In the wake of the successful introduction of the new £5 note in 2016, businesses now face the most complex part of the biggest upheaval of UK currency in decades, says Cummins Allison, the leading innovator and provider of coin and currency processing solutions. While the new one pound coin is expected to be introduced smoothly this month, the greater challenge to organisations and consumers alike will be the withdrawal of the old, paper five pound notes on May 5^th and of the old pound coins on October 15^th. While part of a dramatic strategy for improving the UK’s counterfeit resilience, the withdrawal has significant potential to confuse consumers, who may be left with large amounts of out-of-date currency if they aren’t given the right advice. To avoid this, businesses must ensure that they are able to educate consumers and help them either spend or exchange their aging currency before the deadline.

“Confused consumers are an open opportunity for counterfeiters: the harder it is for consumers to recognise legitimate currency, or to know what will be accepted at any particular time, the easier it will be for counterfeiters to pass off their own efforts as real and disseminate them among the population,” said Andrew Crowson, managing director of Cummins Allison UK. “Avoiding this means more than relying on natural churn, such as consumers spending or paying in their cash, to remove currency from circulation. Instead, consumers need to be encouraged to exchange their old for new. Businesses need to ensure that they are training their staff to inform customers on the upcoming expiry dates, and that they have the technology to make exchanging old money for new as simple as possible: for instance, with automatic currency counting machines.”   

There are currently 1.553 billion one pound coins in circulation, and 25 percent of all cash payments are for one pound or less. The new coin’s 12-sided shape, milled edges and many other high security features are designed to make it the most secure coin in the world. Along with the new polymer ten and twenty pound notes, due to be introduced in September this year and by 2020 respectively, the new coins will reduce the risk of counterfeiting and extend the lifespan of the UK’s physical currency.

Ensuring that staff are trained to both recognise new currency and help customers understand the differences, and that machines designed to accept cash are updated to recognise the different properties of the new currency, will keep businesses operating in an economy where cash is still king, accounting for 45 percent of all payments.

“With the new pound coin, we have entered the most serious phase of the roll-out of new currency: from here, the process becomes more complex and there are more variables in play,” continued Crowson. “If businesses have the staff, the skills and the technology to help themselves and consumers deal with the switch, then the economy will quickly see the new benefits that this new currency can bring, from reduced counterfeits to a longer lifetime for cash. They will also reduce the chance of consumers becoming confused and disgruntled with the process, and prevent themselves being the target of misplaced anger from any members of the public who find out in the autumn that their collected currency has been removed from circulation.”

The expansion of global trade over the last 50 years has created industries, jobs and value on an unprecedented scale, driving innovation and technological advances and in the process, benefitting most of the countries, most of the time.

“While this growth has not been even, much can be done to ensure that future growth continues to support economic development,” says Vinod Madhavan head of transactional products and services for Africa at Standard Bank.

Global and cross-border trade is the fastest contributor to growth, supports domestic trade, small and medium enterprise formation and job creation. This has been especially evident in emerging markets over the last 30 years.

However, the growing trend towards de-globalisation in some developed markets, driven through concerns around job-losses due to automation and de-industrialisation, is resulting in an increasingly negative reputation for trade.  In contrast though, the opportunity that trade presents for markets in Africa is potentially game-changing.

“Africa could increase its intra- Africa trade three fold and still not match Asia’s level of internal trade. In Asia, trade – and exports – have been central to the regions exponential growth, lifestyle improvements and stability of last 30 years,” explains Mr Madhavan.

Looking into the future, Africa is expected to grow as the second fastest growing region in the world over the next 4 years returning growth rates between 4 and 5 percent. As intra-African trade grows, this will drive even more growth and job creation on the continent. While the value of trade in Africa dipped in 2016 - tracking recent historically low commodity prices - the volume of trade trended upwards. This points to the depth, spread and longevity of trade and trade opportunity – beyond just commodities – in Africa. 

“As commodities rebound, 2017 is expected to set new records in the volume and value of African trade,” says Mr Madhavan, “however, the point is not to get side-tracked by some of the current headwinds.”

Africa’s current headwinds are certainly real. There has been debt default in Mozambique, local currencies are losing value, US dollar and other hard currencies remains scarce within key economies, legislators do not always adopt the most efficient policies, political risks are real, and there have been over 10 bank defaults in a number of countries, in the near past.

“Despite the defaults seen over the last year, we are seeing greater accountability and transparency in the banking system across markets which provide a level of comfort for investors,” says Mr Madhavan. Perception however, remains key in Africa.

While Africa exhibits many of the risks endemic to emerging markets generally, “the concerns around operating in Africa are often much higher,” says Mr Madhavan. This is where banks like Standard Bank have a critical role to play, to reduce the perception gap that can materially affect people’s lives by diminishing the continent’s ability to trade.

