As one of five selected companies by the European Central Bank (ECB), Worldline, a global leader in payment services, is proud to announce its participation in the offline digital euro front-end prototype testing, as part of the ECB investigation exercise.

Meanwhile, the ECB has published its report which provides consolidated insights on the 5 prototypes, to test how design choices for the digital euro could be implemented, technically, and integrated into the existing European payments landscape.

Worldline delivered the person-to-person (P2P) fully offline payment use-case, allowing individuals to make payments using the digital euro, even when no party involved has network access.

The prototype’s success confirms the technological feasibility and industrial scaling potential of the offline scenario, contributing to a more resilient payment system. However, the prototypes will be discarded for the next phases of the project to ensure a level playing field for the entire industry.

Security is in our DNA

With security playing an important role in offline transactions, Worldline developed a highly secure solution, based on a hardware tamper-proof secure element, embedded in a mobile phone.

The end-to-end solution ensures the highest level of security across the whole chain of institutions and actors, leveraging cryptographic signatures, to manage their specific critical financial operations linked to offline digital money. This includes:

·   A central bank component to manage offline money supply.

·   A trusted intermediaries gateway to integrate with ECB’s back-end infrastructure and manage customers wallet portfolio, enabling funding and defunding operations but also KYC/AML/CFT compliance to regulations amongst others.

·   A mobile wallet app for users who may execute consecutive offline payments to peers in an easy, secure and convenient manner through a proximity NFC communication channel.

Beyond the technological security stack, a regular online reconciliation of offline wallets data is enforced to allow an effective mitigation of inherent risks and detect anomalies.

Finally, the prototype has been designed for smooth integration with offline solutions based on different technologies, to maximise market compatibility and adoption rate in a heterogenous offline wallet landscape.

Ready for the payment industry evolution

Worldline is well-positioned and is engaging in the upcoming evolution of central bank money and European payments.

Marc-Henri Desportes, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Worldline said “Worldline, as a European player and mastering the entire end-to-end payment value chain is very proud of the successful delivery of a person-to-person offline digital euro front-end prototype.
The ability to pay without an Internet connection could contribute to the resilience and user convenience of a potential digital cash equivalent”.

OneID®, the UK-based digital identity company, has today announced it has teamed up with HR tech and fintech firm, Avvanz, to enable frictionless employee screening and onboarding using identity technology.

Screening and onboarding new hires are critical parts of an Employee Lifecycle Management process. They can be cumbersome and time-consuming and hence leveraging technologies can help the process immensely reducing turnaround time whilst simplifying the process and staying compliant with the data privacy acts and other regulatory requirements.

This is what Avvanz has done through its multi-award-winning ScreenGlobal platform that helps more than 2,000 companies across the globe, mitigate people-related risks. This platform provides an “Amazon-like” experience to easily order more than 20 types of background checks across 150+ countries. This expansive coverage helps give firms assurance in their background screening checks, regardless of where a candidate has previously studied, worked or lived in.

A common challenge in the background screening industry is having absolute certainty in who an individual claims to be. The identity of a talent recruitment professional and/or a candidate needs to be confirmed so that false information does not enter the recruitment/screening process – essential for businesses to remain compliant with Data Privacy Acts.

OneID®’s integration with Avvanz adds essential digital identity verification to Background Screening. This enables firms to digitally verify identities in just a few seconds, reducing recruitment times and speeding up onboarding. The service uses bank-verified data, meaning organisations can be confident that their applicants are who they say they are, right from the outset. It also improves the reliability and security of checks, providing a fast, safe, streamlined experience for both hiring organisations and applicants.

OneID® is a certified Identity Service Provider (IDS) for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks that instantly gives firms low-cost ID verification for various screening checks that do not require ID documents to be scanned. By signing up and signing in via the OneID® journey, passwords will be a thing of the past for Avvanz users, making the screening process more streamlined and frictionless. The partnership also promotes inclusion by providing the ability to instantly verify the identity of circa 50 million UK citizens.

Keith Mabbitt, Chief Customer Officer of OneID®, commented: “Screening is an important process for risk mitigation, but it is time-consuming, manual and not suited to the digital world we live in today. With Avvanz, we are providing firms with assurances on the identity of their applicants, while offering a faster, streamlined experience for applicants. This is just one of many use cases for our unique digital identity solution and we look forward to sharing the benefits with a wide range of sectors in the coming year.”

