Category: Banking

Virtual Gathering of Global CX visionaries to Explore ASEAN’s Untapped Opportunities in FSI

Banks in the ASEAN region were extremely successful not only in adapting rapidly to the evolving banking environment but being innovative in terms of new customers being incorporated. Customer experience is now one of the major differentiators in all industries.

On 21st October 2021, the 5th edition of World CX Summit — FSI will bring together key players and experts to help ASEAN countries to digitize at speed and scale.

The summit will host a combination of keynotes, insightful sessions and panel discussions sure to deliver actionable insights that attendees can apply to their Customer Experience strategies
The event will focus on topics such as: how can financial service be future-ready with CX-led Digital Transformation; how banks are sparking disruption and fostering CX – rethinking CX in post-pandemic era and strategy to improve CX; how digital & wearable innovation is redefining insurtech; how AI Will Shift Customer Experience to the Next Level; which emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain, IoT, AR, VR etc. will deliver on the new capabilities for next-generation CX; and much more.

The summit will also feature a groundbreaking collaboration of experts such as:
– Anthony Rogalski, Solutions Consultant, UserTesting
– Landon Barnes, Principal Solutions Consultant, UserTesting
– Gavin Neil Olsen, Regional Manager, FSI, Sitecore
– Mike Plimsoll, Snr. Director, Industry Strategy & Marketing, Sitecore
– Allan Tumbaga, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Marketing Officer, Pru Life UK
– Sourabh Chitrachar, Regional VP- IT Strategy & Transformation, Liberty Mutual Insuarance
– Rachel Chen, Chief Digital Officer, Aviva Singlife
– Mohd Afdhal Bin Mohd Nayan, Chief Transformation Officer & Bank Of Ayudhya – Krungsri
– Chatrudee Ngamvalairatt, EVP, Customer Experience Management
– Tomasz Kurczyk, Chief Digital and Transformation Officer, AXA Insurance
– Dan Ramirez, Head of Business Excellence (AVP), Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd.
– Mujtanibul Ahmed Sakib, Division Customer Experience Director, Wing Bank
– Jennifer Villalobos, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Prudential Life Assurance Public Company Ltd

“When we elevate UX & UI to a whole new level of excellence, then climax is perfected,” states Steven Wong Weng Leong, Chief Digital & Global Banking Strategist at China Construction Bank. “Customers today are far more aware than ever and it’s highly unlikely that they will hold brands for things they cannot control, but the brand needs to make customers understand expectations. One has to focus on what the pain points are and try to bring a correction there,” said Mithun Shetty, CEO of Trescon.

The summit will be hosted on the virtual events platform Vmeets to help participants network and conduct business in an interactive and immersive virtual environment. Participants can also engage with the speakers during Q&A sessions and network with solution providers/sponsors at their virtual exhibition booths, private consultation rooms and meeting tables.
World CX Summit – FSI is officially sponsored by Lead Sponsor – UserTesting; Platinum Sponsor – Sitecore; Gold Sponsor – OutSystems, Servicenow, Creatio; Silver Sponsors – Freshworks, Teleperformance.

About World CX Summit

World CX Summit is a thought-leadership-driven, business-focused, global series of events that takes place in strategic locations across the world.
The summit will also host a combination of insightful sessions, keynotes, case studies and panel discussions sure to deliver actionable insights that attendees can apply to their Customer Experience strategies.

About Trescon

Trescon is a global business events and consulting firm that provides wide range of business services to a diversified client base that includes corporations, governments and individuals. Trescon is specialised in producing highly focused B2B events that connect businesses with opportunities through conferences, road shows, expos, demand generation, investor connect and consulting services.

For further details about the announcement, please contact:
Media, PR & Corporate Communications
+91 81059 75937
media@tresconglobal.com

StraitsX surpasses SGD 2 billion mark in digital assets-related transactions in 2021 and unveils new platform

StraitsX, Southeast Asia’s pioneering digital assets platform developed by Xfers, a Singapore-based FinTech licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for e-money issuance, today announced that it has surpassed the SGD 2 billion mark in digital assets-related transactions on its payment platform in 2021 alone.

Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX, said, “The growth in transactions shows that investors are increasingly exploring digital assets as an alternative form of investment that offers liquidity and returns. Meanwhile, central banks around the world are examining the potential benefits of digital and decentralised financial systems. Recently, we have been shortlisted in the MAS Global CBDC Challenge together with our partner SEBA Bank to explore innovative retail CBDC solutions to enhance payment efficiencies, and we intend to intensify our efforts working hand-in-hand with both regulators and digital assets market participants to enable such transformation.”

Rebranding and Transformation for better user experience
Adding on to this announcement is the unveiling of StraitsX’s new platform and identity. The new StraitsX platform features a redesigned and streamlined user interface to enable faster and more efficient navigation. The StraitsX platform enables individual users to transfer, mint and redeem XSGD with a connected bank account, in addition to spending their XSGD with various digital asset platforms. Businesses can also leverage APIs to collect, disburse and reconcile funds from their end-users. StraitsX currently supports over 10 digital asset platforms in Singapore through its API solution.

“With the increase of user adoption towards access to digital assets, we feel that we can better serve this market by separating StraitsX as a standalone brand dedicated to accelerating access to digital assets in Southeast Asia. This brand update aims to improve user experience and better communicate our mission to bring access to digital assets in Southeast Asia,” said Salley.

