Published
- 07:00 am
Flywire, a leading provider of international payment solutions, today announced that it has acquired PACE Invoice, a multi-currency invoicing platform provider based in London. With the acquisition, Flywire adds international invoicing to its cross-border payments and receivables services, enabling its business, education and healthcare clients to more easily link invoices to cross-border receivables, saving time and costs in invoice preparation and payment reconciliation.
The move comes on the heels of Flywire’s recent expansion into the cross-border payment market for businesses. PACE Invoice CEO James Shattock will join the company and lead expansion efforts in the UK and Europe for that new business segment.
“This acquisition fills a growing need for clients across all our industry sectors – business, education and healthcare,” said Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire. “Cross-border invoicing is challenging and by enabling these capabilities within our platform, we will further enhance our already industry-leading cross-border payment solution in the market. We’re also very pleased to be able to say that James Shattock and the entire PACE team will join us to capitalize fully on this great opportunity.”
“This is a great move for us – joining a dynamic, fast-growing company like Flywire where our offering is highly complementary and will be quickly integrated into the international payment and receivables platform Flywire has built,” said Shattock. “Our invoicing capability meets an important cross-border business need for their customers and can help accelerate Flywire’s expansion, especially in the B2B market. We’re really excited to be part of that.”
Flywire provides educational institutions, healthcare providers, and businesses with the ability to offer customers a highly-tailored, international payment experience – customized by country, currency and vertical. It also provides businesses with the ability to manage international receivables, while ensuring robust compliance and anti-money laundering controls are applied to every transaction.
PACE enables businesses to issue invoices to their international customers which can be paid in ways that are convenient and familiar to the customer, making prompt, accurate payments easier while reducing currency exposure. The PACE Invoice platform integrates with existing enterprise accounting systems and offers a white-label web interface for client branding. Flywire will offer the invoicing capability as an option with its cross-border payments and receivables platform – providing end-to-end management from invoice delivery through payment reconciliation.
Pace Invoice is an alumni of Startupbootcamp FinTech London, an accelerator program supporting early-stage tech companies with direct access to an international network of the most relevant mentors, partners, and investors in the FinTech industry.
- 01:00 am
Intellect Design Arena Ltd, a digital technology product provider across Banking and Insurance, announced the successful rollout of Intellect’s Quantum Collateral Management Solution at Sveriges Riksbank, the oldest Central Bank in the World.
Sub optimal collateral utilisation and liquidity management have been serious challenges in the credit and open market operations of Central banks.
Counterparties in various countries should have flexibility to seamlessly mobilise a wide range of collateral held with multiple custodians to secure multiple credit operations and intraday liquidity in LVPS (RTGS) system. Central bankers encounter several challenges in managing this. They need sophisticated systems that not only take care of the checks and controls, but also the exceptions management as well as self-correction capability so that liquidity management is efficient.
The second set of challenges arises in terms of the risk of exposure and covering the exposures derived from various credit facilities extended by Central Banks. Fast changing global economy and markets forces Central Banks to implement changes to existing policies or craft new policies fairly quickly in order to cover such exposures or to support the financial system.
The third challenge is that liquidity arrangements for real time credit/settlement are not fully integrated with the depository, collateral systems and market data providers. Oversight officers are usually unable to get the enterprise-view of credit and collateral positions of financial institutions.
Given the above, Central Banks land up making investments into manual reconciliations and risky manual processes.
Riksbank chose Intellect’s Quantum Collateral Management Solution (QCMS) for its sophisticated functionality to cover the exposures resulting from various credit facilities efficiently. QCMS comprises of multi dimensional collateral management using multiple collateral pools and comprehensive security eligibility controls to maintain securities of multiple currencies held in multiple depositories. The solution provides flexible integration of domestic CSDs, Cross Border and International CSDs as well as Tri party and Agency Arrangements. This superior collateral solution has inbuilt automated collateral registry, risk management framework, eligibility check, mobilisation, revaluation, reporting & margin calls. Thus, QCMS has been able to facilitate real time reassessment of the pool, generation of margin call and security release for Riksbank.