Kannan Chettiar, CEO of Avvanz, commented: “It’s important that we embrace technologies that can streamline manual processes to make HR professionals’ lives easier. We believe identity technology has huge potential in this space and are looking forward to streamlining the screening of prospective candidates which will bring huge benefits to both hiring managers and applicants.”

Murex, the global leader in trading, risk and processing solutions for capital markets, is pleased to announce that its integrating MX.3 platform can now be connected with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Real-Time – Optimized solution when MX.3 is hosted on Amazon Web Services.

Real-Time – Optimized provides financial firms with fast and simple access to real-time market data from hundreds of exchanges and OTC markets around the world via the cloud.

This connectivity innovation enables Murex clients to choose how they want to retrieve real-time market data in the MX.3 platform. Using the same connectivity, they can choose between three possible deployment models offered by LSEG.

• Real-Time – Optimized (RTO): With this newly supported deployment model, both MX.3 and real-time infrastructure are deployed on AWS. It offers a quick and easy access to LSEG’s reliable market data.
• Real-Time Managed Distribution Service (RTMDS): Real-time infrastructure is deployed in LSEG’s private cloud and managed by LSEG.
• Real-Time Distribution System (RTDS deployed): Real-time infrastructure is deployed on-premises and managed by the client.

Murex continuously invests to facilitate clients’ transitions to the cloud. As data providers embrace the cloud and offer managed services, the Murex cloud journey includes expanding out-of-the-box connectivity so clients can fully benefit from the latest LSEG Real-Time – Optimized innovations.

“We are happy to be collaborating with LSEG on the cloud,” said Alexandre Belingard, head of market data connectivity at Murex. “The ability to install MX.3 and plug it easily and quickly with the Real-Time – Optimized feed on the cloud enables clients to reallocate their resources in tasks that create added value and differentiation.”

"We are delighted to be extending the partnership between Murex and LSEG, which sees Murex integrating with our cloud-based Enterprise Data Solutions,” commented Stuart Brown, group head of enterprise data solutions at LSEG. “MX.3 is the key front-to-back-to-risk platform for many of our customers and we are now able to power this solution through our recent data innovations. This is another great example of how an LSEG business is making real-time, historical and reference data access more open, accessible, and efficient for the financial markets.”

TS Imagine, the leading global, cross-asset provider of trading, portfolio, and risk management solutions for financial institutions, is pleased to announce the appointments of Stephanie Cheung and An Hoong to its team in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Both bring highly relevant experience from previous roles at Enfusion and will be key to TS Imagine’s growth and business development plans in the APAC market.

Stephanie Cheung joins as a Sales Director. She was previously a Strategic Account Manager at Enfusion covering hedge funds, family offices and asset management firms in APAC. Her previous financial investment experience includes roles at Trust Company of the West (TCW), and CBRE Investors, where she focused on structured finance, fixed income, and commercial real estate investments in the US. Stephanie is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin and will be based in Hong Kong.

An Hoong joins TS Imagine’s Account Management team and will be responsible for providing technical account management and support to clients in Hong Kong across trading, portfolio management, and risk management. He brings over 15 years of experience in financial services account management for global financial software vendors, including a proven track record of driving revenue growth and establishing strong relationships with clients during his time at firms including Enfusion, Dealogic and Cantor Fitzgerald. An speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin and will be based in Hong Kong.

These appointments follow TS Imagine's recent appointment of Sim Johal as Head of Asia Pacific, and the launch of two new solutions - TS One and RiskSmart X – in 2023.

"Stephanie and An bring extensive experience serving clients across our industry, and we are thrilled to welcome them," said Rob Flatley, CEO at TS Imagine. "We are building a formidable team of seasoned professionals in APAC who will drive our business forward and deliver exceptional value to our clients as we continue to strengthen our presence in the region."

New solutions launched in 2023

On May 3^rd, TS Imagine launched TS One, a comprehensive, cross-asset class solution designed for sophisticated investing teams. TS One empowers hedge funds and other financial institutions to streamline their operations, access global markets, and leverage advanced risk management models through a unified and intuitive interface.

