bejarano, Managing Director at Leucadia and Head of LVC. “The firm’s deep market expertise and world-class product position CloudMargin as the preferred solution across the capital markets to manage increasingly complex collateral and margin requirements.”

CloudMargin has more than doubled its client base over the past 12 months, adding global and regional asset managers, sell-side and regional banks, hedge funds and insurance brokers in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific. In addition, CloudMargin has received commitments from its first two global investment banks and expects both to be live by the end of the calendar year.  This will lead to further rapid growth in this networked environment of sell-side and buy-side firms. CloudMargin has achieved 250 percent annual growth in the number of collateral agreements hosted on its award-winning platform and expects this growth to continue.

“We are delighted to have the support of LVC and IHS Markit, which bring complementary and critical value to our firm and our clients,” said CloudMargin CEO Steve Husk. “This investment allows CloudMargin to continue to provide unique value in the marketplace and capitalize on the significant demand from sell-side and buy-side capital markets participants for our solution. As CloudMargin remains the only native cloud-based offering in the space, we are ever-focused on improving the platform continuously while leveraging its accessibility, pricing flexibility and community that can be harnessed only with cloud technology.”

The investment will finance product development and growing connectivity to industry infrastructure. It will also help scale the company’s sales, partnerships and marketing efforts in both established and new regions.

Coupa Software, a leader in business spend management (BSM), today announced the successful implementation of its Procure-to-Pay (P2P) solution at Nasdaq, a leading exchange and financial technology company that serves the global capital markets and a broad range of industries. 

Headquartered in New York, Nasdaq moved to the Coupa platform to manage its indirect purchasing (e.g. office supplies, professional services, marketing, IT, facilities, rent). In addition to Coupa P2P, Nasdaq implemented Coupa’s Sourcing and Supplier Information Management (SIM) modules to help streamline its competitive bid and supplier onboarding processes.

“We chose Coupa because its business spend management solution aligns with our strategy to simplify and build scale in our spend management process,” said Ann Dennison, senior vice president and controller, Nasdaq. “Coupa’s platform will help us reduce our processing cycle times, deliver enhanced controls and transparency, and strengthen our supplier relationships.”

“By utilising our solutions, Nasdaq joins the ranks of forward-thinking organisations that have implemented Coupa and are realising measurable benefits,” said Rob Bernshteyn, CEO, Coupa. “We are thrilled that Coupa continues to be a major disruptor in business spend management for companies such as Nasdaq.”

To help ensure a successful implementation, Coupa Professional Services teamed up with an implementation partner to onboard Nasdaq suppliers globally. With offices in 23 countries, Nasdaq’s world-class market technology powers more than 90 marketplaces in 50 countries and accounts for one out of every 10 global securities transactions. Nasdaq’s businesses comprise trading and clearing; marketplace and compliance technology; data, analytics and index services; investor relations and board solutions; and securities listings. Nasdaq today is home to about 3,900 total listings with a combined market value of $13 trillion.

Jitterbit, the API transformation company, today announced that its Harmony enterprise integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) now meets the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements going into effect May 25. Jitterbit's Harmony platform surpasses the security requirements mandated by GDPR for protecting personal data, and fulfills new requirements for consent to share any data collected from its customers in the European Union (EU), as well as for customers to access and erase their data. More importantly, Jitterbit's Harmony platform uses clear and easy-to-understand workflows to track the path of GDPR data, helping enterprise clients across the globe ensure that they maintain GDPR compliance as they connect systems and applications that store data from their own customers in the EU.

GDPR mandates that organizations must follow strict rules for how they collect, share, and protect personal data of citizens of the European Union. The impact of this mandate reaches beyond the EU, because most global companies located outside of the EU collect or store data for EU citizen customers. Connecting customer data across multiple systems is crucial to orchestrate today's best of breed applications and services, but this streamlined data-sharing and automation are complicated by new GDPR requirements. For example, if an EU citizen opts to delete personal data shared with a company through one application, that company must ensure that the data is also removed from all other integrated applications and systems that had access to it.

Jitterbit's enterprise iPaaS enables companies to track GDPR-sensitive data across multiple systems, by ensuring that personal data can be tracked and accounted for at all times. Because Jitterbit users can granularly select the specific records and types of data to exchange between different applications or services, and get a clear visualization of how data flows across the enterprise, Jitterbit makes it easier for companies to comply with some of the more complex GDPR requirements.

