Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges, today announced the launch of its AI conversational assistant, especially designed for use within digital asset exchanges. The assistant allows users to ask for and receive instantaneous help with trades, their order status, and their account history, among other functionalities.

“This development is not only a game-changer for exchanges across the globe, but for the digital assets industry, as well,” said Modulus CEO Richard Gardner. “We’ve got exchanges on six continents signed up to roll out our new assistant, and it really is going to change the way they do business. From Asia to Africa, from London to San Francisco, digital assets are about to see a significant shift.”

“A lot of people think this is a matter of eliminating customer service manhours, but it goes far beyond cost reduction. This isn’t designed to take over customer service. It is designed to revolutionize it completely, helping customers with routine inquiries while routing the most important, urgent queries to the human who is best qualified to answer them,” said Gardner.

“Cryptocurrency is known for its technical nature. One of the greatest barriers to entry is that retail investors simply don’t feel confident enough in their ability to navigate crypto. This is a gamechanger, as it will allow exchanges the ability to customize responses to investor queries. As time goes on and the system learns, it will be able to adjust to specific investors and their questions, as part of human-in-the-loop technology,” said Gardner.

Modulus has led the way on exchange innovation in the cryptocurrency industry for years. In 2018, the company launched a market surveillance and risk management solution, which targets abuse within cryptocurrency markets and helps exchange operators identify risks of money laundering.

“As more and more exchanges adopt this patent-pending technology, they’re going to be able to expand the demographic groups they look at as potential customers. There are two ways to increase revenue. Take a bigger slice of the pie. Or make the pie bigger. This technology will allow exchanges to do the latter, tapping into new markets and making digital assets more accessible to a wider investor audience,” said Gardner.

Paysend, the global card-to-card payments pioneer, and RemotePass, the global onboarding and payroll platform, are today announcing a partnership to facilitate instant and more cost-effective transfers to international workers in 80 countries.

Through this partnership, Paysend will empower RemotePass with a new instant payout to cards feature for global payroll. This intuitive capability allows remote workers to receive payments swiftly and affordably by transferring funds directly to their local cards, ensuring an efficient and seamless payment experience and eliminating delays when managing payroll.

To take advantage of this service, remote workers only need to link a valid bank card, in their name, to RemotePass. Users will employ Mastercard or Visa rails to transfer money instantly and directly. With this streamlined process, there is no longer any payday uncertainty, removing the incursion of traditional SWIFT or intermediary bank fees. 90% of transfers are completed within 15 seconds or less.

“From its inception, RemotePass has dedicated its time and resources to enhancing the overall experience for contractors worldwide, facilitating their onboarding and providing seamless access to global financial services and benefits,” said Kamal Reggad, Co-founder and CEO, RemotePass. “Today, through our partnership with Paysend, contractors using RemotePass will enjoy the convenient capability of receiving payouts instantly, improving cash flow efficiency for SMEs when using our platform.”

Alexander Budyakov, Head of Enterprise at Paysend, added, “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with RemotePass, a prominent player in the payroll industry. We aim to forge a strong alliance and work closely to streamline salary processing, enabling faster and more cost-efficient payments for workers, saving time and money for businesses globally.”

Open Banking Exchange (OBE) welcomes today's event held by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the Philippines Open Finance Pilot. Since our blueprinting work for the IFC, OBE has played a vital role running information sessions and working groups that have delivered the rules and standards. Moving forward, OBE will play the role of the “Pilot Administrator” and will support and manage the pilot.

At the gala BSP event, the Director General received the standards and the financial community showed its commitment. The Open Finance Pilot is another step towards delivering Open Finance in the Philippines which will address the challenges of digital connectivity and financial inclusion in the region. 

During her address, The Chair of the Open Finance Oversight Committee Transition Group (OFOC TG), Maria Lourdes Jocelyn S. Pineda (Chair Long) thanked those involved adding, “I would like to acknowledge the role of our Pilot Administrator, Open Banking Exchange, that is going to playing a primary role as we move towards implementing Open Finance in the Philippines.”

