Quantitative Brokers (QB), a global leader in advanced execution algorithms and data-driven analytics for futures, options and OTC fixed-income markets, and Genesis Global, the low-code application development platform for financial markets organizations, today announced a strategic partnership.  The collaboration will advance algo transparency, enhance trader productivity, and deliver a customized algorithm performance monitoring platform tailored to QB's clients' unique requirements.

The new, next-gen order monitoring system, built in partnership with Genesis, will further elevate QB’s real-time management and proactive support services for thousands of client orders worldwide.  The new flexible, customizable system will be at the heart of QB’s client support and trading teams to visualize data on trade execution performance across asset classes, including futures, options, and US Treasuries.  The system will issue real-time alerts on algorithmic performance relative to client benchmark parameters and provide rich analytics to best interpret algorithm behavior.

“We are thrilled about our partnership with Genesis Global.  This collaboration enables us to deliver a next-generation platform to our clients, enabling them to efficiently and effectively achieve their goals in today’s rapidly evolving financial markets," said Asset Tarabayev, Chief Product Officer at QB.  "Real-time understanding of algo performance is crucial for traders, risk officers and portfolio managers.  Our aim is to provide them with a powerful tool that offers the visibility and interaction they desire."

“Monitoring and analyzing the performance of complex trading algorithms illustrates the power of the Genesis platform,” said Stephen Murphy, CEO and co-founder of Genesis Global.  “The platform can deliver the customizable user interfaces required for monitoring and process the volume of data required for real-time analytics and performance measurement.  We are delighted to be working with Quantitative Brokers on this innovative solution.”

Algo transparency is at the core of QB’s mission, and the firm plans to offer the extended algorithm performance management platform to clients in Q4 2023. Providing access to sophisticated algorithm monitoring meets client demand for real-time analytics, including child order execution prices, slippages, and participation rates.  The system will be a cloud-based, web-native solution leveraging desktop interoperability technologies, enabling seamless integration to client’s existing workflows.

 Frollo has launched a campaign for the mutual bank sector on Building the Bank of the Future with Open Data.

Customer-owned banks are ideally placed to benefit from the consumer data right (CDR). Frollo has created a content series to show a path forward for mutuals that want to either understand how to get started or how they can best utilise the Open Data opportunities to further improve their customer outcomes and future-proof their businesses.

Mutual banks are facing a variety of challenges, including rapid evolutionary changes in technology; the regulatory and competitive landscape; as well as heightened consumer expectations for seamless digital experiences.

Simon Docherty, Frollo’s Chief Customer Officer said: “Mutuals are by their design, customer-first and by their nature, innovators. That’s why Open Data can be a game-changer for mutual banks looking to leverage technology, improve the digital customer journey, deliver efficiencies, and create more engaging products and services.”

Frollo sees Open Data as the answer and opportunity to many of these pressures and will ensure that mutuals can continue to put their customers at the heart of everything they do, whilst building the bank of the future.

“Where Open Banking is up to now, you can start building the bank of the future centred around data and customer experience," said Tony Thrassis, CEO of Frollo.

The campaign via this site will deliver a mix of content across a variety of channels, such as video interviews, a three-part webinar series with live-streamed panel discussions of industry leaders, and consumer research into mutual customer behaviours, along with practical tools and checklists for mutual banks.

Tony Thrassis added: “We are committed to helping mutuals continue to make a positive impact on the industry. We hope this content series will continue to assist mutual banks grow as an essential customer-focused part of the banking sector.”

Frollo has partnered with the customer-owned banking industry closely over the last two and half years, launching use cases with P&N Bank, BCU Bank and Beyond Banks, as well as Data Holder Testing solutions for Australian Unity and The Mutual Bank.

Tony Thrassis, CEO, Frollo

“The key things that you need to succeed in Open Banking are a purpose, good technology, an understanding of your customers and you need to be in the game.”

“This might be the first time you would have access to customer data from the big 4 banks, and mutuals can now also access that data. The CDR started with Open Banking but is expanding into energy, telco, non-bank-lenders, superannuation, insurance and possibly into government data. Organisations can aggregate all that data into a single customer view to understand a customer’s complete financial footprint and develop meaningful insights for the customers and the business.”

“One of the big game-changers for mutuals will be action initiation and leading with payments. It will reduce the use of debit and credit cards and give rise to new customer experience when making payments inside banking apps.”

Simon Docherty, CCO, Frollo

“We have been fortunate to work with a variety of mutuals across the sector over the last 2 and a half plus years. We love working with the mutual sector. It is a great connection between who we are and our purpose as a business, and the mutuals sector’s strong mandate to deliver value back to their members, and we feel there is a great alignment between our two businesses.”