On March 7^th, TS Imagine launched RiskSmart X, a powerful cross-asset class risk solution for risk managers at banks and other financial institutions.

Leading online pension provider, PensionBee, today launches its new protection insurance offering in partnership with the UK’s leading tech-driven life protection specialist, LifeSearch. 

PensionBee customers can now purchase fully digital mortgage and family life insurance, in addition to critical illness cover, via a simple compare, apply and buy online process, with LifeSearch’s expert advisers available for consumers who require advice or guidance. 

Together, PensionBee and LifeSearch hope to support pension savers to protect the life they love, so they can save towards retirement more confidently, with the peace of mind that they are protected from any future financial shocks that may impact their income such as sickness, injury or death.

In addition, PensionBee customers are also able to set up pension beneficiaries in their BeeHive (account dashboard), to ensure their pension savings are left to their loved ones. 

Romi Savova, CEO of PensionBee, commented: “Pensions and life insurance go hand-in-hand, providing savers and their loved ones greater financial security for the future.  While a pension can help savers meet their costs in retirement, life insurance is an essential step in helping prevent financial difficulties that can arise from an unexpected passing. Yet, despite their importance, pension and life insurance products can often be seen as inaccessible and complex or overlooked until much later on in life. 

Our new partnership with LifeSearch aims to make planning ahead as easy as possible, so our customers are able to consider protection from the start of their saving journey, creating a future of financial freedom for all, whatever their aspirations.”

Debbie Kennedy, Chief Executive at LifeSearch said: “With our shared values and likeminded approach to empowering our customers, we are delighted to partner with PensionBee.  Their use of smart technology combined with dedicated customer service, is very much in line with our hybrid digital-first approach, supported offline by our team of expert advisers.

With our ambitions to grow the protection market, particularly among younger consumers, and to embrace technology in our sector, this is a fantastic opportunity to support PensionBee’s customers with a seamless online journey, improving access to expert advice and most importantly, feel assured they have found the best cover that is right for them and their needs.”

Fintech Week London, the must-attend event for the fintech industry, has announced an impressive line-up of speakers for its flagship conference on 19 to 20 June, with Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London for Business, and, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith MP, among the influential voices taking to the stage.

Taking place at the innovative Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the forward-thinking two-day conference will bring international leaders from the worlds of fintech and financial services together in London, a primary global hub for both sectors. 

Now, the first batch of exciting, world-class thought leaders from a wide range of leading companies and organisations has been announced for this year’s event, which includes:

• Rajesh Agrawal (Deputy Mayor of London for Business)

• Tom Bentley (NatWest Mettle)

• Joel Blake OBE (GFA Exchange)

• Simon Boonen (ING)

• Charlotte Crosswell (CFIT)

• Craig Fox (Silicon Valley Bank)

• Andrew Griffith MP

• Matthew Long (FCA)

• Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly (FIS)

• Betsy Samuel (Thredd)

• Louise Smith (Innovate Finance)

• Sabine VanderLinden (Alchemy Crew)

• Sam White (Freedom Group)

Keynote speakers and panel discussions will put the spotlight on the hot topics of Embedded Finance, ESG, Crypto, Metaverse, Insurtech, Data Risk and Fraud, Trending in Fintech and Fintech for Good. Following the two-day conference, the week will continue with the Fintech Awards London ceremony on Wednesday and further exciting and thought-provoking events and talks till Friday.

Fintech Week London has developed a reputation as a must-attend event for anyone in the fintech industry. This year’s event has the inspiring theme of 'From Flux to Flow: Evolving the future of finance’, with a focus on how fintech can respond to a challenging year that has been dominated by funding concerns and talent shortages, as well as broader geopolitical tensions and conflicts.  

In addition to dealing with ongoing sector issues, Fintech Week London will also focus on other relevant discussions happening across fintech right now, including the rise of embedded finance solutions, the growing importance of fintech for good and the ever-expanding role of cryptocurrencies across our daily lives. In doing so, the event aims to go further than ever before in delivering a landmark event for those working in the sector. 

