Profile Software, an international financial solutions provider, today announced its sponsorship of the Middle East Wealth Management Forum organized by Hubbis, taking place on the 24^th of January at the Ritz Carlton, DIFC in Dubai, UAE. Profile’s executives will demonstrate the client centric and innovative platforms that address the Wealth Management industry’s requirements.

Profile supports thought provoking industry leading events for the Wealth Management domain to further enhance its regional operations. In the Middle East Wealth Management Forum, Profile is taking part in the panel discussion entitled “Are we ripe for disruption?”with its Global Sales Director to discuss the contribution of technology in the wealth management industry, the use of fintech tools, alternative collaboration options and importance of client experience.

Furthermore, at the Profile stand, professional delegates will be able to discuss and take a snapshot of the company’s cutting-edge and newly launched technology platforms that enable fast and accurate performance, enhance client experience and business agility. These solutions include:

• IMSplus: the award-winning investment management platform that comprehensively and modularly covers the areas of Wealth Management, Asset and Fund Management, and Insurance Investment Management.
• Axia: the web-based omni-channel solution for wealth management and family office offers a rich set of functionality and various deployment options. It incorporates a client onboarding solution to meet industry needs for agile operations.
• FMS.next: the comprehensive banking platform that effectively covers Core and Islamic Banking requirements, as well as P2P Lending with a successful track record.

Hubbis events are attended by senior management of major banking and financial institutions, and more. This event is for anyone servicing wealthy clients – including Retail Banks, Private Banks, IFAs, Family Offices, Insurance Companies, and other Independent Wealth Management Firms.

The agenda will address some of the challenging issues to developing a profitable business with a value proposition that makes sense in today’s environment. These may include: client engagement, robo-advisers and fintechs, evolving the IFA proposition – what’s the real potential in the Middle East, transparency, next generation HNWIs’ expectations.

The full agenda is available here while industry professionals can register here.

Ingenico ePayments, the online and mobile commerce division of Ingenico Group, today announced that it has signed an agreement to provide global payment processing and conversion optimization services to Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travelers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay. With Ingenico’s global footprint and large portfolio of international cards and alternative payment products, Booking.com is able to increase the conversion rate of visits into online payments made through its platform. Booking.com will also have access to Ingenico’s Elevate Business Intelligence solution for payments, which enables the company to analyze payment performance and look for ways to further optimize the payments process.

Originally founded as a reservation platform connecting consumers with available hotel rooms, Booking.com increasingly offers the opportunity for reservations to be paid during the reservation process by means of secure online payment. For suppliers, this removes the need to process the payment at arrival or departure and offers additional guarantees. For consumers, paying through Booking.com means they can use a wide range of local alternative payment products in addition to credit cards.

Accepting payments on behalf of suppliers is an increasingly important capability for Booking.com as it looks to grow its value proposition, and the company has been growing the share of reservations that are pre-paid through its platform at an incredibly fast pace for the last few years. As the total flow increases, it became increasingly important to Booking.com to find the kind of payments partner that could provide the necessary processing capability while boosting success rates. 

“As we grow the percentage of bookings that are paid directly through our platform, things like checkout optimization, platform stability and redundancy become increasingly important. To that end, we decided to work with Ingenico ePayments, who can deliver the kind of global footprint and rich portfolio of payment solutions that we require.”  said Olivier Bisserier, chief financial officer at Booking.com.

Pierre-Antoine Vacheron, executive vice president at Ingenico ePayments, has stated: “Booking.com is one of the world’s largest Online Travel Agencies, and they are going through an exciting growth phase as consumers increasingly opt to pay for rooms through the platform. We are proud to provide Booking.com with our services, expertise and ongoing support.”

Ingenico ePayments has a long-standing relationship with Booking.com’s parent company, Priceline.com, and already processes payments for various other brands in the company’s portfolio.  

Synechron the digital, business consulting and technology services provider, has today provided guidance for the financial year 2016-17, expecting global revenues of $405m, expanding to 18 global offices and growing to over 6,600 employees. The 28% YOY increase is the highest in the last 5 years, and following this achievement, Synechron has set a revenue target of $500M in the next 12 months and $1bn by 2020 as it continues to make inroads and gain market-share in the digital and innovation spaces.

