Published
- 03:00 am
BioCatch, the global leader in behavioral biometrics, announced today that it has teamed up with Experian, the leading global information services company, to integrate its behavioral biometric technology into the company's fraud and identity platform, CrossCore™, to help prevent new account fraud for its users.
The integration of BioCatch technology into the CrossCore™ platform provides a very powerful level of protection against fraud, getting past information that criminals may have stolen to detect fraud in real-time. For example, this could be focusing on the way a user behaves as he or she fills out an online credit card application. This is all done without compromising the user experience and slowing down the application process.
"New account fraud, which is looked at as the gateway for hackers, ends up costing businesses and consumers a lot of money and headaches -- and it's only getting worse," Eyal Goldwerger, Chief Executive Officer of BioCatch. "We're excited to be working with Experian to help prevent new account fraud, providing a completely new layer of security using behavioral biometrics by focusing on 'how' a user enters information into an application, not 'what' information is being entered, in a seamless way that does not add any friction to the application process."
New account fraud, or deception that happens during the creation or alleged creation of new accounts, is a massive issue growing at a rapid rate. According to industry analysts at Javelin, there were more than 1.5 million new account fraud victims in 2015 that accounted for $2.8 billion in losses. The number increased by 40 percent in 2016.
To prevent new account fraud, BioCatch maps criminal behavior throughout the initiation process. The company's proprietary technology is able to distinguish between a real user and an impostor by recognizing normal user behavior and fraudster behavior, which includes Application Fluency, when actions show a fluency with the site and the process used to open a new account; Navigational Fluency, when advanced computer skills are used that are rarely seen among real users, like function keys and keyboard shortcuts, and Data Familiarity, when fraudsters submit victim's data without intimate knowledge of the information, creating noticeable anomalies in data entry patterns.
"Companies need to constantly evolve to keep up with the fast pace of fraud," said Kathleen Peters, Global Vice President, Product Management, Fraud and Identity at Experian. "CrossCore™ gives companies more choices to use the capabilities they need when they need them – their own, ours and even 3rd party solutions. Our partnership with BioCatch is another example where clients can stay ahead of the latest fraud threats by easily accessing behavioral biometrics as part of their fraud prevention strategy."
- 03:00 am
Global B2B payment solutions provider and virtual card specialist Optal is delighted to announce it has been placed seventh on the inaugural FT1000 list of Europe’s 1,000 fastest growing companies. Compiled by the Financial Times and market analyst Statista, the list is the result of many months of research, during which more than a million outstanding European enterprises were appraised.
To be placed seventh in such auspicious company is an outstanding achievement for Optal and recognition of the tremendous success of Optal’s payment solutions in the global B2B payments space. Optal’s focus has always been on optimising B2B payment processes.
Optal does that primarily through its core offering: A Virtual Account Number (VAN) payment solution that automatically generates single-use Mastercard numbers to facilitate quick and easy payments, accepted wherever Mastercard is online.
Through this and other innovative solutions, Optal has been able to reinvent how payment processes work across a number of complex industries, including travel and construction. For Optal customers the results have been outstanding, helping them reduce risk, improve reconciliation, and boost profits and payment efficiency. Optal might have been named seventh on the FT1000 list, but the firm has its sights set firmly on continuing its stellar growth.
Optal expects to soon complete the acquisition of innovative B2B payments business Invapay, which will help significantly expand its capabilities to offer organisations a one-stop-shop for corporate B2B payables needs. Optal also recently teamed up with fast growing e-trading platform provider Open ECX, in a move, which will help efforts to expand in the B2B construction market.
“We’re delighted to have been placed seventh on the prestigious FT1000 list. It’s yet another sign of the tremendous value Optal is offering customers across a growing range of industries and recognition of the hard work put in by our global team and our strong relationships with our key business partners,” said Rob Bishop, Optal’s Managing Director & CEO.
“While we’re thrilled with this milestone, we’re looking forward to continuing our growth by applying our innovative solutions for customers in an ever-growing range of sectors” comments Andrew Downes, General Manager.
