Equifax UK has announced today that its Open Banking technology will be the catalyst for a new partnership with Digilytics AI. Together, the two companies are launching new software which will help lenders to reduce decisioning time so that end users can get responses to mortgage, auto and business loan applications more quickly. 

Open Banking technology from Equifax, combined with Digilytics AI’s engine, should make loan applications faster and easier by automating the origination process, allowing lenders to quickly and accurately assess affordability and cash flow data. 

Consumers and businesses choosing to allow access to their banking apps and digital financial records can leverage Open Banking for a simple and quick submission via a mobile app as part of a streamlined user experience. 

Equifax clients will also have access to Digilytics RevEl Intelligent Affordability Service (RIA) to help businesses automate data capture when borrowers supply copies of bank statements and other documentation as part of the same experience. This can be launched from existing portals and loan origination systems with digital document upload for guaranteed extraction of data.  

The adoption of Open Banking is growing fast in the financial services sector, and this is no different in the mortgage, auto and business lending market. There are now a reported 6.5 million¹ Open Banking users across the UK and Equifax lender data shows that 75%² of applicants are now more likely to choose Open Banking over more traditional, and more manual, methods to share additional data for affordability.  

The partnership between Equifax and Digilytics AI can help automate data capture and processing when interacting with the other 25% of applicants who choose not to or are unable to give lenders Open Banking permissions.

Equifax clients can use Digilytics AI technology to automatically scan bank statements provided by consumers who opt-out of Open Banking and turn these into actionable bank transaction data insights delivered via Equifax APIs.  

Lenders who currently use this technology report up to:  

• 30% reduction in time to offer; 
• 40% increase in productivity; 
• 15% increase in gross lending, as consumer lending journeys can be fast-tracked whether a consumer chooses to use Open Banking or not.  

Mike Coley, Product Director at Equifax UK said: “The typical process in the secured lending industry requires significant manual processing of documents with multiple resubmissions, especially when data is not available via the Open Banking route. Digilytics capabilities complement our Open Banking solutions to provide a comprehensive proposition that is agnostic to the way borrowers choose to share data. We already work with a number of mortgage and secured lending clients to help them use Open Banking. This partnership allows them to invest in a single capability to access and assess a borrower’s affordability position, regardless of how the data is shared.” 

Arindom Basu, Founder and CEO at Digilytics AI said: “This collaboration with Equifax will help tackle borrower journeys where Open Banking consent is not available. The AI technology will make categorised and accurate bank statement affordability or cash flow information collected from uploaded documents available via the Equifax dashboard or through Open Banking APIs. 

“This ensures that the consumer, auto-finance, and business-finance lending journeys are streamlined, as lending decisions can be fast-tracked whether they choose to opt into Open Banking or not. This is a very exciting time in the lending and AI space, and we’re extending this capability to other documents such as payslips, tax and business financial documents. We’re proud to be collaborating with Equifax to be launching this new software product.” 

Leading financial services provider, UEZ Markets, is excited to announce its participation as a Regional Sponsor at the iFX EXPO Asia 2023, one of the largest B2B financial events in the world. The three-day event will take place from June 20-22, 2023, at the prestigious Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld in Bangkok, Thailand.

The iFX EXPO Asia has a long-standing reputation for bringing together industry leaders, experts, and innovators in the financial industry to share and explore the latest developments and trends in the market. With over 100 speakers and extensive public discussions among industry experts, the expo offers unparalleled opportunities for companies specializing in compliance, digital assets, and blockchain to grow their businesses and exchange ideas.

As a Regional Sponsor of the iFX EXPO Asia 2023, UEZ Markets will have a prominent presence at the event. We are excited to showcase our advanced trading technologies, including AI-based trading algorithms, intuitive trading platforms, and seamless payment solutions. Our team of experts will be available to answer any questions and provide insights into the latest industry developments.

UEZ Markets has developed a cutting-edge trading platform that caters to the needs of both novice and experienced traders. With a diverse range of trading instruments, including forex, stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, our platform offers clients access to various tools and resources to make informed trading decisions. We prioritize transparency, integrity, and trust, and are committed to providing a fair and ethical trading environment that adheres to the highest regulatory standards.