Since 2015, Synechron opened seven new offices globally taking its total to 18 worldwide and allowing the Company to be a leader on global regulatory and technology changes for the world’s leading financial services firms. The company’s growth has been achieved both organically and through the acquisition of six specialist businesses since early 2013 to enable the firm to offer an end-to-end business solution that combines consulting, digital design and technological innovation – the ‘Power of 3’ strategy that underpins Synechron’s business model. Moreover, Synechron continues to be self-funded with no private equity / VC or long-term debt on its books.

With 6,600 employees globally as of December 2016, a year-on-year increase of 1,800 staff, Synechron is continuing to attract and recruit specialized talent to further enable its consulting, technology and digital capabilities in its key markets: U.S., U.K., Europe, UAE, India and Singapore.

Faisal Husain, Co-founder & CEO of Synechron, said: “2016 was a fantastic year of growth and opportunity for Synechron, and given our strong pipeline will continue throughout this year. Our unique ability to offer clients an end-to-end service has contributed heavily to our success and is why we are punching above our weight and winning deals that ordinarily would go to the big four. Core values of entrepreneurship and innovation combined with the pragmatism and expertise of our consulting arm have enabled us to deliver this model successfully, and our revenue target of $1bn by 2020 reflects the confidence we have, and stability that underpins our growth. In 2016 we were able to successfully diversify our client base and geographical revenue lines to enable our business with a sustainable growth strategy. I am confident we can maintain this momentum and believe 2017 will be another record year for Synechron.”

In addition to the record revenue and employee growth, Synechron has strengthened its reputation as a global leader in digital transformation. The Company launched four new Financial Innovation labs (FinLabs) in London; Amsterdam; Pune & Bangalore in 2016.  Synechron’s FinLabs allow businesses to get hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), voice recognition and drones. This brings the total number of FinLabs to five, and Synechron will open its flagship FinLab in New York later this year along with additional locations in Charlotte, NC, Ft Lauderdale, FL, and Hyderabad in India.

In September 2016, as a product of FinLabs, Synechron launched six Blockchain Accelerators and a 50-person team across New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai and Bangalore to advance blockchain innovation. The initiative received an ACORD innovation award and was nominated for a Mortgage Strategy award for innovation. In 2017, Synechron will continue to innovate around Blockchain, AI and Machine learning in the financial services industry and is likely to continue to gain recognition for its thought leadership in digital transformation. 

Faisal Husain continued: “Financial institutions around the world are searching for innovative solutions to business problems, together with the ability to implement at an enterprise level. We allow our clients to see how they can combine our consulting, technology and digital capabilities to accelerate their business initiatives. This approach has been, and will be, integral to Synechron’s continued success.”

Nordea has appointed Sara Helweg-Larsen new Head of Group Communications. She most recently served as Head of Communications at Mærsk Transport & Logistics Division. Roberta Alenius will be the new Head of Group External Communications, and Erik Feldt will be the new Head of Group Sustainability.

Sara Helweg-Larsen will start on 1 May 2017. Also, Roberta Alenius has accepted the position as Head of Group External Communications. Roberta comes from a position as Vice President and Head of Communications at Telia Sweden. Roberta will start on 1 April and report to the new Head of Group Communications.

- Nordea is changing. In an accelerating world where customer needs and values change, we need to be better at engaging with different stakeholders explaining how we as a bank contribute to our customers and society as a whole. I’m very pleased that Sara and Roberta have accepted to help us with that, says Johan Ekwall, Chief of Staff.

Erik Feldt is appointed new Head of Group Sustainability. Erik has been with Nordea for many years, most recently as Head of HR Wealth Management. The current Head of Group Sustainability, Åse Bergstedt, will move to a role as Chief Sustainability Strategist and be a part of the Group Sustainability team. 

A Group Sustainable Finance unit will also be formed headed by Sasja Beslik. The purpose of the unit is to ensure that the initiatives decided by Group Sustainability are implemented in the business.

- Sustainability is increasingly important for Nordea and our customers. To emphasise that importance we create a more focused Group Sustainability team on a strategic level headed by Erik Feldt, says Johan Ekwall.
 

Research from Equiniti, a leading RegTech provider, shows that people in London and Scotland are more likely to be victims of cybercrime than those living elsewhere in the UK.

The nationally representative poll, carried out in partnership with YouGov, asked 2,100 people whether they had been victims of financial crime. Results revealed that occurrences of cybercrime varied largely by where the respondent lives.