- 01:00 am
For those organisations that still see Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an emerging technology that they probably don’t have to start thinking about yet, customer contact technology specialist Sabio has a wake-up call: AI is here already and busy powering many of the best practice customer journeys.
To help businesses take advantage of the opportunities enabled by AI, Sabio has identified ‘7 key AI technologies that can deliver customer engagement benefits today’. Deployed correctly, these technologies are available to support all aspects of the customer journey, from understanding customers and simplifying processes through to eliminating bad demand and freeing agents to respond to customers directly.
“Given all the inevitable hype around AI – particularly around the rise in robotics and jobs destruction – it’s hardly surprising that for many businesses there’s still some caution,” explained Daniel Whaley, Principal Solutions Manager for Digital at Sabio. “However, rather than seeing AI as a potential threat to activities, organisations need to recognise the potential power of AI in
supporting all aspects of customer engagement.” “Analyst firm Gartner has already predicted that by 2020 some 85% of customer touch points will be offered without human assistance, however 2020 really isn’t that far away and we’re finding that a growing number of organisations are keen to find out how they can take advantage of AI and machine learning within their own operations,” he
added.
Sabio’s 7 Key AI Technologies that can deliver customer engagement benefits today: Predictive Intelligence Technology – Allows organisations to take advantage of machine intelligence to improve the customer experience. This is achieved by bridging the gap between digital channels and contact centres and providing contact centre agents with immediate insight into a caller’s related website activity both before and during calls. Virtual Assistant Solutions – With analyst firm Gartner predicting that the number of customer interactions handled by a virtual assistant is set to grow 10x over the next three years, there’s clearly going to be increased demand for conversational virtual assistants.
This technology can optimise the experience offered based on where customers are in their journey and their individual preferences. Conversational Commerce Technology - With continued improvements in natural language understanding, voice control is on its way to becoming ubiquitous, particularly as research suggests that customers prefer automated interactions where they can speak directly to an AI-enabled assistant or a chatbot. However, for successful conversational experiences, organisations also need to have access to the right IVR, natural language, UX and customer journey design skills.
Human-Assisted Service – AI-enabled customer service needs to work both ways: recognising both when a human agent is needed to help the customer, and also when an agent might benefit from some additional support. Understanding where and when this is necessary, and successfully managing the hand-offs between AI and human service will
prove increasingly critical.Speech Analytics - The latest speech analytics solutions take advantage of real-time analysis and machine learning to deliver contextual guidance. This has the potential to alter the outcome of interactions while a caller is still on the line.
Cognitive Artificial Intelligence – By applying the Big Data captured in millions of customer conversations, organisations can use machine learning techniques to look beyond their most common engagement scenarios to leverage the more complex ‘long tail’ contact reasons that until now have been too difficult to automate. Voice Biometrics – Biometrics technology has been using neural nets for a long time to provide organisations with a more natural, effortless way of authenticating customers securely by allowing them to use their voice as their password. New facial recognition technology is also now being paired with voice biometrics to broaden the scope of AI-enabled authentication solutions.
Ryoji Kashiwagi
Senior Researcher, Financial Digital Innovation Department at NRI
Regulatory sandboxes are gaining popularity as a framework for promoting financial innovation by creating a “safe space” for testing new business ideas within an existing regulatory regime. see more
- 04:00 am
Today the European Banking Authority revealed a Report on the Peer Review carried out on its ITS on supervisory reporting aimed at assessing how supervisory authorities have ensured its consistent and comprehensive implementation.
The Report summarises the outcomes of this assessment involving the supervisory authorities of all EU Member States, the European Central Bank (ECB)/Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the supervisory authorities of three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Overall, the Peer Review concluded that most supervisory authorities have put in place robust processes and IT systems to ensure a timely, complete and correct data reporting.
The EBA has carried out a Peer Review on its ITS on supervisory reporting, which is a legally binding standard defining a set of fully harmonised reporting requirements across the EU Member States. The main goal of the peer review was to assess the processes put in place by supervisory authorities in the context of supervisory reporting, such as the procedures and IT systems used to collect data and ensure data quality, the process of dealing with enquiries by reporting institutions, governance issues and measures taken to update the reporting framework.
