GCEX, a leading digital prime brokerage, has appointed Tilman Schultz as Head of Partnerships to accelerate growth in Europe, in particular for the recently launched XplorDigital trading solutions.

Schultz, who has extensive experience in institutional sales and business development, will be based in GCEX’s office in Crypto Valley, Zug, Switzerland and will assist GCEX’s professional and institutional clients in the DACH region through its regulated entities.

Prior to joining GCEX, Schultz was FVP of Institutional Business Development at Saxo Bank where he spent 11 years developing the Wealth Manager, Hedge Fund and White-Labelled Banking Business, based out of Copenhagen and Zurich.

GCEX enables brokers, fund managers, hedge funds and professional traders to access deep liquidity in FX and digital assets. The rapidly growing firm also offers clients access to XplorDigital, a range of trading solutions including Xplor Broker in a Box and Xplor Crypto in a Box.

Lars Holst, Founder and CEO, GCEX said, “We see significant growth opportunities for GCEX across Europe and are excited to strengthen our institutional team to cover German-speaking markets. Having worked with Tilman previously at Saxo Bank, I know that he has the expertise, regional knowledge and contacts to help us to build an even stronger institutional presence across the region."

Tilman Schultz, Head of Partnerships, GCEX added: “I am excited to be on board with one of the most experienced and forward-thinking teams in the FX and digital asset space today. I am looking forward to playing a key role in the firm’s global expansion, leveraging my knowledge and previous experience. I have every confidence that GCEX will be another outstanding success, much like CFH which was also founded by Lars.”

GCEX Group enables institutional clients to access deep liquidity in FX and CFDs on digital assets, as well as digital assets spot trading and conversion in addition to a broad range of Forex brokerage and trading solutions - XplorDigital. 

Headquartered in London, with multiple offices across the globe, GCEX is regulated by the UK’s FCA, registered with the Danish FSA as a VASP and currency exchange and has been granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider License for the MVP phase by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. True Global Ventures are investors in GCEX.

The Fintech Times and Taranis Capital have announced a groundbreaking partnership that will revolutionize the fintech industry. Combining their expertise and resources, the two companies are bringing a world-exclusive collaboration to the market; an ethical Fintech fund that’s set to inspire and elevate the industry.  

As a leading fintech news and research platform, The Fintech Times delivers the latest industry news,  trends, and insights to its readers. Taranis Capital is an ethical fintech fund that specializes in investing in established to mid-stage fintech companies. 

Together, they'll harness their deep knowledge of fintech trends and cutting-edge technologies to drive positive change. The Fintech Times will offer Taranis Capital exclusive access to its research and analysis, while Taranis Capital will open its portfolio companies to The Fintech Times.  

With their combined expertise, they are set to revolutionize the way fintech is done and bring innovative ethical solutions to the market which will have the power to transform the world of fintech. 

Mark Walker, founding partner & COO “The venture capital (VC) industry has seen a radical shake-up in the last few months, with many VC’s seeing their high-profile portfolio companies devalued. This is leading to a well-needed correction in valuations and assessments of sustainable business models. The  research, insights, and industry connections we have direct access to via The Fintech Times, put us in  an excellent position to better asses the long-term future of fintech companies and their business  models.”  

Nicholas Bingham, founding partner & CEO says “Ethical issues have become important to companies and institutions of all sizes in the sector and such considerations are the driving force in our fund. Our  fund prioritizes ethical governance in fintech investments, and we recognize the importance of upholding ethical standards in the industry. Our focus on factors such as employee treatment, social  well-being, and environmental sustainability reflects our belief in a brighter, more sustainable  tomorrow, and we are proud to support companies that share this commitment.” 

This partnership is a landmark moment in the fintech industry, and The Fintech Times and Taranis  Capital are excited to be at the forefront of this revolution. 

Mastercard is teaming up with Web3 players on an on-chain identity and verification framework covering a variety of applications in payments, remittances, ticketing and NFTs.

Raj Dhamodharan, EVP, digital asset and blockchain product and partnerships, Mastercard, says: "With Mastercard Crypto Credential, we can help ensure that those interested in interacting across Web3 environments are meeting defined standards for the types of activities they’d like to pursue.