In addition to our innovative trading platform, we are proud to introduce two revolutionary tools designed to enhance the trading experience of our clients. Our NEURON AI trading technology utilizes advanced algorithms to analyze market data, providing real-time signals for profitable trades. Furthermore, our UMaster Smart Investment Advisory System offers personalized investment recommendations based on traders' preferences and risk tolerance. These cutting-edge systems demonstrate UEZ's commitment to providing innovative solutions and empowering traders to achieve their financial goals.

The iFX EXPO has attracted over 3,000 attendees and features 100+ speakers, making it one of the world's largest financial B2B exhibitions. Attendees can look forward to gaining valuable insights from industry leaders, networking with peers and partners, and exploring business opportunities across the region. The event will offer a rich program of workshops, panels, and discussions covering topics such as forex, fintech, blockchain, and payments.

UEZ Markets is thrilled to be part of the iFX EXPO Asia 2023 and looks forward to meeting with clients and partners from around the region. This event provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our products and services, network with industry leaders, and stay abreast of the latest market trends and developments. 

Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to attend the largest financial B2B expo in the world. Join UEZ Markets and other leading companies at the iFX EXPO Asia 2023 in Bangkok from June 20-22, 2023. We look forward to seeing you there!

FinTech Wales, the independent membership association and champion of the Tech and Financial Services industry in Wales, has recruited Ollie Vincent as its Office and Community Manager. The not-for-profit organisation has also moved to its first office in the centre of Cardiff, featuring a variety of high-quality work and event spaces that are available to members and advocates of the Welsh FinTech ecosystem.   

Ollie Vincent joins from DESG, where he spent over two years as Head of Operations, developing DESG from a building site to an award-winning co-working and event space. In his new role, Ollie will be leading the community engagement by working closely with our members to understand their needs, and welcoming visitors from all over the world who are keen to see what Welsh FinTechs have to offer.

Sarah Williams-Gardener, CEO at FinTech Wales, said on the new appointment: “Ollie joining our team and the opening of our first office further demonstrates our commitment to fostering an ecosystem where FinTech startups and established financial institutions can collaborate. The experience and skills that Ollie brings to his role will be of huge value to our members, and to the FinTech Wales team, as we build more industry opportunities fostering industry innovation and supporting partnerships.”

“Ollie’s event management and customer service expertise and his history of working with a huge range of businesses will allow us to expand massively upon our mission to establish and empower Wales as a globally recognised hub of FinTech excellence. With Ollie’s appointment and our new office we can now host various events in our own space to bring the community together where our members can share industry insights and collaborate with one another. 

“We’ve already hosted a number of successful events in our new home, including roundtable discussions for our members with The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Welsh and UK Government Officials, and the Lord Mayor of the City of London, as well as welcoming investors, embassies and FinTechs from all over the world. We also host a series of monthly events, which are extremely valued by our members, including networking breakfasts, fireside and panel events, and lunch and learn sessions on a variety of relevant topics.

“Moving into our first physical office in the city centre is a huge step forward for us to be able to deliver even more for our members, and invite people from all over the world to see and experience the thriving FinTech ecosystem Wales has to offer.” 

FinTech Wales launched in April 2019 to provide an independent voice for the FinTech industry, both within Wales and beyond, to champion and maximise the potential for all businesses in this sector.

Their mission is to create a fully inclusive and supportive FinTech ecosystem that enables FinTechs to flourish and succeed thanks to the availability of the best talent, skills and investment, enabling the welsh FinTech ecosystem to make a tangible impact on the global and local stage. 

Through their highly-regarded skills strategy to create a constant pipeline of talent required by FinTechs to thrive, FinTech Wales has recorded an 81% success rate in the first year of their Coding and Data Academies, and their award winning accelerator programme, The Foundry, has taken 23 FinTech startups through a ten week programme who have collectively achieved over £20 million investment and created 150 jobs in Wales.  Their new city centre office is now key to their strategy to create the most collaborative ecosystem in the world. 

