New data from the pension provider, Penfold, highlights the retirement savings disparity between Gen Z and Non-Gen Z generations. Penfold has analysed their database of savers and discovered that the average monthly contributions of Non-Gen Z savers are more than double those of Gen Z savers across all of Penfold’s customer types. This disparity highlights the potential challenges younger generations face in saving for retirement and the possible lack of financial education needed to understand the importance of saving for your pension from an early age.

With the state pension age in the UK set to gradually rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046, it is becoming increasingly vital for younger generations, including Gen Z, to start saving for retirement as early as possible. With this in mind, private pension provider, Penfold, has looked into Gen Z’s pension saving habits and how they can set themselves up for a secure financial future and a comfortable retirement. 

Penfold customer data reveals that whilst Gen Z is actively contributing to their pension pots, their average monthly contributions are only £98.89. Based on these contributions, they would need to save for 59 years, meaning they wouldn't retire until they were between the ages of 77 and 85. This is significantly later than the age of 65, which 18-24-year-olds believe they should be able to retire by, according to a YouGov survey.

How does Gen Z Saving Differ from Other Generations

As we delve into the financial habits of Generation Z, data from Penfold has unveiled some compelling trends and challenges that set them apart from their predecessors. 

Focusing on retirement savings, the data reveals the following:

• Gen Z prioritizes workplace pensions over private pensions: The data shows that a higher percentage of Gen Z individuals participate in workplace pensions (13.5%) compared to private pensions (8.7%). According to a study by You Gov, 41% of 18 - 24 year old are only making their employers' minimum contribution, which may leave them short when it comes to retirement.

• Significant contribution gap between Gen Z and Non-Gen Z savers: The average monthly contributions of Non-Gen Z savers are more than double those of Gen Z savers across all customer types. Whilst this will be influenced by salary differences and career stages, the average monthly contribution for Gen Z is still below what that should be saving for their age group and average salary. This suggests Gen Z’s prioritisation of pensions is less than other key life savings events such as home ownership or holidays. According to a recent survey, 58% of 18 to 24-year-olds said they would withdraw their money before retirement to spend on a large purchase they were saving for such as a house deposit or a holiday.

• Workplace pensions are more effective for Gen Z's retirement savings: The data indicates that Gen Z savers have a larger average pension pot in workplace pensions (£895.89) than in private pensions (£806.23). 

It's Getting Harder to Save for Retirement

The retirement age is rising, and many traditional pension plans are struggling to keep up with the changing economic landscape. For Gen Z, it's essential to start saving now to ensure a comfortable retirement.

Based on Penfold’s pension calculator an 18-year-old, making £18,087 a year will have to save at least £57 per month until the current age of retirement to comfortably retire. This calculation takes into account several factors, such as the individual's current age, income, and retirement goals. 

A good rule of thumb is that you might need about two-thirds of what you earned while working to be comfortable in retirement. It's impossible to know exactly what your life will look like when you want to stop working, so it can be helpful to use a rule like this just to give you a sense.

Either choose how much you earn at the moment, or how much you think you will be earning when you are settled in your career, then multiply that number by two-thirds (or 67%)

How to Save for Retirement

The beginning of 2023 saw an increase in searches by 200% for the term "how to save money" on Google, as consumers look for tips and tricks on how to keep saving despite rising costs. Here are Penfold’s tips for securing your pension pot:

1. Start saving now: Begin contributing to your pension pot as soon as possible to benefit from compound interest and government and employer top-ups.

2. Calculate How Much You Have and How Much You Need: It is also important to set realistic goals for retirement savings. By starting to save in their early twenties, Gen Z in the UK can take advantage of decades of compound interest and potentially grow their retirement savings significantly.

3. Be consistent: Make regular pension contributions, even if they vary in size due to life events. Young adults should aim to save 5% of their income each month, even if it is a small amount. 

4. Take calculated risks: Consider investing in higher-risk assets for potentially higher rewards, depending on your risk tolerance. Gen Zers can also take advantage of online resources such as articles, blogs, and forums to learn more about retirement savings and investment strategies.

