• Aureus Analytics, from India, is working to improve customer retention, loyalty, and lifetime value through the use of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning.
• Boundlss, from Australia, has developed an analytics platform that analyzes data from wearable devices and apps to provide powerful performance insights based on Artificial Intelligence.
• Hindsait, from the United States, applies artificial intelligence to large healthcare datasets, helping payers and providers improve patient health at a much lower cost.
• Pentation Analytics, from India, provides state-of-the art analytics applications for the Insurance Industry.
• Rozie AI, from the United States, guides customer engagement to deliver real-time and historical visibility into social communication.
• SecureHome, from the United States, leverages an enterprise grade intrusion detection system, behavior analytics, and machine learning to guard against smart home threats.
• StaTwig, from Singapore, provides real-time, tamper-proof, end-to-end tracking that identifies problems and inefficiencies in any supply chain.
• Truedime, from the United States, is a P2P health insurance platform for international students.
• Ubios, from Canada, leverages Big Data, Internet of Things and motion detection technology to help landlords prevent water damage, save energy, and save on insurance.
• ViewSpection, from the United States, provides a DIY loss control platform that provides inspections and connections to the carrier directly from the policyholder.
• Yaxa, from the United States, focuses on building behavioral models by learning the user’s own access patterns continuously, and comparing them in real-time.

Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, today announced it is providing Google Cloud Platform customers with the ability to manage and maintain full control of their encryption keys on Google Cloud Platform. Gemalto's SafeNet Luna Hardware Security Module (HSM) and SafeNet KeySecure now both fully support Google Cloud's Customer-Supplied Encryption Key (CSEK) feature, meaning customers can generate, manage and bring their own encryption keys to protect data and workloads in Google Cloud Storage and Compute Engine.

A recent study by 451 Research found a third of organizations currently work with four or more cloud vendors. The ability to control all data encryption and key management operations across all cloud services providers helps companies ensure they have total control of their encrypted data, enabling them to protect their most sensitive information and meet compliance mandates. 

"Many cloud service providers are offering variations of flexible key management such as bring-your-own-key (BYOK) and hold-your-own-key (HYOK).This is a big step in helping organizations leverage the growing number of cloud-based applications and services, while maintaining full control of their encryption keys across all of the cloud providers they use," said Todd Moore, senior vice president of encryption products at Gemalto. 

By integrating with Google's CSEK functionality, companies including those in highly regulated industries can use an on premise SafeNet Luna HSM to generate, manage and retain complete control of keys to secure sensitive data on Google Cloud Platform. Companies also have the choice to decide what level of key ownership and control is desired when migrating operations, workloads and data to Google Cloud Platform. Gemalto's SafeNet data encryption solutions make it easy to work across multiple clouds by centralizing encryption and key management allowing organizations to:

• Gain visibility and control to consistently and effectively enforce security controls
• Simplify monitoring and auditing of encryption and key management operations to demonstrate compliance with internal policies, industry standards like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) or HIPAA and government mandates like Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Reduce the burden on IT to manage multiple security services across each cloud platform

Business and regional bodies say improved connectivity can drive productivity growth in the digital sector across much of the UK. This can contribute to closing the gap between the best and worst performing areas, according to a new study published by HS2 Ltd.

Drawing on evidence from over 100 employers, local authorities and universities, HS2: Getting the best out of Britain, highlights the regional strengths of highly skilled manufacturing clusters, universities and research centres, and cutting edge technology entrepreneurs, but warns that more needs to be done to draw them together and realise their full potential in the modern economy.

Comparing London’s highly-efficient transport network with the connectivity that exists within and between city regions in the Midlands and the North, the study argues that there is a direct link between productivity and connectivity, and that HS2 will improve access to the finance, mentorship and professional networks that are vital for small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurial firms to grow.

The digital sector is a significant source of growth and employment in the UK, employing over 1.6 million people and with turnover that grew by over 20 per cent between 2011 and 2015.[i] Digital businesses are especially dynamic, with 17 percent of digital businesses with 10 or more employees classified as high growth, compared to 10 percent of businesses of the same size in non-digital sectors. The North of England is home to digital clusters that employed over a quarter of a million people in 2014

Growth finance and the mentoring and advice that investors often provide for these businesses is more readily available in London and the South East than in other parts of the country. HS2 will help to narrow the regional financing gap by providing fast, frequent and reliable transport links between London-based investors and businesses in the Midlands and North.