Around one in three (30%) Londoners said they had been victims of cybercrime, while that number dropped to around one in four (24%) nationally and as low as one in five (21%) in the North. Other cybercrime hotspots were the Scotland and the East of England, where more than the national average said they were victims (25%).

The other major factor that effected the findings was age, with those aged 18-24 considerably less likely to be victims (13%) than any other age group.

Gender had very little effect on the likelihood of being victimised, with 23% of men and 24% of women targeted.

Alistair Blaxill, MD at Equiniti, said, “Online and mobile banking are becoming a part of everyday life, but rising crime levels show people are still learning how to protect themselves. We all take instinctive steps to protect ourselves every day, whether locking the car or house or looking before you cross the road, and we need to develop those habits online as well.

Companies are investing a huge amount in online security to help their customers, as they should, but in order to benefit from the convenience of online life, individuals should develop good habits. Using a variety of strong passwords or making the use of the latest technology like voice and fingerprint recognition will certainly help. These tools are no longer the technology of the future and will help keep us all safer online.”

One will present the electronic auction service – e-Auction 3.0 – at Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference in Tallinn. This project has been developed by Ukrainian IT specialists. Its concept is to replace officials for transparent blockchain. It shows conditions, process and results of public property lease and sale auctions.    

E-Auction 3.0 is one of significant government control projects: it has shown that the problem related with subjective decisions and intervention on trading can be eliminated by the code. The service was tested in the range of Ukrainian cities and won support of certain administrations.          

Big Ukrainian banks and Microsoft helped the team of developers. A lot of people were participating in the project voluntarily, so its implementation didn’t even require money investments, told Lasha Antadze, the development of e-Auction 3.0 and participant of major blockchain conferences.           

At Tallinn conference, he will present the govtech service, well-known in Ukraine and Russia, and tell about the project development.

According to organizers, Karolina Martsantovich (leading IBM engineer), Kaspar Korjus (e-Residency Managing Director) and Jon Matonis (founder of Bitcoin Foundation) have already confirmed their participation in the event.   

You can find more details and register on the website: Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Tallinn.

Janney to utilize the NaviPlan® financial planning software along with Presentation Module from Advicent to enhance Retirement Income Evaluator™ and manage compliance efforts in the wake of DOL fiduciary standards.

Advicent, the leading financial planning technology provider based in Milwaukee, WI, is excited to announce their recent strategic partnership with Janney Montgomery Scott (Janney), a full-service wealth management, financial services, and investment banking firm. Through their financial technology research, the financial services company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, identified Advicent as a differentiator among other providers given their comprehensive financial planning software offering, advisor- and client-facing technology, competitive pricing model, and most importantly, their answer to the DOL Conflict of Interest Rule: The Compliance Blueprint.

Janney will implement NaviPlan into its workflow with both prospects and clients. As part of the firm’s strategy to continually enhance its secure client site, Online Access, planning tools, and outputs from NaviPlan will be incorporated. Providing such access to advanced technology allows advisors to offer account aggregation, comprehensive goal-based assessments, detailed cash-flow analysis programs, and scenario simulation calculations. Amid the upcoming Department of Labor (DOL) regulations slated to unfold in April, Janney was proactive in its search for technology that will aid in bolstering its firm-wide compliance strategies while maintaining excellent client service.

“The ability to remain transparent with clients and prospects is key to any financial services business, especially given the future changes expected from the DOL. The NaviPlan technology capabilities will allow us to successfully navigate this environment, provide our employees with comprehensive technology-based tools, and empower clients with a flexible and easy-to-navigate digital platform,” stated Martin Schamis, Vice President, Head of Wealth Planning at Janney. “Our primary business mission is to put our clients first. As we prepare for heightened regulation in the industry this year, the Janney-Advicent partnership will allow us to continue to deliver on this commitment and set our employees and clients up for long-term success.”

In addition to the partnership announcement, Janney will also upgrade and reconstruct their proprietary Retirement Income Evaluator (RIE) tool through NaviPlan Presentation Module, a feature that allows Janney to mold financial planning tools and custom presentations to fit their process and branded specifications.

RIE 2.0 will be powered by NaviPlan and will help advisors and their clients to execute long-term retirement strategies through updated reports, calculations, and cash-flow projections within the tool’s data-driven analysis. NaviPlan Presentation Module will allow Janney to enhance their current offering to clients enhancing and growing relationships tied to financial planning while maintaining their existing process. This unique planning experience will give Janney advisors a deeper understanding of clients through collaborative data gathering, further bolstering their DOL compliance efforts.

