iFAST Global Bank ("iGB"), the UK-based digital bank division of wealth management Fintech platform iFAST Corporation Ltd. ("iFAST Corp"), one of Singapore's incepted and most successful wealth management companies, has today launched a Digital Personal Banking (DPB) platform, a fully compliant and truly cross-border digital bank, an integral within iFAST Corp's Fintech ecosystem.

This new, easy-to-register* platform, will offer online personal banking service to DPB customers from around the world, where they will be able to hold, spend and send across six currencies (GBP, USD, EUR, HKD, SGD, CNY), free of charge^, earning interest as they go.

This is in line with iFAST Corp's vision to adopt a truly global business model. iFAST Corp believes that it is important for wealth management platforms to be seamlessly linked to good digital banking services that are convenient and secure.

"The launch of our DPB platform will provide consumers around the world to access personal digital banking services in the UK for their personal and business needs and complements our Digital Transaction Business (DTB) which, supports the UK Payment Services industry," said Muj Malik, CEO of iFAST Global Bank.

iGB account holders will be able to link up their iGB digital banking accounts with the different platforms within iFAST Corp, including FSMOne.com, iFAST Financial, and iFAST Global Markets platforms in the various markets that iFAST Corp has a presence in, taking advantage of digital banking and wealth management capabilities within iFAST's Fintech ecosystem.  

"Over 780,000 iFAST Corp's current clients across the various markets, including Singapore and Hong Kong, will be able to open iGB accounts available on the iFAST Fintech Ecosystem to access personal banking services, in a seamless manner," added Muj Malik.

"We believe digital banking has significant growth potential globally, particularly in Southeast Asia. With one of the highest mobile penetration rates and increasing affluence, the region is seeing a clear evolution in customer behaviours and needs, notably a generational shift toward digital products and services – and a strong preference for integration between them. To cater to these preferences, it is imperative that companies focus on personalization capabilities and ecosystem business models. Based on our experience, this shift in the market makes the case for greater digital banking penetration," says Saurabh Dhingra, EY-Parthenon Financial Services Partner, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP.

"The launch of the DPB platform is a major milestone in iFAST Corp's journey to become a global Fintech player. As a participant in EnterpriseSG's Scale-Up programme, iFAST Corp is an example of a high potential Singapore company with global ambitions. Enterprise Singapore will support companies like iFAST Corp to accelerate their transformation and growth, and expand their global presence, in line with Singapore's Enterprise 2030 vision to build a group of Singapore Global Enterprises." said Jeffrey Siow, Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer of Enterprise Singapore.

"With iGB, individuals are no longer restricted by platforms based in their own respective geographical locations. With a track record of over 20 years and assets under administration of S$17.42 billion, iFAST Corp is well-positioned to provides digital banking and wealth management capabilities to a global customer base," said Mr Lim Chung Chun, Chairman and CEO of iFAST Corp.

Planixs, the leading provider of real-time intraday cash, collateral and liquidity management solutions is delighted to announce that it has been placed in the top 50 in the 2023 Northern Tech Awards Top 100 League Table, winning the Enterprise FinTech category for the fifth year, whilst also being awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year accolade.

Compiled by GP Bullhound, the Northern Tech Awards 100 League Table ranks the fastest-growing technology companies in the North of England and Scotland. Established in 2014, the annual Award celebrates innovative technologies and businesses developed in the region and recognises those who have experienced substantial growth in the tech industry.

This is the fifth year that Planixs has made the top 100 list - ranking in the first 50 companies and coming first in the Enterprise FinTech category - with GP Bullhound recognising the leading FinTech for its innovative software solutions and exceptional growth.

In addition, Planixs was also named the Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 during the awards ceremony that took place on 20th April, acknowledging the company's success and achievements over the last 12 months and the importance of the firm's real-time technology solutions in the financial services space.

Founded in 2011, Manchester-based Planixs works with some of the world’s most prominent global financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, SIX Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Scotiabank, in providing its market-leading product suite Realiti® - a cloud-based technology solution suite that delivers real-time intraday cash, collateral and liquidity management capabilities to the financial services industry.

