• 11.11.2022 -- 02:23 pm

Saxo, the leading fintech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, today announces the appointment of Simon Camilleri as Chief Operating Officer and board member of its subsidiary, Saxo UK Limited, effective immediately.
 
Simon joins from Bank of America Securities where he was working for over 17 years, most recently as COO and Director of EMEA Rates and Global Non-Linear Rates Trading. Prior to that, he was Senior Client Liaison Manager, Global Investment Manager Services, at State Street Bank and Trust. Simon began his career at Mellon Trust as a Global Securities Specialist.
 
He brings significant expertise and a wealth of front-office experience across multiple global markets trading desks, coupled with an analytical background and strong track record of delivering business strategies, generating revenue streams and driving efficiencies. His appointment comes at a time when Saxo UK continues to expand its offering amid exceptional growth in the investment and trading space.
 

Charles White-Thomson, CEO of Saxo UK, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Simon to the team. His depth and breadth of expertise across the trading and technology sectors will undoubtedly help Saxo as we continue on our ambitious growth strategy. We are determined and focused on providing our clients with the very best opportunities for differentiation through technology, solid operational foundations and risk management.”
 

Commenting on his appointment, Simon Camilleri, said: “Saxo has grown its presence significantly in the UK, providing retail clients with the highest quality products and institutional-like experience all underpinned by operational resilience and the highest regulatory standards. I am very excited to build further on the firm’s well-known reputation in the UK as a leader in both investment and trading in a highly competitive environment.”
 

Simon, based in London, will report to Charles White-Thomson, CEO of Saxo UK. Today’s announcement follows the recent appointment of Joanna Moberly as Head of Legal and Company Secretary which was preceded by seasoned industry figures Nicholas Wilcock and Michael Ridley joining Saxo UK’s board as Non-Executive Directors in January.

• 11.11.2022 -- 01:22 pm

ChainUp, a global blockchain technology solutions provider, announced today that it will be providing crypto exchanges with a Merkle Tree Proof-of-Reserves solution to promote transparency of crypto assets.

A Merkle Tree is a cryptographic tool that enables the consolidation of large amounts of data into a single hash which acts as a cryptographic seal that “summarizes” all the inputted data. The Merkle Tree Proof-of-Reserves thus provides assurance to users by enabling quick, easy verification of a large volume of data, which in turn promotes transparency of the data.

Merkle Tree, as one of the core technologies of blockchain, is able to integrate a large amount of data into a single hash and efficiently verify the integrity of the data set. Therefore, as one of the main applications of Merkle Tree, Proof-of-Reserves not only provides users with fast asset security verification but also improves the transparency of institutional reserves.

ChainUp provides businesses with end-to-end blockchain solutions covering infrastructure development and ecosystem support, with digital assets trading system as one of its key products.

Mr. Sailor Zhong, Founder & CEO of ChainUp Group said, “Transparency is crucial for crypto exchanges to gain the trust of end-users and investors. Our latest Merkle Tree Proof-of-Reserves solution aims to support our existing clients and other industry players in showcasing that users’ fundings are secure and safe, and as a result, strengthen overall trust in the industry.”

Brightside, the leading financial care platform for employers, today announced it has raised $33 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Trinity Ventures, as well as Clocktower Technology Ventures and Chestnut Street Ventures. Bringing the company's total funding to over $75 million, this investment will support Brightside's continued rapid growth and platform enhancements, including additional AI-driven capabilities to further elevate its best-in-class product experience.

Seven in 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck. In addition to the profound ways this impacts individuals and their families, employees' financial health has a proven, significant impact on businesses' performance. In fact, research has shown that financial stress impacts everything from mental and physical health to workplace retention and productivity: according to a recent study², financially-stressed employees are reportedly twice as likely to look for a job elsewhere, and 76% say that financial worries have had a negative impact on their productivity, ultimately affecting employers' bottom line in key areas.

