NEWS
Featured News
Trending News
GOLDMAN SACHS AND JPMORGAN INVESTMENT BANKING PROFITS SOAR
US stock indexes were set to rise on Wednesday following positive earnings reports from investment banks.
JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc both beat analysts’ expectations for first-quarter profit.
Goldman saw its overall investment banking revenue jump 73% to $3.77 billion, the highest amount seen since 2010. The bank managed to effectively capitalise on record global investment banking activity, which Refinitiv data showed as reaching an all-time high of $39.4 billion in the March quarter.
BANKS NEED TO PROTECT CONSUMERS FROM RISING LEVELS OF PAYMENTS FRAUD
Contactless and digital payments have without doubt grown in popularity during the last year, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and consumers trying to avoid using cash to reduce the spread of the virus. As a consequence, the contactless limit in the UK has recently been increased to £100. While a welcome move for both consumers and the payments ecosystem, this increase comes with the inherent risk of more fraud.
POUND REMAINS STABLE AS UK ECONOMY REOPENS
Non-essential shops and services have reopened across England and Wales as lockdown rules are eased across the UK.
Gyms, hairdressers and zoos can now reopen, while pubs and restaurants are able to host customers in outdoor areas. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people taking advantage of the eased restrictions to “behave responsibly” and continue to exercise advised steps to reduce the likelihood of contracting or spreading coronavirus.
MANAGING MONEY WITH AN ONGOING SICKNESS OR INJURY
Being faced with long-term illness or disability is incredibly stressful, and can cause serious implications for your finances. For those who have become financially vulnerable due to ongoing illness, or are looking for ways to plan for unexpected circumstances, business growth consultant Daniel Groves has compiled some the resources that can help.
PROSUS MAKES $14.6 BILLION FROM SALE OF 2% TENCENT STAKE
Amsterdam-based tech investor Prosus NV netted $14.6 billion overnight from the sale of a 2% stake in Tencent, the company announced on Thursday.
A filing from Tencent at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange revealed that Prosus had sold 191.89 million shares at HK$595.00 per share.
“Our belief in Tencent and its management team is steadfast, but we also need to fund continued growth in our core business lines and emerging sectors,” Prosus Chairman Koos Bekker said in a statement on Thursday, hours after the completion of the deal.
UNIFYING FINANCE FOR A COMMON CAUSE
In the world of finance, the convergence of two institutions – outside of an M&A – is uncommon. Beyond this, we rarely see two financial brands come together for a common cause. However, when it does happen, it’s critical that they present a clear and unified proposition if they are to achieve success. And the value of that should not be underestimated; the Marketing Accountability Standards Board, whose research from 2018 found that brands contribute an average of 19.5% enterprise value.
CYBER THREATS TO FINANCIAL ORGANISATIONS IN THE POST-COVID ERA
Unsurprisingly, financial services firms and their troves of sensitive data were a big target for threat actors in 2020. The rapid shift to remote work, coupled with insufficient budgets and a lack of training and awareness to mitigate attacks, led to an increased risk for many sectors. Despite the need for cybersecurity and the cost savings it can bring over the long haul (breaches are expensive, especially for financial organisations), businesses prioritised other functions and operations which more directly affected their bottom lines this past year.
DELIVEROO SHARES RALLY ON FIRST DAY OF RETAIL TRADING
Shares in food delivery startup Deliveroo rallied on Wednesday as its first day of unconditional trading on the London Stock Exchange began.
Wednesday marked the first time that retail investors could trade shares in Deliveroo, including the 70,000 who invested in the company’s IPO. It followed a week of “conditional” trading that began last week, during which only institutional investors could trade stakes in Deliveroo.
COMPLYSCI ACQUIRES ILLUMIS, PREMIER TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER TO FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS AND AGGREGATOR OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION DATA
ComplySci (the “Company”), the leading provider of regulatory technology and compliance solutions for the financial services sector, announced today that it has acquired illumis Inc., a premier data aggregator and technology provider whose solutions are used by financial services firms to identify and mitigate risk from employee political contributions. The transaction is ComplySci’s second acquisition in Q4 2021 and the latest step in the company’s mission to provide private equity firms, hedge funds, broker dealers and other financial services institutions with a comprehensive platform for streamlining and automating employee compliance functions.
