Published
- 03:00 am
Temenos announces the appointment of Carl Robertson as its Chief Marketing Officer. Robertson brings over 20 years of sales and marketing experience to the leadership team of the banking and finance software specialist. He will be responsible for global marketing and communication activities and will help drive the business forward at a time when the banking industry is undergoing unprecedented change in a digital age.
Speaking of his appointment, Robertson commented; “The banking industry is undergoing a seismic shift in the way it operates. The rate of change and the need for banks to offer their customers a rich, engaging and personalised banking experience is greater than ever. We are seeing so much innovation in the sector and I am delighted to join Temenos as we work with the most successful banks to re-define our industry.”
A seasoned sales and marketing professional, Robertson has held senior management roles with some of the leading technology, IT and telecommunications organisations in the world. Prior to joining Temenos, he was Global VP Marketing with Tata Communications, helping position the company as a global leader in cloud, mobility and networking for enterprises, service providers and cloud partners.
He has also held senior management and marketing roles within both the residential and business markets working for leading global companies such as Orange and Equant and more recently with Colt where he was the Global Chief Marketing Officer and EVP Products.
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- 01:00 am
Following the launch last week of OpenFin's Community Edition, RSRCHXchange, the MiFID II research solution and marketplace, is pleased to announce that they are the first partner to join the OpenFin Community.
The RSRCHX application gives the option of moving away from web browsers to the desktop, allowing users to access the RSRCHX portal in a next generation segregated desktop application. By developing on OpenFin, RSRCHXchange is enabling both asset management firms and research providers to use its unique live consumption analytics, real-time research assessment tools and research marketplace in conjunction with other best-in-breed solutions to meet their MiFID II and research needs.
OpenFin’s common operating layer is licensed on over 125,000 desktops by 35 of the world's largest banks and trading platforms. The new OpenFin Community Edition provides free access to the operating layer, making the platform more accessible to the entire ecosystem of capital markets applications.
Vicky Sanders, Co-Founder, RSRCHXchange, commented: “Building the RSRCHX desktop application on OpenFin goes beyond simply improving the user experience of our research platform; with the industry facing a sprint in order to be ready in time for MiFID II implementation in January next year, it’s connectivity which will allow the industry to join the dots, linking together multiple MiFID II solutions.”
Jeremy Davies, Co-Founder, RSRCHXchange, added: “Leveraging OpenFin in this way is one of several developments that we have been working on to build out our connectivity for our customers and providers. It keeps RSRCHXchange at the forefront of financial technology innovation and we look forward to announcing other product upgrades and partnerships with more best-in-class providers, which will further improve our offering.”
- 01:00 am
Ingenico ePayments, the online and mobile commerce division of Ingenico Group, announced that it has signed an agreement with Anantara Vacation Club, Asia’s premiere shared vacation ownership programme, to provide online payment acceptance and processing. Launched in 2010, Anantara Vacation Club offers a points based, flexible shared vacation ownership concept for consumers wishing to holiday across Asia and beyond. Ingenico ePayments’ platform enables Anantara Vacation Club to accept a wide range of payment methods and currencies, with the benefits of full transparency and control.
By consolidating payment processing with a single vendor, Anantara Vacation Club can reduce costs related to the acceptance of payments. Ingenico’s payment experts assist Anantara Vacation Club in managing online fraud and PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance, reducing the burden on Anantara Vacation Club’s own financial department. Because all online payments are captured and processed by Ingenico, the company can provide Anantara Vacation Club with consolidated reporting and data analysis for each of their markets. Ingenico also handles the direct settlement of funds to specific bank accounts for payments, enabling Anantara Vacation Club’s Finance Department to enjoy a seamless reconciliation process.
Club Points Owners at Anantara Vacation Club will benefit from the partnership as well, with the company now able to create a payment experience that reflects its high standards of quality and operation. By providing an increased selection of payment options and currencies, improved card authorisation rates, stringent security measures and automated, recurring payments, Anantara Vacation Club’s five-star customer experience will now be extended to cover the payment process.
"As we are growing our global footprint in a wide variety of markets, we found that we needed a payment service provider that can offer the appropriate local payment methods in each individual market and assist us in the seamless collection of recurring Club Fees. We were looking for a solution that helps us manage the complexities of data protection and offers a secure environment for our customers. Ideally, we wanted a custom-built, integrated interface to enhance the user experience for our guests and offer security surrounding their sensitive data,” said Maurizio Bisicky, Chief Commercial Officer at Anantara Vacation Club.