Brightside is on a mission to help employers improve the financial health of their workforce, thereby improving employee productivity and well-being and supporting businesses' short and long-term growth. By providing a single destination for employees and their families to address any personal finance need with unbiased, individualized, hands-on support, Brightside is transforming the financial futures of the historically underserved majority of Americans. Currently supporting over 300,000 families, Brightside serves leading Fortune 500 employers with frontline workers in industries such as manufacturing, distribution, and healthcare. Households that work with Brightside save approximately $1,200 a year, on average, and employers see an 80% reduction in 401(k) non-contributors. Employees who engage with Brightside also reduce credit card debt by three times more than their non-engaged co-workers, see a 34% improvement in subprime credit scores, and leave their jobs 41% less than those who do not use the benefit.

"Traditional 'financial wellness' solutions have long fallen short for the frontline worker," said Tom Spann, CEO and co-founder of Brightside. "Most employees aren't looking for financial plans and budgeting products, and they don't want a financial planner to tell them they are doing it wrong. They want to know what to do now in their moment of need. Real problems are more than arithmetic – they are about real life and require practical, personalized solutions from real people powered by sophisticated rules engines. At Brightside, we have added financial urgent care and financial primary care to wellness to meet people where they are to measurably improve the financial health of working families. With this funding, we'll be able to expand our offering to more employers and families – something that's desperately needed during this time of inflation and economic uncertainty."

Leveraging proprietary behavioural science and financial models, Brightside combines a human approach to financial health – via dedicated Financial Assistants – with a technology platform to provide real solutions to alleviate employees' financial stress. Brightside addresses urgent financial needs by finding community and government assistance programs, arranging payment plans, discussing debt consolidation options, creating savings plans and providing other practical, substantive support and tools that meet everyday Americans where they are to help them break out of the stressful cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.

"Employee access to meaningful financial solutions and support is more important now than ever, and Brightside is leading the charge to make a real difference, particularly among underserved populations," said Vishal Vasishth, co-founder and managing director at Obvious Ventures. "We are excited about this partnership and what's in store for Brightside as the company continues to scale its growth and build a new front door to financial services for working families."

Brightside grew its 2021 revenues by approximately 800% last year and is on track to grow nearly 10x in 2022. The company's headcount has grown over 150% this year to more than 175 team members, and the company plans to hire 200 more employees in the coming year.

AQRU plc, an incubator specialising in opportunities in decentralised finance (“DeFi”), is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Ben Sampson and Elliot Fielding, Managing Partners of the UK-based chartered accountancy firm Sampson Fielding Ltd. (“Sampson Fielding”), to launch a start-up under the brand “Daxiom” offering technology-led accountancy and advisory services for institutions holding digital assets, and their auditors. 

Daxiom leverages AQRU plc’s proprietary accounting software, which the Company initially designed to support its start-up companies in the cryptocurrency and digital assets sector, to enable institutions to quantify and independently verify the value of the digital asset holdings, including non-fungible tokens and cryptocurrencies, at a given point in time, as well as accurately account for all digital transactions in a given period. With the value of digital assets being technically complex to quantify and prone to regular swings in value, having access to a solution that can accurately account for an organisation’s digital assets can contribute to maintaining accuracy and auditability in financial statements. 

As well as offering a technology solution that enables companies to value their digital assets, Daxiom will use Mr. Sampson and Mr. Fielding’s expertise to advise institutions on their reporting requirements and best practice for accounting for digital assets. Additionally, Daxiom will work closely with clients’ teams to ensure that all data collected through its accounting software is filed accurately and reflected in their financial statements. This advisory support is particularly important for businesses at a time when an increasing number of organisations are holding digital assets, but there is still a gap in guidance and best practices on how to account and report on these assets. 

Daxiom has an impressive senior leadership team made up of cryptocurrency and accountancy professionals, including Philip Blows and Digby Try, Co-founders and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Commercial Officer respectively of AQRU plc, and Sampson Fielding’s Managing Partners Ben Sampson and Elliot Fielding. Mr. Sampson and Mr. Fielding have significant experience offering taxation, financial compliance, audit, transaction and advisory services for publicly listed and privately held companies, including in the cryptocurrency sector. 

