Published
- 02:00 am
Official figures of aggregated data published by technical body EMVCo show that by the end of 2016, the number of EMV payment cards in global circulation had increased by 1.3 billion in the previous 12 months to a total of 6.1 billion.
“Implementation of the EMV chip infrastructure globally offers real benefits to merchants, acquirers, card issuers and consumers as the specifications support features for reducing the fraud that results from counterfeit and lost and stolen payment cards,” commented Soumya Chakrabarty, EMVCo Executive Committee Chair. “Therefore, the higher the adoption of EMV technology worldwide, the more robust the entire infrastructure becomes. We also recognise that more recent data will reflect higher adoption rates than the January to December 2016 reporting period, given the current pace of migration in regions such as the US and Asia.”
The latest statistics show that the percentage of EMV enabled chip card issuance has continued to increase across all regions:
• Europe Zone 1, EMV chip card adoption rate: 84.9% (up from 84.3% in 2015).
• Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, EMV chip card adoption rate: 75.7% (up from 71.7% in 2015).
• Africa and the Middle East, EMV chip card adoption rate: 68.7% (up from 61.2% in 2015).
• Europe Zone 2, EMV chip card adoption rate: 63.7% (up from 52.3% in 2015).
• United States, EMV chip card adoption rate: 52.2% (up from 26.4% in 2015).
• Asia Pacific, EMV chip card adoption rate: 38.8% (up from 32.7% in 2015).
Europe Zone 1 continued to have the highest penetration of card-present transactions made with a chip card (97.8%). This was closely followed by Canada, Latin America & the Caribbean at 90.7%, Africa and the Middle East at 90.2%, and Europe Zone 2 at 86.6%.
The US and Asia demonstrated notable increases as they continue migrating card-present based payments to EMV chip technology.
- 09:00 am
Crowdsurfer, the world’s most comprehensive source of intelligence on the global alternative finance market, has announced that Zopa has become the latest peer-to-peer lender to submit its data to the Crowdsurfer analysis.
Zopa, the world’s first and one of the largest peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, has lent in excess of £2.3 billion to customers in the UK, and the addition of its data set will deepen Crowdsurfer’s insight into the global alternative finance market.
“Zopa is the P2P pioneer in the UK and remains at the forefront of the P2P sector as it matures”, said Emily Mackay, CEO, Crowdsurfer. “Transparency and data intelligence are crucial to the health and growth of the online finance sector and we are delighted to be able to include Zopa’s data in our analysis.”
Cambridge-based Crowdsurfer analyses data from more than 900 different alternative finance platforms, including equity, bonds, SME debt, P2P and more, and has mapped more than ten million transactions to provide the most in-depth take on global trends and patterns in alternative finance.
The P2P sector is one that continues to mature at speed, and its growth will be supported by the use of data, according to Emily Mackay:
“Online funding is a fairer, more efficient, more impactful mode of deploying capital, and data is crucial to scaling that to every person on the planet. But its growth has been hampered by a lack of information, for investors, regulators and banks, as well as those that need access to finance. We aim to fill that gap and the inclusion of Zopa’s data only strengthens our analysis further.”
- 06:00 am
Redwood Bank, a new UK SME Business bank that has recently secured its banking licence has made two senior appointments to its Board as part of its “Mobilisation” prior to launch later in 2017. David Buckley has been appointed Chairman and is a Non-Executive Director, and Nigel Boothroyd will join as a Non-Executive Director. David holds a number of non-executive and advisory board positions and is currently Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee for CIBC World Markets plc. He was previously the lead Independent Non-Executive Director for Fullerton Health pte in Singapore. Prior to this, he was European CFO for Morgan Stanley, Chief Executive of Morgan Stanley Bank International and a member of its European Management Committee. Before joining Morgan Stanley, David was International Treasurer and European head of the Global Banking Group for Goldman Sachs.
Between 2012 and 2015 he was the National Head of Corporate Banking for HSBC Canada. Nigel’s appointment as Non-Executive Director and intended Chairman of the Bank’s Risk Committee, will be subject to obtaining regulatory approval.
Jonathan Rowland, Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director of Redwood Bank, said: “We are delighted to have both David and Nigel on our Board. They have a wealth of relevant experience and have much to offer us as we look to launch and grow the bank.”
Gary Wilkinson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Redwood Bank, added: “David and Nigel are very welcome additions to our experienced team, and will both have key roles to play in helping us reach our goals.”