Generally, the Peer Review has not identified any significantly negative outliers. Most of the supervisory authorities have put in place consistent and comprehensive processes and sophisticated IT systems to ensure a timely, complete and correct data reporting.
The Peer Review has also identified a number of best practices, and highlighted differences in approaches across authorities with regards to the operational implementation of supervisory reporting as well as to the level of sophistication of their IT systems.
One of the concerns raised unanimously by the involved supervisory authorities was the uncertainty stemming from the late endorsement and publication in the Official Journal by the European Commission of updates to the ITS on Supervisory Reporting. To address this uncertainty, the EBA Board of Supervisors submitted an Opinion to the European Commission to improve the decision-making framework for reporting requirements.
- 06:00 am
Today Kofax, a leading provider of software to simplify and transform the First Mile of business, announced the company was named a “Leader” in The Forrester Wave: Enterprise Content Management -- Transactional Content Services, Q2 2017 report.
· The company was recognised for allowing customers to address a broad set of process and content richapplications built on Kofax Perceptive Content™, with the report stating: “Vertical expertise allows Kofax to deliver a number of packaged solutions for complex industry requirements in the public sector, healthcare, higher education and insurance, among others."
· Kofax was also recognised for the integration between the Kofax TotalAgility platform and its case management and content management products, allowing customers to adapt and refine processes.
· In The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Content Management -- Business Content Services, Q2 2017, Kofax was recognised as a “Strong Performer” and noted for its continued investment in mobile frameworks in order to deliver richer application development capabilities to clients and partners.
· The report also noted Kofax’s client satisfaction, stating: “Customers report a high degree of satisfaction with overall customer service, as well as workflow capabilities.”
· Read about what makes Kofax a leader in the ECM Transactional Content Services report and a strong performer in the ECM Business Content Services report.
- 07:00 am
Greater Boston’s public transportation agency, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”), is automating its treasury management function using Reval, the leading Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for treasury and risk management. The agency will leverage Reval’s cloud-based system to centralize the management of cash and liquidity, payments, and investments and debt.
“We want to move away from spreadsheets to a single system that aggregates all of our information in one place,” says Paul Brandley, Treasurer at the MBTA. “With Reval, we found the platform we needed, but also the right partner to help us smoothly transition from manual processes to automated, straight-through processing of our treasury functions.” MBTA will be creating a centralized, straight-through process to better manage and forecast cash on hand, track investments and debt, and initiate payments, automatically.
“MBTA is setting the standard for other municipal agencies who want to get out from under the mundane, manual tasks that steal precious time away from treasury teams,” says Jason Torgler, Senior Vice President, Reval, in North America. “We’re happy to count MBTA as the newest member of Reval’s community of users.”
- 08:00 am
Atom bank is offering customers the chance to lock into a 5 year fixed rate mortgage at the same rates as their current 2 year products. This revolutionary move of aligning rates across short and longer term fixed rate mortgages will enable customers to fix one of their most significant monthly outgoings at a lower rate for longer.
Details of the new products are:
Rate decreases across all 5 year LTV (loan to value) bands to match our 2 year rates:
- 60% LTV with £900 fee: 1.29%
- 60% LTV without fee: 1.64%
- 75% LTV with £900 fee:1.34%
- 75% LTV without fee: 1.74%
- 80% LTV with £900 fee:1.49%
- 80% LTV without fee: 1.89%
- 85% LTV with £900 fee: 1.59%
- 85% LTV without fee:1.99%
- 90% LTV with £900 fee:1.99%
- 90% LTV without fee: 2.44%
For a limited time from Wednesday 12th April, all new mortgage customers will be able to apply for a 5 year mortgage at the 2 year rate, via one of the bank's selected partners who offer independent mortgage advice.
Customers who want to take advantage of this offer can go to www.atombank.co.uk/contact and click on ‘Download list of brokers’ to request a list of brokers who are able to discuss an Atom bank mortgage.
Director of Retail Mortgages, Maria Harris, said: “This move is entirely unprecedented; it’s important for us to make this available to customers now. We are in a position where we can help people improve their financial situation for the long term by reducing the amount they have to pay on their mortgage.