Negative perceptions of trade can reduce the funding available for trade finance, widening the gap between the need for trade finance and the funding available. This is a characteristic of many emerging markets and acts to retard the positive effects of trade-fuelled growth, reducing the number of jobs created along with the development revenue generated.

“As an African bank, we need to be clear on how we help our client manage risk, by helping clients understand the headwinds in the right context and then delivering the solutions that mitigate such headwinds,” says Mr Madhavan. “Beyond managing risk, we work across all our markets in Africa to create an environment that allows people in Africa to do business within and between countries - as well as for people across the world to do business with Africa.”

Something as simple as a letter of credit enables a trade where one was not possible before. Every trade generates at least two jobs – one on either side of the letter of credit. Most trades generate many more.

Mr Madhavan expects 2017 to be the year that Africa recognises the huge opportunity available to the continent in driving regional and global trade. 

While Standard Bank provides its clients with the tools and systems to conduct efficient trade on the continent, the bank also supports the evolution of new fintech applications aimed at improving the cost-effectiveness, speed and ease of trade in Africa.

Africa’s financial services industry is rich and varied. It is rich in the sense that in South Africa, for example, you have a financial services sector that leads even countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France in the Financial Market Development pillar of the Global Competitiveness Index (as mentioned in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017). It is varied since at the same time, in some African markets, legislators grant certain licences to corporates, that can only be used in a specific branch of a bank.

“This combination of world-leading expertise and capability, with untold opportunity for growth, defines the continent as a hot bed for innovation,” says Mr Madhavan. 

By 2019, Mr Madhavan expects to see an indigenous technology that will support intra-regional trade in Africa, “probably designed by a tech start up in Cape Town or Nairobi, transforming the way cross-border and global trade happens in Africa.”

This kind of original technology that helps reduce friction in cross-border trade, could ensure that Africa benefits practically from the World Trade Organisation’s recent global trade treaty that is expected to boost global exports by US$ 1 trillion, “as we develop the mind-set, clear policy commitment to multilateral trade, and the platforms, to drive African development through trade-led growth,” says Mr Madhavan. 

Fiserv Inc, a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, has launched Credit Sense, a solution that enables financial institutions to meet consumer expectations for personalized credit information by integrating credit scores into the digital banking experience. Credit Sense provides a credit score, daily credit monitoring, insight into factors influencing credit score and free financial education resources. Credit Sense also helps financial institutions strengthen and grow member relationships through customized lending offers.

With Credit Sense, a person’s credit score can be displayed within the online or mobile banking user interface alongside their account information. Additional insights and offers are tailored to each user. Credit Sense incorporates technology from SavvyMoney, and will be available through multiple core account processing and online and mobile banking platforms from Fiserv.

According to the Expectations & Experiences: Channels and New Entrants consumer trends survey from Fiserv, 64 percent of U.S. consumers believe it is important or very important to know their credit scores. In addition, 39 percent said they know their credit score, 48 percent said they know the general range of their score and 13 percent did not know their score. Among early millennials ages 18 to 24, one third (33 percent) said they did not know their score. Financial journalist and author Jean Chatzky discussed how financial institutions can close this credit score gap in a recent video.

The Expectations & Experiences survey also revealed that 81 percent of U.S. consumers say there are one or two financial institutions they always turn to first for their financial needs. Credit Sense allows financial institutions to make pre-qualified lending offers based on a consumer’s credit score and their individual needs. The financial institution can then capture loans that might have been lost had consumers visited non-financial institution sites to obtain their credit score, and consumers are able to get a loan from their trusted financial institution rather than an unfamiliar provider.

“Star USA Federal Credit Union has been using Credit Sense for several months. We are seeing our members become more financially savvy as they monitor their credit scores,” said Tammy Wells, CFO of Star USA Federal Credit Union, a $155 million credit union based in Charleston, West Virginia. “Our ability to customize lending offers for our members’ needs has also allowed us to make a substantial number of new loans. We are extremely impressed by the potential this technology has demonstrated to benefit our members.”

Community Service Credit Union, based in Huntsville, Texas, has $94 million in assets and also recently started using Credit Sense.

“We are always looking for new ways to expand relationships and provide more value for our members, and Credit Sense is helping us do so,” said Brenda Hooker, CEO, Community Service Credit Union. “We also strongly support the notion of providing our members with free financial education, and allowing them to access credit scores and advice on how to improve their scores.”

“It’s a natural fit for financial institutions to provide credit monitoring capabilities and financial literacy resources,” said Byron Vielehr, group president, Depository Institution Services, Fiserv. “People trust their financial institutions and will turn to them first for their financial needs, including loans, particularly when they are able to access customized offers directly within digital banking.”

