Published
- 02:00 am
The wealth management startup Grain has demonstarted its 2.0 version in the iOS app store this week and it is also live on Product Hunt.
Version 2.0 amplifies and advances its “social investing” strategy and service. Specifically, Grain allows users to “play” investing with friends before committing funds to actual investments. The app helps its investors discover investments, but is not an investment advisor. This is also Grain’s first iOS app.
Grain, based in San Francisco, now employs social hooks to help neophyte investors connect with friends, and learn about putting their money to work for them. This is not so much because you want to get investment advice from friends, CEO Joe Mueller told Bank Innovation, but rather that users expressed an interest in sharing with friends what they were thinking about in terms of investing.
Investing has been called millennials’ “money blind spot,” but Grain is one of a few new services tackling that problem by connecting young people to investing via digital channels.
“My team and I built Grain to help new investors take their first steps in building their own portfolio,” Mueller said. “Our vision is to be the place where you go to take complete control of your investments, without feeling overwhelmed by piles of data and confusing reports.”
Of the social aspect, Mueller said Grain customers will “invest with your friends and family (think Venmo-style activity feed). You’re not in this alone, so you shouldn’t feel that way. You can open your own investing account in less than 2 minutes (powered by Third Party Trade LLC, member FINRA & SIPC), or simply link a pre-existing account with a major U.S. broker.”
- 08:00 am
OpenLedger’s Apptrade, the platform developing “Kickstarter for Apps on the Blockchain”, has received a $100,000 USD boost from OpenLedger ApS, the world's first blockchain powered conglomerate. Supported by the digital token APPX, Apptrade creates portfolios, or groups, of apps, where if one of those apps becomes the next Instagram or Angry Birds, then the value of the portfolio rises.
The minimum fundraising goal is $1M USD with a cap of $5M USD. With a total of 8.25M APPX tokens on offer, OpenLedger’s Apptrade ApS will back these tokens with 20% of the future revenue from the Apptrade platform, and any unsold tokens will therefore be distributed proportionally to all participants.
All early bird participants, as well new participants, will receive the extra tokens according to the published Stage 1 structure, plus benefit from the additional tokens to be divided.
Daniel Pineda, Founder of Apptrade says, “After listening carefully to feedback from public and private supporters, and with great consideration, we decided to update our master token valuation. We firmly believe that our platform, built on the ecosystem of OpenLedger and powerful BitShares financial trading technology, is a strong Blockchain project that will be a success for years to come. We feel that this is the right action to ensure a satisfactory outcome for all.”
Apptrade’s final valuation is going to be based on the amount raised, whether $1M USD as its threshold or money back guarantee, or the maximum of $5M USD. The valuation of the Apptrade platform will be determined on what is raised. The deadline according to the escrow agreement is set to end on April 30 2017.
Boesing continued, “This approach and change of valuation resulted from requests from within the community, and we hope to accommodate many more participants. But one thing is clear to all of the Early Birds - this is your lucky day!”
- 02:00 am
Raiffeisen Bank, a member of Austrian Raiffeisen Group, has selected Backbase, the omni-channel digital banking market leader, to deliver its new digital omni-channel banking platform. Raiffeisen Bank in Romania serves over 2 million customers, of which 100,000 SMEs, 5,600 corporations and 1.9 million personal banking customers.
Backbase will play an important role in developing Raiffeisen Bank’s next generation digital banking architecture, one which will support a seamless user experience for individuals, SMEs and corporates. A sleek mobile app for private individuals will be the first deliverable, closely followed by the web applications for both retail and corporate customers.
Raiffeisen Bank needed a partner that could take its banking platform to the next level by developing added functionalities and transforming it to become agile and flexible.
