Published
- 02:00 am
First Data, a global leader in commerce-enabling technology, and Flywire, a leading provider of international payment solutions, today announced a new strategic agreement aimed at streamlining cross-border transactions for their respective client bases.
“First Data serves millions of businesses and thousands of financial institutions in more than 100 countries around the world,” said Frank Bisignano, Chairman and CEO of First Data. “We are excited to partner with Flywire, an innovative leader in international payment processing, to simplify cross-border payment acceptance for clients in the education and healthcare industries.”
Flywire offers a global transaction processing and receivables solution that makes international payments faster, easier, less expensive and more transparent. Today, over 1,300 clients across 18 countries use Flywire to process international payments.
As a result of the partnership, Flywire will now be able to significantly expand card payment options for their clients to make international payments even more convenient and cost-effective for their customers. In turn, First Data clients will be able to leverage the Flywire platform to accept large sum international payments from their customers, providing added transparency and easier reconciliation.
“Our goal is to take the friction out of cross-border transactions, wherever it may exist,” said Mike Massaro, CEO at Flywire. “Partnering with First Data significantly expands the payment options for our clients’ customers and has the potential to make the benefits of our platform available to tens of thousands of additional businesses and institutions around the world.”
As part of the strategic relationship, First Data will leverage Flywire’s presence in the education, healthcare, and business-to-business segments to increase its penetration in those markets. First Data will also resell and refer the Flywire platform to its clients, including those within the education and healthcare space, as well as clients in the travel and leisure, luxury goods, professional services, publishing, and technology industries. By leveraging First Data’s expansive network of clients, Flywire will be able to further its recent expansion into international payment and receivables for businesses.
- 04:00 am
Verifone, a world leader in payments and commerce solutions, announced that it has been selected as the payment solution and service provider for PrivatBank, the largest acquirer in Ukraine.
Verifone will be PrivatBank’s single source for all payment services including software, warranty and logistics. This means merchants will be able to unpack their complete POS system, set up, and begin accepting card payments within minutes. The agreement gives PrivatBank the flexibility to source comprehensive payment solutions through a monthly service model that eliminates a large initial investment, terminal management and depreciation commonly associated with payment system ownership and management.
“Our partnership with Verifone will play a major role in the journey towards broad adoption of cashless transactions in the region by significantly reducing the complexity we would face if we were to manage our merchant payment system offerings ourselves,” said Alexandr Shlapak, CEO of the PrivatBank. “Payment-as-a-service is an alternative business model that’s very attractive to many acquirers like us in Eastern Europe.”
According to industry analysts, despite the growing share of the banked population and governmental restrictions on cash payment, Ukraine remains a largely cash-based economy. However, consumers are increasingly attracted to the convenience offered by card payments thanks to rising merchant acceptance supported by leading banks that are focused on expanding their POS networks.
“As Verifone’s first service-based agreement in Ukraine, we are proud to support the country’s biggest chain of branches that will enable merchants to offer consumers better, faster and more convenient ways to pay with debit and credit cards, and the newest contactless and e-payment options,” said Bulent Ozayaz, President, Verifone EEMEA, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa. “Designed to allow clients like PrivatBank to focus on their core business in financial services, Verifone will handle the full scope of payment solutions installment and ongoing service directly with their merchant clients.”
- 09:00 am
Alphavend has just launched its first 24 hour Bitcoin machine on Brighton's seafront, yards from the famous seaside town's iconic pier. After successfully deploying machines in London and Scotland, Alphavend is optimistic about its foray on the UK's south coast.
Located in a convenience store (S.V. News) at 54-55 Kings Road, the machine will be available from 7am until 3am Sun-Thu, and 24 Hours at the weekend.
As well as offering customers the chance to buy Bitcoin, it will also shortly add the less well known, but up and coming digital currency, Litecoin, with other 'cryptos' set to follow in the near future.
The timing could not be better as Bitcoin demand had pushed it to all time record highs this week of £1,152 per BTC, almost three times its value at the same time last year
- 01:00 am
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry, today announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved rule changes allowing its Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) subsidiary to expand the availability of central clearing in the repo market, strengthening both the safety and efficiency of the marketplace.
The rule approvals will allow institutional investors to participate in FICC either directly in the new Centrally Cleared Institutional Triparty (CCIT™) Service or indirectly through a sponsoring member bank.