"Mastercard Crypto Credential will not only define verification standards and levels, but also provide necessary enabling technology to help bring more use cases to life."

A new report has found that the finance industry is one of the most affected sectors by the current labour shortage.

Business management software specialists, ECI Software Solutions, has compiled The Skills Shortages Report which reveals that the finance industry is facing the biggest challenge of finding highly-skilled people to fill currently vacant roles, with a risk of just 10.6% of roles being filled. 

To find out which sectors are facing the worst shortages, ECI Software Solutions looked at 20 industries across the UK and identified five different job positions for each. LinkedIn revealed how many jobs were available for those positions and were able to compare to the number of people currently searching on Google for those roles. 

Currently, the financial industry has 62,294 open positions for roles as financial analyst, financial advisor and finance assistant. But with only 6,610 people searching for the particular vacancies, they're at risk of just one in ten roles being filled.

Talent pools may also be limited in certain areas across the UK, alongside specific industries, which could mean hiring managers are limited geographically, depending on if they require people to work in the office, on a hybrid model, or remotely. 

The ten industries facing the biggest shortage of employees are:

Commenting on the research, Chris Fisher, LBMH Operations Director, EMEA at ECI Software Solutions, said:

“Workplaces have significantly evolved and digitalised over recent years and with the introduction of technology into everyday processes, the skills required to undertake certain roles have drastically changed. This situation is creating both opportunities and challenges for business leaders looking to fill vacant positions, with many also having to evaluate how they are marketing themselves as an organisation.

“That being said, there are still plenty of opportunities to train and up-skill existing staff or potentially offer apprenticeships to entice new recruits. It’s clear that some industries may be falling behind in terms of appealing to the right candidates and making a career in the field look appealing. Combatting this starts at a grassroots level - encouraging students to explore the opportunities in these sectors, but also highlighting how most skills are transferable.”

For more information about this research, visit: https://www.ecisolutions.com/en-gb/blog/the-skills-shortages-report-which-industries-are-struggling-to-bridge-the-gap/

Ledgible is excited to announce that our platform is now fully integrated with the Solana blockchain and its native token activity. This integration means that users can seamlessly track their Solana transactions and holdings on Ledgible, making it easier to manage their digital assets and ensure compliance with tax regulations.

Solana is a high-performance blockchain that has been gaining popularity in the crypto community due to its fast transaction speeds and low fees. Ledgible's integration with Solana means that our platform can now provide comprehensive tracking and reporting capabilities for this blockchain, making it an even more valuable tool for individuals, enterprises, and accounting firms.

For anyone conducting Solana blockchain activity, we encourage you to sign up for a trial of Ledgible today. Our platform offers a wide range of features and benefits, including:

• Real-time portfolio tracking and reporting
• Comprehensive tax reporting for cryptocurrencies
• Integration with major accounting software such as Quickbooks and Xero
• AICPA SOC 1 & 2 Type 2 assurance for the highest level of security and compliance

Ledgible's integration with Solana is just the latest example of our commitment to providing the most comprehensive and user-friendly platform for managing digital assets. We are excited to continue expanding our capabilities and partnerships to better serve our users and the broader crypto community.

Ledgible is an AICPA SOC 1 & 2 Type 2 assured tax reporting, accounting and portfolio tracking platform for crypto assets for professionals, enterprises, and consumers. The Ledgible Crypto Platform is the proven crypto asset solution for tax and accounting professionals with leading accounting firms, institutions, and major crypto companies globally. Ledgible is used by industry leaders for digital asset data, tax information reporting, and tax and accounting solutions at scale.

New strategic technology partnership to deliver greater efficiencies for finance providers and accelerate access to working capital for SMEs.

Lendscape, one of the world's leading technology provider for all forms of secured finance, and Validis, the financial data API, have entered a strategic partnership to accelerate digitalisation and innovation in the business finance market.

Designed to be a secure, flexible solution that streamlines lending processes, Lendscape supports a wide range of working capital and asset finance solutions. Validis simplifies the process of extracting and standardizing financial data from small to medium-sized enterprises' accounting packages.

