Brazil’s largest airline by number of cities served, Azul, has selected Worldpay as its exclusive global payments provider, allowing the company to deliver more international flight bookings.

Azul selected Worldpay to match its global expansion in North America and Europe. The airline is using Worldpay’s online payments and treasury services in all markets, and is seeing the most significant boosts from consumers in Portugal and the United States. The partnership allowed Worldpay to act as a single point of contact for payments across all countries.

Having accumulated over 25 years of industry expertise, Worldpay is the world’s leading airline acquirer, and works with more than 80 of the biggest names in the industry. By working with one partner, Azul has been able to avoid the complication and cost of dealing with multiple payment processors across many markets as it continues to expand. With Worldpay, Azul has benefitted from lower website integration costs and faster market entry.

Marcelo Bento, Director of Alliances and Azul Viagens at Azul said: “Working alongside Worldpay has given us a huge competitive edge in the market, as seen by the number of countries we’ve moved into. By giving ourselves the ability to save time, money and resources by operating through a single provider, we hope to demonstrate Azul’s global expansion, supplying frequent and affordable air services to underserved markets throughout Brazil and beyond.”

Juan D’Antiochia, General Manager, Latin America, Global eCom at Worldpay said: “By partnering with Worldpay, the process of expanding abroad is simpler, making it quicker and easier for airlines to set up and gain access to consumers in new markets. Having one payment provider means that airlines gain access to a consistent service across all markets, and aggregated sales data for each market they’re operating in, without needing to deal with multiple vendors. In doing so this allows airlines to save time and money and ultimately improve revenues, as we have seen reflected with Azul.”

• Case Studies
• 14.02.2017 12:45 pm

Uncertain economic times call for the assurances provided by a financial services company that has helped its clients successfully irrespective of many storms. The origins of the company date back to the early 1900s and SMG F.S Ltd has been providing expert Independent Financial Advice for many years. Today, the independently owned company’s core business is focused on running pension schemes for small companies, as well as personal financial planning and wealth management. 

Serial start-up offer ‘win-win’ solution, bank API platform to enhance financial innovation and prevent banks from getting left behind.

TrueLayer has revealed the private beta of its API platform that will link applications with banks and financial institutions. The platform supplies developers with an access to the bank data they need to build new apps and services. Financial providers and other regulated businesses will also be able to utilize the platform to drive their technology innovation.

TrueLayer aggregates and normalizes a wealth of financial data into a single platform alongside functionality that lets developers ask for the consent they will need to connect a customer’s bank information and transactions into their applications while maintaining compliance with industry regulation. In short, it gives developers everything they need to quickly and securely create disruptive new financial services including payment apps, online lenders, robot advisors, personal finance management and much more. TrueLayer’s APIs will make it possible to integrate financial services into any chosen platform or application, making access faster, easier and more efficient.

Under new rules set out by PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2) and guidelines set out by the CMA in the UK, banks and financial institutions will, for the first time, be required to allow third parties to access customer data. Tied to this, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires businesses to gain informed consent from consumers in order to use their personal data. The burden of connecting to each bank and of building the same consensual access components in every app will slow down new fintech startups, hindering much-needed customer-facing innovation.

TrueLayer removes this barrier by delivering a universal API so that developers can access data from every financial institution, in a simple format, from a single, secure gateway. Fintechs building the next generation of applications and financial services will be able to manage user consent and offer fine grained-permissions so that customers can be specific when allowing access to their banking and financial data. The API supports bank account verification, know your customer (KYC) processes, and account aggregation and also provides transactional data which can be used for credit scoring and risk management.

The company has been co-founded by serial entrepreneur, Francesco Simoneschi, who is also a partner of San Francisco-based VC firm, Mission Market. Francesco previously co-founded Staq, which was acquired by Upsight, and DomainsBot, which is part of the German group Sedo Holding Gmbh.

In 2016, TrueLayer closed a $1.3M funding round, led by Connect Ventures. Other venture capitalists and angel investors that contributed to the round included Graph Ventures, Tony Jamous and Eric Nadalin (co-founders of Nexmo, a leading cloud communication platform), and a number of others with banking and enterprise software background.