- 04:00 am
Since announcing the new Business Intelligence FX Performance Insights tool at Sibos 2016, SWIFT has extended the offering beyond G16 broker-dealers to now provide this service to the wider financial community.
Designed primarily to support major market players, the FX Performance Insights service is now available to any FX Market participant. With over 8,000 financial institutions, such as global and regional banks, central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and more than 2,000 investment managers and corporates handling confirmation messages, there is a growing market need for fact-based FX market data. Each day more than 800,000 (MT 300) messages are sent across SWIFT to confirm FX Spot and Forward trades. SWIFT is also the de facto platform used for FX Option confirmations with over 1,000 institutions sending MT 305 messages.
Market data within FX Performance Insights reports is derived from SWIFT messaging that supports the legal confirmation process for global FX markets. The FX transactions confirmed over SWIFT cover more than 133 currencies across 219 countries and territories, representing a broad and comprehensive view of FX market activity worldwide.
“The golden copy of FX global market data is very difficult to acquire,” says Fabian Vandenreydt, Global Head of Securities Markets, Innotribe & The SWIFT Institute at SWIFT. “Most information is based on surveys and local data from an institution’s proprietary trading sources. SWIFT has access to a unique set of FX data points based on message traffic flows. When this raw data is aggregated and packaged together with our analysis and insights, it becomes an invaluable tool for FX players, globally.”
In September 2016 HSBC became the first customer to use the service, and since then customer demand for this type of information provided by SWIFT has grown exponentially.
- 01:00 am
FinTech Hive at DIFC, the region’s first FinTech accelerator launched by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) earlier this year, has received over 100 applications from more than 32 countries for its inaugural programme.
The accelerator programme, launched in partnership with Accenture, brings together the next generation of technology leaders and entrepreneurs to address the needs of the region’s financial services industry. An intensive evaluation and shortlisting process will start now. DIFC, Accenture, and partnering financial institutions will assess the applications based on whether the proposed innovation is unique, fills a gap in the market and meets industry needs. The top applicants will be shortlisted and interviewed, from which up to 10 finalists will be selected on 11 July 2017. The programme then formally begins on 21 August 2017. Following 12 weeks of mentorship and co-working sessions with leading local and international financial institutions, successful applicants will get to present their work in the form of a demo day among potential investors.
Raja Al Mazrouei, Acting Executive Vice President of FinTech Hive at DIFC, said: “We are delighted that Fintech Hive at DIFC has attracted applications from startups in the UAE and across the world. With more than $23.2 billion invested in global FinTech deals in 2016, the programme is filling a considerable gap in the market by linking innovative tech thinkers to financial industry leaders in an ecosystem that accommodates the full supply chain. We are encouraged by the high calibre of applications, and we are confident that FinTech Hive at DIFC will accelerate innovation in the region and will put us on par with other FinTech hubs around the world.”
From the financial services industry, the successfully shortlisted applicants will have the opportunity to be mentored by leading executives from Citi, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, HSBC, Mashreq, RAKBANK, Standard Chartered, and Visa, as well as senior representatives from DIFC Authority and Accenture. Technology mentorship will also be available from Facebook and Envestnet | Yodlee. In addition, the finalists will be able to move around Dubai with ease, with Careem, the region’s leading app-based car booking service, participating as a transportation partner.
Speaking on the importance of partnerships, Sushil Saluja, Senior Managing Director for Financial Services in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America at Accenture said, “Given the significant interest that this programme has garnered, it is evident that innovative thinkers and established industry leaders are eager to create strong ties. Both have recognised that mutual collaboration is the key to unlocking a world of cutting-edge solutions, which may otherwise not have been possible without critical mentorship. With the potential to create game changing technologies for the financial services industry in areas such as big data, blockchain, and wireless payments - this is an exciting space.”
- 03:00 am
In the Nordic region, both businesses and consumers have inadequate IT security.
Danes have the least secure passwords, Norwegians know the least about IT security, Swedes have the most risky behaviour on the internet, and fewer than a third of Finns read the fine print when they sign an agreement on the internet.