David Higgins, Chairman of HS2 Ltd said:

“This report is the evidence that HS2 will boost productivity in the north and midlands. This is a once in a generation opportunity to join up and amplify the many centres of excellence around the country, as we prepare to exit the European Union.

“By improving the connectivity between our major population centres HS2 will give business access to the skills, labour and services they need to change the economic geography of the country.”

The report, to be launched at an event in Nottingham later today, demonstrates that by joining up the major conurbations around the country, HS2 will enable a greater pooling of people and capital around the regions of the UK. This connectivity will enable businesses in the North and the Midlands to gain better access to new markets, investments, and become more globally attractive.

Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport said:

“This study clearly shows transport investment is crucial to a strong and resilient economy. That's why we are investing in all forms of transport including the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century to improve services for passengers – providing faster and better trains with more seats.

“As Britain's new railway, HS2 will deliver vital links between some of our country’s biggest cities, driving economic growth and productivity and helping to deliver the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

"By bringing our major cities, regions and communities closer together we are encouraging business and innovation and building a Britain that is fit for the future with a stronger economy and fairer society."

HS2 will also connect with the wider transport network, including improvements to regional transport links being taken forward by Midlands Connect and Northern Powerhouse Rail. This will spread the benefits of HS2 to digital businesses right across the Midlands and North of England.

Richard Gregory, Director of Tech North, said:

“Access to early-stage finance remains a barrier to growth for digital businesses in the North.  Angel investors in London will rarely travel 2 to 3 hours to meet with digital businesses and provide mentorship and advice. Faster and more reliable rail links will make investments in the North’s thriving tech clusters more attractive.”

HS2 will serve around 30m people and directly serve more than 25 stations, joining up the dots between where we are now, and where we could get to as a country - a combination of more capacity and better connectivity will improve accessibility, and, therefore, productivity in the Midlands and the North – at the same time as easing the pressure on London.

Amman, Jordan: ICS Financial Systems Limited (ICSFS), the global software and services provider for banks and financial institutions, announced that AL-Thiqa Islamic Bank has gone live on the multi-awards winning system ICS BANKS ISLAMIC.

AL-Thiqa Islamic Bank chose ICS BANKS ISLAMIC to stay in the top of the list in this highly motivated banking market. the project was accomplished in a record break time of two months, the implementation process was smooth, swift and transparent.

The Executive Representative of AL-Thiqa Islamic Bank; Mr. Muamer Al-Fakhry commented:

“We are proud to vision this partnership reflected into reality, ICSFS represents the ideal strategic powerful partner to us, in terms of its unlimited experience in Iraq and around the globe, ICS BANKS ISLAMIC will be a key factor in assisting us achieve our goals and optimize our banking services.”  Al-Fakhri added “We would like to thank ICSFS implementation teams for their valued efforts and efficient performance, and we are Looking forward for a long-lasting partnership with ICSFS.”

On this occasion, the Executive Director at ICSFS; Mr. Wael Malkawi commented;

“We are committed to provide the latest banking technologies to our clients, where we assist them achieve the bespoke performance and excel among their peers.” Malkawi added” AL-Thiqa Islamic Bank will enjoy this universal Islamic software’s complete, integrated end-to-end and comprehensive suite of scalable and sophisticated Shari’a compliant products and services that addresses and fulfils all of the bank’s requirements.”

ICS BANKS ISLAMIC provides a complete suite of banking business modules with a rich sweep of functionalities and features, addressing business needs and automating accounting processes, as needed, to improve a bank’s business performance. ICS BANKS ISLAMIC has always been a pioneer in utilising the latest technology to serve financial institutions. In addition to its embedded Service-Oriented-Architecture (SOA), the system is deployed in a multi-tiered setup that runs on a web thin client.

Following a review of the RBS branch network a decision has been taken to close 62 Royal Bank of Scotland branches, and 197 NatWest branches. As a result of this process, there will be around 680 redundancies, and we will seek to manage this process on a voluntary basis.

An RBS spokesperson said: “More and more of our customers are choosing to do their everyday banking online or on mobile. Since 2014 the number of customers using our branches across the UK has fallen by 40% and mobile transactions have increased by 73% over the same period. Over 5 million customers now use our mobile banking app and one in five only bank with us digitally.