The new StraitsX brand logo depicts a strait, which is defined as a narrow passage of water connecting two bodies of water. Similar to a strait, StraitsX aims to connect the existing fiat-based financial system to a blockchain-based financial system, through its services and the StraitsX stablecoins. Along with this, StraitsX has also introduced a new token logo for XSGD, which features a simplified design to optimise for better readability. The equal borders at the top and the bottom represent XSGD’s one for one parity with the Singapore dollar.

In October 2020, StraitsX launched Southeast Asia’s first stablecoin – the StraitsX Singapore Dollar (XSGD), a digital token available on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchain that is backed one-for-one by the Singapore dollar. XSGD is supported on various digital asset platforms including decentralised finance applications such as Zilswap, Uniswap and DFX finance. As of September 2021, XSGD crossed over 1.5 billion SGD in on-chain transaction value.

Salley added, “At StraitsX, we strive to enable and accelerate access to digital assets in Asia and beyond. With the help of our valuable partners, we have seen tremendous growth in digital asset-related transactions and the adoption of XSGD. We hope to continue to bring value to our users in Southeast Asia through the StraitsX platform and the StraitsX stablecoins.”

About StraitsX by Xfers
StraitsX is the pioneering payments infrastructure for the digital assets space in Southeast Asia developed by Singapore-based FinTech Xfers Pte. Ltd, a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for e-money issuance. StraitsX offers personal and business accounts to deposit, hold and withdraw funds as well as to connect accounts to digital asset platforms. Business accounts can also access B2B API-enabled payments rails for digital asset platforms and issues the Singapore Dollar-backed stablecoin, XSGD. For more information, please visit straitsx.com.

For media queries PRecious Communications for Xfers/StraitsX:
xfers@preciouscomms.com

E-Wallet DANA partners with Igloo, Providing Electronic Gadget Insurance

  • DANA adds mobile phone screen protection in DANA Siaga feature through its latest partnership with Igloo.
  • Igloo’s partnership with DANA comes on the heels of its recent partnership with Philippines’ leading e-wallet provider, GCash
  • New phone screen protection insurance aims to protect DANA’s over 80 million mobile phone users from as low as Rp500 and covers up to a maximum of Rp200,000.
  • Mobile phones have become more critical for business and lifestyles in Indonesia. High rate of smartphone ownership at 2% and welcomed 21 million new online shoppers since the start of the pandemic.
  • DANA and Igloo’s partnership aims to participate and support the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (SNKI).

Indonesia’s leading e-wallet DANA today expands a new added value for its users by providing phone screen protection insurance with Singapore-headquartered regional insurtech Igloo. Through this partnership, DANA aims to offer its over 80 million users an affordable microinsurance solution through a digital channel to purchase mobile phone screen protection and make a claim, all in one app.

Underwritten by PT Jasa Asuransi Indonesia-Jasindo and distributed by PT Insco Multi Pratama, plans start from as low as Rp500 and cover up to a maximum of Rp200,000 for cracked phone screens on both new and used mobile phones. To activate the protection, users can navigate to “DANA Siaga” in the DANA app to select a plan that suits their lifestyle or select the add-on when completing their purchase of mobile recharge.

Together with Igloo, DANA has introduced a digital solution for mobile phone screen protection for avid mobile users in Indonesia who want hassle-free and easy claims management for insurance solutions.

“As a lifestyle-based digital wallet application, DANA offers a one-stop solution to accommodate the various characteristics and needs of its users all across Indonesia. It includes expanding collaboration and partnerships with Igloo to protect users’ phones, and their mobile-based activities are hassle-free. Moreover, the need for microinsurance is in high demand. Based on the Financial Services Authority (OJK) data alone, the development of microinsurance as of June 2019 already has 22.1 million policyholders or participants. Therefore, we warmly welcome this partnership to continue to encourage the advancement of insurance in Indonesia and increase financial inclusion,” said Vince Iswara, CEO & Co-Founder of DANA.

The new protection aligns with DANA’s commitment to continuously updating and improving the user experience in digital transactions through the DANA app to reach more users throughout the nation.

DANA has seen growth during the pandemic, with the number of transactions increased by 151% YOY. Referring to data from App Annie – a provider of application analytics and application market data – DANA was the only finance app amongst the Top 10 most downloaded apps in Indonesia across all categories in Q2 2021. It also ranks first in the financial apps category for most downloads (iOS and Android) in Indonesia in Q22021.

According to the ‘Southeast Asia (SEA), the home for digital transformation’ report, Indonesia has seen the strongest growth in the region (21 million, equivalent to a 15% growth) with high smartphone ownership (98.2% in Jan 2021). Mobile phones have been a critical tool for merchants and gig workers who run their businesses and become an integral part of consumer’s social life.

“Dana has played a pivotal role in driving digital adoption of financial services amongst the Indonesian customers. This trend has been accelerated due to the pandemic with increasing reliance on cashless payments from utility payments to investments. Igloo is proud to collaborate with Dana to extend its digital solution of micro insurance portfolio to Dana consumers in an intuitive and affordable fashion.” said Raunak Mehta, Igloo Chief Commercial Manager.

