Published
- 05:00 am
Today SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. a leader in providing financial services software and software-enabled services, announced the official release of Vision FI.
SS&C demonstrated the Vision FI platform at The Summit for Asset Management (TSAM) in London. This revolutionary product advances the Varden eReportal platform providing SS&C's customers a comprehensive, end-to-end solution for designing, producing, and distributing both online and printed client communications.
In today's highly competitive financial services market, superb and personalized client communications is a necessity. Vision FI makes it easier to deliver highly customized, timely, client communications that clearly differentiates firms from their competition.
Vision FI offers a suite of design tools, and simple drag-and-drop functionality with a highly configurable portal enabling firms to completely customize the end-client experience. The portal is fully integrated with Vision FI's workflow, so documents are instantly available once they are approved for publication. Vision FI's end-to-end workflow models and dashboards provide a flexible means for establishing the review, sign-off, and standardized path a document must complete before distribution.
"Investment management firms are now looking for client communication tools that offer flexibility, customization, and differentiation. Vision FI is responding to this need by offering dynamic content options for client presentations. Firms can deliver this information to their clients through print, email, or online via a customizable portal," said Christy Bremner, Senior Vice President, Institutional and Investment Management, SS&C. "With Vision FI, our customer's client facing staff now have the ability to quickly and easily design, publish, and schedule new reports."
Vision FI – the next generation of SS&C Varden – gives users full control over distribution specifying which documents they publish and selecting delivery methods, such as print, email, or portal access. Utilizing these custom delivery rules, users can easily manage the generation and distribution of internal and external content. More than 300 customers use SS&C solutions for client communications to cover every segment of the market, ranging from boutiques with 100 million USD in AUM to the very largest firms in the investment management world, managing over 1 trillion USD.
"Adox's Follow the Money research shows that the client communications market is at a crossroads. Almost 30% of managers are as concerned about completeness of feature/function as they are about suppliers' service and support capabilities," said Gert Raeves, lead research director at Adox Research. "That is an unusual combination and shows that this is by no means a commoditized market. Functionality matters a lot, and solution providers are addressing this by combining end-user empowerment with deep feature/function specialization and more scalable deployment options."
- 05:00 am
The Payment Services Directive 2 will be made national law SEPA-wide. After months of controversy and polarising debate, banks and FinTech companies can see positive but challenging conditions to come.
PSD2 in practice
All in all, data sovereignty is the issue, that bank customers are free to decide in which services they want to use their own data - be it multibanking applications, P2P-payment apps or financial services such as Aboalarm. All of these use cases make it clear that banks and banking are becoming increasingly separated from each other. Users want smart and user-friendly tools to manage their banking in an everyday context.
"Our technology has opened up the banks and this open banking world is exactly what we stand for. The person who owns the bank data - that is, each one of us - must have the freedom to decide in what context their own data are used," said André M. Bajorat, CEO of figo. "With the xs2a enabler we have developed a solution that allows banks to play an active role in this - as we call it - liberation process. They can easily integrate the product into their own infrastructure. At the same time, they signal that they take their customers, and their desire for everyday banking in an individual context, seriously."
figo therefore provides the technical solution for fulfilling XS2A with its multifunctional platform, meaning banks do not have to develop this interface themselves. The tool’s extensive management functions include all regulatory requirements for opening up and a billing model for banks to monetize third-party access to banking accounts. That this concept works has already been proven by companies such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google.
"In addition to standard functions which meet the minimum requirements of PSD2, banks with the xs2a enabler can also offer premium features such as categorisation and further processing of revenue data, provision of data beyond the PSD2-required minimum, or notification functions," explains Sebastian Tiesler, CPO of figo.
Extensive experience, technical knowhow and the fulfillment of regulatory requirements define xs2a enabler, a product that enables banks to react quickly to the PSD2-mandated XS2A without the time-consuming process of creating their own solutions. In the development of xs2a enabler, figo took into account existing banking infrastructure by leaving historically-grown systems untouched. The gate is opened via an API which can be managed in accordance with PSD2. In the core of the banking system, everything remains the same. But on the outside, the interface conforms to the most modern standards, allowing third parties secure and controllable access to data from bank customers at any time. The underlying platform technology features rights and access control that define which third parties are allowed to view account information data to what extent and enter payment release data.