We’re providing our customers with more ways to bank than ever before – they can choose from a range of digital, to face-to-face options. As customers continue to change the way they bank with us, we must change the way we serve them, so we are investing in our more popular branches and shaping our network, replacing traditional bricks and mortar branches with alternative ways to bank, including; Community Bankers, Mobile Bank on Wheels, and Post Offices, so that we can reach even more customers.

We expect these branch closures to result in around 680 redundancies. We realise this is difficult news for our colleagues and we are doing everything we can to support those affected. We will ensure compulsory redundancies are kept to an absolute minimum”.

We are committed to ensuring our customers and communities are able to continue accessing quality banking services. We are writing to customers of affected branches to highlight the alternative ways to bank in their area. Our new Community Banker provides customers with personal assistance and support to access our non-cash services, as well as help with achieving their financial plans and goals – replicating many of the services available in our branches. Our Community Bankers will get to know local communities, engage with local groups and provide training and education on issues such as fraud and scams protection in their local area.

We know that not all of our customers are comfortable or familiar with using online or mobile banking, so we have created a new specialist taskforce of TechXperts who will be dedicated to supporting our customers with training and support with digital skills. There will be 103 Community Bankers in post across the UK by the end of March 2018, serving around 250 communities. There is already at least 1 TechXpert in every branch across the UK. We have listened closely to feedback from local communities and have extended the time between announcing our decision and the branch closure to six months. This has been done in order to ensure our customers have time to consider the right banking options for them. Customers will also have a range of alternative ways to bank, including: online and mobile for simple transactions, telephony, and webchat for assisted help and the Post Office for face to face interactions.
 

Tim Dimond-Brown, VP at Quadient, said the following:

“With customers’ needs and expectations shifting, and more transactions moving online, these closures may seem a natural evolutionary step. After all, in a TNS survey of 2,064 UK adults this year, 38 percent of people hadn’t visited their local bank for six months or longer. However, banks need to be certain that the shift to online banking they aren’t leaving customers behind. In the same survey, 79 percent of consumers were concerned that customer service would fall as remote banking continues to grow – while 62 percent were only comfortable using banking applications for the most basic tasks, or not at all.

“In this environment, banks that can reassure and communicate with customers will have a significant advantage. Currently 64 percent of consumers say retailers are streets ahead of banks when it comes to a more personalised customer service. If a bank can tell each customer what they need to hear, when they need to hear it, over a channel they are listening to – whether that’s mail, email or online or, most likely, a combination – then it will find this repaid in happier, more loyal customers.

“The online experience doesn’t have to replicate a bank branch – indeed, 56 percent of consumers would prefer it didn’t. With new challenger banks looking to grasp opportunities, and open banking set to make it much easier for consumers to switch banks in 2018, this is the perfect time for banks to ensure they are prepared in providing a customer centric experience across the channels their customers want.”

Senthil Ravindran, EVP and Head, xTech Labs at Virtusa, adds:

“We’ve seen plenty of evidence that banking CIOs are the most focused on digital transformation, ranking it as their ‘most important’ number one strategic business priority in recent research.Overall, banking is one of the most responsive sectors to digitalisation, and this move today from RBS is part of its pivot towards more online and digital services. The fact that RBS has been so successful with its mobile offering – getting five million customers using its mobile app – shows the appetite for new technologies in the sector, both from banks and their customers. For this reason, we will see many more developments in the coming 12 months in the areas of AI, machine learning, robotics, AR/VR, and blockchain. While some of these technologies are still in their nascent stages, we are now seeing early adopters even amongst the traditional, established banks, as they build new business models around these technologies.”

Financial Risk Solutions (FRS), a Dublin-based provider of unit-linked investment administration and compliance oversight software, is pleased to announce the opening of two offices in Asia; Hong Kong and Malaysia. These are the first offices outside of Europe for the business.

Ensenta, a payments technology provider, announced today that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (“Live Oak”) (NASDAQ: LOB) is fully integrated with Ensenta’s Multi-Check API for Business Mobile to offer seamless multi-check remote deposit capture (RDC) capabilities to its small business customers.

Coinsource, the world’s largest bitcoin ATM network, has today announced their single largest installation to date, by deploying 20 new machines in the southern state of Georgia.