This initiative marks Igloo’s second partnership with a mobile wallet brand after GCash, in the region, strengthening its presence to provide affordable and accessible insurance for the masses by working with partners from diverse verticals. Igloo had secured partnerships with industries that range across e-commerce, logistics, automobiles, transportation, telecommunication, banking, travel and hospitality and the gig economy. In Indonesia, aside from DANA, Igloo has partnered with the country’s largest e-logistics platforms, Ritase, e-commerce company, Bukalapak, home and business appliances solution provider, Modena, and freight logistics marketplace, Kargo Technologies. Regionally, Igloo also works with food delivery company, foodpanda, SEA’s leading e-commerce platform, Shopee, on-demand and SEA’s fastest-growing hotel management platform RedDoorz.

About DANA
DANA is a digital wallet service by PT Espay Debit Indonesia Koe, an Indonesian startup company in the financial technology sector paving the way towards an advanced infrastructure which makes it possible to complete payments and transactions without cash, without card. Born and raised in Indonesia, DANA takes pride in its local creative talents and programmers who have tirelessly worked to build and develop DANA from the ground up. In addition to its availability on iOS and Android, DANA is integrated with various merchants and renowned applications as payment solution, both online and offline. #DANASahabatUMKM reflects DANA’s initiative to support the digitalization of Indonesian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the platform DANA Bisnis.

About Igloo
Igloo, previously known as “Axinan”, is the first full-stack insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore. It has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and tech centres are located in China. With a mission of making insurance accessible for all, the firm leverages big data, real-time risk assessment, and end-to-end automated claims management to create B2B2C insurance solutions for platform companies and insurance companies. Solutions for digital insurance developed by Igloo enable companies to eliminate their exposure to operational risk, create new revenue streams, and optimize and enhance existing products and services. In April 2020, Igloo successfully closed its Series A+ funding round worth US$8.2 million, bringing its total funding to US$16 million from global investors.

Igloo is led by a core team that comprises top talent from the technology and insurance industries hailing from global corporations including Facebook, Grab, Flipkart, Garena, Manulife, Shopee, Yahoo! and Zalora. For more information, please visit https://www.iglooinsure.com/

Media Queries
PRecious Communications for Igloo
igloo@preciouscomms.com

DANA
Putri Dianita
VP of Corporate Communications
Mobile: 0811 9949 387
E-mail: putri.dianita@dana.id

Product images are available for download here.
https://preciouscomms.box.com/s/6mn6thiyf5u3y9j4v1dd1jo3ovkzkkwu

CadencyDirect Integrates into ServiceNow’s GRC Solution to Drive Better Risk-Informed Decisions across the Enterprise

ServiceNow customers can achieve significant ROI potential including: Up to a 40% reduction in internal audit effort, up to a 20% reduction in time testing controls, and up to a 14% reduction in misstatement risk with CadencyDirect

Trintech, a leading global provider of integrated financial close automation software solutions for the Office of Finance, today announced the latest release of CadencyDirect which now integrates into ServiceNow’s GRC solution to help customers strengthen their compliance frameworks and drive better risk-informed decisions across the enterprise.

“At ServiceNow our aim is to make work, work better for people,” said Vasant Balasubramanian, vice president and GM of the Risk BU at ServiceNow. “Through this integration of CadencyDirect into ServiceNow’s GRC solution, we are helping to make work flow more seamlessly for CFOs and their financial teams by helping them achieve enhanced visibility and control of critical financial data in order to handle risk with confidence.”

A key capability delivered with this release includes the ability for critical financial close tasks and issues to trigger notifications and workflows throughout the enterprise within the Now Platform. With this capability, along with the integration to GRC, Trintech and ServiceNow are enabling digital transformation that reduces the risk to the global enterprise market.

“We are seeing a stronger collaboration across the C-Suite, particularly between the CIO, CFO and CAO, as digital transformation becomes more imperative for organizations,” said Robert Michlewicz, Chief Strategy Officer of Trintech. “While digital transformation introduces extensive opportunities for organizations, it also introduces new digital risk that must be managed with stronger and integrated GRC capabilities. With the latest release of CadencyDirect, key stakeholders across the business will now have the visibility and transparency into historically siloed disciplines to create a more connected organization that opens the door to enterprise-wide digital transformation.”

CadencyDirectis certified as part of the ServiceNow Built on Now(TM) program that complements and extends financial operations management so that CFOs and their teams can digitize workflows across the financial close process – helping to reduce complexity and risk, accelerating the overall process, and driving a greater experience for the entire enterprise. The platform combines all financial close activities into a single, seamless process, including operational matching, intercompany transaction management, balance sheet reconciliations, journal entry management, close task management and compliance and provides a connected, collaborative ecosystem by leveraging a mature and very robust set of financial controls, along with deep automation and integration capabilities that seamlessly connects with leading ERPs such as SAP(R), Oracle(R), and NetSuite(R).

Whether you’re an experienced ServiceNow user looking to synchronize your mature or in-progress digital transformation, or just starting your transformation journey, CadencyDirect is where Financial Transformation meets Digital Transformation. For more information, please contact either your appropriate ServiceNow or Trintech representative or go to www.trintech.com/CadencyDirect for more information.