Aspects of Jitterbit Harmony platform that support GDPR compliance include:

• Privacy-by-design and privacy-by-default principles incorporated into workflows
• Synchronization of customers' opt-in consent between various systems
• Easy auditing of data processing workflows to confirm limits on data collection and management of personal data usage with regard to stated preferences
• Updated process for cross-border data transfers and restrictions
• Fully independent clouds for EU and non-EU geographies to ensure data on the platform will not be exposed across regions without client authorization

Finally, Jitterbit has appointed Henk Adriaans and Damon Pugh to serve as data privacy officers for the EU and US, respectively. These new roles will oversee Jitterbit's company-wide and regional data storage policies and processes and respond to customers' data requests and inquiries.

With the GDPR compliance date of May 25 quickly approaching, many organizations are still formulating plans to address GDPR privacy regulations. With so many components to consider in so little time, Jitterbit will host a webinar Friday, April 20, at 11 a.m. CET/5 a.m. EST, to help organizations achieve and maintain compliance. Jitterbit experts will highlight five key elements for a sustainable GDPR strategy and how Jitterbit's enterprise iPaaS solution helps businesses achieve compliance.

AxiomSL, the leading provider of regulatory reporting and risk management solutions, today announces the launch of its IFRS 17 solution, which offers an industrialised end to end process to efficiently address the highly intensive IFRS 17 requirements. AxiomSL’s IFRS 17 solution provides automation with strong data management, reconciliation, flexibility and traceability capabilities whilst reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and operational risks as well as ensuring quick time to market.

IFRS 17 is a new global accounting reporting standard that impacts every firm which underwrites insurance contracts and reports under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). With IFRS 17 taking effect from 01 January 2021, firms are under extreme pressure to put the right systems in place to tackle the unprecedented challenges introduced by the new accounting framework.

Firms moving from the predecessor of the new standard, IFRS 4, to IFRS 17 will experience substantial implementation difficulties. The new framework demands a much-improved collaboration between actuarial and finance systems. As a result, firms are presented with considerable operational challenges surrounding data availability, data quality, grouping, measurement, governance, audibility and reporting. Many current systems that involve manual methods can be highly capital-intensive, error-prone and time consuming.

AxiomSL empowers firms to meet the complex IFRS 17 requirements around data, grouping, measurement and reporting with an end to end automated solution. AxiomSL’s IFRS 17 solution eliminates the manual processes and ensures measurements are executed with traceability and flexibility, whilst offering fast implementation and reducing operational risk.

Ed Royan, CEO, AxiomSL EMEA commented: “IFRS 17 is a significant milestone for firms underwriting insurance contracts. The new standard presents highly complex requirements, fundamentally affecting all facets of a firm’s business model. We are pleased to empower our clients to tackle these wide-ranging challenges through AxiomSL’s strategic platform, connecting finance and actuarial systems. Our holistic approach links processes and systems with inherent data management capabilities, whilst greatly reducing implementation time and cost to comply with the new standard.”

Sufyan Khan, IFRS 17 Product Manager, AxiomSL EMEA commented: “IFRS 17 calls for enhanced systems and processes, particularly around data management, aggregation and computational power for measurement of Contractual Service Margin (CSM). Our end to end process from data capture to reporting is completely transparent and traceable. The solution encapsulates all the key elements from data consolidation, portfolio aggregation, flexible cash flow modelling and measuring CSM based on General Measurement Model (GMM), Premium Allocation Approach (PAA) or Variable Fee Approach (VFA) to finally reporting to the IFRS taxonomy in a single platform.”

Today we live in a world where much of our data is stored online, from personal information such as address and phone numbers, to financial information like bank account details. All of this data is tied up in a world that the majority of us know very little about, and this is where both safety and privacy can be at risk. Many businesses put a lot of security measures and precautions in place to protect this information, but in some cases this is not enough.

Cybercrime is a big problem in modern society. Although technology is continuously being developed to protect our information, those looking to steal it are also constantly developing new ways to overcome defensive barriers. Modern firewalls, smarter protocols for advanced VPNs, education of the workforce and many other measures are put in place to boost security. All the same, the number of interconnected devices is growing all time, increasing the possibilities for exploits.