“With Ingenico ePayments, we found a partner offering the right combination of global reach and local expertise. Furthermore, Ingenico’s full-service model provides a single interface with consolidated reporting and remittance, which reduces the complexity of managing a multi-market eCommerce operation and lets us focus on optimization and growth.”added Howard Leigh, Chief Financial Officer at Anantara Vacation Club.
"The hospitality industry is constantly changing, and the rise of Online Travel Agencies has given hospitality brands an additional incentive to take online sales payments seriously. Anantara Vacation Club has put in place an end-to-end payments solution that will help the company connect with their guests directly, drive revenue, and reduce cost and complexity." said Nick Tubb, General Manager Asia Pacific at Ingenico ePayments.
- 09:00 am
Linedata, the global solutions provider dedicated to the investment management and credit industries, has announced a new version of its market-leading portfolio management system, Linedata Global Hedge, to meet the evolving needs of the global alternative and institutional investment community.
Alternative and institutional managers in all regions are seeking enhanced automation and scalability around the trading process to handle increasing trading volumes resulting from market volatility and the evolution of firms through industry growth and consolidation. The new release brings managers the benefit of improved position based order generation, with more flexible allocation preferences and order methods, as well as enhanced data quality in pre-trade compliance checks such as the ability to download current prices at time of trading new instruments.
Linedata Global Hedge has also added to its broad range of features for different asset classes, including enhanced fixed income functionality, as clients continue to seek alternative means of generating income in a low growth environment. Alongside expanded unit traded bond calculations, the new release also provides enhanced support for emerging market bond conventions, addressing greater investor interest in emerging market debt as an asset class.
The enhancements to Linedata’s platform will also ensure that hedge funds and asset managers using derivatives are equipped to comply with increased reporting and disclosure requirements, for example under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), through improvements to swap schedule management and lifecycle tracking. The new release also extends the ability of clients in Asia to meet changing requirements around short position reporting recently updated by the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong, by automatically flagging those positions requiring disclosure.
Ed Gouldstone, Global Head of Product Management, Asset Management, at Linedata, says: “Today’s global managers face an uphill struggle of handling increasing data volumes in an evolving regulatory landscape and challenging economic environment. Remaining flexible is key for firms to successfully navigate these challenges and thrive. This enhanced version of Linedata Global Hedge expands front office capabilities and reinforces our commitment to providing agile technology solutions and services required to continually meet our clients’ needs.”
- 08:00 am
Coastal Credit Union and eight partners are thrilled to announce the launch of Constellation Digital Partners, LLC, a credit union service organization (CUSO), designed to deliver a revolutionary software platform that will transform the future of digital banking for credit unions and members.
Constellation Founder and Coastal Credit Union Chief Information Officer Kristopher Kovacs, realized there was a fundamental problem in modern digital financial services. Despite a recent boom of potential financial technology partners, credit unions cannot access them because of the legacy structure of credit union relationships with current digital banking providers.
The creation of the innovative company and platform are the result of a three-year long research and development effort, which culminated in the filing of a patent in November 2015. Now, Constellation is building out its cloud-based financial services marketplace and platform that will allow credit unions and members to choose which services to use inside of a secure banking experience.
To date, nine partners spanning nationwide and totaling $12 billion in assets, have committed to investing in the platform. The partners are Coastal Credit Union, CFCU Community Credit Union, Meritrust Credit Union, Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union, Georgia’s Own Credit Union, Affinity Federal Credit Union and Nusenda Credit Union. Combined, the credit unions represent a significant user base of more than 1.1 million members. Constellation is continuing to offer investment opportunities to make ownership of the platform more accessible for a variety of credit unions. The initial credit union investors are being joined by CO-OP Financial Services and CUNA Mutual, who are also investing in the new CUSO.
In addition, the marketplace will create a new service-based economy where interested digital service developers can also get involved and become service providers and partners on the new platform. Developers can create tiles or services, then credit unions can seek out and select services within the marketplace. Seven service provider partners are already on board: Telrock, Connect Financial Software Solutions, Obloco, Corporate One Federal Credit Union, Gro Solutions, Xtensifi, and Insuritas.
“Credit unions have been struggling to provide next-generation services and it’s a disconnect both current and potential members have noticed,” said Kovacs. “Today’s fast-paced digital age calls for new services and we have the answer. Constellation redefines what credit unions offer. It means credit unions finally have the freedom to not only survive, but thrive; to not only compete, but win. We vet the services first, so members can trust they are the best of the best.”