The rights and access control of xs2a enabler extends to the user level. Customers can understand which third party has access to their accounts. Access to individual accounts can be granted or withdrawn by customers at any time.
- 08:00 am
Accenture (ACN) has agreed to acquire First Annapolis Consulting, Inc., a privately held payments consulting and advisory firm, further expanding its capabilities in the payments market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The addition of First Annapolis - with its proven expertise across the payments value chain — will complement Accenture’s consulting and digital capabilities in the payments sector.
“The pace of innovation in the payments sector is accelerating with new platforms and tools being launched daily; and emerging technologies such as blockchain, mobile wallets, and P2P payments disrupting traditional financial services and technology providers,” said Alan McIntyre, senior managing director, and head of Accenture’s Banking practice. “As payments increasingly move from plastic to digital, players across the industry value chain will need to rethink their value propositions and business models. Our acquisition of First Annapolis will enhance our capabilities in the payments sector, positioning us to lead with expertise and scale to provide clients the advice and execution capabilities needed to navigate the rapidly evolving retail and commercial payments landscape.”
Marc Abbey, First Annapolis’ managing partner, said, “We’re excited to join Accenture, whose tremendous scale and scope will enable us to expand our geographic reach and provide services to an even-broader client base. Our specialized service offerings will complement Accenture’s technology-focused expertise in the payments arena, enabling us to bring the full range of services to our existing and future clients.”
- 01:00 am
Today DueDil, the company information platform, reported the appointment of Alan Millard as Chairman of the company’s board, with immediate effect.
Also a consultant for Table Group, Alan works with CEOs and executive teams regularly across a wide variety of sectors and companies, including; IBM, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, SABmiller and GSK. Prior to the Table Group, Alan was the COO of Hiscox UK and Chairman and CEO of the subsidiary, Hiscox Underwriting Ltd. Whilst at Hiscox, Alan improved profit margins and ran the 2020 strategy, leading the £80m investment in new core systems. He also created Hiscox Futures, the innovation department, to harness technology disruption in Insurance.
Damian Kimmelman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DueDil, said, “Alan is helping us transition from a founder led team to an executive led organisation. He brings with him the eye of the customer which is so critical as we scale. I am honoured to have him on board guiding our global ambitions.”
“A more open business world is essential to global growth and prosperity. DueDil is already the largest and richest source of private company information in the U.K., and one of the largest in Europe. We are on an incredible journey to cover over 200 million companies globally by the end of 2018. I am excited to be part of a company that genuinely improves the business landscape and encourages growth and trade.” said Alan Millard, Chairman of DueDil
In addition to the appointment of Alan Millard as Chairman, DueDil is also announcing the addition of new datasets for DueDil Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, which will provide its customers with an easier, smoother, and more comprehensive KYC check process, providing a more robust view of a company. Information added includes;
- Beneficial owners: Identify the individuals who have a significant control over a business and are the ultimate beneficial owners.
- FCA registration: Know which companies are registered and authorised by the FCA, an essential requirement for many industries.
- News filtering & adverse media: Understand the public perception of companies and ensure you’re working with trustworthy businesses.
DueDil is on a mission to help customers identify opportunities, mitigate risk, and enable cross-border trade with ease. The company recently added 29 million businesses across France, Germany, Benelux, and the Nordics, increasing the company’s coverage of information to 40 million European companies.
- 05:00 am
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Experian and its subsidiaries for deceiving consumers about the use of credit scores it sold to consumers. Experian claimed the credit scores it marketed and provided to consumers were used by lenders to make credit decisions. In fact, lenders did not use Experian’s scores to make those decisions. The CFPB ordered Experian to truthfully represent how its credit scores are used. Experian must also pay a civil penalty of $3 million.
“Experian deceived consumers over how the credit scores it marketed and sold were used by lenders,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Consumers deserve and should expect honest and accurate information about their credit scores, which are central to their financial lives.”