David Buckley said: “I’m delighted to become Chairman of Redwood Bank. There is huge change taking place in the UK SME banking sector, and now is exactly the right time to be launching a new proposition. With no legacy systems and the ability to develop competitive products, I am excited about our future.”
Nigel Boothroyd said: “The bank has ambitious plans and a strong team in place to deliver on these. I’m excited to be part of this and confident that we can bring a fresh, and more customer focused and efficient approach to SME banking.”
- 01:00 am
IBS Software, one of the leading providers of new generation IT solutions to the global airline industry, has entered into a strategic partnership with ANA Systems (ASY), the IT division of ANA group (ANA), to enhance it's global delivery capabilities for innovative technology solutions for the airline. The five-year partnership agreement marks an important milestone in the decade-long relationship between ANA and IBS Software (IBS). It will provide ASY access to IBS' global talent pool with airline industry knowledge and technology expertise, along with some of the best processes and practices of software development. With a focus on innovation, digitalization and quality, IBS will participate in ASY's technology transformation initiatives across the different parts of the airline's business.
Under this partnership, IBS team will work as an extension of ASY team and will provide scalability and flexibility to ASY for its technology programs in a cost effective manner using IBS' proven Extended Software Delivery Facility (ESDF) model. The ESDF activities will include software development, maintenance & enhancements as well as testing of core business systems of ANA. The partnership is a result of a flagship Global Delivery Model (GDM) program launched by ASY to globalize its business and IT processes to bring the best industry practices in to its current operations, while enhancing its scalability and flexibility. The partnership aims to boost engineering capabilities of ASY, significantly reduce overall cost of operation and optimize the existing technology landscape. It will also focus on technologies such as cloud computing, analytics and mobility to support the digital transformation of the airline.
Masafumi Shingo, President, ANA Systems said, "ASY faces the challenge of changing to the global environment and cost-effective productivity for further growth of ANA group. IBS as ASY's Global Delivery Model partner, we look forward to producing synergy effects by combining IBS' rich talent pool with airline industry know-how and ASY's high quality standards. As a result, ASY will have global competitiveness and lead to further growth."
"IBS and ANA relationship has now completed successful 10 years. An outstanding service delivery track record during this period, along with our airline domain knowledge, technology excellence and focus on innovation, makes IBS an ideal partner for ANA Systems for this strategic initiative. This new partnership agreement is a true testimonial to the value that IBS has created for ANA over the years and its potential for the future endeavors of ANA Systems. We are delighted to take our relationship to the next level and are committed to making a tangible difference to the global capabilities of ANA Systems in providing more dynamic and innovative services to its customers in a cost-effective manner," said Akshay Shrivastava, Sr. VP & Global Head of IT Services Business, IBS Software.
- 02:00 am
Linedata, the global solutions provider dedicated to the investment management and credit industries, and Electra Information Systems (Electra), the leading provider of state-of-the-art reconciliation solutions for the asset management industry, today announced the integration of Electra Reconciliation and Linedata Mfact, Linedata’s global fund accounting solution.
This integration enables traditional account reconciliation (positions, transactions and cash) and management, historical tracking and non-standard matching, and adds the capability to conduct more complex and sophisticated reconciliations such as system-to-system, NAV, P&L, collateral, n-way, intraday, security master and pricing. Additionally, Linedata Mfact clients now have access to a solution that presents a holistic, integrated view of positions, transactions and cash, allowing exceptions to be investigated and resolved more efficiently. As a result, the client experiences a better overall investigation process.
The combination of Electra Reconciliation with Linedata Mfact enables efficient end-to-end operations by automating the identification of exceptions and by providing greater visibility into the exception management process. Electra Reconciliation automates and simplifies reconciliation processes, reducing overhead costs and associated operational risks. This includes the recent introduction of an intuitive NAV/TPV (net asset value/total portfolio valuation) workspace, benefitting the fund service providers who struggle to reconcile a portfolio’s NAV—a critical component of client billing and reporting, along with support for intraday reconciliations and n-way reconciliations of multiple feeds.
“The evolving complexity of managing data is a constant challenge for fund administrators. Our clients have told us they are looking for solutions to drive operational and cost efficiencies while reducing risk through increased levels of control and transparency,” said Thierry Soret, Global Head of Fund Services. “Ensuring data integrity through reconciliation is one of the core pillars of fund administration. By providing integration between the Linedata Admin Edge platform (Linedata’s award winning platform for fund administration based on Linedata Mfact and Linedata Mshare and comprised of best-of-breed fund accounting, investor administration, income allocations and web reporting applications) and Electra’s award winning reconciliation application, Linedata can offer its clients a robust and scalable best-of-breed solution for reconciliation”.