During the event, the vision and scope of Open Finance was showcased, championing equal access to financial services for all Filipinos and building a cyber-resilient and open digital economy.

John Broxis, Managing Director, Open Banking Exchange commented: "In developing the standards for the Philippines, we've been able to take the best elements globally and mix these up to make a truly bespoke standard that can successfully evolve into Open Finance and beyond. What is exciting is that a suite of consent standards has been put in place that is first being used for banking but will later extend across the economy."

In November 2021, OBE was appointed originally to run an educational and blueprinting exercise with leading financial institutions in the Philippines. Since then, OBE has used its global methodology to match the policy aims of the central bank, the direction of the steering group and the realities of the market environment to create rules and standards and an implementation plan for the pilot announced today.

• 21.06.2023 -- 03:51 pm

Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys, today announced the winners of the annual Infosys Finacle Innovation Awards 2023. 43 financial institutions from across the world were recognized for actively pursuing innovative strategies to differentiate themselves and maintain a competitive edge in the banking industry. Since its inception, the Infosys Finacle Innovation Awards program aims to celebrate and inspire innovations within the ecosystem of Finacle-powered financial institutions.

In its 8th edition, the Infosys Finacle Innovation Awards received over 200 nominations from banks across the world in 10 award categories, under the overall theme of ‘Inspiring Better Banking’.  The winners were acknowledged for outstanding initiatives that made significant impact on the banking industry in the following categories:

• Product Innovation
• Channel Innovation
• Maximizing Customer Engagement
• Corporate Banking Innovation
• Ecosystem-led Innovation
• Process Innovation
• Transformation Excellence
• Modern Technologies-led Innovation
• Business Model Innovation
• ESG-led Innovation category

The nominations were evaluated by a panel of experts comprising senior leaders from the banking and technology industry, based on innovation, benefit, and complexity quotients.

The full list of the recognized banks and details of their award-winning innovations is available here.

Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer & Global Head, Infosys Finacle, said, “The significant number and diverse range of nominations received this year indicate the enduring commitment and emphasis on innovation by banks worldwide. The banking sector is undergoing unprecedented change, requiring banks to continually respond to market demands with customer-centric innovations in a bid to maintain their competitiveness and relevance. The Infosys Finacle Innovation Awards 2023 celebrates banks that prioritize innovation-led digital transformation. The nominees and winners in the awards program exemplify the relentless pursuit of the participating banks in delivering enhanced value to their customers and stakeholders. I extend my warmest congratulations to all the recognized banks and wish them continued success in 2023 and beyond.”

Greg O’Leary, Program Director, Digital Banking, Permanent TSB, said, “At Permanent TSB, we have been serving the needs of our customer for over 200 years with an ambition to be ‘Ireland’s best personal and small business bank’. Through our Digital Banking Transformation, we have sought to fundamentally improve the Customer Experience of our digital everyday banking offerings for existing and future customers. Our partnership with Infosys Finacle has enabled us to leverage their leading digital capabilities to build an exciting digital banking experience for our customers.”

Majid Muhammad, Chief Information Officer, Resimac Ltd., said, “Resimac’s business model composes value chains out of market capabilities. Applying this philosophy to our technology platforms, Resimac embarked on a multi-year, multi-vendor systems modernization and innovation program to provide a platform for future growth.  Partnering with Infosys Finacle gave the opportunity to scale our transformation and leverage industry-leading platforms and capabilities.  Implementing Finacle laid our future growth foundations and enables Resimac to deploy a significant uplift in digital capabilities to our customers.” 