The amount of cybercrime that takes place in the world often goes unreported to the public, but as an example to its frequency, in 2014 there were 145 million eBay accounts hacked; in 2013 about 120 million Target stores were hacked, and 143 million Equifax accounts were hacked specifically on July 29, 2017.

Although some of these cyber attackers were successful, many were also highly unsuccessful, thwarted by the company’s security procedures. In 2017, digital businesses combated a record-breaking 700 million attacks. This was mainly thanks to organisations investing in innovative, digital first strategies to protect consumers from data breaches.

In 2017,  ransomware was the most popular cybercrime tool without any doubt, with the monthly rate of attacks around 10 times higher than in 2016. So what was done to address this huge global challenge? In additional to the larger, more technical protocols that were put in place, it was also essential for smaller businesses to stay on top of things:

• Keeping operating systems consistently updated and regularly patched.

• Keeping browsers updated to the latest version of the software.

• Encrypting wireless networks

• Filtering the control that is needed to access data

• Implementing strict password policies

• Encrypting entire folders and drives.

These are just a few of the methods that smaller businesses put into place to help protect themselves from cybercrime. Businesses without this kind of knowledge to hand may have to rely on professionals. With the installation of data loss protection and risk assessment software, companies are able to monitor their entire network’s activities at all times.

Exela Technologies, Inc., one of the largest global providers of platforms for business process automation ("BPA"), announced today that it had completed the acquisition of Asterion International Group ("Asterion"), a well-established provider of technology driven business process outsourcing, document management and digital data processing across Europe.

The acquisition expands Exela's European business to over $200 million in annual revenue and will enable Asterion's customers to access Exela's full suite of BPA solutions. Exela does not intend to disclose financial terms of the transaction.

Asterion currently serves over 250 key customers in Europe from 13 operating locations and 30 customer sites.  The acquisition, which comes with minimal customer overlap, is also highly complementary to the business of Exela's document-management focused subsidiary, Exela Enterprise Solutions, Inc. (formerly known as Novitex Enterprise Solutions), which provides a similar set of solutions to customers in North America.

"With this acquisition we are poised to enhance Asterion's current customer offering with our BPA solutions, including front, middle and back office automation," said Ron Cogburn, CEO of Exela Technologies. "In addition, this acquisition is an exciting opportunity for us to address the needs of our multinational customers that are looking for a partner that can service them globally."

"We're excited about joining the Exela team and share Exela's vision for our industry," said Carsten Lind, CEO of Asterion. "By combining our capabilities, Exela will deliver even more value to our customers through a broader range of technology enabled solutions."

Baker Hill, a leading provider of technology solutions for common loan origination, risk management, relationship management and smart data analytics, has revealed the latest developments for Baker Hill NextGen^® Omni-Channel Marketing, including peer-to-peer normative analysis that identifies the most profitable cross-sell opportunities for financial institutions. 

Baker Hill offers a unique peer-to-peer normative database analysis, enabling the development of an omni-channel marketing solution that provides financial institutions with a detailed statistical comparison of product and customer data with other peers in the market. This helps banks and credit unions identify new marketing and sales opportunities to drive wallet share, grow profits, and increase household retention. The ability to more accurately identify and target households with appropriate offers reduces marketing investment risk and dramatically increases return on investment.

Other enhancements to Baker Hill NextGen^® Omni-Channel Marketing include program offerings for cross-selling, new household onboarding, digital new mover and new household acquisition. Additionally, Baker Hill NextGen^® Omni-Channel Marketing provides:

·         Expert consulting with presentation of a 12-month marketing plan and corresponding programs;

·         Strategic insights and recommendations for all product and service offerings;

·         Campaign recommendations and results projections;

·         Full-service creative and offer development, campaign execution and management; and

·         Complete ROI reporting for each campaign.

Driven by Baker Hill NextGen^® Analytics, Baker Hill’s marketing solution is designed to help financial institutions dramatically increase sales, deepen customer relationships and generate higher profits through the implementation and measurement of proven omni-channel marketing strategies and programs.

For financial institutions seeking a stand-alone omni-channel marketing solution for a specific product, Baker Hill also offers expert consulting to strategically address product marketing challenges. This involves creative and offer development, as well as campaign execution and management with complete ROI tracking and reporting.