The launch of Daxiom is part of AQRU plc’s efforts to use its technical and blockchain expertise to offer a diverse portfolio of services, enabling a wide range of investors to participate in the cryptocurrency and DeFi sector. 

Philip Blows, Chief Executive of AQRU plc and Director of Daxiom, commented: “An increasing number of organisations are entering crypto and DeFi sector but, in doing so, they’ve found that

accounting and reporting their digital assets can be a challenging process, and this constraint on being able to properly report on their assets further undermines investor confidence. By using AQRU plc’s software to quantify and verify the value of digital assets, and Ben Sampson and Elliot Fielding’s sector expertise, we’re making accounting and reporting easier and taking much of the burden off organisations holding digital assets. We look forward to working in this endeavour to ensure that accounting and reporting issues don’t prevent organisations and investors alike from joining crypto and DeFi and taking advantage of the opportunities available in the sector.” 

Elliot Fielding, Managing Partner of Sampson Fielding Ltd. and Director of Daxiom, commented: “The crypto sector has become increasingly popular in the last decade and, since then, we’ve been frequently approached by companies seeking assistance in reporting their digital assets. Through Daxiom, we’re combining our expertise in the digital assets sector with AQRU’s tech-led cryptocurrency and DeFi accounting solution to create a first-class offering to support organisations operating in this space.” 

The Directors of AQRU plc take responsibility for this announcement.

An independent economic evaluation of the Future Fund has found that it provided a lifeline to businesses during the pandemic, with 48% of recipients saying their company would have been likely to close without its support.

The evaluation also found that the scheme met its short-term objectives of increasing the availability of equity finance to businesses affected by the pandemic and delivering finance quickly to recipients. The British Business Bank commissioned RSM UK Consulting to undertake an early assessment economic evaluation of the Future Fund. The report focuses on lessons learnt from a policy design, delivery and early economic impact perspective.

Ken Cooper, Managing Director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank said: “The Future Fund was created at a time of great uncertainty in the venture capital markets and when the country was learning new ways of working through a pandemic. Against that backdrop, seeing the positive outcomes reflected in this independent evaluation is fantastic. We supported over a thousand companies many of which have since gone on to gain subsequent investment where they might not otherwise have survived.”

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said: “COVID-19 presented monumental challenges for British businesses which is why it was so important that the government stepped in during their time of need.”

“Whether it was supporting firms to stay open or equipping them to access capital and grow, today’s findings highlight the vital role of the Future Fund in keeping our most innovative businesses ticking along during a challenging time. My priority is ensuring we continue to champion the interests of British firms to help unlock economic growth right across the country.”

The Future Fund deployed £1.14bn of funding through Convertible Loan Agreements (CLAs) to 1,190 equity-backed companies, with at least equal match funding from private investors. Unlike equity investment, there wasn’t a requirement under the CLA to value the company at a time when company valuations were significantly impacted by Covid-19. The CLA was designed as bridge financing due to converting into equity at the next funding round when an equity value can be negotiated between companies and investors. The evaluation finds the majority of lead match-fund investors preferred the CLA structure over equity co-investment.

The scheme was deployed at pace and was open to applications from May 2020 to January 2021. The programme was set up within two months of the pandemic emerging in the UK. This enabled vital financial support to reach early-stage companies quickly at a time when there had been a significant reduction in the availability of equity finance. 

Reduced risk of business closures and damage to long-term company prospects

The Covid-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented economic situation across the UK in early 2020, with the number of equity deals falling 32% in Q1 2020 from Q4 2019. The report states that 62% of Future Fund recipients reported they probably or definitely would not have been able to obtain similar funding from elsewhere. The report also found that only 26% of respondent companies that received Future Fund support said they could have raised similar equity finance in its absence. In addition, only 36% of investors would have invested without the Future Fund. Collectively, the 1,190 companies funded by the Future Fund employed 28,000 people.