About Trintech
Trintech Inc., a pioneer of Financial Corporate Performance Management (FCPM) software, combines unmatched technical and financial expertise to create innovative, cloud-based software solutions that deliver world-class financial operations and insights. From high volume transaction matching and streamlining daily operational reconciliations, to automating and managing balance sheet reconciliations, intercompany accounting, journal entries, disclosure reporting and bank fee analysis, to governance, risk and compliance – Trintech’s portfolio of financial solutions, including Cadency(R) Platform, Adra(R) Suite, and targeted tools, ReconNET(TM), T-Recs(R), and UPCS(R), help manage all aspects of the financial close process. Over 3,500 clients worldwide – including the majority of the Fortune 100 – rely on the company’s cloud-based software to continuously improve the efficiency, reliability, and strategic insights of their financial operations.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Trintech has offices located across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordics, as well as strategic partners in South Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. To learn more about Trintech, visit www.trintech.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, Now, Now Platform, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Media Contact:
Kelli Shoevlin
214-957-5009
kelli.shoevlin@trintech.com

SOURCE: Trintech, Inc.

GCash Introduces First of Its Kind, Online Shopping Protection with Regional Insurtech Firm, Igloo

  • The first of its kind Online Shopping Insurance protection by GCash, in partnership with Igloo, aims to offer peace of mind for 46 million GCash users when they transact using GCash
  • Approximately 44% of digital consumers have been a target of a fraud scheme in Q1 2021

Philippines’ leading e-wallet provider GCash, has launched an online shopping insurance – underwritten by PGA Sompo – with Singapore-headquartered regional insurtech Igloo, to protect its growing online customer base. This launch and partnership come at a time where GCash has seen a surge in online transactions and is on track to hit PHP 3 trillion in full-year gross transactions – 3x of last year’s performance. This was driven by Filipino consumers shifting to online for their daily needs.

Igloo’s online shopping protection via GCash’s platform

Today, there is an increasing demand to go cashless and more merchants and retailers are opting for the convenience of e-commerce, and express peer-to-peer cash transfers.

Over 70% of Southeast Asia is online and last year, the region saw 40 million new users join the internet. In a recent survey, the Philippines alone saw 37% of all digital service consumers are new to the service due to COVID-19. The survey also shows 97% of these new digital consumers will continue to use digital services going forward. This has led to an increasing need to be able to secure each transaction. Through this partnership with Igloo, GCash aims to provide peace of mind to its 46 million users while they shop online. The GCash app also had over 13 million log-ins per day, peaking at almost 15 million in the second quarter of 2021. This year, GCash aims to reach its PHP 3 trillion Gross Transaction Value (GTV) target and currently processes an average of PHP 300 billion in monthly transactions.

“This comes at an unprecedented time when we see robust growth in our online transactions and user base. With excellent customer experience being the heart of our business alongside value-added services through our platform, we are thrilled to launch this new product with Igloo that secures online transactions for our customers,” said Martha Sazon, GCash President and CEO.

“We are excited to partner with the leading e-wallet in the country, GCash – who shares the same vision of protecting digital consumers by pioneering innovative solutions to end-customers at an economical price. With the growing number of digital consumers in the country, now more than ever, is it most important to provide flexible solutions for the changing needs and processes of both businesses and customers. In a recent survey, 44% of the respondents had been a target of a fraud scheme. The majority of them, or 44% and 39% are experienced by Gen Z and Millennials, respectively. With many GCash customers belonging to this bracket, Igloo’s protection is not only timely but very relevant to GCash customers’ needs,” said Mario Berta, Igloo Philippines Country Manager.

The Online Shopping protection is one of the first products Igloo will be launching with GCash and its customers but will soon be rolling out more products with the e-wallet platform in the next six months that will be geared towards MSMEs which are about 90% of the businesses in the Philippines, securing the entire ecosystem of both seller-business owner-and-buyer.

Igloo’s Online Shopping product is part of its Cyber Protection vertical, which secures financial loss arising directly from any online marketplace fraud. With its pioneering partner, GCash – GCash users will now be protected from any transaction they make via online marketplaces such as Lazada, Shopee, including Viber and Facebook marketplaces as long as their payment was fulfilled via the GCash platform.

Since its entry into the Philippines with its collaboration with Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing hotel management and booking platform, RedDoorz in 2019, Igloo has also partnered with the Union Bank of the Philippines in August last year and Philinsure early 2021. The insurtech has also widened its insurance partner base to include Mercantile, Pioneer, PGA-Sompo Insurance Corporation, and United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corporation.

Images in high resolution are available for download here.

About Igloo
Igloo, previously known as “Axinan”, is the first full-stack insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore. It has offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and tech centres are located in China. With a mission of making insurance accessible for all, the firm leverages big data, real-time risk assessment, and end-to-end automated claims management to create B2B2C insurance solutions for platform companies and insurance companies. Igloo’s insurance solutions enable companies to eliminate their exposure to operational risk, create new revenue streams, and optimize and enhance existing products and services. In April 2020, Igloo successfully closed its Series A+ funding round worth US$8.2 million, bringing its total funding to US$16 million from global investors.

Igloo is led by a core team that comprises top talent from the technology and insurance industries hailing from global corporations including Facebook, Grab, Flipkart, Garena, Manulife, Shopee, Yahoo! and Zalora. For more information, please visit https://www.iglooinsure.com/

Media Queries
PRecious Communications for Igloo
igloo@preciouscomms.com

UREEQA Appoints Technology Marketing Leader Kirk Fergusson as CEO

Harsch Khandelwal moves to Executive Chairman as UREEQA accelerates efforts to protect Creators’ work, rights and revenue through its blockchain platform

UREEQA, a blockchain platform for protecting, managing and monetizing creative work, today announced that the company is bolstering its executive core as technology marketing leader Kirk Fergusson becomes the new CEO.