“Moving your mortgage to a better rate can be one of the most significant savings that a customer can make. Since the financial crisis, many people have stayed on their lender’s SVR (standard variable rate), but there’s a big difference between the average SVR and the rates we’re offering, so being able to lock the rate in for 5 years gives certainty around their mortgage payments, while the Brexit negotiations are worked through and we see the impact on inflation, along with any Bank of England base rate increases which may come along.
“We remain fully committed to only providing mortgage products after a customer has received proper independent financial advice, ensuring they get the right mortgage for them – and that is not always just about the rate. Customers should speak to a mortgage intermediary to discuss their mortgage options.”
Unlike a traditional bank, Atom bank gives customers the ability to track their mortgage application through every stage of the process, using the Atom bank App. To accept their terms and conditions and to service their mortgage, the customer needs to download the Atom bank App from the Apple or Android Play stores and have an individual email address and mobile phone number.
Atom bank’s suite of products now includes:
● Residential Mortgages, available via a panel of intermediaries
● Fixed Saver accounts, available in 1, 2, 3 and 5 Year term options
● Secured Business Lending (SME) via selected intermediaries
- 07:00 am
Tieto and Swedish digital security company Verisec have entered into an agreement to collaborate on e-identification for the public sector. Under the deal, Tieto will facilitate the integration of a new e-identification solution from Verisec and the different systems and services that are used by Swedish authorities, municipalities and county councils. The aim is to create a mobile, secure and user-friendly e-identification which makes day-to-day life easier for both citizens and public service employees.
Tieto is one of the leading software and IT service suppliers in the Nordic region with customers in both the private and public sectors. Several Swedish state agencies, all of the country’s county councils and a total of 275 municipalities already have Tieto systems and services either integrated in their IT environment or in their IT management operations. The ability to digitally identify users is an integral part of an IT environment, but all too often, many different solutions are deployed, which can be costly, restrictive and/or limit user-friendliness. The collaboration between Tieto and Verisec will result in the log-in and identification processes being simplified and improve the user experience and security.
“We consider e-identification to be a critical and a crucial piece of the puzzle in order to successfully digitalize the public sector. By having an e-identification that is cost-efficient and accessible to everyone, great new opportunities are created to develop new citizen services. With Tieto being a leading driver in the digitalization of Sweden, we place great value on the opportunity to create a new type of e-identification together with Verisec and our ecosystem of customers and partners,” says Mats Brandt, head of Public Sector at Tieto Sweden.
“In our effort to create an e-identification for everyone, Tieto is an important partner in order to offer the relevant services related to directing users to the ecosystem of identities that we will create. A market player like Tieto gives us the prerequisites to reach large user groups and thereby make the new e-identification a key factor in Sweden’s continued digitalization process,” says Johan Henriksson, CEO at Verisec.
- 08:00 am
A London-based start-up claims it is the first shariah-compliant fintech to be given regulatory approval in the UK. Yielders, an equity-based crowdfunding platform for UK property investment, was given the green light by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in early April.
The move has been interpreted as an attempt by the UK government to bolster London's fintech credentials in the wake of Brexit-tinged uncertainty and to establish the UK as the primary centre for Islamic finance outside of the Middle East. The UK's efforts to woo fintechs and banks from the Islamic finance market have been further underlined by the Bank of England's recent development of a liquidity tool for shariah-compliant banks.
Yielders founder and director Irfan Khan told Reuters that, following two years of discussion with the FCA and the Department for International Trade, "there's certainly movement in the UK to try to promote Islamic fintech and for fintech firms in the UK to show the route forward for a lot of the Middle Eastern market".
Yielders also conferred with the UK's Islamic Finance Council in order to prove that its platform and services were in accordance with shariah law. These conditions include a prohibition on charging interest or anything that could be considered gambling and have consequently made many Islamic finance firms uncompetitive in Western markets.
But this may yet usher in a wave of shariah-focused fintechs that seek to mitigate this uncompetitive foundation through the removal of back-office costs.