Experian, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., is one of the nation’s three largest credit reporting agencies. Experian markets, advertises, sells, offers, and provides credit scores, credit reports, credit monitoring, and other related products to consumers and third parties. Credit scores are numerical summaries designed to predict consumer payment behavior in using credit. Many lenders and other commercial users consider these scores when deciding whether to extend credit. No single credit score or credit scoring model is used by every lender. In addition to the credit scores that are actually used by lenders, several companies have developed so-called “educational credit scores,” which lenders rarely, if ever, use. These scores are intended to inform consumers.
Experian developed its own proprietary credit scoring model, referred to as the “PLUS Score,” which it applied to information in consumer credit files to generate a credit score it offered directly to consumers. The PLUS Score is an “educational” credit score and is not used by lenders for credit decisions. From at least 2012 through 2014, Experian violated the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by deceiving consumers about the use of the credit scores it sold. In its advertising, Experian falsely represented that the credit scores it marketed and provided to consumers were the same scores lenders use to make credit decisions. In fact, lenders did not use the scores Experian sold to consumers. In some instances, there were significant differences between the PLUS Scores that Experian provided to consumers and the various credit scores lenders actually use. As a result, Experian’s credit scores in these instances presented an inaccurate picture of how lenders assessed consumer creditworthiness.
Experian also violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires a credit reporting company to provide a free credit report once every twelve months and to operate a central source – AnnualCreditReport.com – where consumers can obtain their report. Until March 2014, consumers getting their report through Experian had to view Experian advertisements before they got to the report. This violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibition of such advertising tactics.
Enforcement Action
Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CFPB is authorized to take action against institutions engaged in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices, or that otherwise violate federal consumer financial laws. Under the consent order, Experian must:
- Pay a $3 million penalty: Experian must pay a civil money penalty of $3 million to the Bureau’s Civil Penalty Fund.
- Truthfully represent the usefulness of credit scores it sells: Experian must inform consumers about the nature of the scores it sells to consumers.
- Put in place an effective compliance management system: Experian must develop and implement a plan to make sure its advertising practices relating to credit scores and on Internet webpages that consumers access through AnnualCreditReport.com comply with federal consumer laws and the terms of the CFPB’s consent order.
Sarah Jackson
Sales director at Equiniti
New e-signature technology is helping dealerships close motor finance sales in minutes, gaining a competitive edge by enabling customers to drive away on the same day. see more
- 02:00 am
Today Rentivo, a vacation rental marketing and management software company, announced it has successfully oversubscribed its CrowdCube.com crowdfunding campaign, raising £341K/$425K and exceeding its goal by 36%. The funds will be used to accelerate technology development, sales and marketing.
With the exponential growth in the home sharing economy and millions of property listings worldwide, it has become increasingly challenging for vacation rental owners and property managers to stand out from the crowd and attract new and repeat guests," said Richard Vaughton, Rentivo co-founder and CEO.
As such, existing revenue streams and businesses are at stake. "Our crowdfunding success underscores the need for new ways for vacation rental property owners and managers to secure direct bookings and take more control over revenue generation instead of relying solely on Online Travel Agencies, such as Airbnb, HomeAway and TripAdvisor, for business."
Direct bookings also help alleviate the financial squeeze felt by property providers and guests from OTA commissions and service fees, respectively. Currently, these fees can be in excess of 20% for hosts and as high as 12% for guests, who are often completely unaware of these charges.
Rentivo, which has been serving the vacation rental market since 2013 and features a guest-centric, collaborative business model that supports the mutual interests of groups of property managers, has an estimated 300% growth rate in 2017.
The company is privately owned, self-funded, debt free and holds all IP rights. The launch of its web builder and interest from collaborative and niche listing sites have accelerated growth. Additionally, Rentivo's guest re-marketing products and payment systems will see increased traction and revenue streams in 2017.
Chris Atkinson, the CTO and co-founder says that, "Homeowners and managers are hoping to improve their bottom line and business controls, which cannot happen if OTA's solely, manage the booking flow and guest experience."