Former CEO Harsch Khandelwal rounds out the executive team as Executive Chairman.

Kirk Fergusson

In barely a year, UREEQA has evolved from a compelling concept to a crypto project with a loyal, growing base of believers and Tokenholders as well as a healthy pipeline of clients excited to utilize the company’s revolutionary platform. UREEQA will increase its dedicated focus on proactively engaging its core audiences and demonstrating the platform’s full potential for helping Creators protect, manage and monetize their work. The organization is making valuable changes to its braintrust in order to maximize its ability to develop in a wide range of fields.

In his new role as Executive Chairman, Khandelwal will focus on strategic development and implementation to support UREEQA’s continued growth. Meanwhile, Fergusson – a distinguished technology marketing executive – moves into the CEO role. Altogether, the rearrangement will allow Khandelwal, Fergusson and the rest of UREEQA’s highly-esteemed executives to naturally become more keenly focused on their respective wheelhouses moving forward.

“As we’ve built this company from the ground up, we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and our place in this constantly changing industry,” Khandelwal said. “One thing we’ve realized is just how important it is to employ the best possible talent across the board. Adding Kirk Fergusson as CEO is a move in lockstep with that approach, and it will enable me to focus on continuing to strategically build UREEQA into an industry powerhouse.”

This is yet another critical maneuver for UREEQA from a personnel standpoint. In May, former KPMG director of market relations and versatile industry executive Rakan Aown became UREEQA’s new Vice President of Business Development, while former SAS director of consulting services and celebrated business leader Joe Pillitteri became the company’s new Executive Vice President. In July, music and entertainment legend Harvey Mason Jr. joined an Advisory Board that already contained Michael Sheresky and Ramses IsHak of United Talent Agency, official Community CEO Kevin Leflar and former SOCAN VP Janice Scott. All of these experts and many others have worked throughout 2021 with Khandelwal to lay down the puzzle pieces. Now, with Khandelwal’s oversight, Fergusson will play a major role in putting these pieces together as UREEQA continues to evolve.

With over 30 years’ worth of functional experience in marketing, corporate communications, sales/business development, and general management, Fergusson is a black belt in strategic and tactical marketing, solution development, business development/sales, and start-up/scale-up management.

Prior to joining UREEQA, Fergusson led sales operations for SecureKey Technologies, which employs blockchain technology to underpin its innovative identity network. He previously held leadership roles with several Toronto-based start-ups, one of which was focused on deploying a blockchain-based supply-chain management SaaS solution.

While serving as Managing Director of Canada’s leading digital medical education firm, MDBriefCase, Fergusson led Canadian business development activities as well as the shared services provided to the company’s global operations. And prior to that, he was VP of Corporate Services at Canada Health Infoway, where he led corporate communications and marketing activities for the national electronic health records agency.

Fergusson has also acted as a public relations executive in Ottawa, where he served a multitude of federal government clients including the Copyright Board of Canada, Canadian Heritage, and Industry Canada.

“I’m thrilled to be joining UREEQA at this juncture,” Fergusson said. “The team is first-rate and the company has made terrific progress to date. I look forward to helping Creators of all stripes discover our unique platform, and encouraging them to leverage it to the fullest extent to protect, manage and monetize their creative work.”

To learn more about UREEQA and the company’s executive team, please visit our website: www.ureeqa.com/about-us

About UREEQA
The UREEQA platform strives to protect Creators’ work, their rights and their revenue by harnessing the power of blockchain technology.

Established in Canada in 2020, UREEQA will modernize the inefficient and bureaucratic systems currently in place for copyright, patent, industrial design and trademark protection. By building a robust and compelling Package of Proof for source creative work, UREEQA only mints Validated NFTs to represent creative rights. This helps keep buyers safe by giving them confidence that the work they are purchasing was minted by the smart contract approved by the Creator of the work and is therefore authentic.

UREEQA provides value and opportunities for its Creators, Validators and Tokenholders via URQA, the token at the heart of the UREEQA ecosystem.

For more information on UREEQA and upcoming announcements please visit our website (https://www.ureeqa.com/), join our Telegram channel (https://t.me/UREEQA), and follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/UREEQA_Inc).

Trintech Named to the 2021 AIFINTECH100 List

  • FinTech Global recognizes Trintech’s leadership in utilizing advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities to reduce the time and risk across the Record to Report process

Trintech, an industry-leading global provider of Record to Report software solutions for the Office of Finance, today announced that FinTech Global has named the company as one of the world’s most innovative AI solution providers on its inaugural AIFINTECH list for 2021. The list identifies the top 100 companies chosen by a panel of industry experts and analysts who reviewed a study of over 1,000 fintech companies undertaken by FinTech Global. The solution providers making the final list were recognized for their innovative use of technology to solve a significant industry problem, or to generate cost savings or efficiency improvements across the financial services value chain.

