Published
- 03:00 am
Today Hanweck, a leading provider of real-time risk analytics on global derivatives markets, revealed the integration of its Volera platform with its product formerly known as the Premium Hosted Database (PhD).
With the addition of over two petabytes of historical data, Volera now covers listed options and futures traded on all major exchanges across North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific in real-time with tick-level, up-to-the-millisecond pricing, and corresponding US ticking history (10+ years) including historical and T+0 reference data. Volera historical content spans US equities Level 1 data, full OPRA options tick data and computed data including implied volatilities and risk sensitivities (Greeks).
“By unifying real-time and historical tick level data in our proven Volera risk analytics platform, Hanweck is delivering a comprehensive offering that covers a wide range of use cases,” said Robert Levy, Hanweck’s Head of Business Development. “Any firm that uses real-time or historical options tick data for portfolio construction, risk control, or execution quality purposes will now be able to subscribe to one tool that provides a complete solution.”
As part of the integration, the following historical data is now available through Volera:
- OPRA Trades, Quotes, and BBO
- OPRA End-of-Day Summary and Administrative Messages
- U.S. Level 1 Equity Trades, Quotes, and BBO
- U.S. Implied Volatilities and Greeks for OPRA universe
- Corporate action histories, including splits, dividends and symbol changes
Volera provides a wide range of real-time analytic content including implied volatilities/Greeks, volatility surfaces, scenario analysis, margin analytics, and derivatives signal analytics. Run out of dual hot/hot data centers, Volera is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
- 05:00 am
HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global IT services company, today announced the renewal of its transformational IT services engagement with Singapore Exchange for another five years. Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards.
Expanding the scope from the earlier year 2010 engagement covering IT infrastructure, data center services and IT management, the new contract includes transformational IT services in a managed services construct – spanning IT infrastructure, end–user computing, data center, cloud services, workplace transformation, managed networks, enterprise security and GRC. HCL will leverage its DRYiCETM Autonomics and Orchestration Platform, driving business efficiency, productivity gains and end–user experience.
“We are pleased to extend our relationship with Singapore Exchange as their trusted, long-term IT partner,” said Swapan Johri, Executive Vice President, HCL Technologies. “The renewed engagement promises a very exciting journey for both HCL and Singapore Exchange as it leverages automation, collaboration, machine learning, analytics and cloud for driving agility, flexibility and enhanced member experience. We look forward to a continued, mutually beneficial relationship, driving business innovation and IT transformation for Singapore Exchange.”
HCL is a global leader in IT infrastructure services with the competency to execute large–scale, complex IT infrastructure transformation projects. For the 21st Century Enterprise, HCL offers next–generation IT infrastructure services, leveraging automation, artificial intelligence, analytics and cloud to build service–oriented, future–ready IT infrastructure for clients. With its thrust on creating real value for customers, HCL focuses on taking 'Relationships Beyond the Contract (RBtC)', building long–term, mutually beneficial associations with its enterprise customers.
- 01:00 am
OCC, the world's biggest equity derivatives clearing organization, today announced that David Hoag, a technology executive with nearly 25 years of information systems and development experience, will join OCC as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, effective from May 1st.
Hoag, who will report to John Davidson, OCC's new President and Chief Operating Officer, succeeds Luke Moranda, who becomes Senior Vice President and Senior Information Technology Advisor to the President and COO.
"I am very pleased that David Hoag will join our technology leadership team," said Craig Donohue, OCC Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "OCC must continue to cultivate confidence in our resiliency while simultaneously meeting the needs of market participants with cost-effective solutions. David can build upon the progress and momentum created by Luke Moranda and our IT team to help ensure that OCC has the technology infrastructure in place to assess the ability to meet the evolving needs of our clearing members while also meeting the heightened expectations of global regulators."
Donohue added, "As our Senior IT Advisor, Luke will focus on OCC's future state IT capabilities, including modernizing and improving our software development life cycle processes. I have great confidence in Luke's ability to deliver outstanding results in this new role, given his background and experience."
Before joining OCC, Hoag served as the Chief Technology Officer for Halo Investing, Inc., which developed and now offers a pre-defined market return trading platform for investors. Previously, Hoag was Chief Technology Officer for NextTier Education, a web and mobile-based post-secondary readiness platform that delivers critical information on every two and four-year college in the U.S. Hoag also spent 11 years with CME Group, most recently leading their information technology development teams responsible for all of its clearing and settlement activities.
Hoag holds a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois.
- 03:00 am
Imran Gulamhuseinwala has been assigned as the new Implementation Trustee for the CMA’s Open Banking remedies. Mr Gulamhuseinwala, who was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list for his contribution to the financial services sector, is a London-based Partner for EY and leads its Global FinTech practice. He will be seconded from EY to Open Banking.
Alasdair Smith, who chaired the CMA’s market investigation into retail banking that led to the Open Banking remedy, paid tribute to Andrew Pinder’s achievements and welcomed Imran Gulamhuseinwala on board. He said:
It is very sad news to hear about Andrew, who had done a great job in successfully steering the project through its very challenging first phase and getting it off to a strong start. We now wish Imran well as he leads the project into the next phase, which will transform retail banking in Britain and bring substantial benefits to consumers and the economy.