WALMART REWARDS MASTERCARD LAUNCHES FIRST-EVER PAYMENT INSTALLMENT PLAN EXPANDING SERVICES AND PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR WALMART CUSTOMERS
Walmart Canada and Duo Bank of Canada are launching the first-ever Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® Installment Plan to offer Walmart customers even more convenient and flexible payment options.
Customers have said they want more payment flexibility when they shop. The new Installment Plan through the Walmart Rewards Mastercard provides flexible ways to pay for larger ticket items and shopping baskets. Duo Bank is the issuer of the Walmart Rewards Mastercard.
CIRCLE LAUNCHES ‘CIRCLE IMPACT’ TO IMPROVE FINANCIAL INCLUSION, DIGITAL FINANCIAL LITERACY AND HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE VIA DIGITAL CURRENCY
Circle Internet Financial, LLC, a global internet finance firm that provides payments and financial infrastructure to businesses of all sizes today announced the launch of Circle Impact. The initiative is dedicated to measurably improving three key areas of focus: financial inclusion, responsible financial service innovation, and supporting humanitarian efforts through the faster deployment of aid and relief using corruption-resistant real-time payments.
NUULA LAUNCHES FINANCIAL METRICS TOOL, INTEGRATING ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE DATA INTO THE NUULA MOBILE APP
Nuula, a fintech company focused on providing small businesses the tools and the capital they need to succeed, today announced the launch of its Financial Health tool — a new feature that lets small business owners stay on top of key financial metrics from their cloud accounting software right within the Nuula app.
With the Financial Health tool, small businesses can get real-time insights from their QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Wave or other accounting software anytime and anywhere.
SOGOTRADE OFFERS CASH-BACK TO FINANCIAL PORTFOLIOS WITH EVOSHARE
SogoTrade, a digital brokerage subsidiary of Sogo Financial Group, Inc. (“Sogo”), has partnered with EvoShare, a microsavings-oriented FinTech startup based in Berkeley, CA, to bring cash-back savings opportunities to its customers.
“Cash-back offers are popular and incentivize people who spend money at retailers, restaurants, hotels, and more,” said Jonathan Yao, CEO of SogoTrade. “SogoTrade is excited to partner with EvoShare, bringing a robust cash-back savings infrastructure to everyday people, enabling them to earn on everyday spending and invest in their future.”
WHALE CLOUD AND ANT GROUP JOIN FORCE WITH TOKA FINTECH TO EXPAND INCLUSIVE FINANCIAL SERVICES
Whale Cloud, a leading technology company providing software solutions and services for telecommunications and multiple other industries, today reached a partnership with Toka Fintech, a Mexican-leading financial group, to help it develop its own digital payment app with Alipay+ Digital Wallet Solution, providing Mexicans with better access to inclusive financial services.
Toka Fintech is a company belonging to Grupo Toka, which is one of the most important groups in the prepaid card market and has more than 4.5 million customers in Mexico. Grupo Toka is increasingly embracing digital payment services because of the fast adoption of smartphones in the country and the COVID-19 pandemic.
VOLT LAUNCHES IN BRAZIL TO ACCELERATE GLOBAL OPEN BANKING PAYMENTS REVOLUTION
Volt, the leading open payments gateway, today announced its expansion to Brazil following a period of rapid growth for the FinTech company. Volt has now integrated Brazil’s domestic instant payments network Pix – and established its physical presence in São Paulo – as it builds upon its proposition as the global leader in real-time payments everywhere.
Already strongly established in Europe with over 5,000 bank connections on the PSD2 Open Banking network, the expansion sees Volt bring its real-time payments offering to the Brazilian market. Volt customers can now access Latin America’s largest and fastest growing markets, whilst cutting out the region’s lengthy settlement times (from 28 days to two seconds) and costly card infrastructure, whilst boosting payment conversion rates. For those without a domestic presence, Volt acts as the merchant of record in-country and manages currency export, FX, and declarations to the Central Bank of Brazil.
FINASTRA PARTNERS WITH HEXAWARE TO ACCELERATE DIGITAL PAYMENTS FOR SELECTED EUROPEAN BANKS
Finastra today announced its partnership with Hexaware Technologies (Hexaware) to provide managed services for Finastra’s payments solutions deployed in the cloud. The move helps Hexaware customers in Germany, Belgium, the UK and Ireland take ownership of their payment infrastructure. The partnership brings together the companies’ industry leading payments and integration experience, to provide mid-sized banks with an end-to-end Payments as a Service (PaaS) offering which helps them remain competitive while mitigating operational costs.