Realiti provides banks with instant insights based on real-time visibility of actual settlements with advanced analytics across all data. The software allows firms to understand and optimise cash and liquidity usage in real-time, improve treasury processes, better manage liquidity risk, reduce overdraft and liquidity buffer costs and support regulatory compliance. With Realiti, organisations can demonstrate their alignment with global regulations from the UK PRA, the European Banking Authority and FED. The solution also incorporates stress testing capabilities, allowing firms to apply a range of stress scenarios to understand, monitor and prepare to mitigate any intraday liquidity stresses and to help size liquidity buffers.

Planixs has experienced significant growth over the last twelve months and is now expanding their reach into liquidity forecasting and insight into instant payments schemes and large corporate customers.

Neville Roberts, Planixs’ founder and CEO, comments: “It is a great honour to be recognised as the leading Enterprise FinTech in the Northern Tech Awards for the fifth year and be named Entrepreneur of the Year. The recent turmoil and challenges in the banking space have only highlighted the need for real-time insight across a banking firm’s cash, collateral and liquidity. We are the only software company that delivers this insight in real-time at scale and are proven at some of the world’s largest banking institutions. I would like to thank GP Bullhound for recognising our innovative technology and placing us in the top 50 in their Northern Tech Top 100 League Table.”

Using digital footprint data for dynamic real-time decision-making and fraud prevention is becoming a highly effective method for enhancing online customer experiences. 

We are thrilled to announce that Fido is the proud sponsor of ePay Summit Europe in London 2023. Fido is a cloud-based platform that processes and scores hundreds of signals arising from digital footprints (name, phone number, email address, IP address, device, and browser). As fraudster methods are improving and payment providers are also evolving from the traditional, siloed method of fraud detection to a proactive, analytic approach. With Fido, organizations can use alternative data to simultaneously combat fraud and enable a seamless digital payment experience. 

Enterprises operating in the payment services landscape are now able to enhance and enrich their real-time, mission-critical fraud detection systems that require massive scalability, and the ability to accommodate diverse types of data. Fido’s ready-to-use ML models score digital footprints and help businesses to make more informed decisions based on alternative data. 

The platform's algorithms are pre-trained on a large data set to cover key applications out of the box. Organizations can now unlock the power of digital footprints to gain valuable insights on both transactional and customer levels. Fido can be used as a supplementary data and risk assessment source to help with: 

• Transaction Risk Assessment,

• Chargeback Risk Reduction,

• Authorized Push Payments Fraud Mitigation,

• Supplemental Data for Credit Decision Engines,

• Data Enrichment for BNPL, and more.

We look forward to everyone’s valuable contribution during the summit, as we exchange knowledge and experience. See you all there! 

ETC Group announces the listing and trading start of the ETC Group MSCI Digital Assets Select 20 ETP (ISIN DE000A3G3ZL3, WKN A3G3ZL) on Deutsche Börse Xetra. The new exchange-traded product tracks the performance of the MSCI Global Digital Assets Top 20 Capped Index and is listed under its primary ticker DA20. The ETP is tradable in EUR and U.S. dollars on Xetra.

Issued in Germany, this is the first time investors can invest in the broad crypto market via an exchange-traded basket product that tracks the top 20 investable digital assets comprising approximately 85% of the crypto market. The three largest positions within the Index are currently Bitcoin (ETC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP). The index is managed and calculated by MSCI and rebalanced quarterly. At rebalance, the weight of individual components is limited to 30 percent in order to improve diversification. Stablecoins, privacy coins as well as ecosystem tokens, and so-called meme coins are not included in the index.

The index methodology is publicly available at <Link Index Methodology>

Investors can trade the new ETP like shares or ETFs via their regular securities account at online brokers and banks that offer trading on Xetra and trading in crypto ETPs. Like all ETC Group products, the ETC Group MSCI Digital Assets Select 20 is fully backed by the underlying digital assets and issuer default risk is minimised via an independent trustee. The digital assets backing the ETP are safely and professionally kept in cold storage by a regulated custodian. All transactions are additionally monitored independently by a dedicated administrator.

The product offers an efficient way to passively diversify into the crypto market via a regulated financial product.