5. Increase contributions: As your salary grows, put more money into your pension pot to accelerate your savings.

6. Combine pension pots: Merge multiple pensions from previous jobs for better oversight and easier management.

7. Avoid high fees: Research pension fees and choose a plan with lower charges to maximize returns. Financial professionals can provide advice on the best retirement savings options for individual circumstances and help individuals create a savings plan that works for them. 

Pete Hykin, CEO and Co-Founder at Penfold comments:

“Saving for retirement may not be a top priority for many members of Gen Z in the UK, but it is important to start as soon as possible to secure a comfortable future. By taking advantage of employer-sponsored retirement plans, setting up a personal pension or ISA, cutting back on unnecessary expenses, seeking guidance from a financial professional, and utilizing online resources, young adults can increase their retirement savings and ensure a more secure future.

It's important to remember that every little bit helps and that starting early is the best way to take advantage of compound interest. By implementing these tips, Gen Z in the UK can secure a future that is financially comfortable and allows them to enjoy their retirement years to the fullest.”

GCEX, a leading prime brokerage in digital assets and FX, has released XplorDigital trading solutions, including two new best-in-class and intuitive trading platforms – XplorSpot and XplorTrader - to help brokers, fund managers, hedge funds and professional traders operate more efficiently.

Institutional and professional clients will benefit from unparalleled access to digital assets through GCEX’s new proprietary crypto-native platform - XplorSpot. The solution has been developed to serve institutions, easily facilitating crypto-specific requirements such as enabling on-ramp and off-ramp of digital assets.

In addition, GCEX has enhanced its margin-based CFD and Foreign Exchange offering with the introduction of XplorTrader. XplorTrader is a new high-performance, safe and reliable platform which significantly improves how clients monitor positions and place orders, maintaining platform depth, detail and functionality.

Lars Holst, Founder and CEO, GCEX commented: “The introduction of XplorDigital and our new platforms is a major step forward for GCEX, propelling us to the next level. At GCEX, we continually invest in and develop our technology in order to maintain our market leadership position and enhance our institutional clients’ experience through easy-to-use solutions, enabling them to deliver on their business objectives.”

Michael Aagaard, Managing Director at GCEX who has spearheaded this technology initiative, added: “Adding a crypto-native platform to our technology offering is particularly significant and puts us at the forefront of the industry in terms of our technology offering. In fact, we believe XplorSpot is one of the first crypto-native platforms, specifically developed for institutional trading. We continue to see increased interest in digital assets from our rapidly growing global client base and remain committed to investing in technology and delivering state-of-the-art institutional-focused products.”

XplorSpot and XplorTrader form key components of GCEX’s XplorDigital trading solutions - ‘Crypto In A Box’ and ‘Broker In A Box’ plug and play solutions - which comprise of technology-agnostic platforms covering regulation, regulated custody solutions, safety of funds, tier 1 and deep liquidity, connectivity to biggest price makers and innovative technology partnerships.

GCEX Group enables institutional clients to access deep liquidity in digital assets, digital assets as collateral and conversion as well as a broad range of Forex brokerage and technology solutions. With offices in London, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai and a presence in Hong Kong, GCEX is regulated by the UK’s FCA, the Danish FSA 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.

Copper.co, a leading institutional digital asset custody provider, has partnered with OKX, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume and a leading Web3 technology company, to bring off-exchange settlements to institutional customers using Copper's ClearLoop technology.

The ClearLoop integration with OKX enables the institutional users of both companies to keep assets within Copper's infrastructure while simultaneously delegating those assets to trade on OKX. Client assets are deposited on the Copper platform and then linked to an OKX account. The OKX account instantly mirrors this balance and allows active trading across OKX's 700+ spot and derivatives markets. Differences in balance between the two accounts are settled automatically via API.

The collaboration is especially significant for large-scale institutional digital asset traders who seek alternative ways to hold assets as well as immediate access to OKX's highly liquid markets and advanced trading tools. The integration has been extensively tested by institutional clients and is now generally available.

With its integration with Copper's award-winning multi-party computation (MPC) custody, ClearLoop enables clients to trade securely across top-tier execution venues such as OKX, while mitigating exchange counterparty risk and increasing capital efficiency.