Trintech has developed Financial Controls AI within its leading Record to Report platform, Cadency(R) by Trintech, to help customers quantitatively evaluate risk within the Record to Report process. Trintech’s Financial Controls AI allows customers to automate workflows based on their risk profile, all while identifying high-risk items for human review. Trintech’s Financial Controls AI strategy will continue to expand to help the Office of Finance:

– Evaluate and quantify risk across various financial close processes, entities, and functions
– Automate and optimize workflows based on risk
– Leverage insights into compliance controls through data analysis
– Develop best practices for risk evaluation, controls, automation and optimization, based on benchmarking data
– Evaluate and quantify key market trends to determine impact and drive proactive risk prevention measures

“The ability for the Office of Finance to provide real-time business-critical insights to drive confident decision-making has never been more important and we are fortunate to provide leading financial close solutions that not only speed up the Record to Report process but provide that real-time visibility to help drive those key business decisions,” said Michael Ross, Chief Product Officer at Trintech. “Over the past year, Trintech has invested heavily in its Financial Controls AI capabilities to help our customers reduce financial risk from multiple angles, save time and resources, and ultimately transform their operations.”

Cadency has helped financial institutions across the global achieve significant ROI including up to a 99% reduction in preparation time on reconciliations, up to a 90% reduction in the number of accounts needed to be reconciled and up to a 75% reduction in time for rework. Discover the ROI your organization can achieve by automating you Record to Report process.

The full AIFinTech100 2021 list is published online at www.AIFinTech100.com.

About FinTech Global
FinTech Global offers the most comprehensive data, the most valuable insights, and the most powerful analytical tools available for the global FinTech industry. FinTech Global works with market leaders in the FinTech Industry – investors, advisors, innovative companies, and financial institutions – and enables them to get the essential intelligence they need to make superior business decisions.

About Trintech
Trintech Inc., a pioneer of Financial Corporate Performance Management (FCPM) software, combines unmatched technical and financial expertise to create innovative, cloud-based software solutions that deliver world-class financial operations and insights. From high volume transaction matching and streamlining daily operational reconciliations, to automating and managing balance sheet reconciliations, intercompany accounting, journal entries, disclosure reporting and bank fee analysis, to governance, risk and compliance – Trintech’s portfolio of financial solutions, including Cadency(R) Platform, Adra(R) Suite, and targeted tools, ReconNET(TM), T-Recs(R), and UPCS(R), help manage all aspects of the financial close process. Over 3,500 clients worldwide – including the majority of the Fortune 100 – rely on the company’s cloud-based software to continuously improve the efficiency, reliability, and strategic insights of their financial operations.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Trintech has offices located across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordics, as well as strategic partners in South Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. To learn more about Trintech, visit www.trintech.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact:
Kelli Shoevlin
214-957-5009
kelli.shoevlin@trintech.com

SOURCE: Trintech, Inc.

Xfers & SEBA Bank Named Finalists for Global CBDC Challenge organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Xfers, a Southeast Asia based payments leader holding a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license for e-money issuance, together with its partner, SEBA Bank, a FINMA licensed Swiss Bank providing a seamless, secure, and easy-to-use bridge between digital and traditional assets, today announced that they have been named among the 15 finalists for the Global Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Challenge organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and in partnership with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, United Nations Development Programme, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Global CBDC Challenge calls for FinTech companies, financial institutions and solution providers around the world to submit innovative retail CBDC solutions to enhance payment efficiencies and promote financial inclusion.

The joint proposal submitted by Xfers and SEBA Bank was shortlisted from over 300 applications representing over 50 countries and will be presented to the public and a panel of judges at the Singapore Fintech Festival on November 8th, 2021.

Launched in October 2020, StraitsX by Xfers is the first stablecoin initiative focusing on Southeast Asia and issues the StraitsX Singapore dollar, XSGD, a digital token available on the Ethereum and Zilliqa blockchain that is backed one-for-one with the Singapore dollar.

Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX, said, “We are delighted to be named finalists for the CBDC challenge by the MAS. We look forward to continuing leveraging our experience as Singapore’s first stablecoin issuer, and working closely with our partner, SEBA Bank, which comes with a wealth of expertise and practical experience in developing CBDCs, having just completed a CBDC experiment with Banque de France in June this year.”

Founded in 2018, SEBA Bank is a fully licensed FINMA banking and securities dealer. In June this year, SEBA Bank completed a successful CBDC experiment with the Banque de France, which demonstrated the capacity of distributed ledger technologies to communicate with the Eurosystem’s settlement platform TARGET2-Securities for the settlement of listed securities. This testing is an important contribution towards the development of an EU wide CBDC.

Matthew Alexander, Head of Digital Corporate Finance & Asset Tokenisation SEBA Bank, commented, “We are thrilled to have been selected by the MAS for this CBDC challenge amongst such a prestigious group of institutions. We look forward to working with our partner Xfers and contributing both our Digital Asset capabilities and recent experience working with the Banque de France CBDC to support the MAS and the Singapore financial centre. At SEBA Bank, we are constantly striving for innovation in the development of digital currencies and digital asset infrastructure. This selection, alongside our partners Xfers, by MAS as a finalist in the CBDC challenge, is a significant validation of our innovation in the development of digital currencies, and builds on our work supporting the Banque de France in CBDC testing. The shortlisting by MAS is testament to SEBA Bank’s extensive network and operations in APAC, with the recent appointment of Sam Lin as APAC CEO, and headcount growth in our Singapore and Hong Kong hubs, further solidifying our presence in the region.”

About StraitsX by Xfers
StraitsX is the pioneering payments infrastructure for the digital assets space in Southeast Asia developed by Singapore-based FinTech Xfers, which is a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for e-money issuance. StraitsX offers personal and business accounts to deposit, hold and withdraw funds as well as to connect their accounts to digital asset platforms. Business accounts can also access B2B API-enabled payments rails for digital asset platforms and issues the Singapore Dollar-backed stablecoin, XSGD.