BNY Mellon today announced the expansion of its short-term investment platform, LiquidityDirect, to incorporate access to mutual funds, enhanced Focused Investing options, interest-bearing demand deposit accounts and sponsored cleared repo Sweep capabilities to help companies maximize liquidity, manage risks and improve performance. Driven by client demand, these enhancements provide corporate treasurers and other finance executives with a comprehensive platform for leveraging more than 100 investment vehicles. 

The expansion also unlocks additional value via integration with SAP’s Treasury Management workstation, creating efficiencies for self-directed cash management, payments and investments. These developments build on LiquidityDirect’s existing platform integration with several other leading treasury workstations and cash management systems, including Indus Valley Partners, G Treasury and Hazeltree.

Adam Vos, CEO of BNY Mellon Markets & Execution Services, said: “Throughout market cycles, the global demand for liquidity remains paramount for all market participants. A critical component to meeting clients’ needs is providing integrated access from a single source to an array of liquidity solutions. We have built—and now significantly enhanced—our LiquidityDirect platform to offer clients exactly these types of innovative solutions, to meet their dynamic investment and risk criteria as they execute on their liquidity strategy.”

As an important value add, LiquidityDirect provides access to the BOLD® (Black Opportunity for Learning and Development) Share Class on Dreyfus Government Cash Management, offered exclusively through BNY Mellon, so clients can easily make a direct social impact. Since launching, assets in the BOLD® Share Class have grown nearly eightfold, now totaling an estimated $4.8bn as of May 12, 2023. In addition, 10% of the BOLD® shares’ net revenue will be donated to Howard University’s Graduation Retention Access to Continued Excellence grant annually. 

Building on the success of BOLD®, LiquidityDirect has bolstered its Focused Investing offering by adding new investment options, including share classes offered through veteran-, women- and minority-owned broker-dealers, as well as Minority Depository Institutions. This augments the platform’s existing Focused Investing capabilities powered by its own ESG Data Analytics.

George Maganas, Global Head of Liquidity Services, BNY Mellon, said: “Our clients have conveyed a need to streamline management of their short-term investments – and we listened. Through the expansion of our LiquidityDirect product suite, we are providing them with a comprehensive set of short-term investment options through a single point-of-access. We will continue evolving the platform to enhance our clients’ experience by incorporating the latest market developments, investment options with seamless integration and data management they demand.” 

Despite its touted simplicity, social trading can pose a real challenge when it comes to following experienced and knowledgeable traders, especially for those who are just starting out. Finding the right information, keeping up with the latest market trends and price action can get overwhelming. That’s where the ZuluTrade Social Feed comes in.

Being one of the core elements of the newly revamped ZuluTrade social trading platform, the Social Feed connects all the stakeholders involved in the investment process at a deeper level. Enhancing ZuluTrade’s platform capabilities beyond following and copying Leaders’ strategies, the feed empowers users to leverage the know-how of other Investors and Leaders by creating a community that shares information and insights for users to consider.

Once they sign up, users can easily access relevant information and connect with other Investors or Leaders by following, liking, and commenting on their posts. Additionally, they can share posts on their social media handles to expand their reach and attract more followers.

One of the great features of ZuluTrade’s Social Feed is the ability to upload photos and videos. This allows users to share market insights and analysis in a visual and engaging way. With a community sharing their ideas, users can gain inspiration and insights to trade new markets they may not have previously considered.

“The Social Feed is one of the strongest elements of our social investing ecosystem,” says ZuluTrade CEO, Tajinder Virk. 

“It is an empowering tool that not only encourages interaction between Leaders and Investors, it can also serve as an invaluable source of trading-related information and practice.”

Offering a smooth user experience and navigation, the feed comes with a simple layout design that provides easy access to the trending hashtags, displayed on the right-hand side of the page. By following the right hashtags, users gain access to a wealth of trending news and analysis posted by other community members. Furthermore, they can search and create hashtags, thus allowing others to contribute to relevant conversations and stay up-to-date with the latest market trends. On top of this, users also have the ability to curate their feed to focus on topics that interest them the most.

Upgraded and enlivened by all these new features, ZuluTrade’s Social Feed is the go-to platform for all levels of investors, from beginners to experienced traders. Regardless of your experience, you have the freedom to express yourself and share your insights. This creates an inclusive and supportive community that fosters information exchange and collaboration.