With the new partnership, Validis’ on-demand business financial data has been integrated to enrich Lendscape’s Open Accounting solution, allowing finance providers access to a broader suite of standardised datasets on-demand to better understand their business customers – enhancing decision-making, improving monitoring capabilities and streamlining customer journeys. Resulting in overall substantial improvements in operational efficiency and cost to serve for finance providers.

"We are excited to enter into this collaboration with Validis and add a world-class, innovative technology partner to the Lendscape ecosystem," said Kevin Day, CEO at Lendscape. "At Lendscape, we're focused on helping our clients, and the working capital finance industry worldwide, to enhance digitalization and simplification of receivables finance. The collaboration with Validis enhances connectivity to support these digitalization efforts, reducing administrative burdens, enabling better customer experiences, and exploring new avenues for growth and development for financial institutions."

“We are extremely proud to be working with Kevin and the team at Lendscape, a highly reputable and established business with a successful track record in the market,” said Andrew Sanaghan, COO & Head of Financial Services at Validis. “By joining forces, Validis aims to provide the market with on-demand financial data through a seamless, single experience. We firmly believe that plugging into the broader ecosystem is the way forward making it possible to deliver what the market needs and revolutionising the future of business lending.

“As the market continues to change it’s vital that technology providers work together. Lendscape and Validis share some of the same client base and with us connecting the dots, we’re providing a complete solution with one data flow.”

NCR Digital Banking is hosting a Financial Fitness Challenge for its banks and credit unions, offering expanded financial health-focused tools and resources for clients. The goal is to drive digital banking awareness, adoption and engagement to ultimately help end customers and members improve their financial wellness. The challenge kicked off at the beginning of April in honour of National Financial Literacy Month.

“More customers and members than ever need support with their financial health in light of current economic turbulence, and trusted community banks and credit unions are ideal partners to help them set and achieve relevant, achievable goals,” said Doug Brown, president of NCR Digital Banking. “In order to effectively do so, institutions must be able to analyze and leverage their data and offer personalized, contextual digital tools. We’re proud to have so many clients embrace this important challenge, showcasing dedication to their customers’ financial fitness.”

The challenge will recognize winners in three categories: adoption, the highest percentage growth in offline to online digital banking users; active use, the highest percentage growth in inactive to active digital banking users; and awareness, most creative marketing campaign over the three-month period.

Brown continued, “In addition to providing significant benefits to end customers and members, prioritizing financial fitness has also been proven to broaden wallet share for institutions and maximize profitability of household relationships.”

If you’d like to speak with Doug Brown directly for strategies and tips on how community institutions can help customers and members improve their financial fitness, contact Amber Bush (amber@williammills.com).

Satrajit “Satty” Saha, CEO of TransUnion in the UK, has been named Business Leader of the Year – Credit Reference Agency, at the Leadership Awards 2023.

The annual Leadership Awards celebrate resilience, innovation and creativity, showcasing individuals who demonstrate leadership across the full spectrum of credit and financial services. 

This award recognises Satty’s outstanding commitment to the wider industry, driving growth and innovation, as well as supporting credit education and fostering diversity and inclusion.

Commenting on the win, Satty Saha said: “I’m honoured to accept this award and want to thank my TransUnion colleagues, both in the UK and globally, that have helped me to drive the UK business forward. Using information for good is core to our mission and I’m proud of how we’ve continued to demonstrate this, from our industry-leading approach to buy now, pay later credit reporting and our award-winning fraud prevention solutions, to our continued efforts in promoting credit education and financial inclusion.”

Under Satty’s leadership, TransUnion’s UK business has propelled innovation through global and local products, including trended data solutions that help lenders better assess affordability, as well as fraud and ID solutions to help protect consumers and businesses from increasing fraud threats.  

Satty has also spearheaded industry change in how buy now, pay later data is reported, with TransUnion being the first UK credit reference agency to accept this new data into consumers credit files, starting in 2022.

“The dedication of our TransUnion colleagues is what makes it possible for myself and the wider leadership team to achieve our ambitions for the UK business, so this is a reflection of all their hard work,” Satty continued. “I’m also very proud of how our colleagues have helped us to create a culture where people feel supported and rewarded, recognised as one of the UK’s best workplaces.”