What’s more, to address the insolvency risk of any ClearLoop participant, Copper has established a new account structure dedicated to ClearLoop over which an English law trust is created. Copper is appointed as security trustee and holds the assets on behalf of the beneficiaries. Clients and exchanges grant security interests over their assets within the trust in favour of each other. Within the trust, the exchange posts sufficient collateral to facilitate settlement per the pre-determined settlement schedule. The collateral is monitored 24/7 by Copper’s financial risk team giving both clients and exchanges comfort that settlement obligations will be met. If Copper were to become insolvent, the crypto assets held on trust would not form part of Copper’s insolvent estate.

The addition of OKX to the list of exchanges integrated with ClearLoop provides institutions with the broadest coverage by volume in the market today. Dmitry Tokarev, CEO at Copper, commented: “The continual inflow of institutional volume to Copper’s ClearLoop demonstrates the industry’s drive to meet high standards for asset security and trading. OKX is an essential trading venue for institutional investors, who will now be able to manage their assets efficiently thanks to the ClearLoop integration.”

Lloyds Bank and Enigio have launched a new long-term partnership to support greater use of digital documentation in trade finance through the use of blockchain technology.

Through the partnership, Lloyds Bank and Enigio will look to widen the application of Enigio’s trace:original solution for digital original documents including promissory notes, bills of exchange and bills of lading. It will also explore opportunities to feature trace:original documents within wider trade finance products, such as documentary collections and credits.

By removing the need to physically transfer documentation within trade transactions, Lloyds Bank aims to deliver faster, more affordable, flexible, sustainable and secure digital trade solutions for clients.

Enigio’s trace:original solution enables the creation of digital documents that can be ‘possessed’ by an individual, transferred between parties and originals can be distinguished from copies, just like paper-based counterparts. This means digital documents can be used in processes where an ‘original’ document is required. Unlike other digital trade solutions that require all parties to subscribe to digital platforms, Enigio’s solution only requires the party creating the document to be an Enigio user.      

Lloyds Bank’s work with Enigio is part of its ongoing digital strategy and paperless trade initiative and follows its successful completion in August 2022 of the UK’s first transaction utilising a digital promissory note purchase.

This pilot transaction, which was also the first under the International Trade and Forfaiting Association’s (ITFA) Digital Negotiable Instrument Initiative (DNI), saw the sale and purchase of land worth £48m completed between several UK businesses within a single day. The underlying promissory note was issued using trace:original.

In February 2023, Lloyds Bank also shared its learnings and experience in electronic payment undertakings (ePUs) under the DNI initiative to help fintech group Mercore complete the UK’s first digital bill of exchange transaction, which was also executed through trace:original. 

Gwynne Master, Managing Director, Lending and Working Capital, Lloyds Bank, said: “We are excited to have taken another major step on our quest to digitise trade. This partnership further cements our relationship with Enigio as we continue to widen the types of documents and underlying flows that will utilise ‘trace:original’ documents.

“Existing industry-wide trade solutions are, comparably, much slower, more cumbersome and more environmentally intensive than their digital counterparts, involving upwards of 28 billion pieces of paper, globally every year. Digitisation makes processes faster, cheaper and more secure. We support the adoption of digital trade documents and look forward to collaborating widely with our clients and partner banks to support their continued uptake.”

Patrik Zekkar, CEO of Enigio, said: “We are pleased to enter into a long-term partnership with Lloyds Bank, as it has been instrumental in the journey of enhancing trace:original to meet current and future demands for digitisation of trade documents and the trade value chain.

“Jointly taking an industry perspective in the continuing improvements of trace:original, as well as Lloyds Bank’s open, collaborative approach, inviting and sharing experiences, shows a broader commitment to drive the digitalisation agenda in trade. We look very much forward to continue this advantageous journey with Lloyds Bank and the trade community overall with the greater purpose.”

• In Turkey, nearly 70% of e-commerce purchases in 2021 were conducted via mobile apps, and the domestic card payment scheme TROY is widely used alongside Visa and Mastercard for online transactions.
• In Kuwait, although e-commerce usage is growing, currently most Kuwaiti companies don’t sell online to consumers. The majority of e-commerce transactions are made through cash-on-delivery.
• In Nigeria, the number of online shoppers is expected to hit 122.5 million by 2025, from 76.7 million in 2021. Digital wallets are expected to double their e-commerce market share to over 15% by 2025.
• In contrast, Cameroon’s internet penetration rate is only 35%, making it one of the least-developed e-commerce markets in Africa, but with 47% smartphone penetration, there is a huge opportunity for merchants to tap into fast-growing mobile commerce demand.