With an active community of Investors and Leaders and easy access to a wealth of information, the Social Feed provides a platform for users to connect and learn from each other.

Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, today announced that it has been selected as Zara’s payments partner to process all payments for the retailer’s pre-owned clothing marketplace, Zara Pre-Owned. Zara will use Stripe Connect to move funds between buyers and sellers of pre-owned Zara products.

With Zara Pre-Owned, Zara offers its customers a simple resale opportunity to extend the lifetime of their products. Owners take pictures of their unwanted Zara products, which are then cross-referenced with Zara’s product portfolio, giving potential buyers detailed information on the items they wish to purchase. The platform also offers Zara customers other sustainable choices, like the option to donate their clothes or request a repair.

Stripe Connect enables Zara to embed Stripe’s global payments platform directly into the Zara Pre-Owned marketplace, offloading all payments-related requirements onto Stripe, while keeping the customer experience fully Zara branded.

Zara Pre-Owned is now available to customers in the UK, and will expand across other European markets in the second half of 2023. On average, only 8.6% of materials extracted from the Earth are returned to the economy to be reused. The World Economic Forum calculates that the transition to more sustainable models will generate $4.5 trillion of additional economic output by 2030, supported by a change in consumer and retailer habits like pre-owned marketplaces.

“Sustainability in retail is finally receiving the attention it deserves to help protect our fragile planet. We're thrilled that Zara has chosen Stripe as they lead the way,” said Eileen O’Mara, head of global sales at Stripe.

Panasas®, the data engine for innovation, today announced the launch of its new ActiveStor® Ultra Edge platform, an HPC and AI/ML storage solution designed for edge computing environments. Panasas’ ActiveStor Ultra Edge platform has a reduced footprint and lower entry cost, making it an ideal choice for organisations deploying HPC and AI/ML applications at remote locations, closer to where data is generated, to improve real-time decision-making. ActiveStor Ultra Edge will be showcased this week at ISC High Performance 2023 in Hamburg, Germany at Panasas booth #G713.

Global spending on edge computing is expected to reach $208 billion in 2023, an increase of 13.1% over 2022, according to the IDC Worldwide Edge Spending Guide. Organisations deploying edge HPC and AI/ML applications will require greater performance and system reliability at the edge. ActiveStor Ultra Edge offers a robust, compact, and high-performance solution at a competitive price point that enables organisations to scale and keep pace with growing demands of real-time data processing. 

ActiveStor Ultra Edge is the newest addition to Panasas’ ActiveStor portfolio, designed to serve the evolving data requirements in today’s modern HPC ecosystem, which encompasses traditional HPC applications alongside AI/ML processing as well as cloud and edge computing technologies. The Panasas PanFS® data engine, the industry’s first parallel file system for Linux and the heart of the ActiveStor storage family, delivers infinitely scalable storage capacity and performance in the small form-factor Ultra Edge system to address diverse edge computing demands across industries.

“Our customers require storage infrastructures that can dynamically adapt to a changing mix of both AI/ML and traditional HPC workflows, but also have the capacity to support workflows across core data centres, remote satellite locations, and into the cloud,” stated Tom Shea, CEO at Panasas. “The reduced footprint of ActiveStor Ultra Edge delivers the required performance, reliability, and ease of management that Panasas is known for, making it ideal for smaller and remote HPC data centres.”

The Panasas PanFS data engine, together with the PanView™ and PanMove™ data visibility and movement suite, is solving data location challenges while delivering industry-leading simplicity and enhanced protection from drive, node, and site failure. From erasure coding to patented file-level RAID protection, Panasas brings enterprise-grade reliability and ease of use to high-performance parallel storage at the edge, so organisations can make informed decisions faster to improve operational efficiency.

Additional resources:

• Panasas ActiveStor Ultra Edge is available for ordering today and will be generally available later this quarter. For more information, please visit www.panasas.com.
• To learn more about the Panasas’ ActiveStor portfolio, visit panasas.com/products.
• Visit Panasas at ISC High Performance in Hamburg, Germany on May 22^nd – 25^th at booth #G713.
• Visit Panasas at Teratec Forum in Paris, France on May 31^st – June 1^st at booth #G07.