About SEBA Bank – The Future of Digital Banking, Investing & Financing
Founded in April 2018 and headquartered in Zug, SEBA Bank is a pioneer in the financial industry and the only global smart bank providing a fully universal suite of regulated banking services in the emerging digital economy. In August 2019, SEBA Bank received a Swiss banking and securities dealer licence – the first time a reputed, regulatory authority such as FINMA has granted a licence to a financial services provider with a core capability in digital assets. The broad, vertically integrated spectrum of services combined with the highest security standards, make SEBA Bank’s value proposition unique – this is why Banque de France selected SEBA Bank to test the integration of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). CVVC Global Report and CB Insights named SEBA Bank as Top 50 Companies within the blockchain ecosystem. Aite Group awarded SEBA Bank with their 2021 Digital Wealth Management Impact Innovation Award in the category “Digital Startup of the Year”. For more information please visit seba.swiss.

For media queries
PRecious Communications for Xfers
xfers@preciouscomms.com

Yang Xiaosong: The Institutional Investor’s Road to Carbon Neutrality

Yang Xiaosong, CEO of China Southern Asset Management Co., Ltd. (Southern Asset Management), was asked to deliver the keynote speech at the first ESG Global Leaders Summit on August 26 in Beijing, sponsored by Sina Finance ESG Channel and CITIC Publishing Group.

The Summit presented an opportunity to meet with global regulatory, business, investment and academic circles to discuss the future of ESG. The topic Yang chose for his address was The Road to Carbon Neutrality for Institutional Investors.

Faced with the increasingly severe challenges of the climate crisis, China made the solemn promise of “30.60 Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality” at the UN Climate Summit last year. As the world’s largest developing country, China has actively promoted “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”, which not only demonstrates the country’s broad mind and responsibility, but also points out the direction for China’s economic and social comprehensive green transformation and sustainable development.

“Carbon peak and carbon neutrality” will promote structural changes in the economy and society, including changes in energy structure, industrial structure, and consumption structure. In this process, on the one hand, professional investment institutions will give full play to the function of optimizing resource allocation and provide long-term funding sources for green and low-carbon high-quality enterprises; on the other hand, the carbon neutral industry chain breeds huge investment opportunities. Professional investment institutions can Through the layout of new opportunities for industrial upgrading and technological breakthroughs, it will create returns for investors and create value for society.

As a leading domestic institutional investor, Southern Asset Management attaches great importance to the research and practice of sustainable development finance. As early as 2018, it joined UNPRI (United Nations Responsible Investment Organization) and took the lead in establishing an ESG management structure, an ESG evaluation system and an ESG evaluation system. Investment system, implement active shareholder strategies, and explore the guiding role of investment on the real economy. “Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” is an important part of ESG investment. Regarding how institutional investors can promote “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”, we have the following thoughts and explorations:

One is to build a “carbon emissions” database with the help of financial technology.
Carbon emission data is an infrastructure for the financial industry to measure the climate change risks faced by enterprises, and it is also an essential part of asset pricing revaluation. Public funds need to conduct a more comprehensive and three-dimensional analysis of investment targets through big data collection, and fully integrate carbon emission databases with active research. However, the actual situation is that the ESG information disclosure data of domestic companies is incomplete. As of May 2021, there are only 1092 and 149 listed companies that actively disclose ESG data and carbon footprint data, accounting for 25% and 3.6% respectively (Data source: “Statistical Research Report on Information Disclosure of A-Share Listed Companies in 2020”, “Analysis Report on Information Disclosure of A-Share Listed Companies in Response to Climate Change 2021”). In this regard, Southern Asset Management has completed the carbon emission measurement database of all more than 4,000 listed companies in A-shares through external data collection, financial technology, and algorithms. This forms the basis for our in-depth research and investment.

The second is to optimize the investment framework and reduce the carbon footprint of the asset portfolio.
With the opening of the national carbon trading market, a clear carbon pricing mechanism internalizes the social costs incurred by enterprises, and also provides us with an important reference for repricing the risks and returns of enterprises. It can be expected that with the improvement of the carbon credit allocation mechanism, the impact of carbon trading on asset prices will gradually increase. In the past year, Southern Asset Management has significantly reduced the investment ratio of high-polluting and high-energy-consuming companies, and the weighted average carbon emissions of the stock portfolio have fallen by more than 40%. (Internal data of Southern Asset Management).

The third is to enrich the supply of products and promote the research and development of carbon emission products.
Public equity funds help investors share the growth dividends of the carbon neutral industry through investment strategies and product research and development. For example, we have conducted research on the carbon emissions of the CSI 300 component stocks in the past ten years. The low-emission component stock strategy has gradually produced excess returns in 2016, and the excess returns have increased significantly from 2019. In addition, in the future, new energy may be a long-term investment direction centered on technological progress, technological upgrading and energy efficiency improvement of “carbon neutrality”. At the product level, we have deployed Southern ESG theme equity funds, Southern China Securities New Energy ETF and feeder funds, and Southern New Energy Industry Trend Hybrid Fund.