These are some of the results of a large new survey of IT habits among the populations in the four Nordic countries. More than 8,000 people from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland took part in the survey.
“There is actually great interest in IT security in the Nordic region,” says Poul Otto Schousboe, Head of IT Security at Danske Bank, “but unfortunately, it has not made our behaviour on the internet safe enough - far from it.”
With “Keep it safe”, Danske Bank will give everyone the opportunity to test the quality of their IT security, among other things. Danske Bank will also provide a great deal of concrete advice about how you can increase the odds of keeping criminals out of your digital home. For example, you can see how to construct a password and whether it is appropriate to re-use it on multiple websites.
“We are aware that many people want to tell us how we should behave on the internet in the battle against cybercrime,” continues Poul Otto Schousboe. “Unfortunately, this effort has not succeeded well enough yet, since we can see that cybercrime is a rapidly growing problem and knowledge about IT security in the Nordic region is hardly good enough.
“Because we can see in this survey that there is great interest in IT security, we believe that with the ‘Keep it safe’ programme, we can cut through the noise and really help people raise the level of their IT security. We use humour, tests and a familiar approach to communications to make the subject more relevant.”
- 06:00 am
CSD Working Group on DLT, an association of Central Securities Depositories working on developing reference products using Distributed Ledger Technology, has released product requirements for the proxy voting business case during the International Securities Services Association (ISSA) Operational Committee meeting in London on April 24, 2017.
1. Functional requirements for the process, described as a minimal viable product aimed at a generic market, and extension functionality that covers specific local needs of the markets in Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Chile, Nordic and Baltic countries.
2. Non-functional requirements.
3. Trust requirements, enabling to provide the value typically associated with DLT-based solutions.
4. Baseline data entities, roles and their access rights.
The document aims to provide a complete description of a reference product for proxy voting - one that can be used by business in most markets worldwide. The priorities of the working group were to capture the business value of using DLT in the field of proxy voting without completely reworking established business practices.
The document has been produced by the working group during the period between October 2016 and April 2017 and involved collaboration between NSD, Strate (South African CSD), SIX Securities Services (European ICSD based in Switzerland), Nasdaq (CSD in Nordic and Baltic region) and DCV (CSD of Chile). The presentation to the ISSA Operational Committee in London on April 24th was the first public reveal of the document.
The group is continuing to work on the business case of proxy voting on DLT. Future updates of the document will be focused on:
• business value distillation for infrastructure operators and market participants,
• standardization and formal alignment with the existing market practices and ISO20022 standard,
• extensions for more markets worldwide.
- 06:00 am
Bloomberg announced today that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has approved Bloomberg Trade Repository Limited (BTRL) to operate a trade repository in Europe.
“This is an important milestone as Bloomberg extends its regulatory reporting capabilities in Europe and globally. The trade repository will expand our offering of reporting solutions and enable firms to meet their regulatory requirements while also reducing costs and mitigating risks, which is critical as the complexity and demand for trade and data reporting increases,” said Constantin Cotzias, CEO of BTRL.
Bloomberg’s trade repository will also seamlessly integrate with Bloomberg’s systems and applications, which include Bloomberg’s Regulatory Reporting Hub, a global, multi-asset class regulatory reporting suite that addresses EMIR, MiFID, MiFID II, and FINRA’s TRACE reporting via a single solution.
- 09:00 am
Portware, a FactSet Company and a leading global provider of multi-asset trade automation solutions powered by artificial intelligence, today announced it has joined the Foreign Exchange Professionals Association (FXPA).
Launched in 2014, the FXPA is designed to engage key regulators and policymakers to advance a sound, liquid, transparent, and competitive global currency market.
As a Supporting Member, Portware will help drive the global FX regulatory reform conversation, construct execution frameworks for FX, and collaborate with other thought leaders on key FX issues and market challenges.
“We are pleased to join the FXPA and support its commitment to improving FX industry standards and practices through education, research and advocacy across the globe,” said Christopher Matsko, Head of FX Trading Services, Portware. “Membership in the FXPA gives us a unique opportunity to contribute Portware’s insights and perspectives to the global regulatory reform dialogue and help represent the best interests of the FX community worldwide.”