Jotelulu, a platform that helps transform IT companies into cloud service providers, announced today it has successfully closed €4 million in a Series A round of investment. Adara Ventures, one of the leading European deep tech funds, led the round, with participation from US-based fund G2A Investment Partners and previous investors Fundación Bankinter and Big Sur Ventures, who are committed to supporting Jotelulu in this next stage of growth.

With this new round of financing, Jotelulu is focused on internationalisation and its launch in the French market. The company has already consolidated its position as a leading cloud provider in the Spanish and Portuguese markets, with more than 10,000 users and YoY growth rates close to 200%.

Jotelulu provides a platform that allows any IT company to sell cloud services competitively, under its own brand, and without having to rely on the infrastructure of large cloud giants.

"Receiving the backing of our new partners, Adara Ventures, is a strong recognition of all our hard work over the past few years and great motivation for the future,” said David Amorín, CEO of Jotelulu. “This new round of financing will allow Jotelulu to strengthen our position in the markets where we’re already leading and accelerate our expansion efforts into the French market, one of our main focuses in the short term.”

The new funding will also help Jotelulu continuously add value to its existing customers, ensuring IT partners have access to the latest tools and cloud security.

“We are delighted to be leading this investment in Jotelulu, a company that truly understands the IT needs of SMEs and is committed to supporting them in the digital age,” said Jorge Barón, Associate at Adara Ventures. “We are confident in their ability to reshape the cloud services landscape for this customer segment, and we look forward to supporting the team during this next stage of international growth.”

Jotelulu’s solutions are already being used by more than 3,000 SMEs and 10,000 total users across Spain and Portugal, making the platform a key cloud player in the region. However, despite these impressive numbers, a vast majority of SMEs (nearly 90% according to INE) have yet to contract cloud services in Spain, highlight this sector is still enormously underserved.

It is still challenging for IT companies to offer cloud services to the SME segment for many reasons. Besides the usual reseller complexities, many IT companies lack the right tools and support throughout the entire cloud software sales and management lifecycle – from marketing materials and documentation to help their sales teams to legal contracts and creating invoices.

Jotelulu makes all of these services available as white label products, allowing IT companies to easily resell them as their own and bundle any combination of services to fit their specific customers’ needs. As a result, IT companies are able to provide higher quality support and cloud solutions to their SMEs clients and, ultimately, improve their profit margins on selling these services. 

"The only way to get SMEs onboarded to the cloud is through the IT company – the technology partners that SMEs already trust,” said Amorín. “We offer a unique and simple solution to the challenges faced by IT companies who wish to provide cloud services.” 

Jotelulu’s platform is one of the most comprehensive, value-adding solutions on the market today, helping hundreds of IT companies manage cloud services more efficiently and competitively. 

Axyon AI, a leading AI provider for the asset management industry, has today announced the appointment of Andrea Gentilini as its latest advisory committee member.

With his extensive experience in the asset management and fintech industries, Mr. Gentilini will join Axyon AI’s committee to support fintech with its growth and development.

Axyon AI uses artificial intelligence and deep learning predictive solutions to offer professional investors a practical way to incorporate AI into their investment strategies, and ultimately improve portfolio performance.

The fintech recently completed its €1.6 million funding round in July last year, led by the Fondo Rilancio Startup (Relaunch Start-up Fund), managed by CDP Venture Capital SGR, with UniCredit, Geminea, ING and Metes as co-investors. In addition, the company also has a strong partnership with the AI and computer sciences faculty at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

Mr. Gentilini, who holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, boasts a successful career in the asset management and fintech space. Prior to managing a successful fintech business, Novus Partners, Mr. Gentilini was Managing Director for Union Bancaire Privée, where he launched and co-managed the first actively managed gold fund. His 25 years’ experience also includes a number of other roles in the asset management industry, including positions at UBS Wealth Management and Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers). Today, he is Head of Vescore, Vontobel’s Asset Management boutique.

Daniele Grassi, CEO of Axyon AI, comments: "We are delighted to announce the appointment of Andrea and look forward to working with him. His technical expertise and vast experience in the asset management field will further progress our mission in harnessing the power of AI to support asset managers and boost alpha generation.