Raf De Kimpe, CEO of Fintech Week London commented: “With just weeks until the start of Fintech Week London, we are thrilled with the calibre of speakers that has been announced today. This distinguished lineup features senior decision-makers from top fintechs, banks, investment firms, regulatory bodies, and even representatives from the UK and regional governments. Their presence underscores the exceptional value and insights that attendees can expect from this year's event. 

“One of the things that makes Fintech Week London so unique is the emphasis it puts on discussions and networking. Our amazing speaker line-up will add incredible value in this area. Those who visit this year’s event will find a conference full of high-stakes discussions, as well as individuals and businesses who want to effectively tackle the most salient issues affecting fintech and financial services right now.” 

Tickets for Fintech Week London are now available to book, to find out more information please visit: https://www.fintechweek.london/

Tezos India, a leading blockchain platform driving innovation and adoption in India, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Tweed, a pioneer in providing compliant and plug-and-play Software Development Kits (SDKs) for self-custodial wallets. This collaboration aims to revolutionize the user experience and accelerate the mainstream adoption of blockchain technology, particularly on the Tezos network.

Tweed's comprehensive white-label SDK encompasses key management, wallet features, and a secure payment layer. By partnering with Tezos India, Tweed will help platforms and brands effortlessly deploy self-custodial wallets for their users, eliminating the regulatory burden associated with custody. The transparent flow of Tweed's solution, coupled with seamless onboarding through social logins, will facilitate the transition of Web2 users to the Tezos ecosystem, ensuring frictionless experiences that enhance overall platform activity.

Tweed's payment functionalities include credit card-to-NFT purchases, offering mainstream users and individuals from different chains a seamless payment experience. Backed by renowned venture capital firm Accel and operating from Tel Aviv and New York, Tweed has already gained substantial traction in the Tezos ecosystem as the sole white-label wallet-as-a-service provider. Moreover, Tweed's dedication to enhancing user experience and security has led to the development of Tezos-specific features like wallet auto-reveal, mitigating any potential user experience issues during NFT drops.

"Tezos India is excited to partner with Tweed to bring the power of self-custodial wallets to mainstream users," said Om Malviya, President at Tezos India. "Tweed's exceptional technology and commitment to user experience perfectly align with our vision of driving widespread adoption of blockchain technology. Together, we aim to provide a seamless and secure platform for individuals and brands to leverage the immense potential of Tezos."

"We are delighted to collaborate with Tezos India to further advance the reach of self-custodial wallets," stated Michelle Latzer, Cofounder & CEO at Tweed. "The Tezos network attracts quality projects, including many Web2 brands who are targeting mainstream users and require a white-label experience that keeps their brand at the forefront. This speaks directly to Tweed’s core value proposition, with the emphasis on security, compliance, and user experience that we believe can bring more web2 users - and well as web3 users from other chains - to the Tezos ecosystem.”

F-Secure and la Mobilière, Switzerland’s oldest private insurance company, are elevating the cyber insurance offering of la Mobilière for private individuals with enhanced identity protection and online security services.

Customers of la Mobilière will now receive F‑Secure Total protection as part of their cyber insurance for private individuals. In addition to a complete ID monitoring solution, Total secures personal data such as credit card numbers and banking credentials with virus and ransomware protection, browser and banking protection, and a VPN — all in a single app.

“Adding complete, best-in-class identity and online protection will help the industry-leading cyber insurance offering of la Mobilière to stand out even more,” said Kenneth Olander, F-Secure’s Senior Business Development Manager. “Customers looking to reduce risk will now have access to solution that will help them feel totally safe and relaxed on all their devices.”

A recent F-Secure survey found that more than eight out of ten, 81%, of internet users feel internet security is the most important part of a cyber care package, nearly doubling customers’ second and third choices, insurance, 47%, and education, 44%. 84% of consumers also expect home insurance to contain internet security and insurance for cybercrime, presenting the opportunity for insurance companies to extend their offering and respond to a growing consumer need.

“With F-Secure Total, we complete our cyber insurance for private individuals in the best possible way,” said Thomas Sonderegger, Head of Product Management Household Insurance at la Mobilière. “Thanks to the combination of an extensive insurance coverage with added services, we not only help our customers in the event of a claim, we also enable them to be as well protected as possible against cyber risks.”