Providing a lifeline to innovative UK businesses

The Future Fund also provided a lifeline to innovative UK businesses facing the prospect of long-term damage. Companies supported by the Future Fund were relatively small and at an early stage of their development. Of the 1,190 companies that received funding, 41% were technology / IP-based businesses. Most recipients (85%) reported they have undertaken research and development, developed new or modified goods/services after receiving funding (67%) or expanded digital technologies (65%), supporting the finding that funding went to innovative companies. Initial results suggest the Future Fund enabled each recipient to invest an extra £122k to support long-term business development.

A clear and quick application process

The clear and quick process to access the Future Fund was critical in its success the report finds, with nearly half (46%) of recipients saying the speed of funding attracted them to apply. The average total time between the start of the application process and funding being approved was 17 days. The application process was also deemed to be straightforward for investors - 89% of investors either agreed or strongly agreed that the overall application process was clearly explained.

Supporting diverse management teams

Many of the companies that received support from the Future Fund showed a considerable degree of ethnic and gender diversity within the management team. More than half (52%) of firms had at least one management team member from a Black, Asian or other Ethnic Minority backgrounds, with 5% of teams solely from Black, Asian or other Ethnic Minority backgrounds. More than two-thirds (69%) of companies had at least one female management team member, with 42% of firms also having at least one female founder. This level of diversity was likely due to the broad eligibility criteria and automation of application.

This early assessment is part of a multi-year evaluation of the Future Fund. Future stages of the evaluation will focus on measuring the programme's impact in more detail.

Delivering large-scale investment relative to similar European schemes

The report finds that next to comparable schemes in Europe (the Business Angel and Syndication Loan scheme in Denmark, the Tech Bridge scheme in France, and TOPPS in the Netherlands), the Future Fund provided greater funding to more businesses.

In comparison to Denmark’s two schemes, the country with the next largest scheme, the Future Fund delivered five times the amount of funding to three times as many companies. Reviews of similar equity finance programmes from other European countries’ development banks suggest the Future Fund’s broad eligibility criteria and government backing helped deliver a large-scale finance programme.

Temenos has today announced that it has been awarded a triple A rating in the Morgan Stanley Capital Investment’s (MSCI) ESG rating. This represents the highest possible score and marks Temenos as a “leader”, sitting in the top 8 per cent for ESG progress within MSCI’s “Software and Services” category.

The report recognizes Temenos’ commitment to sustainability and the company’s strong management practices to address carbon emissions in comparison to its market peers in its operations as well as its product offering. This includes Temenos’ commitment to science-based emissions reduction targets that are consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Temenos’ commitment to sustainability is embedded in its product offering. It recently announced the availability of its carbon emissions calculator – one of the industry’s first - giving its customers deeper insight into carbon emissions data associated with their consumption of Temenos Banking Cloud services.

This new Environmental Social Governance (ESG) tool presented at COP27 with Microsoft has been introduced by Temenos to estimate its own cloud and SaaS operations’ carbon emissions and is provided to Temenos Banking Cloud customers as a tailored carbon impact assessment at no cost. This helps them gain carbon insights from using Temenos Banking services, track progress towards their sustainability targets, and ensure compliance with growing climate-related regulations.

Beyond its environmental progress, Temenos has also scored particularly highly in both the Corporate Governance and Privacy & Data Security measurements. MSCI analysts highlight Temenos’ industry-leading governance provisions and its strong data security framework.

Max Chuard, Chief Executive Officer, Temenos, said: “We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded an “AAA” rating from MSCI’s ESG rating. At Temenos, we have embedded sustainability and inclusion within our operations, value chain and product offering, and it is great to be recognized as a market leader by the MSCI rating. We are committed to meeting our science-based targets and continuing our ESG mission to ensure we both manage our operations ethically and sustainably and also help our clients and partners transform into inclusive and sustainable organizations.”

Temenos has also cemented its leadership in the FTSE4Good and S&P Sustainability Indices and it has also been awarded an A- rating within the leadership band by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). In addition, it has obtained platinum recognition, placing Temenos among the top 1% performers assessed by EcoVadis.

