Creditsafe, the global business intelligence experts are the world’s most-used supplier of online company credit reports, serving 200,000 subscription customers globally and producing 125 million credit reports annually. 

In order to achieve the FCA accreditation Creditsafe had to first become 'International Organization for Standardization' (ISO) compliant to ensure its products, processes and services are fit for purpose. The FCA accreditation is therefore a significant benchmark in Creditsafe’s evolution and will see Creditsafe now working alongside some of the world’s largest banks to provide global financial information across the enterprise market.

Creditsafe’s FCA authorised services now include providing credit references, credit information services and credit and risk management.

Paul Beard, Global Commercial Contracts Director at Creditsafe, said: “FCA authorisation demonstrates to current and future clients, particularly large enterprises that Creditsafe’s regulatory and operational infrastructure has met the highest standard demanded by the FCA.

“It is further evidence of our commitment to deliver excellence in credit reporting, and whether a client is an SME, enterprise or financial expert, they are receiving information to make business decisions from a trusted and regulated provider.

“This authorisation provides us with a competitive edge in an age of increasing compliance and regulation.” 

The solution, which was jointly developed with CREALOGIX, solution is impressive thanks to its high level of user-friendliness and secure access via push authentication. 

Bank Julius Baer is pointing the way to the future of digital banking through the new mobile app. The Swiss private banking leader is the first company in its industry to launch the next-generation mobile banking solution that it developed with CREALOGIX. Customers of Bank Julius Baer only need their smartphone to use all banking functions on the app. This enables them for example to carry out transactions or manage portfolios at any time and any location. In addition, the user will find all information amalgamated on the app. The log-in process is simple, secure and convenient thanks to push authentication.

The avoidance of additional hardware tokens or access codes provides superior flexibility while ensuring maximum security. Bank Julius Baer customers thereby are provided with a seamless offer which satisfies their high demands in terms of mobility.

 

R3 counts a number of major insurance companies amongst its member base, including MetLife, AIA and Suncorp Group, as well as other financial services members that have their own insurance groups. ACORD is a non-profit organisation that provides the global insurance industry with data standards and implementation solutions.

The Centre of Excellence will provide a dedicated environment for both R3’s members and ACORD’s members to research, experiment and design DLT applications that improve the efficiency of insurance processes such as claims handling and data management. 

R3 will provide access for ACORD’s members to the R3 Wiki, a vast online knowledge library that contains a collection of research and resources created and compiled by R3 and its members. A dedicated portal has been built on the Wiki specifically for insurance projects, enabling ACORD members to engage in discussion amongst themselves and with other members of R3 on DLT and insurance related topics.

R3 will provide education for C-suite, management and technology communities within ACORD’s membership, as well as engaging in regulatory outreach within the insurance industry. ACORD will have the ability to invite appropriate regulators and supervisory bodies into projects being carried out within the Centre of Excellence.

R3 has actively engaged with regulators, trade associations and government entities across the world since its inception, inviting them into relevant trials with its members and enabling them to observe and participate in developing elements of DLT it is testing and building.

David Rutter, CEO of R3, commented: “R3 is building distributed ledger technology for use across the financial services industry, of which the insurance sector is a key component. There is huge potential for insurers to leverage this technology to overhaul outdated systems used for processes such as premium payments and claims handling. We have been steadily growing our member base in this sector, and our partnership with ACORD will now provide these institutions and the industry as a whole with the tools and network to foster knowledge sharing and experimentation.”

Bill Pieroni, President and CEO at ACORD, commented: “We are excited to partner with R3 to create the DLT Centre of Excellence for the global insurance industry. It gives ACORD's members the opportunity to learn from other financial sectors, leveraging the knowledge to reduce time, cost, and risk associated with proof-of-concepts and pilots. Likewise, the work carried out by ACORD and R3 will benefit R3’s member base as a whole. ACORD looks forward to working together to strategically position the industry for change."