The strategic partnership between Viva Wallet, a leading European cloud-based neobank, and Elo, a leading global supplier of interactive touch solutions, is pioneering a new retail payments experience. European businesses can now offer new payment experiences, accepting Chip & PIN and Tap-on-Phone contactless payments by combining Viva Wallet's cutting-edge embedded payments platform for smart devices, with Elo M50 and M60 Pay mobile computers in an enterprise-grade mobile point-of-sale system. One piece of technology that integrates smart retail software and payment acceptance for each and every transaction into a powerful and robust handheld Android computer; anywhere, anytime, seamlessly, all from the palm of your hand. Viva Wallet and Elo's strategic alliance, featuring additional omnichannel solutions, has gone live in Europe with plans to expand globally, including the US.

Integrating Viva Wallet's technology with both sleek and durable all-in-one handheld solutions from Elo transforms point of sale into the most sought-after, enterprise-grade tool - an advanced mobile or fixed terminal that is Level 3 certified, accepting over 30 different payment methods. In addition, the flexible and versatile device facilitates ticketing, inventory management, delivery tracking, price checking, and other retail operations tasks thanks to a powerful processor and an optional integrated barcode scanner. The optional docking station and expansion module turn the mobile solution into a fixed terminal. This strategic partnership translates into greater systems consolidation, streamlined operations, enhanced security, and a seamless customer journey, across various verticals - from retail and grocery to hospitality, entertainment, and logistics.

Viva Wallet and Elo's joint additional omnichannel solutions enhance both the online and in-store retail experience, presenting businesses with options to both optimize operations and boost conversions. Elo's broad, diversified hardware portfolio, backed by a decade of enterprise-focused Android development and leadership, integrated with Viva Wallet's state-of-the-art "plug-and-play" payments technology applies to all end-customer touchpoints.

"With our common focus on innovation and leadership, Elo and Viva Wallet are a perfect match. We are thrilled about this partnership as part of our Independent Hardware Vendor Partnership Program. Viva Wallet is the first in Europe to enable payments on any smart device - from mobile terminals to smart mirrors and self-checkout units - through our cutting-edge software platform. We enable consolidation and less hassle for all businesses that accept payments, with the use of just a single device, while introducing new innovative payment use cases across every industry, including HORECA, transit, and tourism, just to name a few. Our aim is to enable frictionless omnichannel payments for all, anywhere," comments Harry Xenophontos, director of global strategic partnerships at Viva Wallet.

"We are pleased to team up with Viva Wallet to offer businesses the possibility to accept payments in store or on the go - wherever customers are located," said Maarten Bais, vice president and general manager EMEA of Elo. "Our Android-based portfolio is used by world-class retail, restaurant, and manufacturing brands around the globe for applications from POS, self-checkout and self-order to endless aisle and automation. Leveraging Viva Wallet's innovative solutions to include fully integrated payments adds tremendous benefits for all customers."

Cosmose AI (“Cosmose” or “the Company”), the global platform that predicts and influences how people shop offline, today announced the strategic investment from NEAR Foundation, a leader in Web3 technologies, valuing the company at $500 million. With this new investment, Cosmose is set to apply Web3 principles and further advance the AI-driven retail ecosystem.

Founded in 2014, Cosmose AI connects the best of offline and online to create a seamless experience for shoppers and increase sales for retailers. Cosmose empowers some of the world’s most prominent companies including LVMH, Richemont, L’Oréal and Estée Lauder, whilst also offering AI-driven recommendations to its users encouraging them to shop in nearby stores saving time, money, and the environment. 

With the new investment, Cosmose will continue to innovate within the Web3 ecosystem to create seamless experience for shoppers and increase sales for retailers. NEAR Protocol is the most advanced blockchain technology available today, offering the fastest and most energy-efficient solutions for data storage and management. By leveraging the power of Web3, Cosmose can ensure that users maintain complete control over their data and benefit from the ecosystem they help create. This approach ensures the highest level of privacy for users and aligns with the Company's commitment to user safety.

Through the partnership with NEAR Foundation, Cosmose Media and KaiKai, the two Cosmose AI’s products, will advance Web3-driven innovations. KaiKai has been successfully leveraging NEAR Protocol through the creation of its own cryptocurrency utilised for payments, cash-back and rewards: Kai-Ching. Thanks to Kai-Ching, shoppers and retailers benefit from shorter payment processing time and significantly lower fees.