Portware has been at the forefront of FX innovation for over a decade. Portware FX offers a real-time, aggregated view of the entire foreign exchange marketplace through a single, fully customizable, broker-neutral front-end. Leading asset managers and hedge funds worldwide have deployed Portware FX to help meet their most complex trading requirements. Portware FX aggregates liquidity from global providers, including banks, ECNs, and interdealer platforms, equipping FX traders worldwide with a full range of strategies and order routing destination options.
- 08:00 am
Zain has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, to boost digital payment services in Jordan through ‘Zain Cash’ mobile wallet service powered by Mastercard.
Aimed at extending the benefits of the Zain Cash service to Zain’s growing subscriber base and enriching their experiences, the announcement was made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, held recently in Jordan.
The MoU was signed by Ahmad Al Hanandeh, CEO of Zain and Timothy Murphy, General Counsel and Chief Franchise Officer, Mastercard, in the presence of Dr. Ziad Fariz, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan.
Under the license granted by the Central Bank of Jordan, Zain has been approved to issue Mastercard prepaid cards linked to the Zain Cash mobile wallet to provide subscribers with the advantage of obtaining and utilizing the card locally and globally through a network of more than 50 million Points of Sale, where Mastercard cards are accepted, as well as the possibility of shopping online and using it on the ATM network.
Commenting on the signing, Mr. Al Hanandeh said: “We are very pleased to sign this strategic partnership with a leading technology company such as Mastercard, as we continue to deliver the latest and world-class services to our subscribers and provide features that make it easier for them to complete their daily transactions. This partnership is part of our efforts to boost the electronic payments system in Jordan, and expand the Zain Cash services to enrich the subscriber experience and provide them with an unprecedented, easy and secure way to pay by mobile in the Kingdom.”
Mr. Al Hanandeh added: “We want Zain Cash to be a complete service, as its launch reflects our commitment to providing all advanced ICT solutions to our subscribers. Our customers have always been at the forefront of the most advanced technologies in the world, so our strategic partnership with Mastercard will contribute to the goal behind Zain Cash and to provide e-payment solutions to all citizens.”
Basel Eltell, General Manager, Saudi Arabia and Levant Cluster, Mastercard, said: “Our collaboration with Zain is an important strategic step aimed at enhancing the e-payment sector in the Kingdom. Mastercard recognizes the need to create secure solutions that meet the growing expectations of customers and drive the wider adoption of e-payments. We are pleased to sign this agreement with a prominent company such as Zain, which comes as part of our relentless efforts to deliver innovative financial solutions for mobile payments while also reflecting our vision of paving the way for all segments of the society to have access to financial services.”
Zain Cash offers all local mobile network subscribers a convenient and secure way to to make payment transactions and process monthly payments by saying their time and efforts. The re-launch of Zain Cash comes as part of the company’s partnership with the Central Bank of Jordan, through the national link “JoMoPay” that was launched and is being operated by the Central Bank of Jordan.
- 07:00 am
Discover announced today the launch of messaging, a customer service option that allows customers to communicate with Discover’s customer service agents without having to stop and restart numerous interactions.
The new feature, which will be rolled out in phases, enables customers to message Discover’s customer service representatives via the Discover mobile app.
Unlike traditional session-based chats, messaging allows customers to message back and forth with an agent whenever it is convenient for them, eliminating the need to stay logged in to the app in order to reach a customer service representative. Agents also will have access to customers’ messaging history, eliminating the need for customers to start over and describe the same issue to multiple agents.
Upon completion of the rollout this summer, messaging will replace Discover’s current Live Chat feature, enabling seamless communication between Discover customers and the company’s live, U.S.-based customer service representatives.
“Delivering a world-class customer experience is at the core of who we are at Discover. We continually evaluate our products and services to make sure we are meeting customer needs and are providing the most relevant features and benefits,” said Dennis Michel, senior vice president of customer service and engagement. “Communicating via messaging and other messaging apps has become second nature, so it only makes sense that customers should be able to enjoy the same convenience when communicating with our customer service team.”