Raiffeisen Bank wants to enhance the Customer Experience and deliver faster new innovative functionalities and features for its customers on digital channels, hence Backbase Omnichannel Banking Platform has been selected to support the bank in achieving these objectives. Both the visual editor and the modular widget architecture of Backbase will empower Raiffeisen Bank to make quick changes in a matter of days or weeks. The new platform will significantly increase agility and enable the bank to launch new features to market more rapidly.
“It was important for Raiffeisen Bank to upgrade its online systems in order to provide a seamless user experience for all of their clients, whether they be private individuals or corporates,” said Jouk Pleiter, CEO of Backbase. “The Backbase omni-channel banking platform gives Raiffeisen Bank the business agility it needs to better serve the digital needs of its customer-base, whilst also empowering the bank with more flexibility and ownership over its platform. We’re committed to make Raiffeisen Bank successful and will continuously expanding our presence in Central and Eastern Europe.”
“Implementing Backbase’s technology onto our platform will enable us to be more agile and adapt to the fast growing and shifting needs of our customers,” says Bogdan Popa, Vicepresident Operations and IT of Raiffeisen Bank. “Our customers are at the forefront of everything we do, so improving both our online and mobile platforms were essential in enhancing their banking experience and customer journey.”
- 09:00 am
Tieto is introducing a new Forest Hub ecosystem platform that helps wood supply business partners in their operational data transfer regarding wood logistics and mill reception processes. Tieto Forest Hub seeks to improve daily operational planning and follow-up, management of the inventories, and information quality, while also decreasing the amount of manual work required and reducing errors.
Tieto Forest Hub is open to all actors in the industry, from large forest industry companies to medium size and small businesses, including bioenergy producers. Two major forest products companies Metsä Group and UPM are implementing the Forest Hub this year.
”Efficient and modern two-way data transfer between us and our industrial partners and customers helps us serve them even better and also improves our own operational steering. System open to all actors is cost-efficient and enables predicted growth in data transfer”, says Olli Laitinen, SVP, Development, Metsä Group Wood Supply and Forest Services.
“Tieto Forest Hub improves the forest industry logistics data transfer capabilities by connecting different wood supply business partners into a modern ecosystem. By implementing the Forest Hub we are able to improve the wood supply chain together with our partners,” says Tomi Simola, Director, Business Development, UPM Wood Sourcing and Forestry.
Tieto sees, also beyond wood sourcing, great potential for similar hubs in the distribution of forest products, as well as in other industries relying on trading partners and logistics ecosystems.
”We are excited to help our customers to boost their business efficiency and provide an environment for new growth opportunities. Tieto Forest Hub offers service packages for actors of all sizes, from small entrepreneurs to large international companies. Because of this, we believe it will grow into an ecosystem platform on which future solutions and applications are developed and applied in wood and fibre sourcing”, says Jaakko Kuusisaari, Director, Wood & Fibre, Tieto.
Tieto’s Forest Hub innovation is based on Business Information Exchange (BIX), which is a cloud service for B2B integration. Tieto BIX currently covers 1,500 direct customers, 26 sales partners, and exchanges close to 500 million transactions annually. By using this large scale B2B integration service as its core, Tieto Forest Hub can provide cost efficient and reliable services that meet the business continuity requirements of mission critical processes.
- 07:00 am
Today Systemax Inc. unveiled it has executed a definitive agreement with a management team backed by Hilco Capital Limited ("Hilco") to sell all of its unprofitable European Technology Products Group businesses. Systemax will retain its highly profitable operations in France. This step focuses the Company's ongoing operations on its profitable Industrial Products Group ("IPG") and France businesses.
With the completion of this transaction, Systemax operates two highly successful, growing and profitable businesses: IPG, its North American MRO business operating primarily under the Global Industrial brand, and its France technology Value Added Reseller business operating primarily under the Inmac Wstore brand. During 2016 these ongoing businesses, inclusive of corporate charges, generated revenue of $1.1 billion and over $38 million in operating income. In 2016, IPG generated revenue of $715.6 million and operating income of $34.3 million, and the France business generated revenue of $417.2 million and operating income of $19.2 million.