“We are excited to extend our relationship with Linedata, bringing Electra’s reconciliation application and expertise to the growing community of fund administrators using Linedata Mfact,” said Ian Danic, Executive Director at Electra. “Accuracy of data is critical for fund servicers and working with Linedata helps us deliver automation and efficient reconciliation workflows to fund servicers around the globe.”
- 09:00 am
Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., creator of Greenlight: the smart debit card for kids, today announced $7.5 million in seed financing.
The funding round was led by Relay Ventures with participation from Social Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and TTV Capital. Greenlight also announced that the company has added its 10,000th paying customer following its January 2017 launch and is on track to process over 1,000,000 transactions this year. Greenlight plans to use this injection of funding to accelerate its growth and fulfill its mission of delivering safe, simple, and family-friendly financial products worldwide. Greenlight is also expanding its team and hiring for several positions in engineering, marketing and customer service.
"Greenlight's vision is to improve financial literacy for kids through a modern, smart, and easy-to-use debit card solution supported by a mobile app that features an exclusive set of parental controls," said Alex Baker, Partner at Relay Ventures and new member of Greenlight's Board of Directors. "Greenlight is helping parents raise financially smart kids, and has already seen significant traction in the market. This is an important investment in financial literacy for the next generation."
"Greenlight is a true innovator within the Fintech space," said Vanessa Larco, Partner at NEA. "Its intelligent debit card for kids is a unique solution -- the only card with store-level controls that has the potential to make a valuable impact within the family finance market."
"Greenlight's vision has won the interest of a number of key partners who understand the value of their family-friendly approach," said Tom Smith, partner at TTV Capital. "The company has significant growth potential, and they are a welcome addition to our portfolio."
Greenlight's Top Three Features
The Greenlight card is the smart debit card for kids that is safer than cash. It enables parents to manage their kid's spending from their smartphone. For example, a parent can pick the exact stores where their kids can spend, freeze the card if lost or stolen, receive instant spending alerts and automate allowances. Greenlight is ideal for savvy parents of kids aged 8 to 18 who want to empower them to make smart decisions with money while keeping them safe and protected.
- Store-level controls: Greenlight is the ONLY debit card in the world that offers this unique capability. Through the mobile app, parents can choose the specific stores or categories where their kids can spend money.
- Instantly transfer money: Money can be instantly transferred from the parent's bank account onto their kids' Greenlight Cards through the mobile app. This helps parents provide their kids money immediately when they are not in the same location and makes allowance days much easier by eliminating the need to search for cash.
- Real-time alerts: Greenlight sends parents a real-time notification every time their son or daughter uses the card, letting them know where they are shopping and how much they spent. Kids also receive the alerts.
"Parents want their children to grow up to be smart with money," said Tim Sheehan, CEO and co-founder of Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc. "With Greenlight, parents can give all the advantages of digital payments to their kids, while keeping them safe and showing them how to save and spend their money in smart ways."
- 09:00 am
With the completion of TBG's acquisition of DTN from Schneider Electric SE for a total consideration of $900 million, TBG plans to fully reinstate the powerhouse DTN brand that has been known and trusted since 1984, and focus on growing the business in both the domestic and international markets.
DTN is a highly respected, independent source of insight and analysis, and decision-support solutions to more than 80,000 subscribers worldwide in agriculture, oil and gas, trading and weather-sensitive industries. Through DTN's suite of products, customers receive actionable market information, weather, news and analysis via a SaaS platform.
"The acquisition of DTN is very important for TBG as we have a deep understanding of the SaaS (software as a service) business with decades of experience supporting such solutions," said DTN Executive Chairman Jerre Stead. "We are fully committed to the DTN business over the long term and our plan is to facilitate DTN's strategic and commercial expansion around the globe."
DTN President Ron Sznaider said, "TBG provides strong and stable ownership that offers unmatched long-term investment and commitment to the DTN business. With this support, we intend to deliver new world-class solutions to the market to drive our domestic growth and international expansion plans, and to further enhance the DTN brand."
- 03:00 am
River Logic today announced its new partnership with End-to-End Analytics, a management consulting firm specializing in helping clients make better data-driven decisions.