Amazon and Netflix are not only acquiring documentaries and films, but are also heavily involved in producing their own content using UHD technologies, according to a white paper released by, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, ahead of Cable Congress 2017.

Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) services have among the lowest revenue per hour of content viewed and of paid content services, making premium content a greater investment. While films comprise the largest number of UHD titles, TV series offer a better return on hours of content viewed per dollar invested, the IHS Markit white paper said.

In the UK, Netflix offers 63 UHD titles. Amazon Prime and Amazon Instant have 28 and Sky has 26. “Online video producers generally offer a broader range of UHD genres than traditional pay TV platforms,” said Jonathan Broughton, senior home entertainment analyst, IHS Markit. “To compete, the budgets have grown dramatically to fulfill their ‘blockbuster’ needs. We are now seeing TV drama budgets around the same levels as major theatrical releases. This means that more expensive production methods involved in UHD make up a smaller proportion of the total budget.”

Leader in cloud-based spend management to expand in Benelux region 

Coupa Software, a leader in cloud-based spend management, announced today that it has signed a partnership agreement with the Solmate Group to expand Coupa’s value-as-a-service (VaaS) offering in the Benelux region.

Based in the Netherlands, Solmate is a strategic business partner that assists medium and large organisations with finance transformation. Solmate provides the knowledge, experience and people to support businesses with optimising their financial processes. Coupa will leverage and build on Solmate’s extensive track record of success with companies to help sell, implement, and increase the use of Coupa’s solutions in the Benelux region, particularly in mid-market sales.

“We believe that the innovation Coupa brings to the market helps companies adapt to change and growth to stay ahead of their competition. In the continuously changing world of finance, we strongly believe that software alone just isn’t enough. Value resulting from the use of software should be the main reason for investing and implementing new software. Coupa’s idea and promise of ‘value-as-a-service’ instead of SaaS fits perfectly in our vision of the finance function of the future,” said André Remmelzwaan, owner and CEO, Solmate Group.

“Solmate’s relationships in financial services, real estate, aviation and the construction sector will extend our reach across the Benelux region. Furthermore, with the experience of their multi-lingual consultants, Solmate can bring the value of Coupa to more new clients,” said Philippe Martinez, vice president of EMEA Alliances at Coupa. “In return, Coupa can provide Solmate with the opportunity to further streamline the spend management process of its existing customers.”

Top Image Systems, Ltd., a global innovator of intelligent content processing solutions, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016.

Brendan Reidy, CEO of Top Image Systems, commented, “I joined Top Image Systems with a conviction that our blue-chip customer base, the Company’s solid technology, knowhow and talented, experienced professionals will bring to market additional innovative process automation solutions.  I am committed to delivering value to our customers and shareholders by focusing on three key priorities to transform our business.  By introducing continuous efficiency improvements into our operations, protecting our core remittance and forms processing business and making prudent investments in high velocity cloud applications that target the underserved mid-market for accounts payable automation, we aim to transform our company into a high growth cloud applications and services business.” 

“To realize ongoing efficiency improvements, we continued the restructuring launched earlier in the year and initiated a consolidation of our European operations into a single, streamlined region under a single layer of management.  Additionally, we are consolidating our U.S. operations into our Plano, Texas location which will save about $1.0 million in annual expenses.  We are now focusing on making additional investments to protect our core eFLOW^® document capture business as well as on better leveraging our existing remittance business with leading financial providers and banks in the U.S.,” commented Mr. Reidy.

Mr. Reidy concluded, “With these improvements to our operations in progress, we can better focus on our investments in the cloud-based accounts payable applications software segment, aimed to compress sales cycles and generate more predictable recurring revenues, with an ambition to generate sustainable top-line revenue growth.  I am unwavering in my belief that it is of vital importance to deliver high quality products that ensure high levels of customer loyalty and drive repeat business, all of which, will over time deliver augmented value to our shareholders.” 

ICS Financial Systems Limited (ICSFS), the global leading provider of financial software solutions and services to banks and financial institutions, is pleased to announce the successful implementation of ICS BANKS Finance Lease System at Al Etihad Leasing Company, a newly formed finance company owned by Bank al Etihad.
Before selecting ICS BANKS Finance Lease System from ICSFS, Al Etihad Finance Leasing Company has evaluated other leasing solutions but decided to adopt the latest and bespoke developed application, with a partner that has a successful track record in providing and implementing finance lease system. 

The General Manager of Al Etihad Leasing Company Mr. Raed Ali stated:
“pleased to opt for the latest and best developed Finance Leasing application; ICS BANKS Finance Lease System. The implementation was completed in a record-breaking time of 45 working days, where the process was transparent, providing an unlimited work-flow and comprehensive finance lease services, working on the latest technologies, in addition to the unlimited offerings which will increase our company’s productivity and efficiency. These offerings will help us respond quickly to market changes, regulatory requirements and achieve our goals.”