Marty Lippert, Executive Vice President and head of Global Technology & Operations at MetLife, added: "The partnership between ACORD and R3 to create a Centre of Excellence for insurers and reinsurers will expedite innovation and establish global standards for distributed ledger technology across the insurance industry. MetLife looks forward to expanding its strong relationships with both ACORD and R3 and contributing to the efforts of the new Centre of Excellence.” 

The world’s fifth most valuable cryptocurrency is now open for trading on the platform with buy and sell pairings including DASH / EUR, DASH / USD, and DASH / BTC. The partnership between Dash and Kraken comes in the wake of a record surge for the cryptocurrency, which experienced a 6x increase in price per ($11 to $72 USD) and a 10x increase in trading volume ($3 million to $30 million USD) across Q1.

Dash VP of Business Development, Daniel Diaz, said “Kraken is excited to offer Dash on their trading platform and our teams are working closely to ensure clients can begin trading the currency immediately. Kraken is an incredibly well established and well structured organization, and amongst the best in the exchange business. In terms of reputation, they represent the highest standard for client satisfaction. Dash is a project that has implemented very original ideas that resonate well with the market, and as a top tier exchange, Kraken’s mission is to provide clients with access to digital currencies that are in demand and provide value.  

Following several business partnerships around the world, the implementation of the Sentinel software upgrade and the announcement of revolutionary decentralized payments system called Evolution, Dash has been on record breaking trajectory. Its total market cap skyrocketed from $78 million USD (January 1st) to an all time high of $835 million USD (March 18th), with new international markets unlocked alongside user demand.

Daniel Diaz continued, “As the leading exchange in the Euro market, Kraken’s global reach helps Dash successfully meet the needs of our users and investors. The entire integration experience was very positive and we have high expectations for the partnership going forward. This is a significant achievement for Dash because our ecosystem needs high quality and trustworthy exchanges like Kraken to thrive, and we know they will play an important role as a fiat gateway.”

Founded in 2011, Kraken Digital Asset Exchange is one of the world’s largest and oldest bitcoin exchanges with the widest selection of digital assets and national currencies. Based in San Francisco with offices around the world, Kraken’s trading platform is consistently rated the best and most secure digital asset exchange by independent news media. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of traders, institutions, and authorities, including Germany’s BaFin regulated Fidor Bank, Kraken is the first exchange to display its market data on the Bloomberg Terminal, pass a cryptographically verifiable proof-of-reserves audit, and one of the first to offer leveraged margin trading. Kraken investors include Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, Hummingbird Ventures, Money Partners Group, and SBI Investment. 

Together they intend to roll out a number of innovative offerings and develop educational content to help people feel positive and informed about their finances. This will include Munnypot providing online financial advice, as part of YouDrive offering planning solutions to employers designed to enable their employees to feel engaged and rewarded, thus improving staff retention.

Formed in 2015, YouDrive aims to help people get control of their finances by providing money saving and financial planning tools online and over the phone. The company is actively supported by Birmingham City Council (BCC) and is on a mission to address the service, support and advice gap for the financial needs of the consumer in the Midlands, before expanding out geographically.

Munnypot is an online savings and investment service giving anyone straightforward automated financial advice in a language they can understand, at a fraction of the cost of most financial advisers. It provides an intuitive WhatsApp style ‘chat-based’ user-interface that advises people on their savings and investment decisions.

Chris Large, Director, YouDrive said, “Financial stress and anxiety for individuals is one of the biggest burdens on employers, employees and ultimately the country. We’re on a mission to address this and our partnership with Munnypot is key: we can now give our users a smart way to access certified financial advice and find the most suitable savings and investment options for their circumstances.”

Simon Redgrove, co-founder of Munnypot, said, “We’re delighted to partner with YouDrive to bring affordable, accessible financial advice to tens of thousands of people in the Midlands area and beyond. Munnypot has had great reviews since launch and working with partners like YouDrive, who share our determination to close the UK’s financial advice gap, should bring the service to the attention of even more people. We want the British Public to fall back in love with savings to enhance their financial futures.”