Digital wallet infrastructure platform ‘Liminal’ announced a partnership with Web3 incubator Buidlers Tribe as part of an accelerator program. The program aims at supporting emerging crypto-native projects at the incubation level. Startups part of this accelerator program will be able to avail of benefits worth USD 59,000 annually.

Builders Tribe is a Web3 native incubator collaborating with various ​​founders and investors in building something new. Liminal x Buidlers Tribe Accelerator Program will help companies to scale their operations in the most secure, efficient, and compliant way. It will help startup crypto projects secure digital assets with Liminal’s plug-and-play architecture.

India is moving into the highly active web3 space. The accelerator program will tap into the vast developer potential of India and the constantly growing Indian Web3 ecosystem. Benefits associated with becoming part of the accelerator are:

●        Zero costs associated with the benefit of AML Integration and CCSS compliance consultation.

●        Consultation services on Wallet Operations, Security, and Compliance. Along with Wallet Recovery Training, Set-up assistance, and Premium Support. 

●        3 Ledger Nano X to protect their investments.

●        Save thousands of dollars and enjoy paying the lowest possible gas fee and efficient transaction settlement irrespective of the network status.

●        Pricing: The standard pricing costs you USD 3000 per month however you get a flat 70% discount, and you only pay USD 890 per month. Meanwhile, you also get Liminal credits worth USD 100K per user at USD 299 instead of USD 499

●        Insured Liminal Key: Liminal key has full insurance coverage of USD 50 million Canopius (Lloyds of London).

Indian Web3 ecosystem has been growing rapidly, with numerous projects gaining the spotlight. Commenting on the launch of Liminal x Buidlers Tribe Accelerator Program, Manan Vora, Senior Vice President- Strategy & Operations, Liminal said, “We take pride in helping organisations to make their digital assets secure & compliant, without compromising the control or ownership of private keys. Our goal is to make Digital Custody simplified. Working in this direction, we are excited to join hands with Buidlers Tribe to help reach large no of web3 startups and build the future of Web3.”

Raghu Mohan, co-founder, BuidlersTribe said, “We're thrilled to collaborate with Liminal to empower the next wave of Web3 builders and entrepreneurs. At BuidlersTribe, we aim to foster synergies that reward builders who show up on a week-on-week basis and log proof of progress. With this initiative, we seek to encourage perseverant entrepreneurs to showcase their weekly updates and benefit from Liminal's large suite of service offerings.”

On October 19-21, the Go Global Awards 2022 award ceremony was carried out in Tallinn. In close cooperation with the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, the International Trade Council carried out the award ceremony! The Go Global Awards 2022 event was dedicated to organizations and companies, which are able to demonstrate innovation and sustainability despite difficult times. The award ceremony was attended by representatives from 89 countries from all around the world.

International experts have recognized the LEO International Payment System as the leader in 2022, as well as a crisis-resistant, flexible, and innovative representative of the Ukrainian financial market. The organizers and the jury presented the award to the company in the Ukraine Finance Company of the Year nomination. IBOX BANK, the Ukrainian Association of Payment Systems, the Ministry of Social Policy, and other entities from Ukraine received awards for various achievements.

"It is delightful and amazing to listen to the names of Ukrainian companies on the stages of international conferences and awards. Europeans not only help Ukraine on the military front but are also interested in representatives of our business. This allows local companies to show their best and prove that investing in post-war Ukraine is a must-have for any advanced country in the world," says CEO at LEO, Alona Shevtsova.

The awards are held annually in different countries all around the world. The upcoming Go Global Awards 2023 is planned to be held in Rhode Island, USA.

We would like to remind the audience that the LEO International Payment System took third place among the largest money transfer systems in Ukraine in 2022 while increasing domestic transfers to UAH 3.6 billion. LEO (LEO Financial Company LLC payment organization) and NovaPay (NovaPay LLC) increased domestic transfers by 6% compared to the beginning of the year.