Tammy TSE Pak Kin, Senior Vice President, Head of Information Technology, Fubon Bank HK Ltd., said, “Our Innovation strategy is centred around delivering exceptional experiences to our customers, and we have found that collaborating with Infosys Finacle has been instrumental in achieving this goal. Through this collaboration with Infosys Finacle, we have been able to leverage base product features available in the Finacle solution to create innovative products which meets our customer expectations and also ensure quick time to market. We look forward to Finacle helping us make ourselves into a more relevant bank for our customers’ growing digital needs.”

• 21.06.2023 -- 02:50 pm

Financial IT meets Ben Morfoot, Director Product Management of GoCardless at Money20/20 Europe 2023.

NCR Corporation, a leading enterprise technology provider, today announced that it has partnered with Members ATM Alliance (MAA), a credit union service organization (CUSO) that assists credit unions with ATM processing and management. Through the partnership, NCR’s ATM as a Service (ATMaaS) solution will be available to MAA’s participating credit unions.

MAA aggregates ATM-managed services for the credit unions in its alliance. The CUSO was looking to update its legacy ATM fleet while simplifying back-office operations through vendor consolidation. With NCR ATM as a Service, MAA will be able to streamline its managed services offering, including deployment, operations, software management, transaction processing and cash management, all of which were previously managed in-house or through multiple vendor relationships.

“As a CUSO, we’re dedicated to providing valuable resources and support to our member credit unions,” explained Lindsey Cole, Chief Operating Officer of MAA. “Leveraging NCR ATM as a Service directly supports this mission. Shifting ATM management to NCR will allow us to have a more robust, streamlined offering and free more time to collaborate with member credit unions on their business strategies. We are confident that this partnership strongly positions us for success as we continue to grow.”

“With our ATM as a Service solution, MAA will be able to improve self-directed banking for its credit unions, including expanded availability and uptime and access to the latest features, contributing to an enhanced member experience,” said Don Layden, EVP, president, ATM, Network & Banking, NCR. “At the same time, the CUSO will be able to reduce costs and complexities by sourcing more of the services they offer from a single vendor. We look forward to supporting MAA on this transformation.”

GoLogiq, Inc., a U.S.-based global provider of fintech and consumer data analytics, has appointed Hunter Gaylor as president and chief operating officer. He will oversee the company’s recently acquired GammaRey subsidiary and the company’s global expansion through further strategic acquisitions and product development.

GammaRey brought to GoLogiq a financial assets management business with nearly $800 million under advisement. GammaRey also introduced a pipeline of acquisition targets which GoLogiq has been pursuing.

Gaylor brings to GoLogiq a wealth of experience in driving international business development and successful acquisitions.

“Hunter’s experience, deep understanding of the global markets, and extensive network of key players in our industry made him the ideal candidate for spearheading our expansion across key regions, including the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Australia," stated GoLogiq CEO, Brent Suen. "We anticipate Hunter playing a pivotal role in propelling the development of our asset management business as we intensify our focus on this global growth opportunity."

The appointment follows GoLogiq’s recently announced sale of its fintech assets to Recruiter.com Group, a recruiting solutions provider. Given GoLogiq’s new focus on asset management that was created by the GammaRey acquisition, the board of GoLogiq believes the transaction with Recruiter.com will create greater shareholder value versus maintaining the Fintech assets itself. It also enables GoLogiq to become a pure-play wealth management company with a more clearly definable market valuation.

“I am excited to join GoLogiq at this transformative stage in its development and help lead its global expansion,” stated Gaylor. “The company's commitment to innovation and its strong foundation of assets provides a solid platform for growth. I am excited to leverage our resources and expertise to drive strategic acquisitions, forge valuable partnerships, and position GoLogiq as a global leader in wealth asset management.”

Hunter Gaylor Bio
As an industry-leading executive in the aviation, media and technology, insurance, and commercial hospitality industries, Gaylor brings to GoLogiq deep experience in corporate development and supply chain management. This includes extensive corporate negotiation experience with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, government agencies, and foreign leaders.