Andrea Gentilini comments: “I’m excited by the benefits that Axyon AI’s technology brings its clients by providing access to robust AI-powered forecasts and AI-based strategies that can enhance investment strategies. The use of AI within asset management has seen exponential growth over the past year and Axyon AI is market-leading in its field. I proudly support their journey as they bring their technology to a global audience.”

Onfido, the global leader in automated identity verification, today announced it has acquired Airside Mobile, Inc., the leader in private, digital identity-sharing technology. The World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer is the first company to bring user-controlled digital identity to the travel industry. 

Airside’s shareable digital identity technology has been used by over 10 million travellers and is trusted by major U.S. government agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Its customers include the world’s largest airlines, who allow passengers to use the innovative Airside Digital Identity App to fast-track passengers through U.S. airports. 

Airside’s privacy-first identity management technology, combined with Onfido’s industry-leading verification, enables a ‘verify once, use anywhere’ world, where customers can manage their own digital identity stored on their smartphone — using it to access new services without having to verify again. This will transform the user experiences across travel, financial services, e-commerce, internet platforms and much more, redefining the process of identity verification. The integration will enable businesses to create a seamless user experience that supports more effective onboarding and expanded customer relationships, while radically reducing fraud and minimizing the liability associated with handling sensitive data. 

Airside was founded with a “Privacy First. Human Always.®” approach to digital identity, making Airside a natural fit with Onfido’s mission to simplify digital identity for everyone. Adam Tsao, founder of Airside, will lead the group within Onfido as General Manager. 

“Until now identity verification has digitized physical processes, but those processes haven’t changed. We’re still handing our identity over to be checked every time we access a new service. This partnership will change that — giving users control and organizations greater confidence in who their customers are,” said Mike Tuchen, CEO of Onfido. “We plan to take Airside’s proven approach to the  airline industry and apply it to other sectors requiring high customer assurance, such as financial services — providing a single, trusted view of each customer’s identity.” 

Verify Once and Use Anywhere - watch the video 

Onfido’s market-leading Real Identity Platform establishes trust between governments, businesses, and people ensuring proper onboarding, customer authentication, KYC, and fraud protection. Its robust identity verification solutions combine document and biometric verification, trusted data sources, and fraud detection signals. The Airside Digital Identity App puts digital identity in people’s hands, making their verified digital IDs secure on their device and easily accessible. There’s no longer a need to show identity documents (IDs) or share excessive amounts of personal information when trying to access services; users can now verify their identity once and only share what they need to, like a date of birth for age verification.

“By teaming up with Onfido and layering in their trusted verification technology with Airside’s Digital ID, we can take identity to the next level with the same ease and trust we have with online payments,” said Adam Tsao, General Manager for Airside at Onfido. 

Millions of consumers from over 195 countries will soon be able to use their digital identities with Onfido’s network of 900+ business partners, giving them instant access to a vast range of products and services. For example, a traveler sharing their digital ID to gain expedited access through an airport security checkpoint will soon be able to re-use the same digital ID to access a rental car or hotel room without waiting in line. The whole identity — from date of birth, address, ID number, etc, or simply parts of it — could then also be used to open a trading account, apply for a mortgage or even, one day, vote. 

According to Gartner, by 2026, 50% of smartphone users will frequently use one or more verifiable claims stored in their decentralized identity wallet. 

With a single user-controlled digital identity applied across multiple products and services, businesses eliminate the cost of maintaining and securing multiple identity profiles. They can also simplify compliance and regulatory requirements by minimizing storage and processing of extensive sensitive data. 

Airside’s digital identity platform is certified to the highest international standards for privacy, compliance and security, including the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-63-3 rev 3 Class of Approval at Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2), FIDO2 (Fast Identity Online), and Kantara Initiative’s Trust Mark Status List.  

The acquisition has already closed and the general availability of the Onfido products and services based on Airside’s technology will be available later this year. 

Useful links: 

·       Mike Tuchen’s blog on the announcement 

·       Adam Tsao’s blog on the announcement  

·       Register for a webinar on June 22 to hear the Onfido/Airside vision