- 01:00 am
AIT Partnership Group Ltd has won the tender for 2 lots on the CPC framework for ICT Solutions and Supply of Network Infrastructure. CPC is a purchasing consortium, owned and run by the FE sector. They provide members with specialist advice on best spending practices and how to obtain best value for money. AIT has been selected as suppler on Lot 4, Networking Equipment and Services and Lot 6 Maintenance Installation and Support.
In a separate tender AIT has also been accepted onto the Crown Commercial Suppliers Digital Outcomes and Specialists 2 framework and authorised to provide its bespoke web portals and management systems for Wi Fi and energy and infrastructure capacity management solutions. Commenting on the success AIT MD Steve Bailey said "it's a testament to our capability as a company and provides our public sector clients with a great value way to purchase our solutions. We are already on a the JISC framework and G-Cloud and this broadens the range of clients who can benefit from a direct relationship with AIT".
Recent Education sector solutions include a full LAN and WLAN implementation for Coleg Gwent and Wi Fi solutions for London Metropolitan University and Bangor University including a bespoke guest on boarding portal. AIT is also engaged with many public bodies helping them to improve the management of their infrastructure including the Met Office, Highways England, and the BBC.
- 04:00 am
Today ARRIS International plc revealed that China Network Systems (CNS), one of Taiwan's major cable operators, has selected ARRIS HMC4100 set-tops, with the ARRIS KreaTV application platform, to further enhance its digital video services.
Taiwanese government regulations require all cable operators to digitize their TV services by the end of 2017. The ARRIS HMC4100 is a hybrid DVB-C set-top that enables CNS to fully digitize its services and offer new high-definition (HD) on-demand, local PVR and streaming video services to subscribers in Taiwan. Also, the set-top includes a DOCSIS 3.0 modem which enables CNS to simplify install and add two-way interactive applications to its digital TV service.
CNS will begin rolling out the new HMC4100 set-tops in March 2017. ARRIS and CNS have a long- standing relationship spanning both consumer devices and network solutions, including ARRIS's CCAP solution - the E6000® Converged Edge Router. CNS has deployed ARRIS HMC series set-tops with the ARRIS KreaTV Application platform since 2013.
"As the industry moves to fully digitize TV services by the end of this year, our customers are expecting improved viewing experiences such as high-definition and streaming video," said Henry Chang, CEO of CNS. "We are partnering with ARRIS to deliver compelling experiences today while catering to the evolving viewing habits of our subscribers. With the ARRIS KreaTV platform, we have flexibility to rapidly develop new applications for the future."
"With our global scale and strong heritage in providing high-quality broadband and video devices, we're collaborating with CNS to achieve their vision of transforming Taiwan's cable TV industry," said Eduardo Fichmann, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific Sales, ARRIS. "The ARRIS HMC4100 adds DOCSIS 3.0 connectivity to our leading HMC4000 whole-home DVR and multiscreen solution - simplifying the install process from two boxes to one."
- 06:00 am
MTFX Group of Companies is a leader in corporate foreign exchange and global payments unveiled the launch of its educational institution payment platform Paymytuition. The Paymytuition payment platform has been running in test phase over the last several months and is now available to educational institutions across North America. "We are delighted to add the educational institution space to the growing list of verticals we already service. We look forward to servicing the educational vertical by doing what we do best which is offering "high-tech, high-touch" solutions at a fraction of the cost of our competitors," said MTFX's Chief Market Strategist Arif Harji.
"We were surprised to see the pain points educational institutions face when processing their international payments. Educational institutions continue to contend with unidentified and missing payments, manual reconciliation processes, and cumbersome time-consuming payment processes for their international students," Harji said of conversations with numerous educational institutions revealing their pain points.
Harji explained that MTFX has developed a customized payment solution truly focused on the education industry that focuses on speed, cost, visibility, integration and compliance. Paymytuition offers students and schools complete visibility of the payment process at significantly better currency exchange rates than banks and competitors.
Next generation technology, a global banking network built over 20+ years, a stellar reputation in the market, a high level of personal service for both students and administrators, and our continued push for progress and innovation should propel MTFX's Paymytuition as a market leader.
MTFX leverages and integrates its global banking networks along with its leading-edge technology to provide unmatched solutions for foreign exchange and global payments in just about every business category.