Larry Reinhold, Chief Executive Officer, said, "In the past year we have significantly streamlined our Company by exiting non-strategic and underperforming operations, positioning us to focus on our profitable and growing business segments. IPG is a strong and growing business that has outperformed its industry sector in revenue growth for a number of years and has invested in substantial infrastructure to support future expansion. Our France business, which was our largest operation in Europe, is highly successful and has historically operated largely autonomously from our other European operations. It is a well-managed and valuable asset with leading market share, double digit revenue growth and strong bottom-line performance. We believe that we have found a good home for our former colleagues in Europe. We thank them for their efforts and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. With a simplified and focused operating footprint and a strong cash position, we are well positioned to continue executing on our strategic plan and drive the performance and value of our businesses for our shareholders."
The businesses were sold on a cash-free, debt-free basis; proceeds were nominal. Systemax retained a small residual equity position in the sold operations and will provide transition services to Hilco for a limited period of time.
- 05:00 am
APrivacy is pleased to announce a new partnership with Lamivoie Capital Partners to deploy APrivacy's secure and seamless communication solutions. Founded by 3 prominent European families, Lamivoie Capital Partners is a privately owned multifamily office based out of Hong Kong focusing on the next generation based in Asia. Lamivoie becomes the first multifamily office to adopt APrivacy technology originally developed to meet the strict requirements of the largest financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies.
APrivacy combines data security with a seamless and multi-channel user experience. "We are delighted to team up with Lamivoie Capital Partners and help them communicate confidently with their members. It is an exciting development for our company and we are glad to play a leading role in keeping Lamivoie and its clients' information secure," stated Dr. Cédric Jeannot, Founder and CEO of APrivacy.
The FinTech firm based in Waterloo, Canada and Hong Kong has developed its client portfolio in APAC by empowering financial institutions to securely conduct business over their client's favourite channels, such as email, Dropbox, WhatsApp or WeChat. Its unique data-centric approach to security allows financial players to drive new revenues while meeting the strictest regulatory requirements.
With the spirit of entrepreneurship and opportunity that Asia and Hong Kong bring, Lamivoie Capital Partner is rejuvenating the image and asset allocation of the old family office thanks to a dynamic team, eager to adopt and invest in new technologies that can shift the status quo of many major industries. Amedee Maingard, Managing Partner at Lamivoie Capital Partners said: "For our families and partners to be protected by APrivacy and its military-grade security brings us great comfort in the current world of unsecured communication mediums. When it comes to family information, security and confidentiality is one of our primary concerns and this partnership puts that to rest and allows us to have open and fluid communications with our families, service providers and partners. We are delighted to be the first in our industry to partner with APrivacy."
- 08:00 am
WorldRemit, the major online money transfer entreprise, has set up in Japan.
Customers in Japan will now be able to send money to family and friends worldwide, using a mobile phone, tablet or computer – cutting out the need to travel to agent locations or bank branches during business hours.
Bringing the offline remittance industry to mobile, WorldRemit's arrival in Japan underlines its status as a major player in the global FinTech revolution.
Japan is the third largest economy in the world by GDP and has a supportive regulatory environment for financial services. The number of foreign workers living in Japan exceeded 1 million for the first time in 2016. According to the WorldBank, these migrants sent $4 billion in remittances to family and friends abroad in 2015 alone.
With WorldRemit, people in more than 50 countries can send instant and secure transfers to more than 140 destinations. Known as the ‘WhatsApp of money’, WorldRemit makes sending money as easy as sending an instant message.
Ismail Ahmed, CEO at WorldRemit, comments: "Japan and the broader Asia Pacific region are important parts of our global growth strategy. Remittances are crucial to many people living in this region, and we are very pleased to be able to offer our digital services to customers in Japan. This adds to our current send markets in this region, which provides a very solid base for further expansion into neighbouring countries.”