Recent independent research1, commissioned by Munnypot, found that over a quarter (27%) of people have no existing savings pots, and a third (32%) saved nothing at all last year. Even those that save regularly may be struggling to increase their funds – the research showed that over a quarter (26%) of the UK’s savings actually shrank in 2016, as many people withdrew more than they put in.

A recent survey by recruitment website Indeed revealed that 20 percent of top fintech job vacancies are left unfilled after 60 days. The data highlights an immediate need for managers, analysts and technicians with financial and technical expertise.

On top of this the activation of Article 50 brings further long-term uncertainty. As negotiations start, more questions on how secure a healthy talent pipeline are likely to be raised. Despite the agreements put in place between the UK and other European markets regarding movement of talent, it is certainly the case that a robust UK talent base is needed.

“The rising cost of graduate and postgraduate studies combined with the UK's impending exit from the European Union could create real challenges when it comes to ensuring a strong and healthy talent pipeline,” said Niels Turfboer, managing director of Spotcap. “We have created the Spotcap Fellowship because we want to raise awareness of these issues and encourage the UK fintech industry to get involved in attracting and supporting the development of talent.”

Market Strategist Devie Mohan, co-founder and CEO of Burnmark, a fintech research company, is one of four judges on the panel awarding the scholarships. She continues:

“The UK government recognises the need for fintech related skills and initiatives. Indeed, supporting the development of these skills was announced in the Spring Budget and Digital Strategy. As an industry, we need to step up and contribute. For the message to resonate, aspiring master's and MBA students need to hear ‘we want you’ directly from fintech businesses as well.”

Portfolio managers continue to look for new ways to optimize the risk / return profile of their investment strategies, including the use of quantitative models. However, this presents challenges for traditional asset management firms that generally do not have highly technical “Quants” needed for quantitative analysis work, particularly for backtesting of models. Furthermore, increased pressure from investors is driving a need to improve collaboration and productivity in the investment management process.

As a cloud-based solution, QA Point can potentially add value immediately. It is designed to eliminate the time needed to install software on premises and the costs associated with continuously maintaining such solutions. It also offers increased flexibility, enabling the user to access QA Point using a web browser irrespective of location. Furthermore, the product facilitates greater collaboration by making it easier to share models and strategies within an organization’s research team.

“Now more than ever, asset managers need cost-effective, transparent solutions that drive collaboration throughout the investment management process,” said Pradeep Menon, managing director, global head of Advisory and Investment Management, Thomson Reuters. “QA point gives asset managers tools that were typically only possible with highly skilled developers and quantitative analysts, enabling them to take advantage of investment techniques that help deliver results for their clients.”

With QA Point, users can access a wide range of data and content including Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S and Worldscope Fundamentals, as well as third-party content. All of the content and data is integrated into a single, global standardized database with a comprehensive symbology mapping, facilitating easier data management. Users also have access to StarMine Quantitative Analytics and stock section models, with transparency into the underlying inputs so users can more confidently employ complex stock selection factors into their models.

Once models are created, users can conduct backtesting – often one of the most time-consuming steps in the investment management process – in minutes, not days. QA Point offers a wide variety of statistical measures, strategy analysis tools, built-in factor testing tools, and data visualization which could significantly speed up the time it takes to backtest new models.

QA Point was created on the Elsen nPlatform, designed to give financial institutions a foundation to build web-based applications that allow users to more easily harness, understand and help make quick decisions with vast quantities of data without a team of expert programmers.

“Thomson Reuters is one of the most respected sources for financial news and data in the world, and has never stopped innovating new ways to help its clients drive more value from its data,” said Zac Sheffer, Elsen’s co-founder and CEO. “By choosing to partner and build QA Point on the Elsen nPlatform, Thomson Reuters has once again shown its commitment to delivering solutions on the cutting edge of today’s technology. We’re looking forward to helping Thomson Reuters deliver continued value to its clients.”