ICS BANKS Finance Lease System is a web-based, end-to-end leasing system which provides comprehensive asset management functionalities that facilitate financial institutions by simplifying their business processes, and advance their proficiency. It also ensures customer acquisition, satisfaction and retention.

Mr. Robert Hazboun; Managing Director of ICSFS, said:

“By providing innovative leasing solutions and services, we will be able to support Al Etihad Finance Leasing Company’s vision and objectives. We are very pleased with the outcome, and would like to thank Al Etihad Leasing company’s team along with ICSFS’ implementation and operations team for making this possible.” Mr. Hazboun added: “We welcome Al Etihad Leasing Company to be part of our ICS BANKS Finance Lease community, and look forward to a long-lasting relationship.”

The average British worker spends as many as 120 hours per year using their smartphones in the workplace, and those working in IT are some of the worst culprits, according to research.

Research of 2,012 UK adults carried out by gadgets and technology etailer, LaptopsDirect.co.uk, has revealed almost all (96%) of IT workers admit to using their smartphones during working hours.

78% regularly respond to text messages during working hours, and 59% regularly take personal phone calls whilst working.

52% admit to answering instant messages via platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook, whilst 9% have sent a Snapchat from their workplace.

44% of respondents said their workplace permitted reasonable use of smartphones.

More than a third (38%) regularly check their social media accounts while in the workplace.

Those working in marketing took the top spot (98%).

Mark Kelly, marketing manager at LaptopsDirect.co.uk, said: “It’s no surprise that we are addicted to our smartphones however overuse during working hours can add up, leaving a serious shortfall in productivity. Although companies monitor and prohibit the use of social media during the working day, the research shows that there is still a large amount of people continuing to use their device.

“Use of smartphones and social media in the workplace can lead to hundreds of thousands of hours in lost productivity per year, which could cost UK companies millions of pounds.”

14% have been told off for using smartphones at work, while just 4% have been disciplined for use of their own tech during work time.

Laptops Direct is the UK’s largest online laptop specialist, selling a wide range

of new and refurbished laptops from leading brands, as well as a wide range of other lifestyle gadgets.

The new version of Beta Systems DCI Software AG’s ‘Beta UX’ output management and archive suite delivers an enhanced hierarchical structure. This and added commands, granular priority print control, new note types and AES encryption make document handling in V4.4 more secure and intuitive.

The Beta UX Output Management and Archive Suite 4.4. allows you to manage and archive high volumes of documents and logs originating from all key corporate applications across a wide range of platforms including z/OS, UNIX/Linux, Windows and SAP. The modular solution comprises the Beta UX ContentMaster, Beta UX DistributionMaster and Beta UX LogMaster components. Beta UX supports several output channels, such as production printers, printer networks, digital distribution systems and applications.

The New Release Addresses Actual Customer Demands

Beta UX 4.4 visualizes multiple index fields, e.g. company, division and department, in a hierarchical structure. Users can place lists and documents into this Windows-IE-style tree view during indexing and perform searches from there. The resulting overview of records greatly facilitates case processing. Occasional users, too, benefit from the new structure as they can retrieve documents much more rapidly than before. Moreover, users can configure individual searches based on processes and persons. This applies to all Beta UX components, including log files managed in LogMaster. The new feature was implemented in direct response to customer feedback.

The new release allows users to prioritize print jobs for the various departments in a highly granular manner – both for manually triggered and batch print jobs. This makes it possible to fast-track very urgent documents and process them before normal production jobs, which have a maximum of two priority levels. Thanks to this feature, production managers can spontaneously respond to ad-hoc requests for printouts/reprints.

Five New Commands

The Beta UX V4.4 command interface offers five new commands that bring added transparency and speed to database queries and data analysis. This furthermore provides the basis for achieving increased process automation with Beta UX.

In addition, Beta UX now makes the LToken available as a unique technical document ID to speed up search queries. As a result, whenever the document ID is known, for instance because it is listed in the log file, users can access the associated document reliably and with ease.

AES Encryption Standard

Another novelty is the increased range of note types at the users’ disposal, which now includes the thumbnail and signature types. These can be used to view thumbnails and compliance-relevant information without even opening the document. So-called ‘side files’ complement documents and now allow for evaluating information when reading MS-Office documents. Users can also store an index of the main document in the side file. To top things off, Beta UX supports encryption of transferred data using the AES standard and offers document output in UTF-8 via the buxtxt2u.exe conversion tool. This is of great value to international companies, as it enables them to search for indexes using Japanese or Arabic characters.