The fourth is to fulfill social responsibilities and improve the carbon emission management system.
Southern Asset Management has established an internal carbon emission management system to account for the company’s carbon emissions in accordance with internationally accepted standards. The company headquarters building received LEED Gold Award-Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Building Certification. In addition, through voluntary carbon emission reduction certified emission reductions (VCUs/Verified Carbon Units) and international green certificates (I-REC/International Renewable Energy Certificate), we have completed the full amount of direct and indirect carbon emissions in the company’s operations. Offset, achieved carbon neutrality of the company’s operating system in July 2021.

The fifth is to establish an ecosystem and continuously enhance the influence of ESG.
We promote the establishment of the ecosystem through the following levels. First, Southern Asset Management is a 100+ member of Climate Action, and is committed to promoting the emission reduction and transformation of 161 major greenhouse gas emitting companies in the world through the implementation of an active shareholder strategy; Southern Asset Management has released the first domestic ESG investment annual report for public funds this year, improving the transparency of ESG investment and promoting industry development by improving information disclosure. At the same time, we are also a signatory member of TCFD (climate-related financial information disclosure) and invest in ESG In the annual report, detailed environmental information is disclosed in accordance with international standards.

“Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” is a complex, long-term and systematic project. On the way to a “zero carbon future”, Southern Asset Management will firmly focus on the goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”, based on its origins in the asset management industry, and is committed to providing more efficient and professional financial services for green and low-carbon development. We are willing to work with all partners to create a beautiful future in which “green water and green mountains are golden mountains and silver mountains” and harmonious coexistence of man and nature!

Yang Xiaosong
Chief Executive Officer
China Southern Asset Management Co., Ltd.
August 26, 2021

As a leading mutual fund in China, Southern Asset Management honors its social responsibilities. Apart from taking an active part in environmental protection and public welfare programs, it fully integrates ESG into its operation and investment. Southern Asset Management is a signatory of UN Principles for Responsible Investment and a member of the China ESG Leaders Association and the Climate Action 100+. It was among the first to launch an ESG Equity Fund in China to encourage ESG investment across the country. Its ESG efforts have been widely recognized, as evidenced by the honors it has received over the years, including the China ESG Golden Awards by Sina.com, the Evergreen Award by Caijing and the China Green Finance Award by Asiamoney.

Contact: Zhang Wanyi, Southern Asset Management
E: zhangwanyi@southernfund.com, U: http://www.southernfund.com

Omar Choucair, Trintech CFO, Accepted into Forbes Finance Council

  • Forbes Finance Council is an Invitation-Only Community for Executives in Accounting, Financial Planning, Wealth and Asset Management, and Investment Firms

Trintech, a leading global provider of integrated Record to Report software solutions for the Office of Finance, today announced its CFO, Omar Choucair, has been accepted into Forbes Finance Council, an invitation-only community for executives in accounting, financial planning, wealth and asset management, and investment firms.

Choucair was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.

“We are honored to welcome Omar into the community,” said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Finance Council. “Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.”

As an accepted member of the Council, Omar has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum. Omar will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q&A panels alongside other experts.

“This is a critical time for CFOs across the business spectrum – our role is evolving at a breakneck pace, and I can’t think of a better community with whom to ideate on what the future can and should look like,” Choucair says. “I’m excited to join the Forbes Finance Council and share insights around industry trends I’m involved in firsthand with our clients, like digital transformation in the Office of Finance, challenges and opportunities around a hybrid workplace and emerging cybersecurity best practices.”

Omar has over 20 years of experience leading both the financial and administrative organizations for public and private software/services companies. He managed several companies who experienced significant revenue and cash flow growth through both organic and acquired assets. Additionally, he has completed numerous M&A transactions as well as managed public and private equity/debt financings.

Prior to joining Trintech, Omar was the CFO of Multiview, a Warburg Pincus-backed B2B software platform providing marketing services to over 17,000 B2B customers in North America. Omar also served as the CFO of DGFastchannel/Sizmek (NASDAQ: SZMK), a B2B software platform delivering mission-critical media content. Additionally, he served as the VP Finance for AMFM, Inc (NASDAQ:AMFM), one of the largest U.S. radio holding companies which was ultimately acquired by Clear Channel Communications. Omar began his career as a CPA at KPMG, where he managed publicly traded large multi-national services and technology company audits over a period of ten years.

About Forbes Councils

Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive.

For more information about Forbes Finance Council, visit forbesfinancecouncil.com. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com.

About Trintech

Trintech Inc., a pioneer of Financial Corporate Performance Management (FCPM) software, combines unmatched technical and financial expertise to create innovative, cloud-based software solutions that deliver world-class financial operations and insights. From high volume transaction matching and streamlining daily operational reconciliations, to automating and managing balance sheet reconciliations, intercompany accounting, journal entries, disclosure reporting and bank fee analysis, to governance, risk and compliance – Trintech’s portfolio of financial solutions, including Cadency(R) Platform, Adra(R) Suite, and targeted tools, ReconNET(TM), T-Recs(R), and UPCS(R), help manage all aspects of the financial close process. Over 3,500 clients worldwide – including the majority of the Fortune 100 – rely on the company’s cloud-based software to continuously improve the efficiency, reliability, and strategic insights of their financial operations.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Trintech has offices located across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordics, as well as strategic partners in South Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. To learn more about Trintech, visit www.trintech.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact:
Kristina Pereira Tully
Vested
650-464-0080
trintech@fullyvested.com

SOURCE: Trintech, Inc.