“In our discussions with mutual, a major pain point has been data holder obligations and how intensive that was financially and from a resourcing perspective. Frollo has created resources so mutuals can start to look at how to derive value back on that significant investment on the data holder side by becoming an ADR, to give mutuals the tools to understand the accreditation process, which is very simple and quick.”

“Open Banking brings for the first time the opportunity for mutuals to see their members’ full financial life and engage with their customers in a very different way. To see what products they have with other financial institutions, and to understand where they are in the financial journey, to be able to offer your customers the right product at the right time.”

“A direct link to start getting some return on investment from becoming a Data Holder is  being able to get efficiencies in lending, that is time saved in loan processing and applications, that is what Open Banking can do and deliver for mutuals.”

“Mutuals should think about Open Banking opportunities in two ways – One. how are you unique to your membership today, and how is Open Banking going to help deliver and supercharge that unique value to your members? And two - just get started, if you are already a data holder it really is an easy streamlined process to become a data recipient to start reaping the rewards of Open Data”.

According to the Australian Banking Association, of the 2.6 million businesses in Australia, the majority (98%) are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As the sector accelerates in 2023, it also suffers from an increase in the cost of goods and services, leading to rising inflation and unemployment rates. In this scenario, entrepreneurs are eager for help.

Australian company Grow is ready to help them. Grow is a leading lending partner for SME businesses looking to expand, manage cash flow and deal in today’s increasingly complex and competitive operating environment. It will launch its first credit card, powered by Pismo.

The Grow Mastercard® credit card will be available in market from September. This new offer will give business owners better cash flow, management and capital to help them improve their businesses.

Grow has chosen Pismo’s all-in-one, public cloud-native financial services platform to support its card-issuing operation. By using a modern and feature-rich platform, it seeks to differentiate itself from other lenders and continue supporting the Australian SME segment, an estimated $410-billion market.

“Pismo brings us its extensive expertise in card issuing and payment processing, which includes managing 42 million cards. The Pismo platform enables us to develop our credit card business without building the infrastructure from scratch. While Pismo focuses on the technology, we focus on supporting Aussie SMEs to grow their businesses,” says David Verschoor, Executive Director and Co-CEO at Grow.

Founded in 2016 in Brazil, Pismo has operations in five continents with 450 employees. It processes 290 million transactions monthly. Pismo provides card issuing infrastructure for Banco Itaú – Latin America's largest bank; BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in the region; NG Cash, a fintech focused on Generation Z; a German fintech N26, the global bank Citi, among others.

“Grow has been having a significant impact on the Australian SMEs so far. It will serve these companies even better with their new credit card. We are very proud to announce them as our first Australian client”, says Vishal Dalal, CEO (North America, EMEA, APAC) at Pismo.

Engage, the community banking platform has partnered with 10 credit unions to deliver its Faster Payments service which in turn provides quicker payments for nearly 100,000 members. The bulk faster payments process empowers credit unions to send money to their members in near real-time, instead of traditional BACS or CHAPS payments which typically take around three days to complete.

Knowsley Credit Union, Chesterfield & North East Derbyshire Credit Union and Kingdom Community Bank are three of the UK-based credit unions that are already utilising Engage’s Bulk FPS service to send money to their members via the bulk payment option built into the Engage dashboard.

Typically, money arrives in a member account from either the members’ employer, their own bank account, or direct from Department for Work and Pensions. When the member wishes to access their savings, or takes out a loan, the Credit Union must send this money to the member. Traditionally this has been done using BACS payments which take 3-4 days to arrive, alternatively, the Credit Union may use their own banks Faster Payments service which can be much more expensive.

Sofia Dogan, Chief Executive of Kingdom Community Bank “The Engage Faster Payments service works seamlessly via a simple online portal and we simply upload our payment file and payments are sent to member accounts in minutes. The costs are over 50% less than our bank was preparing to charge us and our members can now benefit from receiving payments quicker into their account”.

The Engage digital account offers credit union and community bank members a free digital mobile app and contactless Visa Debit card complete with an array of online features like those expected from a digital banking app. In addition to helpful budgeting tools (Engage Envelopes tm) account holders can earn cash-as-they-spend when used at a range of participating retailers including ASDA, Sainsbury's, Argos and B&Q. 

Stephen Hope, Partnerships Development Manager at Engage said: “Instant payments is a capability that most bank account holders take for granted when it comes to paying bills or moving money. By offering Bulk Faster Payments, community finance providers and credit unions that need to make multiple money transfers can improve customer satisfaction by bringing payments to real-time, removing three-day wait times for funds. We are proud to be able to offer such an essential solution at a very competitive price point that enables credit unions to continue to digitalise their offering.”

There are 1.4m people in the UK who are members of a Credit Union. The 250+ Credit Unions and Community Banks in the UK are safe, fully regulated financial institutions where members can save and borrow safely and ethically. Credit Unions are non-profit making and run as financial co-operatives.