Francesco Simoneschi, CEO and co-founder of TrueLayer, said,“Consumer choice is shifting from banks to banking. Our vision is to create cloud infrastructure that will allow banks to connect with applications and make their services available to innovative startups that are keen to re-invent the customer experience. Ultimately, it’s also vital that the traditional banks open up their systems and become more agile – or they risk getting left behind – so the platform we offer is win-win.

“We want to enable a new ecosystem of financial services to flourish by bridging the divide between banks and developers. To date, financial innovation has been hindered by the industry’s reliance on legacy architecture and by the banks’ closed-door approach to technology and data. Although new regulations like PSD2 in Europe will help create a solution to this challenge, they don’t go far enough to drive real change. What is needed is true, open access, and the consistency that’s required to help developers benefit en masse. This is what TrueLayer brings to the market.”

Pietro Bezza, managing partner, Connect Ventures, said, “Technology is transforming banking – but so far we’ve only scratched the surface in terms of what’s possible. FinTech developers need the right tools in order to innovate and that’s what TrueLayer provides.

Francesco and team are simply a dream fit for our investment thesis: mission-driven and determined to solve hard problems at scale, obsessed by Product and User Experience, with strong domain insights. The vision to build the leading go-to banking API platform is highly compelling for the developer community and the banks themselves. We see great potential for TrueLayer both as an investment and for effecting change where it’s so desperately needed.” 

 SySGroup announced on 10 December 2014, about acquisition of Q4Ex Limited (“Q4Ex”), which became the Merchant and Distribution division of the Group.

The terms of the acquisition (the “Initial Terms") made provision for deferred and contingent consideration of up to £1,456,000 payable subject to the achievement of certain financial hurdles set (the “Earn-out Consideration"). The Earn-out Consideration comprised three payments being two tranches of up to £520,000 and a further payment of up £416,000, all of which was to be closed through the issue of new ordinary shares ("Earn-out Shares"). The Earn-out Shares are to be issued at an effective fixed price of 68p per ordinary share, following the share consolidation completed in July 2016.

The Group has today entered into a deed of variation to the Initial Terms with the vendors of Q4Ex (the “Revised Terms"), which provides the Non-Executive Directors of the Board of SysGroup with the discretion to settle a portion of the Earn-out Consideration in cash at effective fixed price of 59p per Earn-out Share (the “Cash Price”).  No other terms were amended.

In February 2016 the vendors of Q4Ex received the £520,000 of Earn-out Shares for the period ended 29 February 2016. Q4Ex has since performed in line with management expectations and has exceeded the financial hurdles set for the second earn-out period to 30 September 2016, triggering the maximum earn-out of £520,000 for the period. TheNon-Executive Directors have elected to settle the Earn-out Consideration through the issue of 340,981 Earn-out Shares and the balance through the payment of £250,000 at the Cash Price.

The Board expects, subject to final review, Q4Ex to exceed the financial targets for the period to 31 December 2016, which will trigger a final payment of Earn-out Consideration of £416,000. The Board currently intends to settle Earn-out Consideration through the issue of Earn-out Shares. A further announcement will be made in due course.

Change in Directors’ holdings

In light of the issue of the Earn-out Shares, the percentage holdings of the other directors of the Group will be as follows:

Notes:

1.         The Group's share capital of 22,492,132 ordinary shares of 1p each as enlarged by the 340,981 Earn-out Shares, which are expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on 17 February 2017 (“Enlarged Share Capital”).

2.         Christopher Evans is a vendor of Q4Ex and received 109,114 Earn-out Shares

3.         Representative of Livingbridge VC LLP

Admission to trading and total voting rights

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the Earn-out Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Admission is expected to take place on 17 February 2017. The Earn-out Shares will rank pari passu with the existing issued Ordinary Shares. 

Following the issue of the Earn-out Shares, the Company will have 22,492,132 Ordinary Shares, with each Ordinary Share carrying the right to one vote. The Company has no Ordinary Shares held in treasury. The total of 22,492,132 Ordinary Shares may therefore be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Four experienced Stanton Chase executives have stepped up to lead the Stanton Chase India team, bringing young dynamism and ensuring continuity in the region.