Imran has worked in financial services for 18 years. He joined EY in 2014 and now leads its dedicated FinTech practice globally. He spent 8 years investing in the sector, and is also the co-founder of CommuterClub, a FinTech 50 start-up which helps commuters to access savings for annual travel season tickets. At EY, Imran has worked closely with government, regulators and industry bodies to drive the FinTech agenda, leading studies for both UK Trade & Investment and HM Treasury to measure the size and growth of the FinTech sector in the UK and develop a strategy for future growth. Imran has a Masters in Engineering from Cambridge University and is a CFA charter holder.
- 05:00 am
Backbase, the leading omni-channel digital banking platform, announces its partnership with Bank ABC to develop their next generation digital banking platform for retail and wholesale banking across the Bank’s network.
In its plans to expand digitally, Bank ABC selected a partner that could help it innovate across web and mobile to streamline their front-end features and achieve the latest in digital banking innovation - as well as provide ease in upgrading the existing platform, implementation and in supporting multi lingual requirements across the new digital platforms. Backbase was selected on the basis that it is the most recognised global market leader in providing digital omni-channel banking solutions and helping banks towards their digital transformation.
Bank ABC’s new digital banking platform will enhance the online customer banking experience through facilitating customer journeys by providing a full range of secure banking self-services, including current accounts, savings, fund transfer, payee management, loans, bill payment, ATM\Branch locators and card services accessing these across web and mobile devices. Customers in Jordan were able to access the new web digital banking platform from April 2nd.
Sael Al Waary, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Bank ABC comments, “Our region is very dynamic, and technology is rapidly changing the banking landscape where we are seeing an increase in banks seeking flexibility and agility in introducing new banking products to the market across different channels. Our new digital platform ensures that not only will we continue to have a competitive advantage in this evolving landscape, but that we have put everything in place to succeed in our global digitalisation expansion.’
Jouk Pleiter, Chief Executive Officer at Backbase comments, “It is rewarding to see that more financial institutions in this region are turning towards integrating our Backbase digital banking platform to help support their next phase of growth in digital banking. In the past years our platform has experienced a strong adoption amongst banks in this region wishing to upgrade their existing legacy and respond to the ever growing changing needs of the connected consumer. He further adds, “Bank ABC has all the power to be successful, and we are delighted that they have chosen the Backbase omni-channel banking platform to accompany their expansion and digital transformation.”
- 06:00 am
Today TSYS announced that it has bound a PRIME software license and services agreement with Enfuce Financial Services. The Finnish-based payments services provider has strategic plans to grow its business across Scandinavia. Enfuce will operate PRIME in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud environment to bring efficiencies to its operating model and allow it to compete in the region through its technology and superior value. This will be the first live operation of PRIME in a cloud environment, following successful end-to-end testing in December 2016.
TSYS’ PRIME solution, designed for ease of integration, is a future-proof payments platform for issuing and acquiring, and continues to evolve to meet the needs of tomorrow’s international markets through licensing, processing and hybrid operational models.
“Enfuce is taking a progressive step forward to operationalize PRIME in the cloud and further demonstrate its ability to support the local needs and innovation drivers across the Nordics,” said Rene Kruse, chief operating officer and group executive, PRIME Business Solutions, TSYS. Enfuce has signed its first client in the region and will continue to extend its proposition to payment providers in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Baltics. It will provide full support for card issuance and secure payment processing, including payment account, loyalty, instalment, contactless products and more.
- 04:00 am
Today Amazon has reported about the launch of Amazon Pay in France, Italy and Spain, enabling customers to pay for goods and services on participating third party merchant websites with their Amazon account information.
“As customers increasingly choose to shop online, on mobile and through connected devices, their expectations for speed, convenience and security when it comes to paying for goods and services continues to grow,” said Giulio Montemagno, GM Amazon Pay EU. “By allowing customers to pay for goods and services with only their Amazon account information, Amazon Pay has simplified the checkout process for shoppers, whilst enabling other merchants to reach our millions of global customers.”
Amazon Pay payment volume nearly doubled in 2016, with merchants from sectors including apparel, travel, digital goods, insurance and entertainment helping to fuel this growth.
Maria Cardena, Vueling´s Head of Product Development and Innovation states, “We are proud to be the first airline in Europe to offer Amazon Pay across all of our e-commerce platforms: website, mobile site and our app. Vueling has always been at the forefront in deploying new services and enhancing the customer experience. Amazon Pay enables us to provide an industry-leading value proposition of convenience and reliability to make the online booking process as easy, safe and smart as possible for our customers. Vueling first launched Amazon Pay in Germany in 2016 to great acclaim, and as customer adoption continues to grow, we intend to replicate the same success across Europe.”