“We are continuously optimizing our solutions so that we can provide our clients with the most advanced technology, along with an experienced service team, to help them overcome the distinct challenges they face today,” said James McHale, General Manager of Analytics at Baker Hill. “According to recent research, generating new business and increasing profitability are top challenges for leadership teams at financial institutions. Baker Hill NextGen^® Omni-Channel Marketing addresses this issue, ensuring a strategic and comprehensive marketing plan, backed by data, that empowers institutions to effectively identify, target and cross-sell, maximizing household growth and profits.”

Niagara Networks announces the upcoming release of the Packetron, an open system packet processor module for the N2 modular multi-purpose visibility node. With the Packetron, any organization can integrate its custom software directly into the system hardware, allowing them to take advantage of advanced packet broker flexibility.

The Packetron module is based on Intel’s Xeon x86 architecture and can directly process traffic from any one of the host’s 2.56 Tbps traffic streams.  The N2 modular multi-purpose host can be used as a network tap, network bypass, or a network packet broker or all three simultaneously. They can be deployed in various inline and out-of-band deployments on up to 100 GbE links.

By running custom software in the Packetron module, the application can directly affect analysis, detection, prevention, processing, monitoring and more, in complex network security use cases. The host’s L5 filtering, replication, aggregation and load-balancing capabilities will ensure that only relevant traffic reaches the application.

Host hardware is available as a 1U or 2U device, with four or eight bays, while Packetron modules are available in single-width bays. Everything is contained within a single unit, reducing costs, accelerating ROI and significantly increasing throughput and functionality without a comparable investment in additional hardware, network complexity, or software.

“Any vendor that needs a process to occur within the network analysis infrastructure can install its software directly within our system,” said Yoram Ehrlich, VP Products at Niagara Networks. “That means that organizations can maximize functionality while having to purchase only a single piece of hardware.”

Niagara Networks will be releasing the module in Q2, along with the vendor partnerships allowing companies to customize the device to their specific network configurations. 

Niagara Networks will be exhibiting at RSA, April 16-20, North Expo, booth 4519. Come by, say hello, and learn more about the Packetron and our other high-performance network visibility solutions. 

Avoka, the leader in digital customer journeys in banking, today announced that Alpine Bank has chosen Avoka Transact as their platform to build a customized account-opening experience, taking a digital leap forward to exceed customer expectations delivered across the bank’s mobile channel.

Alpine Bank is accelerating its digital transformation to extend the bank’s reach beyond nearly 40 branch locations in better serving all surrounding Colorado residents via new digital means. Alpine Bank chose Avoka Transact as the platform on which to build their account-opening and onboarding applications to increase business agility, improve their customers’ experience, and leverage pre-integrated FinTech technology. This enables them to offer best in class services such as fraud detection, ID verification and digital signatures.

“Alpine Bank is committed to giving Coloradans financial solutions to fit individual needs and lifestyles. We chose Avoka because we believe they will help us best serve our current customers, and the new customers we will now be able to reach beyond our current branch network,” said Andrew Karow, Alpine’s chief digital officer. “We are building a customized account-opening experience that is customer-centric, which is how we approach all of our customer relationships. One of the reasons we chose Avoka is because we did not want the limitations of an off-the-shelf system that would limit our ability to fully serve customer needs and expectations,” Karow added.

Avoka Transact is a digital transformation platform, purpose-built for banking customer journeys--including account opening, loan applications and business onboarding.Transact will integrate with Alpine Bank’s core banking platforms, including Jack Henry Silverlake System, Synergy and Netteller. The result will be a completely digital account-opening experience for Alpine customers, including ID verification, funding and immediate establishment of the account. In addition to offering a 100% digital experience, the omnichannel solution will support customer journeys such as starting an application in the convenience of home and completing it in a branch if assistance is needed.

“As a leading Colorado software company, Avoka could not be more proud to now be working alongside Alpine, a leading, customer-centered Colorado bank. Alpine Bank is approaching their growth in the most innovative way possible - using proven technology to build a competitive advantage,” said David Gaydon, General Manager, Avoka North America. “Alpine’s expansion plan to serve all Colorado residents across the Western Slope and Front Range alike increases their footprint in the most efficient way possible. Coloradans will be able to open accounts on their mobile phones with a regional bank that puts Colorado first.”