Ryta Zasiekina, CEO of FYST, comments: “Today, e-commerce businesses in the maturing and developing markets of the Middle East and Africa are at an inflection point – they know they need to have digital payment services in place. FYST’s ‘Map of World Payments’ report with its exclusive e-commerce trend data, shows that with the vast improvements to mobile and internet infrastructure over the past decade, there are opportunities for in-country and cross-border e-commerce merchants to expand online sales with the right payment acceptance strategies tailored to local markets.

 

“These variances outlined in FYST’s whitepaper show how important it is for merchants to add localised payment methods, local currencies, and tailor payment acceptance strategies carefully to each market. By doing so, merchants can capture and convert more transactions, and reduce cart abandonment rates. That’s where FYST comes in, to guide merchants at every step of their journey into global e-commerce with the kind of personalised support they’ve never experienced before. FYST can provide an unmatched wealth of knowledge, friendly and practical advice and first-hand scaling experience to help businesses go beyond just offering payments, and reimagine money to make it flow seamlessly.” 

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brunei Darussalam Central Bank to boost information exchange and cooperation between the two authorities.

The MoU was signed by representatives from the DFSA and Brunei Darussalam Central Bank on 4 April 2023.

The agreement sets a framework to foster the safe and sound functioning of Financial Institutions and cross-border establishments in their respective jurisdictions. The MoU will also facilitate the licensing of cross-border establishments and aid the exchange of information relating to combatting financial crimes such as money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation financing or targeted financial sanctions.

Ian Johnston, Chief Executive of the DFSA, said: “This strategic partnership with the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank provides a strong foundation to strengthen the bilateral cooperation between our two countries. We are confident that the partnership will foster a business-friendly environment and drive cooperation in financial supervision, further advancing the development of our respective economies.”

Rokiah Badar, Managing Director of Brunei Darussalam Central Bank said: “This MOU establishes the beginning of our formal relationship with the Dubai Financial Services Authority. I trust that this partnership will further solidify our cooperation in financial supervision across both jurisdictions.”

Finance Incorporated Limited, a gateway provider of electronic money services, announced today it has selected ThetaRay AI-powered transaction monitoring technology to further strengthen its AML framework and grow business alongside increasing volumes of transaction data.

The agreement with ThetaRay to implement the SaaS-based SONAR AI solution will enable Finance Incorporated Limited to integrate multiple datasets for risk-based transaction monitoring and greatly enhance the accuracy of AML operations. ThetaRay’s advanced machine-learning engine also significantly reduces false positives by up to 99%, while increasing the automatic ability to spot new typologies as they emerge.

The collaboration marks ThetaRay’s entry into the Malta fintech market.

Finance Incorporated is an electronic money institution based in Malta that operates the brands iPaymix, Paymix Pro, and Paymix VIA, delivering account, payments, and card services to corporate and retail clients, as well as to financial institutions.

“Our business is built entirely on trust. We repay our customers’ faith in us by placing regulatory requirements at the core of our operations. When seeking the ideal platform for transaction monitoring, our primary concern was to serve the business in the most robust way possible,” said Noel Bartolo, Finance Incorporated Limited’s Chief Compliance Officer. 

“The partnership with ThetaRay reinforces Finance Incorporated Limited’s commitment to remain ahead of the curve across all its operations, and AI-powered transaction monitoring technology ensures that Finance Incorporated Limited ‘s AML control framework is strengthened and future-proofed while having the ability to scale.”

With a powerful machine-learning core, the ThetaRay SONAR system learns from the huge amount of transaction data that Finance Incorporated Limited processes every day. This gives the system an inherent ability to adapt and grow with the business for scalability.