More than 33m customers have used Amazon Pay to make a purchase globally, with more than half of these coming from Prime Members - Amazon’s most loyal and active customers. Other business highlights include:
• Payment volume nearly doubled in 2016 with customers using Amazon Pay to make a purchase in 2016
• 32 percent of transactions using Amazon Pay were made on a mobile device.
• Customers from more than 170 countries have used their Amazon account to make a purchase on Third-Party Merchant Websites
• The Amazon Payments Global Partner Programme launched in 2016 with the aim of helping e-commerce platform providers to grow their business, with 50 service providers signing up in the first 8 months.
• Active merchants grew more than 120 percent year over year as Amazon Pay expanded support for new sectors, including government payments, travel, digital goods, insurance, entertainment, non-profits and charities
Amazon Pay is designed to facilitate a simple, safe and secure relationship between merchants and their customers. Amazon does not receive any information or merchant data about customer activity on third party sites.
- 09:00 am
Innovate Finance, the membership association for UK's global FinTech sector, has revealed the winner of Pitch360, its first ever FinTech startup competition.
The winner also receives complimentary membership to Innovate Finance, tickets to the 2018 Innovate Finance Global Summit and the option to access top policy, PR and legal advice from Innovate Finance partners. Contestants were asked to pitch for six minutes in front of a global audience in the Great Hall at the Guildhall. The finalists represented eight categories: AI, blockchain, cross-border payments, cyber security, financial inclusion, personal finance, alternative financing and regtech.
Judges for the event included Brett King, Bestselling Author and Presenter of the Breaking Banks podcast, Kosta Peric, Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Maria Gotsch, President and CEO at the Partnership Fund for New York City and Rumi Morales, Executive Director and Head, CME Ventures at CME Group.
“As a judge, it was such an informative and rewarding experience to hear from 24 impressive young companies based all over the world, including Nigeria, Japan, and several European nations,” said Rumi Morales. “Ultimately, Heidi and Guardscale won out because of her comprehensive pitch that covered Guardscale’s elegant technology solutions to known industry problems, the company’s business model, overall market opportunity, and talented management team. My fellow judges and I congratulate them on their success and look forward to watching their continued growth.”
Heidi Rakels, Chief Executive Officer of GuardSquare said: “I want to thank the organizers for giving me the opportunity to present GuardSquare to the international audience present at IFGS 2017. Innovate Finance manages year after year to assemble the most influential people in the FinTech field, the people that work hard to revolutionise the financial world. I didn’t think a security company would be able to win the Pitch360 competition. The fact that we did shows that FinTech companies and financial institutions are increasingly aware of the importance of security. I am convinced that the development of innovative technology should go hand in hand with the development of advanced security solutions. That is the only way innovative technology can be truly successful in the long run.”
Commenting on Pitch360 Lawrence Wintermeyer, CEO of Innovate Finance, said: “The pitches were really impressive and showcased the truly global talent that makes up FinTech. We were impressed by the calibre of the finalists and congratulate their superb performance. Whilst there can be only one winner, all of the contestants got great exposure pitching in front of a huge audience of investors, journalists and global FinTech influencers. GuardSquare protects mobile apps from cyber attacks and Heidi provided an excellent overview of the startup’s unique proposition to convince the judges and beat off tough competition. We look forward to supporting GuardSquare as a new member of Innovate Finance, as it continues to grow its business.”
- 02:00 am
Today Masergy Communications Inc., revealed that UK-based Eurostar has selected the company's Hybrid Networking and Managed Security solutions to enhance the high-speed railway's digital transformation initiatives.
Eurostar is the only high-speed train that directly links the UK to France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel. The service carries over 10 million passengers a year with routes to Paris, Brussels, Lille, Disneyland® Paris and more.
Masergy designed and implemented a custom hybrid WAN solution tailored for the applications that Eurostar utilizes in train stations, offices, ticketing and call centers across the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and India. The network intelligently delivers both primary and backup connectivity, and direct and private connections to Eurostar's Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments.
Additional benefits included:
- Rapid deployment and simplified management of routing and firewall functions via Masergy's vCPE solution, Virtual f(n)
- Increased agility with real-time bandwidth on demand and quality of service assignments, and unlimited virtual network environments
- Real time visibility, control and analytics required to make data-driven decisions
Masergy is also securing Eurostar's IT assets via our patented Unified Enterprise Security (UES) solution, which combines continuous monitoring by security experts combined with network behavioral analytics for rapid threat detection and response.
According to Eurostar CIO Laurent Bellan, "The objective of our digital transformation is to become a customer-first company by delivering real-time mobile and web experiences to let customers book their journeys. Our goal is to give customers a superior web and call center support experience. Masergy provided us with the ideal partnership to accomplish all of our goals," Bellan said.
"The innovative network we designed and deployed for Eurostar gives their customers real-time access to information, which is paramount to delivering an exceptional customer travel experience," said Chris MacFarland, CEO, Masergy. "Eurostar and Masergy share common values around providing exceptional customer experiences by way of innovative technologies. It's exciting to see how our solutions are helping global organizations such as Eurostar to transform their business."