Miron Mironiuk, Founder and CEO of Cosmose AI, said: “We are grateful for the ongoing support from NEAR Foundation and are excited about what’s to come. NEAR is the most secure, scalable, and sustainable blockchain protocol. Having built on NEAR in 2022 and while working with NEAR Foundation we discovered that our visions for the Web3-driven future are aligned. Together we’ll build a future where one billion users benefit from the ecosystem they’re part of, with complete control of their data and superior AI-driven personalization.”

Marieke Flament, CEO of the Near Foundation, said:  “We are excited to be supporting Cosmose as it continues to scale rapidly and to create new ways for retailers to offer customers the best and most seamless offline and online shopping experiences. The company has already been building on NEAR testnet for some time and with this additional support, Cosmose will have many more opportunities to grow and expand their offerings with Web3 in a way that is sustainable, transparent and infinitely scalable. The company’s excellent AI innovation will help to intensify its global marketplace lead - and with superior AI-driven personalisation its user base will undoubtedly continue to grow - as new and existing customers will be seamlessly transitioned into the world of Web3 and all the exciting opportunities it brings.”

George Raymond Zage III, Founder and CEO of Tiga Investments, said: "This strategic investment from NEAR is a testament to the strength of Cosmose AI's technology and the potential for its artificial intelligence solutions to revolutionize the convergence of e-commerce and the retail industry. We look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of Cosmose."

Today’s announcement follows a Series A fundraise earlier in 2020, led by Tiga Investments, OTB Ventures and TDJ Pitango. Since then, the Company expanded its product offerings and geographical footprint with the platform currently available for customers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Southeast Asia. Cosmose AI gathers insights from smartphones and helps understand offline shopping habits and drive footfall across 20 million venues in Asia.

Delta Capita, a leading global capital markets consulting, services and technology provider, has today announced an agreement with Montis Group to become the anchor client for its new Distributed Ledger Services venture.

In parallel, Delta Capita has acquired distributed ledger technology from SETL, part of the Colendi Group. Delta Capita will dedicate this technology to building the next-generation capital markets ecosystem.

Montis, a subsidiary of Archax, is leveraging blockchain technology to revolutionise the Central Security Depository (CSD) landscape and enable tokenised assets, such as digital securities and security tokens, to realise their full potential. The CSD infrastructure is designed to be blockchain agnostic and will extend across issuers, exchanges, other trading venues and market participants globally.

Targeting a Q4, 2023 go-live date, Montis has signed up Delta Capita Distributed Ledger Services to provide the SETL technology and software development of core CSD services for debt and equity products, incorporating innovative blockchains, Archax Exchange and SWIFT connectivity, access to TARGET2 for central bank money settlement, interoperability and cross-chaining between external permissioned blockchains and integration with market participants across multiple financial market ecosystems. As part of this deal, Montis Group will also take a minority stake in Distributed Ledger Services.

Joe Channer, CEO Delta Capita commented: “Delta Capita is a specialist provider of services across the capital markets value chain. Asset tokenisation in regulated markets powered by distributed ledger technology has the potential to drive significant new revenues, capital efficiencies and operational cost reduction across our key client base in capital markets. Delta Capita Distributed Ledger Services represents our strategic intent to be at the heart of this next exciting chapter of capital markets and technology innovation. We are delighted to acquire SETL’s Capital Markets business and to be partnering with Montis to help them realise our shared vision for asset tokenisation.”

Martin Watkins, CEO Montis adds: “The tokenisation of digital securities is at an inflection point and Montis embraces this new paradigm shift in capital markets. Montis is establishing the DLT-based infrastructure required to support the settlement of MiFID-compliant native and non-native digital securities tokens alongside conventional securities, operating via the Cloud. Delta Capita’s recognised capital markets specialism, focus on innovation and the experience of their leadership in running complex regulated services makes them the right partner for Montis.”

Anthony Culligan, CEO SETL said: “I believe this deal enables each firm to make an incredible impact on the Capital Markets. SETL has been a leader in delivering distributed ledger solutions since 2016 and sees this opportunity with Delta Capita and Montis as ground-breaking. Delta Capita brings the scale, the resources and the global reach required to transform the Capital Markets industry. SETL will fully support Delta Capita in bringing the Montis infrastructure to live operation and in the future commercialisation of the technology in the Capital Markets arena.”