Tsuyoshi Ijichi, Country Director for Japan, comments: “Japan represents a key market for WorldRemit. We are here to serve the many migrant communities in Japan who send money, offering them more choice and a safer, faster and lower cost service than legacy competitors”. WorldRemit customers currently send over 580,000 transfers every month.
- 05:00 am
Global-IP Cayman, advanced satellite communications company, comissioned to bring affordable Internet and related value-added services to Sub-Saharan Africa, is delighted to announce its outstanding sales team brought on board to develop channel partners and offer new types of communications services in the area.
The sales team is headed by Senior Group Vice President, Yaron Tchwella, a seasoned executive who previously served in various president and CEO roles and brings many years of leadership and experience in Africa.
The sales team has deep experience working in African markets with a keen awareness of the industry trends and market conditions. Its leaders include:
- Jean-Pierre Kabanda, Vice President Sales & Business Development, former VP Marketing and Sales for SES S.A., responsible for Africa and Middle East, with over 15 years in the communications industry.
- Alex Petropouliadis, Vice President Sales, former VP Sales for Gilat Satcom, Xerox Business Services, and an ISP in Africa focusing on innovative value-added services, with over 15 years in the communications industry.
- Albert Khayat, Director Sales, former VP Sales for Alvarion/Telrad, covering Africa, and sales executive for Motorola in West Africa with over 30 years in the communications industry.
Umar Javed, co-founder and COO of Global-IP, said, “We are pleased to have such a powerful team getting our message and offering out to our target markets. At the core of our mission, we are committed to assisting our customers with sustainable profitable growth, by putting plans in place to increase their overall performances as we progress through our network deployment.”
Mr. Tchwella said, “Global-IP is a fast-moving company, with ambitious plans to be the leading provider of high-speed satellite connectivity in Africa and I am proud to be a part of this journey. Our commitment to Africa is unparalleled and our first satellite, GiSAT-1, will bring superior but affordable internet connectivity into Sub-Saharan African market and its 800 million inhabitants.”
Jeff Anderson
Compliance and Product Manager at Fidessa
A week before President Trump’s inauguration the CFTC approved a proposal to amend the record keeping requirements contained in R see more
- 04:00 am
Today Huawei showed the availability of the Infosys Finacle core banking solution on Huawei KunLun.
Transformation and innovation are the hot topics of today's financial world. The ideal ICT architecture is to help banks fully harness open-source technologies such as big data and cloud computing. By doing so, financial organizations are empowered with efficiency in applications, enabling them to maximize advantages of innovation for their business. Core banking systems historically run on enclosed architectures, where infrastructures are costly and the return on investment (ROI) can be low. Enclosed systems can hold back innovation and become barriers to the banks as they evolve and migrate to the open-source, innovative ecosystem. KunLun perfectly brings together the advantages of the x86 ecosystem and the high reliability, performance, and scalability required by mission-critical environments. Enhanced by Huawei's state-of-the-art NC interconnect chip and reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS 2.0) technologies, KunLun unlocks reliability of the highest level for open computing platforms. KunLun and the Finacle application layer combine to form a superior high-availability solution, maximizing service uptime and delivering high levels of service efficiency and customer experience for banks.
Wang Zhen, Vice President, IT Server Product Line, Huawei, said, "Infosys Finacle is a leading banking software provider globally. Huawei, as a globally distinguished ICT infrastructure provider, provides products and solutions that have been vastly used across various industries. This extended offering combines the best expertise and deep knowledge of the two companies, and is set to enable more choice and better cost-benefits for the financial industry."
"Huawei and Infosys have made significant achievements since the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2014. The joint innovation with Finacle core banking solutions has been recognized by the industry," said Diana Yuan, President of Enterprise BG Marketing and Solution Sales, Huawei. "We will continue to cooperate in cloud computing, big data, information and communication areas to provide customers with more differentiated innovative solutions to help customers in their digital transformation."