"Financial Incorporated Limited’s innovative financial services are reshaping the global marketplace,” said Mark Gazit, ThetaRay CEO. “The new digital era requires new-generation AI-based tools to manage the massive volume of global financial transactions. Financial crime vectors can change in a matter of seconds. ThetaRay’s advanced AI uses augmented and unsupervised AI which makes it the only system that can identify both known and unknown criminal activities, enabling fintechs and banks to emend trust in their transactions and grow revenues.”

According to Bartolo, the ThetaRay AI system has already learned from a staggering amount of historical data across multiple data points, spotting patterns of normal behaviour as well as examples of non-conforming activity. The traditional rule-based system is by definition outdated upon implementation, while the new AI-powered platform refines its decision-making in tandem with business growth for constant relevance.

Leaf Round, a leading marketplace for exclusive, high-yield, fixed-income opportunities, has announced the appointment of Ramalingam Subramanian as its Chief Marketing Officer to help the company as it scales up its operations. Prior to joining Leaf Round, Ramalingam had played a pivotal role for three years as Head of Marketing in developing the brand CoinDCX as it went on to become India’s first Crypto Unicorn. 

Speaking on the appointment, Nishchay Nath, CEO & Co-founder said, “We are thrilled to have Ramalingam on board our team that is rapidly growing. His experience handling new asset class, finance and its underlying technology, and of course, retail sector, spans over a decade and will prove vital for our next level of growth. His role will be instrumental for devising effective strategies for further market penetration and bringing in the culture for the brand. Our goal is to evolve into one of the leading players in offering investment products that help you generate an alternative source of income in an innovative way for the Indian market.”

Ramalingam S has a Master’s degree in management from the prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, and has also worked across brands like Cipla, Coca Cola and TCS, where he was responsible for strategic launches and building organisational capability. Ramalingam also founded Prarambhan Creative Works, a brand and marketing agency with offices across the country.  

Ramalingam Subramanian said, "I have always believed that financial independence is critical for a nation's growth. Diversification helps in achieving this independence. Having worked extensively in developing a new-age asset class to help citizens diversify, I felt there is still a strong need for products that deliver consistent returns in a safe, secure, and compliant manner. Here's where Leaf Round became an automatic choice with its vision, the founding team, and the limitless passion to solve this."

Volante Technologies, the leading global provider of cloud payments and financial messaging solutions, today announced a strategic alliance with HCLTech, a leading global technology company. Together, the companies will drive payments modernization to help financial institutions keep up with the fast-paced digital disruption taking place across the industry. 

HCLTech will combine its digital and engineering services capabilities with Volante’s cloud-native payments solutions and low-code financial platform. This will enable financial institutions to quickly deploy solutions for instant payments, real-time gross settlement (RTGS) payments, and multiple low and high-value domestic and international payment methods. Moreover, the firms will co-innovate to make their shared vision of payments available to a broader range of customers and financial services organizations.  

The companies will jointly develop centers of excellence in India and Romania to support the configuration, customization, integration, and implementation of Volante’s ecosystem of business services for payments modernization. Both organizations are committed to ramping up this multi-regional team of specialists over the next three years. 

“Our partnership with Volante will help our clients operate in a stable, scalable and flexible payment ecosystem and develop faster time-to-market capabilities,” said Srinivasan Seshadri, Chief Growth Officer, and Global Head of Financial Services, HCLTech. “With HCLTech’s decades of systems implementation expertise within payments and the banking industry as well as deep cloud technology experience, HCLTech and Volante will enable tremendous impact in the areas of payments-as-a-service for financial institutions and help banks modernize their payments infrastructure.” 

“HCLTech’s energy and collaborative style stood out immediately as we began this partnership,” said Jim Chow, Vice President, Partnerships and Business Development, Volante Technologies. “They have been an invaluable partner for Volante on the implementation and product side. Together with HCLTech, we will scale our ability to help banks modernize and drive innovative payments solutions.” 

“The joint centers of excellence will help us expand our international footprint faster and give us access to additional regional resources,” said Deepak Gupta, Senior Vice President & Global Head, Payments as a Service and Strategic Partnerships, Volante Technologies. By adding these regional capabilities, we will proactively apply local know-how and engineering capabilities as our clients continue their payments modernization journey.” 

Currently, HCLTech and Volante Technologies are working on multiple implementation engagements with some of the largest banks in the world.