The partnership will enhance End-to-End Analytics' ability to drive sustainable growth through their clients' adoption of advanced analytics solutions, leveraging River Logic's unique prescriptive analytics platform.
End-to-End Analytics currently leverages several planning and analytics tools and platforms, such as Anaplan and Gurobi, and has built numerous custom optimization models, employing the highly technical skillsets of its unique staff including nine Operations Research PhDs.
End-to-End Analytics leadership views partnering with River Logic as both a continuation of this work and a means to extending its reach and value within client firms. "We've had a lot of success leveraging optimization, but we are strong believers in the power of integrated platforms that support wide-spread adoption of advanced analytics, and River Logic has exactly that," stated Colin Kessinger, Managing Director.
River Logic shares Kessinger's vision and anticipates End-to-End will be a highly-successful partner. "Finding a consulting firm with the level of technical knowledge End-to-End Analytics possesses is rare," said Nathan Goldstein, VP Channel Partners. "Their knowledge base, combined with the flexibility of our platform, will enable them to operationalize the analytical approach they already bring to clients, and in turn will help us achieve our mission to drive mass adoption of prescriptive analytics."
End-to-End Analytics plans to leverage River Logic's platform to deliver solutions that address wide a range of business challenges facing many of their Consumer Goods, Retail, High Tech, Automotive & Industrial, and Financial Services customers. Some of these challenges include capacity planning, inventory optimization, product mix and assortment planning, pricing and promotions.
- 06:00 am
Hong Kong-based PrivateMarket.io and Symbiont today announced an agreement to build an alternative investment marketplace for closed-end funds using Symbiont’s SmartSecuritiesTM software. Terms were not disclosed.
Loic Engelhard, founder and CEO of PrivateMarket.io, said, "With Symbiont not only have we found both a selfless and dedicated business partner, but also the most cutting-edge technology for our complex project where security and privacy are of paramount importance for its success.” He continued, “From an operational perspective choosing Symbiont’s solution was a no-brainer considering the ease of integration with our own internal processes. If we all agree that competition is fierce in the field of Distributed Ledger Technology and Smart Contracts, Symbiont with its A-team and unique ‘know-how’ is just a league apart."
Mark Smith, co-founder and CEO of Symbiont, said, “Symbiont’s SmartSecuritiesTM back-end is production-ready and we look forward to working with Loic and his team to commercialize it. Issuers and investors will be able to automate corporate actions using our system, peer-to-peer, and will know at all times who owns all securities outstanding for any investments made on the platform. The market for alternative investments is growing rapidly and we see tremendous potential for fund managers and investors alike to gain from the transparency and automation our system provides while also providing participants the highest level of privacy and security.”
- 09:00 am
IPayment Inc., a trusted provider of payment and processing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), announced the launch of Expinet™, the Company’s new payment gateway.
Expinet is engineered to provide developers with the flexibility they need regardless of their core industry or vertical. From traditional and specialty retail to healthcare to hospitality and nearly everything in between, Expinet is a payment gateway of choice for leading developers.
Expinet offers a streamlined and simplified API that allows developers to get up and running quickly and easily. The single-stack technology features a REST API for seamless integration regardless of the programming language. The gateway also leverages tokenization and encryption, and advanced fraud management tools, including built-in DDoS protection. And, it gives developers and their customers immediate access to accept any payment type from traditional magnetic stripe cards to EMV to contactless (Apple Pay™, Samsung Pay, Android Pay, and others).
“The launch of Expinet represents a critical milestone for our Company,” noted O.B. Rawls IV, CEO and President, iPayment, Inc. “Our new payment gateway not only opens up new opportunities for our existing Agent and ISO partners and our direct sales teams, it also provides us with an incredible new technology platform to drive new partnership opportunities in the integrated space, specifically in the areas of hospitality, healthcare, retail and education.”
Developers integrating to Expinet receive unparalleled integration support, comprehensive sales and operations training, support and expertise of an industry-leading direct sales team, and streamlined merchant onboarding tools, including Dart™, iPayment’s ‘short-app’ that features auto-adjudication, and iPayment’s application APIs. And, iPayment provides dedicated account management as well as marketing tools and resources for promotion and go-to-market strategies.
“For developers, time is money, which is why our Expinet integration is designed to be as simple as possible,” said Jennifer Terrill, CIO, iPayment, Inc. “We provide a semi-integrated solution that provides developers with all the security, features and functionality they need to complement their technology while still capitalizing on the opportunities in and around payments. And, we provide full support throughout the process, from integration to market launch.”