• CCIT Service – FICC is the only central counterparty (CCP) platform in the U.S. that clears tri-party repo and debt transactions. Since 1998, FICC’s GCF Repo Service has enabled its dealer members to trade FICC-cleared general collateral tri-party repos with each other based on rate, term and underlying product throughout the day without requiring intra-day, trade-for-trade settlement on a Delivery-versus-Payment (DVP) basis. As an expansion of the GCF Repo Service, the CCIT Service will extend FICC’s CCP services and guaranty of the completion of eligible trades to tri-party repo transactions between its dealer members and eligible tri-party cash lenders.
• Sponsored DVP Repo Service – Since 2005, FICC has also offered a service that allows well-capitalized bank members to sponsor their Registered Investment Company clients into FICC. With the expansion of the sponsored membership program, FICC will now permit additional Qualified Institutional Buyer clients to lend cash and U.S. treasuries via their sponsoring member banks throughout the day.
Enabling new market participants to join FICC reduces counterparty risk, a key benefit because of the guaranteed completion of settlement in the event of a member default. In such a stress scenario, the CCP guaranty can lower the risk of liquidity drain from a large scale exit by institutional investors. A centralized liquidation of a failed counterparty by FICC would reduce the risk of fire sales that drive down asset prices and spread stress across the financial system.
Centrally clearing these transactions at FICC also offers members opportunities for potential balance sheet netting and capital relief, which, in turn, may afford institutional investors increased lending capacity and income.¬
“The repo market is a critical source of funding for broker-dealers and an important cash management tool for institutional counterparties. We believe the larger group of market participants able to use central clearing through the CCIT Service and sponsored membership program strengthens the entire marketplace,” said Murray Pozmanter, DTCC Managing Director and Head of Clearing Agency Services. “We applaud the SEC actions, and look forward to delivering increased central clearing capabilities to our expanded community.”
- 05:00 am
Qualys, Inc., a pioneer and leading provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions, today announced that it has appointed Mark Butler, a former Fiserv executive, as chief information security officer (CISO) to help advocate CISO needs for Qualys customers and empower them in securing their digital transformation.
Butler will serve as Qualys' lead CISO evangelist, helping security and compliance leadership across its 9,300 customers in over 100 countries understand the business imperatives currently driving secure digital transformation and DevSecOps, also helping customer CISOs connect those priorities with key technical needs, tools and processes.
"I am thrilled to join the Qualys team as chief information security officer and to work with other CISOs to help them achieve the kind of visibility that they need throughout their IT assets to secure today's global digital business," said Mark Butler, chief information security officer, Qualys, Inc. "Because of its unique cloud platform, Qualys is in a pivotal position to help give CISOs the capability to start 'building security in' rather than continuing to 'bolt it on,' and to consolidate multiple on-premise security and compliance point solutions."
"Mark brings unique experience to Qualys and we are all delighted to have him join our team," said Philippe Courtot, chairman and CEO, Qualys, Inc. "As the CISO of a global financial services technology provider, he is very familiar with what it takes to fend off cyber threats and to build security into the fabric of the digital transformation that all companies are now embarking on to remain competitive."
Butler brings more than 20 years of IT security experience as both a leader and practitioner — working with executive management, IT leadership and legal counsel to achieve timely visibility into new business opportunities and associated cyber risks — within leading enterprises, resellers and solution providers. His areas of security expertise include: threat intelligence, security architecture, strategy, road map development, cyber framework alignment, security solution testing, orchestration and workflow integration. As vice president, CISO and enterprise security information officer at Fiserv, Butler led PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) assessment delivery, internal penetration testing, vulnerability scanning and web application security teams.
Prior to Fiserv, Butler held roles in global security consulting, independent technical research and comprehensive assessment services as well as several foundational security roles at H&R Block. Butler attended Baylor University and received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Business Management from Avila University. He holds active Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), PCI Internal Security Assessor (PCI-ISA) and Certified Information Privacy Professional/Information Technology (CIPP-IT) certifications.
- 01:00 am
OpenLink, the global leader in trading, treasury and risk management solutions for the energy, commodities, corporate and financial services industries, has appointed senior IBM executive Nancy Pearson as its new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Based in New York, Ms. Pearson will take responsibility for aligning OpenLink’s strategy, value proposition, and global marketing team, bringing considerable experience in cloud and cognitive solutions to the role.