The Engage digital account offers credit union and community bank members a free digital mobile app and contactless Visa Debit card complete with an array of online features like those expected from a digital banking app. In addition to helpful budgeting tools (Engage Envelopes tm) account holders can earn cash-as-they-spend when used at a range of participating retailers including ASDA, Sainsbury's, Argos and B&Q. 

African mobility startup, Moove, renowned for providing revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs and democratising vehicle ownership across Africa, has procured funding of $8m from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking.

This move is a stride towards expanding its vehicle fleet in Ghana, according to a report from Tekedia.

The latest investment propels Moove’s total funding from Absa to $28m, marking a significant increase from the previous $20m raised in July 2022.

Moove’s business model revolves around supporting mobility entrepreneurs by offering accessible vehicle ownership. This is achieved through revenue-based financing which breaks down the economic barriers to employment and encourages a rising class of mobility entrepreneurs. The startup also prides itself in offering fuel-efficient Suzuki vehicles which are assembled in Ghana.

The new funding will be channelled towards increasing the existing fleet of Suzuki vehicles, thus fostering job opportunities for Ghana’s emerging entrepreneurs. This aligns with Moove’s mission to eliminate barriers to employment opportunities and empower Ghana’s evolving class of mobility entrepreneurs.

Further details reveal Moove’s significant alliance with CFAO Motors, Africa’s largest automotive distribution network, formed in 2022. This partnership positions Moove to expand its fleet rapidly by supplying a range of Suzuki models across Ghana and Nigeria. The firm has also pledged to ensure that at least 60% of the vehicles it finances are EVs or hybrid models.

Moove’s country manager for Ghana, Jephthah Datsomor, expressed his delight in strengthening the partnership with Absa, which has played a crucial role in accelerating Moove’s growth since becoming their first bank partner in 2022. He further commented on their shared commitment to drive local economies forward.

Ellen Ohene-Afoakwa, Managing Principal for Corporate and Investment Banking Ghana, also spoke on Absa’s investment in Moove, highlighting the responsibility they bear as one of Africa’s largest financial services groups to leverage innovative technologies for empowering more people across the continent.

Moove was founded in 2020 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi and has since garnered over 50% month-over-month growth since its inception. As of 2022, Moove-financed cars have completed over 2.6 million trips with over 30 million kilometers travelled across 6 markets.

Baker Hill, a leading financial technology provider in delivering solutions for loan origination, risk management, and analytics, has launched its newest offering, Baker Hill NextGen® Accelerate, a preconfigured version of their award-winning Baker Hill NextGen® commercial loan origination system (LOS), which features robust and scalable digital capabilities designed for rapid deployment. 

Baker Hill NextGen® Accelerate provides community banks and credit unions with a world-class framework for digitally transforming the commercial lending process. The solution features the same award-winning LOS features Baker Hill NextGen® is known for, including guided workflows and automated checklists, but with a streamlined implementation timeline of just 90 days. Baker Hill NextGen® Accelerate is designed to meet financial institutions wherever they are on their digital transformation journey and scale as their commercial lending needs evolve.

Baker Hill’s newest offering was developed based on more than four decades of commercial lending expertise, industry best practices, as well as thousands of hours of client feedback and utilization data. The solution’s thoughtful design equips financial institutions for success when implementing a new LOS by supporting a smooth transition from manual lending processes to optimized digital workflows. Baker Hill NextGen® Accelerate is also configured to evolve and scale as financial institutions grow and progress further in their digital transformation journey.

“We understand that it can be overwhelming to implement a new LOS, especially when converting from manual processes or outdated, disparate systems. Selecting the right LOS is one of the most important decisions a financial institution can make, particularly in the current market where loan momentum has slowed. This makes it more important than ever for banks and credit unions to optimize and automate their lending operations, which will also position institutions for growth once market conditions shift and demand for loans increases again,” said John Deignan, president and CEO of Baker Hill. “Financial institutions should choose a system that evolves with them every step of the way – that’s why we launched Baker Hill NextGen® Accelerate.”

E-commerce fraud is growing fast and financially impacting businesses across the globe, according to new research from Ravelin.

In the last twelve months, merchants have seen a huge leap in online payment fraud (up 59%), account takeover (up 51%), promotion abuse (up 52%), refund abuse (up 53%) and customer fraud / friendly fraud (up 40%).

Merchants are now throwing more and more money at the crisis and expanding fraud teams in a bid to mitigate losses. 

Three-quarters (75%) of all online merchants say fraud budgets will grow this year (global average figure.) In the UK 62% will be spending more on managing fraud. This rises to 70% in France, 74% in Germany, 69% in the US, and 84% in Canada. 