Amit Agarwal, Ashwini Prakash, Mala Chawla, and Sripad KN, Partners of Stanton Chase, have stepped up to lead Stanton Chase in India, to share ownership and leadership responsibilities across the country. The team represents the fundamental principles of the firm, such as global values, local understanding, and a strong client-first mentality. The four experienced executives play a hands-on role in searches, finding the top talent and best fit for clients. Their qualifications and experience with the firm revitalizes the Stanton Chase operating model in India.

Collectively, the four partners bring almost 60 years of executive search experience to the firm and to their valued clients. Their Pan-India, multi-sector experience connects their extensive networks on local, regional, and global levels. With their longtime involvement at Stanton Chase, they possess an in-depth understanding of the vision, mission, and ethos at the firm.

"This change speaks to our principles and values of Senior Partners and Consultants having a distributed ownership model with a client-first service excellence mentality. It is locally entrepreneurial, globally connected, and inclusively forward thinking," said Mickey Matthews, International Chairman of Stanton Chase. "Moreover, they are family and know our culture, share our values, and have the young dynamism to build and grow their client offering both in India, and globally through their deep relationships with Stanton Chase partners around the world."

Under the new leadership, the Stanton Chase India team remains committed to serving clients across the country with connectivity through their partners around the world. Stanton Chase currently has six offices of India, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Delhi, and Ahmedabad.

The four leaders cover all nine industry specializations at Stanton Chase: Professional Services, Financial Services, Supply Chain Logistics & Transportation, Consumer Products & Services, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Industrial, Natural Resources & Energy, Technology, and Government.

Given the breadth of their search experience and deep relationships in Stanton Chase, the team is executing a smooth and seamless transition to ensure continued excellence in client service delivery. Together, they have developed a strategy for growth into other major commercial hubs across the country.

Mickey Matthews underscored the importance of the new leadership. "Stanton Chase has always had a strong presence in India," Mickey said. "I am pleased to see the new direction this team is heading. They are building a world-class team with a deep understanding of the firm's culture and commitment to clients first."

The new India leadership team is open for business.

Allianz Deutschland AG, the global technology consultancy DataArt, the insurance analysts Franke und Bornberg and the strategy and management consultancy zeb are organizing a hackathon on March 24 – 25, 2017 for the insurance sector – the #_hackNEXT. The event will be held in Werk1 in Munich. Within 30 hours, interdisciplinary teams consisting of developers, programmers, designers and inventors will create new software solutions and business ideas. 

The teams will face three central challenges of the insurance sector:

Challenge 1: New customer experience 

Emotional, inspirational customer experiences and regular touch points are crucial for customers to become fans. Your challenge: how can insurance companies use digital solutions to generate customer experiences with real added value, thereby improving customers’ loyalty and readiness to recommend the product/service to others?

Challenge 2: Best agers – silver surfers 

No demographic group is growing as quickly as the generation of over 50 year-olds. Beyond traditional insurance solutions, interesting perspectives are opening up through smart homes, mobility, e-health and social networking and matching. Your challenge: how can insurance companies safeguard their position for this important and increasingly digital target group?

Challenge 3: Internet of things 

The Internet of Things (IoT) represents the next generation of the Internet. When the physical and virtual worlds melt, almost all objects will become intelligent and linked. This also assigns increasing importance to wearables. Your challenge: how can insurance companies use IoT-based business models and technologies to achieve an advantage for their customers?

Interested teams and start-ups can apply to participate for free in the #_hackNEXT hackathon at www.hacknext.de until March 5 at 10:00 PM. Information about the provided APIs, notes on scheduling, prizes and the rules for participation are also provided there. It is also possible to buy so called ‘Spy Tickets’ on the homepage for visitors who want to see the developed ideas and pitches on Saturday, March 25 2017.

It is Allianz’s, DataArt’s, Franke und Bornberg’s and zeb’s intention to establish the innovative hackathon format within the insurance sector. The event thrives in the dynamic interaction between participants of various backgrounds and expertise and from the exchange of participants with executives from the insurance sector.