- 06:00 am
Eighty-seven per cent of Singaporeans prefer to make electronic payments, as opposed to using cash (up 11%), representing the highest preference for electronic payments in the region, according to the 2016 Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes survey.
Based on the study, 48 per cent of respondents admitted to having more payment cards in their wallets now, compared to five years ago. The main reasons for not carrying large amounts of cash include an increased habit of using payment cards, mobile wallets and contactless cards. Fifty-two per cent of these respondents also said they believe card usage is safer than cash.
Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei said, “Singapore is a developed market where more than 60 per cent of all transactions are made electronically. However, this means that around 40 per cent of payments in Singapore are still transacted using cash and cheques, presenting a significant opportunity for cash displacement. Certain segments in Singapore, such as hawker centres, food courts and wet markets, are heavily cash-based. Hence, it is important for the industry to work closely together to introduce new digital solutions to convert cash in these segments, so that Singapore can become truly cashless.”
In terms of payment habits and sentiments, 68 per cent of respondents shared that they are using electronic payments, such as mobile devices and wearables, more often and moving away from cash. Sixty-six per cent also said they would like payments to be fully automated, doing away with the physical process of paying for a product or service. Sixty per cent of them are also comfortable with the use of biometrics, such as fingerprinting and face recognition, for payment authentication.
Awareness and usage of contactless payments in Singapore has also increased in the past year. Ninety-one per cent of Singaporeans said they are aware of contactless payments, compared to 87 per cent in 2015. Seventy-one per cent of Singaporeans also said they have used contactless payments, and the remaining 25 per cent said they were keen to use it in the future.
“In Singapore, contactless payments have grown tremendously over the years and, to date, Visa payWave transactions have crossed the seven million milestone per month. Visa payWave transactions now make up half of all Visa transactions, which is a huge achievement for us in Singapore, and we believe this growth will continue as we work with the merchants and banks to expand into new categories that were previously untapped,” Tyng said.
- 09:00 am
Telia Carrier announced today that it has added a new, high capacity route that stretches from Zurich, Switzerland to Strasbourg, France via Basel, Switzerland, providing a shortened path and lower latency between Frankfurt, Germany and Zurich. With the addition of a new PoP and metro fiber in Zurich, the new route provides current and potential customers with routing options that dramatically improve performance for traffic to and from Milan, Italy and Marseilles, France. The combination of a shorter, unique route with added security and diversity gives Telia Carrier’s customers the ability to stay one step ahead of their end-users’ rising expectations.
In Zurich, the global wholesale carrier is seeing heightened demand for high capacity fiber infrastructure and 100G+ services from over-the-top (OTT) content providers and large-scale web hosting companies to meet customer demand. With the addition of a new PoP and additional fiber in Zurich, Telia Carrier can offer a variety of services and routing options to local and international companies looking to connect throughout Europe. The new route provides inherent reliability and hardened security on a unique right-of-way with the fiber buried deep underground. Telia Carrier is offering its full portfolio of services on this route.
“As demand for OTT and cloud-based services continues to rise, service providers will need agile connectivity options for delivering their services. The new network path between Frankfurt and Zurich provides the highest capacity route across a shorter distance available in the region and gives content providers the infrastructure needed to drastically improve latency with a secure connection,” said Christoph Lannert, Regional Sales Director for Telia Carrier. “By delivering a diverse array of options in Zurich and the surrounding region, Telia Carrier empowers its customers to put their customers’ needs at the center of their universe.”
- 01:00 am
Today, OpenLink launched OpenLink Cloud, the world’s first and most comprehensive enterprise Cloud platform for trading and risk management.
- Financial Services firms face typical end of period transaction volume peaks - OpenLink’s scalable Cloud solution allows them to pay for what they use, when they need it, and no more.
- Many financial services firms are struggling to support multiple disparate systems that aren’t all compliant with expanding regulatory requirements around the globe. OpenLink Cloud solution help firms to rationalize their solution portfolio and stay compliant across all asset classes.
- Investment managers are highly cost conscious and high license fees are antithetical to positive EBITDA outcomes. OpenLink’s subscription-based Cloud service helps them save on both their operating and IT budgets.
- Financial institutions are joining the Cloud bandwagon at a fast pace, enjoying the benefits of a secure, fully managed and scalable platform like OpenLink’s derivative risk management and hedge accounting solution.
From conversations with firms as we developed this project, this has the potential to genuinely transform the way many organisations do business. If you’d like to know more, we would be happy to answer any questions or arrange an interview with Scott Rompala, Senior Vice President, Cloud Solutions.