F-Secure’s survey also found that than seven out of ten consumers see insurance companies as trusted providers of internet security, slightly preferring insurers over both online and retail stores.

“Insurers continue to embrace F-Secure Total as a perfect companion to their cyber insurance offering,” Olander said. “Both the providers and their customers love how Total protects against the growing number of cyber threats that target financial data.”

Freedom Finance, one of the UK’s leading digital lending marketplaces and embedded finance providers, has launched a number of significant upgrades and changes to its platform, completed with zero downtime.

The fintech has upgraded its Cloud and API platform to allow a new level of scalability as part of their drive towards an embedded finance ecosystem. The upgrades enable Freedom Finance to onboard new embedded finance partners through automated software processes within 60 minutes – a fraction of the time. 

Freedom Finance’s embedded finance partners can access an entire marketplace of financial products all via an API. This allows brands to seamlessly offer their customers personal credit solutions 24-7 through their own digital platform.

The upgrades were recently utilised through Freedom Finance’s new partnership that will power Money Expert’s consumer credit proposition.

Finally, the business has launched a new Lender Performance Index to help their lenders better understand how they perform within their marketplace. The index has been positively received and is set to drive lenders to make more competitive offers, while delivering better outcomes for customers using the platform.

Freedom Finance is a leading UK digital lending marketplace providing unsecured personal loans, credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. Customers can access over 100 of the UK’s leading lenders and service providers through the platform, and the fintech also delivers embedded finance services for high-street brands like Argos, Asda, Creation, RAC, The Co-Op Bank, and many more.

Nick Allen, Chief Technology Officer at Freedom Finance, commented: “Innovation is core both to our mission of increasing access to the credit market and as a leading fintech. The continued development of our platform is vital to meeting our principles of putting the customer at the heart of our services, ensuring the highest quality product and reducing friction throughout the customer journey. 

“Over the past year we have successfully onboarded 29 new products, deployed 952 changes to our platform and virtually halved the average response time for customers to find offers. I am thrilled to see the significant progress we have made, especially considering the long-term compound impact of our efforts, and this puts Freedom Finance in a fantastic position to achieve our exciting growth objectives.”

Ebury, a leading global fintech specialising in international payments, FX solutions and business lending, announces plans to strengthen its proposition in Brazil and Latin America. 

Expansion in Latin America is a key area of Ebury’s global growth strategy and builds on its acquisition of Bexs, which was announced last year. Bexs is a Brazilian bank with over 30 years of experience in international payments and FX risk management. It also offers foreign trade solutions for SMEs and scalable technological solutions (API) to major digital players such as Nubank, Ebanx, Nuvei and PPRO. 

As part of its growth plans, Ebury will strengthen its team in Brazil and launch more products locally,  such as their multi-currency accounts, which will be a game-changer for Brazilian importers and exporters. 

Ebury will also be able to bring product upgrades to its Brazilian operations. It has invested heavily in scalable API solutions for businesses, such as its white-labelled proposition, which seamlessly integrates with third-party systems. Other launches include the expansion of their  Currency Account offering, increasing global coverage. 'Ebury recently launched its 11th local  Currency Account in Singapore (SGD), which positions them as a leading market player, offering the  most comprehensive suite of local collection accounts in the industry.' 

Ebury will announce its detailed plan as part of its participation in Money 20/20 Europe, to be held from June 6 to 8 in Amsterdam. The event brings together fintechs from around the world to exchange experiences and knowledge about the universe of payments and other innovations, such as cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, and artificial intelligence. 

Fernando Pierri, Global Chief Commercial Officer at Ebury based in Brazil commented: "We are delighted to be showcasing Ebury’s expansion plan and new digital solutions at Money 20/20. Brazil  is an important growth area for Ebury – it is a country of continental dimensions with over 170 million  people connected to the internet, offering tremendous potential for growth in international trade.” 

“As markets are increasingly connected globally, Ebury’s services are designed to deliver secure,  frictionless international transactions whilst giving businesses greater confidence to deal with FX  volatility. Our expansion will digitally connect Brazilian importers and exporters to Asia, North  America, Europe and other regions.”