In the UK over half (58%) of online businesses polled plan to grow their fraud teams in the next twelve months. In other parts of the world, the trend is even more pronounced. 80% of merchants in Germany, 72% in the US, and 86% in Australia expect teams to grow in size, Ravelin has found. 

New approaches are urgently needed to fight fraud and minimise losses. 

But when it comes to tools for tackling fraud most businesses (78%) opt for in-house solutions, which are expensive to maintain and quickly become unsustainable as a business grows. In the UK the figure is 80% while in France it’s 81% and in Germany 77%. 

Ravelin CEO, Martin Sweeney said: “Over the years merchants have built up fraud investigation teams which they’re justifiably proud of.  But fraud continues to grow and mutate: simply throwing more people and money at the problem won’t make it go away.  Losses will continue to grow.  

“Businesses need to get on the front foot managing fraud: using automation to nip fraudulent transactions in the bud. Better automation helps teams scale and frees up fraud investigators from mundane tasks enabling them to focus on informing product development, identifying other sources of profit erosion, and other more important strategic tasks that drive growth. With the economy in an uncertain place, enabling growth must become the priority.”

Ravelin’s Global Fraud Trends 2023 survey also examines the most effective tools for fighting fraud. 

Machine learning and two-factor authentication (2FA) are being adopted more regularly by e-commerce businesses to help with the issue. Almost half (48%) of UK businesses say ML is one of the most effective tools in their arsenal. Three-quarters (75%) of UK merchants say 2FA is crucial. 

From feedback across regions, the survey found that there isn’t a singular ‘one and done’ fraud strategy that’s most effective. Different solutions are effective at fighting different frauds, and having a robust tool stack allows teams to consider the complex nature of fraud.

The survey, which spoke to 1900 global fraud professionals, also examines the increase of ‘newer’ types of fraud which are prevalent globally. 

Policy abuse is experienced by 40% of businesses spoken to. The UK has the biggest problem with this type of ‘friendly fraud’ with over half (52%) of merchants experiencing it. 

Reseller and bot activity sits at 53% globally whereas ‘fraud as a service’ schemes were an issue for 56% of those spoken to.  Social engineering via customer service was experienced by 45% of the companies who took part in the survey. 

Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform, is honoured to announce its membership in The Payments Association. This milestone highlights Sumsub's ongoing commitment to enhancing compliance measures and offering best-in-class solutions in the vibrant payments ecosystem.

As an industry-leading verification provider, Sumsub offers a suite of Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Business (KYB), Transaction Monitoring and Fraud Prevention solutions designed to meet the needs of modern businesses. The platform utilizes cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and biometric recognition to deliver robust onboarding and compliance procedures.

By joining The Payments Association, Sumsub reinforces its position as a trusted partner for businesses in the fintech and payments industries. The association serves as a forum for industry collaboration, sharing best practices, and shaping the future of payments in the United Kingdom and beyond. Sumsub's membership will enable the company to work closely with payments industry leaders and drive progress in compliance and digital security.

"We are delighted to join The Payments Association," said Peter Sever, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Sumsub. "This membership signifies our unwavering commitment to enriching the fintech landscape with top-notch verification and compliance solutions. We look forward to collaborating with other esteemed members of the association to further enhance payments industry standards and drive game-changing innovations together."

The Payments Association operates in the UK, EU and Asia, bringing together a diverse range of industry stakeholders, including banks, payment service providers, technology companies, and regulators. Through its collaborative efforts, the association aims to promote secure, efficient, and innovative payment solutions while safeguarding the interests of consumers and businesses alike.

Zafin, the leading provider of SaaS product and pricing platform solutions for banks, is proud to announce it has won the 2023 Microsoft Canada ISV Impact Award. These annual Canadian awards recognize Microsoft partners who have enhanced the lives of Canadians by championing diversity and inclusion, provided exceptional customer service, and embraced digital transformation utilizing Microsoft technology.

"In addition to being the recipient of the 2023 Financial Services Global Partner of the Year Award, we are honoured to receive the 2023 Microsoft Canada ISV Impact Award. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Microsoft team to develop innovative technology solutions that support banks across Canada as they accelerate their core modernization initiatives, improve operational efficiencies, enhance customer experiences and unlock new revenue streams," says Al Karim Somji, Chief Executive Officer of Zafin.

Microsoft Canada presented these awards in 32 categories on July 5, 2023, as part of a lead-up to Microsoft’s Inspire conference. Winners were selected based on the outstanding work the companies provided to their customers and community.

“We are pleased to recognize Zafin as this year’s recipient of the 2023 Microsoft Canada ISV Impact Award,” said Harp Girn, Vice President, Global Partner Solutions, Microsoft Canada. “Our partners are the backbone of our company and have demonstrated excellence in innovation and harnessed Microsoft’s solutions to enable customers to achieve more. We take great pride in the diversity of our ecosystem and look forward to celebrating their outstanding achievements."