Satty is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and supporting colleagues’ needs resulting in TransUnion’s being named as one of the top 25 most inclusive employers in the UK (Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List 2022/23) and one of the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing 2023.

TransUnion UK has been named Credit Information Provider of the Year for two consecutive years (2021, 2022) at the prestigious Credit Awards, as well as garnering accolades for TransUnion’s anti-fraud solutions and its pioneering analytics initiatives.

IDPartner Systems, a new company that optimizes online identity verification through a network of financial institutions, has secured a $3.1M seed round led by Abstract Ventures, with support from Foundation Capital, Circle Ventures, Firsthand Alliance, Correlation Ventures, Success Venture Partners and Aleo. 

The round includes angel investors, Aaron VanDevender (former Chief Scientist at Founders Fund), Lance Armstrong, and Joe Grundfest (former SEC Commissioner and co-founder Financial Engines). 

Following the round, the company graduated from the StartX accelerator. Ranked #1 nationally, StartX has five times more unicorns than any accelerator program of the same age, and its 700+ well-funded growth-stage startups have a combined valuation of over $26 billion.

IDPartner addresses a problem that confronts all 5 billion Internet users — how to verify their identities and build trust online. Founded by former Santander identity and payments leaders, IDPartner collaborates with OneID UK,  Akoya and others to create a product that allows individuals to control their digital identities and choose a preferred identity verification partner from a network of trusted providers, including banks and other financial service firms. 

IDPartner benefits businesses by providing a high assurance, low friction reusable method for customers to securely access their online services, wherever they are. The company also helps banks and other partners become indispensable to their customers by providing safer, faster, and easier onboarding and login across the entire internet.  

“By giving banks the tools to manage digital identity as a new asset class and by aligning marketplace incentives to drive adoption by companies and users, we can transform the most frustrating identity journeys into an experience as easy and familiar as social login,” said Rod Boothby, IDPartner CEO. “We are building an accessible, assured digital identity layer for the internet that empowers people and protects everyone from fraud and cybercrime.” 

Company founders, including Rod Boothby, Trish Burgess, Elizabeth Garber, and Brenan Isabelle led the Open Digital Trust initiative at the Institute of International Finance and play a leading role in the Global Assured Identity Network (GAIN) initiative, a open-source community that seeks globally interoperable identity solutions and policy. GAIN is supported by the OpenID Foundation, Open Identity Exchange, Cloud Signature Consortium, the Secure Identity Alliance, and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation.  

“Identity remains one of the largest unsolved problems on the Internet,” said Ramtin Naimi, General Partner at Abstract Ventures. “We are excited to invest in IDPartner and support their mission to overcome the cold start problem for reusable digital identity.”‍

The IDPartner marketplace comprises trusted partners and businesses that the company has verified. Only verified partners will be available for individuals to select from and use for their reusable ID and verification needs as they navigate their digital lives.‍

“Our partnership with IDPartner will give consumers more choice and visibility into where and how their financial data is being used,” said Paul LaRusso, CEO of Akoya. “We’re focused on giving all consumers secure access to their data and 100% of our requests go through APIs. This agreement represents a key step in that journey.”

IDPartner is inspired by the success of the BankID ecosystem in the Nordics, which has 99% adoption, is used several times daily by the average person, and has reduced fraud to nearly zero. BankID Norway is an early participant in the IDPartner marketplace, which will offer verification through most major banks in the United States, United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Other participants are Bonifii, provider of the US credit union digital ID MemberPass, and Airside, the developer of a user-controlled digital identity app that is approved by TSA and used by and the world’s largest airline.

“It’s important that people can take back control of their digital identities, online and in-person,” said Adam Tsao, Acting CEO, COO, and founder of Airside. “We’re pleased to team-up with IDPartner to help people create trusted connections when needing to seamlessly verify and share their digital identities with ease and peace-of-mind.”

Individuals can experience IDPartner’s verification solution by joining the NotABot pilot on Twitter. Users simply link to their Twitter accounts and use their bank to verify their identity.