Remote e-signature specialist, Cryptomathic, has partnered with fidentity, an expert in online identity verification, to enable automated identity verification for qualified remote e-signing - the highest level of assurance under European and Swiss law.

Under the European Union’s eIDAS and Switzerland’s ZertES regulations, remote (QES) provide the highest possible level of security and non-repudiation in e-signature services. To perform a QES, the signer’s identity must first be verified. Until now, this has only been possible via cumbersome and slow manual processes in which physical identity documentation, like a passport, is presented and verified either in-person or via a live video call. Such processes reduce the utility of the remote e-signing model and have been a barrier to widespread QES adoption across the two regions. Cryptomathic and fidentity’s partnership aims to address this problem head-on, by integrating an automated, digitized and legally compliant identity verification process into the remote QES signing experience.

Thorsten Hau, Founder at fidentity said: “As an expert in digitized and automated online identity verification, fidentity is providing the last piece in the puzzle that will enable remote Qualified Electronic Signatures to become accessible to all. By partnering with Cryptomathic, our intent is to marry the two services together to dramatically enhance the end-to-end signing experience for both providers and end-users, which ultimately will accelerate the uptake of this brilliant enabling technology. A smartphone, a valid ID document and a smile is all it will take to complete a legally binding signature.”

Guillaume Forget, EVP e-Signature and Mobile Security at Cryptomathic said: “The provision of accessible, secure and legally binding remote e-signatures services is crucial to the future of digital transformation. While remote Qualified Electronic Signatures answer this need by delivering maximum security and a high level of legal assurance, the process of obtaining the verified identities required to perform the signature has remained cumbersome and off-putting. By uniting fidentity’s digitized and legally assured user experience for identity verification with Cryptomathic’s industry-leading Signer solution, we hope to enable faster and more widespread adoption of highly secure remote e-signatures across Europe and Switzerland.”

The partnership will bring together Cryptomathic’s pioneering e-signature solution, Signer, and fidentity’s KPMG-certified identity verification interface, IDENT. Signer is one of the elite few certified remote Qualified Signature Creation Devices available across EU and Swiss jurisdictions. fidentity delivers a seamless online identity verification service, powered by automation and operating in full compliance with the latest Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and eIDAS requirements. 

Open banking platform Yapily has appointed Stefano Paoletti as SVP of Sales, UK, to fuel breakthrough growth in the region. 

Stefano has over 25 years of experience across a diverse range of industries and specialises in building sales and partnership teams. He was among the first employees at Token.io where he led the commercial function and drove global expansion. Most recently, he was the VP of Growth at Ozone API, and has also held senior leadership positions at The Logic Group and Barclays. 

With a robust list of UK customers including Zilch, Intuit Quickbooks, and Tide, Yapily has appointed Stefano to strengthen and expand the company’s existing portfolio. Stefano will be responsible for the company’s UK sales strategy and execution, and will be the driving force behind new revenue opportunities in the region. 

This announcement comes after the recent appointments of Lisa Gutu, the former COO at Salt Edge, as Yapily’s VP of Sales, Europe; Marc Kuzak, former UK Lead Counsel at Plaid as Yapily’s VP of Legal; and, Irvin Gray, with 15+ years of marketing experience in SaaS and TomTom, as Yapily’s Head of Marketing.

Stefano Paoletti, SVP of Sales, UK, at Yapily, commented: “I am delighted to be joining Yapily at such a pivotal moment in open banking and finance.  As someone who has been involved in this exciting sector from the beginning, it feels like the industry is finally primed and ready to scale. That brings a significant opportunity for Yapily to assist traditional banks and payment businesses in developing their strategies and solutions, and I look forward to helping them understand and seize that potential.” 

He continues, “I have witnessed Yapily's impressive journey to become one of the leading players in the open banking market. What excites me most about the company is its commitment to delivering exceptional products and services, all the while promoting a culture of innovation and inclusion. I'm looking forward to working with this especially talented team and leading the growth of the business in the UK.” 

Stefano Vaccino, Founder and CEO at Yapily, added: “We are extremely pleased Stefano is joining our senior leadership team. With his wealth of sector expertise and knowledge of the UK market, we place ourselves in a stronger position than ever before to expand our customer base in the region.”  

He continues, “This announcement combined with Lisa’s recent appointments showcases our investment in improving customer experiences and financial access for all through our innovative open banking API.”