Gaylor serves an international relations advisor to Wall Street Capital Partners, a firm dedicated to assisting corporate clients who are seeking expansion through investment, financing, M&A and dynamic growth strategies. He has assisted the firm in raising more than $1 billion in capital. He also currently serves as a board member for the Harvard Aerospace and Defense Alumni Organization.

He is a co-host and global markets contributor to the popular show, “New to the Street,” which airs on Newsmax, Fox Business, and Bloomberg, and is the award-winning author of the book, “Planes Plants & Politics.”

He holds a Bachelor's of Liberal Arts with a focus on international studies and economics from Harvard University, and has a certificate from OxfordX, an online learning initiative of University of Oxford.

Digital banking innovator Tyfone, Inc. today announced its strategic partnership with Star One Credit Union to implement the credit union’s new instant payment solution, which has been certified for FedNow^SM, the Federal Reserve’s new, highly anticipated instant payment offering launching in July 2023.

Tyfone partnered with Star One Credit Union to build the new platform-agnostic solution, which will seamlessly integrate to financial institutions’ core processing systems and enable connectivity to payment originators and digital banking providers through Tyfone’s open API’s. Through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service, account holders can send and receive payments any time, any day, anywhere, and have full access to those funds immediately.

This latest Tyfone solution will allow financial institutions of all sizes to directly connect to the FedNow Service for credit transfer send and receive message sets, with additional message sets to be launched soon. Furthering this initiative, Star One has also completed its certification for the FedNow Service, making it one of the credit union industry’s first adopters, earning this designation after thorough testing and ensuring the ability to operate in an instant payments environment.

With over $10.2 billion in assets, Star One Credit Union is one of Silicon Valley's largest financial institutions and ranks 19^th in total assets among all U.S. credit unions. By partnering on this effort, Star One and Tyfone worked together to create an instant payment offering that will not only serve Star One and its members, but will also be a payment originator and digital banking platform-agnostic solution designed from a financial institution’s unique perspective to ensure it meets the needs of financial institutions across the country.

“Together with Tyfone, we are advancing instant payments adoption in the United States and helping to fulfill the end-to-end instant payment ecosystem,” said Minal Gupta, VP of Remote Services of Star One Credit Union. “We look forward to working with Tyfone’s team to create a solution for financial institutions of all sizes, regardless of what payment providers or digital banking platform they use.”

“Today’s consumers and businesses not only want quick, simple and instant ways to facilitate payments, but they expect a unified, consistent user experience,” said Tyfone CEO Dr. Siva Narendra. “Our partnership with Star One Credit Union allows us to build a solution that aligns with financial institutions’ unique needs and ensures greater accessibility. Our goal is to help scale this service and unlock the tremendous potential instant payments offers financial institutions and account holders.”

Narendra went on to cite that nearly 90 per cent of financial institutions, payments facilitators and other businesses are currently preparing to implement FedNow, according to a survey released during the Nacha Smarter Faster Payments conference in April. However, over half of respondents believe that the biggest challenge to faster payments adoption is limited availability of services and interoperability. Over 71 per cent said it was “very important” for faster payments to achieve interoperability with other such systems, according to the results released. 

The survey also outlined the biggest potential use cases for faster payments, with person-to-person payments cited the most at 49 per cent, followed by payment disbursements at 46 per cent, and bill pay at 45 per cent. Also worth noting is that while 80 per cent of respondents say they had implemented Zelle – ranking second only behind same-day ACH payments – it had low ratings, pointing to a need for better payment solutions that leverage FedNow.

At present, Tyfone's digital banking platform and platform-agnostic digital business solutions have been adopted by over 100 community financial institutions across the nation. Tyfone's technologies are available to nearly 10 million account holders providing efficient and seamless digital access. With the implementation of an instant payment solution, both as a standalone and as an integrated service, Tyfone fortifies its standing as a premier digital provider for community financial institutions. This strategic positioning is set to broaden the reach of instant payments to millions of Americans, further transforming the landscape of digital financial transactions.