Ms. Pearson’s recent roles have included CMO of IBM Cloud and Global Head of Marketing for IBM Cognitive (Watson), and have seen her recognized as a leader in the technology industry. In 2015, she was named as one of the top 25 most influential women in Cloud, Power 100 Most Powerful Women of the Channel, and SiliconANGLE 2015 Women Who Rocked the Tech World.
“We’re delighted to welcome Nancy to our executive team,” said John O’Malley, CEO, OpenLink. “Nancy was previously with IBM where she engaged in several entrepreneurial businesses, helping launch many early-stage strategic solutions into globally recognized brands, including IBM Cloud, Linux, Watson and others. She was responsible for Global Marketing for IBM’s leadership brands WebSphere, Tivoli, Information Management and others. Nancy is a leader in the technology industry and has been recognized as such numerous times. No one is better placed to help accelerate growth in our key markets.”
“I’m joining OpenLink at a really exciting time,” said Ms. Pearson. “In previous roles, I’ve launched new brands and initiatives within established global businesses. This position allows me to translate that experience to a new space and use it to help grow an already market-leading business. We have great plans ahead.”
Ms. Pearson holds a B.A. in psychology/human relations from Pace University, an M.S. in adult education/human resource development from Fordham University and an M.M. in market management from Columbia Business School.
Nancy Pearson, CMO at OpenLink
- 08:00 am
Today Capgemini, the world-leading provider of consulting, technology, and outsourcing services, supported reveals first cloud-hosted mobile application testing lab, using Experitest’s See-Test tools. The new solution allows financial service providers to constantly control and monitor all digital mobile applications 24 hours a day. This capability results in advanced mobile application quality and significant cost savings of up to 50%.
The lab, based on SeeTestCloud platform by Experitest enables client organizations to distantly access mobile devices at hand any time. Moreover, entire environment is isolated within the Capgemini’s virtual private network and provides testers with high-speed performance. The lab consolidates seamlessly end-to-end suite of tools, including any automation or development open source environment. Thus mobile applications can be tested, by functionality, performance, and compatibility.
Tal Barmeir, Experitest CEO commented: "The Capgemini mobile device hosted cloud dedicated for the financial services industry is a unique offering for banks, insurance companies, and other financial services enterprises. The core capabilities of functional and performance testing are fully integrated into the CICD flow of these organizations, creating seamless cooperation between mobile app developers, QA, and operations - making the agile release of high-quality mobile apps a reality,”
Sandra Wróbel-Konior
Content Marketing Specialist at SecurionPay
- 08:00 am
UnionPay International announced today the launch of its upgraded campaign at 100 airports worldwide, providing discounts and services at various types of merchants. From now to February 28, 2018, UnionPay cardholders can enjoy exclusive privileges and value-added services at more than 100 international airports across about 30 countries and regions.
UnionPay International have been devoted to improving its global privilege system to meet cardholders' diverse demands, launching global campaigns featuring "Global Airports", "Famous Business Districts" and "Selected Tourism Destinations" each year. Besides these themed campaigns, UnionPay International also launched a cross-border marketing platform, U Plan, which realized a higher level of precision in cross-border marketing via mobile Internet.
The "Global Airport" campaign this year is featured with three highlights:
Firstly, it is more extensive. The participating airports are not only in traditionally popular tourist destinations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and Middle East, but also include Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines, Plaisance International Airport in Mauritius and Nadi International Airport in Fiji. Cardholders may enjoy discount up to 10% at merchants in more than 100 international airports.
Secondly, it covers more types of merchants and provides value-added services. UnionPay International now offers exclusive discounts at airport restaurants, bookstores, gift shops as well as privileges such as VIP lounge access, airport shuttle bus, car rental and tax refund.
Thirdly, exclusive privileges of mobile QuickPass and U Plan are available. Special offers for UnionPay mobile QuickPass are launched in the Chinese Corner at Melbourne Airport, Relay Book Store at New Zealand Airport and food streets at 5 airports in Taiwan. King Power at 4 airports in Thailand, JR Duty Free at 8 airports in Australia and New Zealand, and Travel Pharm at 3 airports in New Zealandoffer the highest discounts available for U Plan users. Cardholders may get U Plan coupons via the mobile app of UnionPay international and its cooperative banks and travel agencies.
Latest data show that UnionPay has expanded to more than 160 countries and regions outside mainland China, covering almost all the popular tourist destinations. More than 20 million merchants and 1.3 million ATMs outside the Chinese Mainland accept UnionPay cards. Cardholders may also enjoy various value-added services such as UnionPay Emergency Assistance and Overseas Tax Refund.