Phil Cunningham, CEO at Advicent, explains that the partnership is extremely valued especially as both companies share similar business ideals and proactively recognize the evolution of the industry amid regulatory changes. “We are excited that through Janney’s due diligence and technology research, they have identified Advicent as their technology provider-of-choice, and we look forward to a successful partnership that will empower their workforce with a variety of efficient and effective technology-based opportunities to be leveraged in their DOL compliance strategy.”

NCR Corporation, a global leader in omni-channel solutions, today announced that eight of the top 10 mobile banking apps are powered by NCR’s Digital Banking solutions portfolio, according to MagnifyMoney’s third-annual Mobile Banking App Study. This is the third year in a row that NCR’s community financial institution (CFI) customers were honored in the ‘10 Best Overall’ category.

The study named Eastman Credit Union, a financial services cooperative with over $3.1 billion in assets and serving over 155,000 members at over 20 branches in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Texas, as the ‘Best Overall App.’ NCR worked closely with ECU to build and deploy its mobile app to provide a better customer experience.

“At Eastman Credit Union, we strive to provide our members with the best products and services and our mobile applications are no exception,” said Darrell Dinsmore, VP Information Technology at ECU. “By partnering with NCR, an industry leader, we are able to offer our members a best-in-class mobile solution that meets their needs when it comes to managing their finances on the go.”

Of the apps honored, NCR also powers: ESL Federal Credit Union (New York), Redstone FCU (Alabama), SEFCU (New York), Wright-Patt Credit Union (Ohio), Tower Federal Credit Union (Maryland), Delta Community Credit Union (Georgia), and Hudson Valley FCU (New York).

“It is extremely exciting to see so many NCR customers once again highlighted as providing best-in-class, deeply engaging and satisfying mobile experiences to their users,” said José Resendiz, Vice President and Financial Services Leader, NCR. “These high ratings are a testament of NCR’s commitment to deliver industry leading mobile banking applications for financial institutions. We use design thinking to create easy-to-use experiences that proactively solve real customer needs with the latest in technology.”

MagnifyMoney compiled the ratings of iOS and Android banking apps from over 100 of the biggest banks and credit unions, including the 50 largest banks and 50 largest credit unions along with a selection of top online direct banks. The data, collected from the iTunes and Google Play stores the week of November 30, 2016, was used to create a composite 1 to 5 rating, factoring a weighted average of the ratings from both the iOS and Android platforms. MagnifyMoney then ranked each app based on its user rating score.

“In the past five years, adoption of mobile banking more than doubled, while the number of people banking on tablets increased more than eightfold,” said Nick Clements, founder of MagnifyMoney.com. “Mobile banking is a lifeline for more and more customers and the top rated apps on MagnifyMoney's list deliver on reliability and simplicity.”

NCR’s 2017 product roadmap will continue to deliver the most feature-rich apps designed to bring powerful and optimized functionality to its mobile solutions offers.

Bear State Bank (“Bank”) and its holding company, Bear State Financial, Inc. (“Company”), announced that the Company’s and Bank’s Board of Directors have elected Matt Machen, current President of Bear State Bank, to become President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank.

Mark McFatridge informed the Bank and Company Board of Directors of his resignation as President and CEO of the Company on January 14, 2017. With the departure of McFatridge, Matt Machen, 35, has been unanimously elected by the Board to serve as President and CEO of both the Company and the Bank. Machen joined Bear State Bank (then First Federal Bank) following a $46.3 million recapitalization of the Bank in 2011 by Bear State Financial Holdings. He successfully led the Bank turnaround in Northwest Arkansas before relocating to Little Rock to become Chief Financial Officer of the Company and the Bank and was promoted to his current role of Bank President in 2016.

“Matt combines strong financial services experience and knowledge of the depth of our management team with a vision for the Company’s future that will be a critical part of our growth and success moving forward,” said Rick Massey, Company and Bank Chairman. “Matt joined our team more than five years ago and has proven to be both a dynamic leader and accomplished at strategy execution. Our board has full confidence in Matt to handle his new responsibilities and feel we are fortunate as a Company to have an executive of his caliber at Bear State.”