digital solutions - FinTecBuzz

Kompliant partners with the Digital Solutions team at Equifax

PRNewswire — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 14:00:05 +0000

Building on its promise to provide customers with a best-in-class experience while decreasing compliance risk, Kompliant, a leading provider of intelligent automation, is further elevating the merchant underwriting process, by announcing a partnership with the Digital Solutions team at Equifax to provide the powerful suite of Kount solutions for fraud and risk management.

The partnership will provide Kompliant access to the Kount Payment Fraud solutions that use advanced Artificial Intelligence, equipped with supervised and unsupervised machine learning, to analyze data from an online purchase or transaction.

“Our partnership with Equifax arrives at a crucial time when businesses must stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics while navigating complex regulatory environments,” said Leo Patching, CEO of Kompliant. “By enhancing our powerful workflow automation tools with AI-driven fraud detection capabilities from the Equifax Kount Payment Fraud solutions, we’re providing financial institutions with a comprehensive solution that not only safeguards against fraud but also streamlines risk management processes, enhances operational efficiency, and supports data-driven decision-making.”

Growth in the eCommerce industry has presented many companies with new opportunities such as revenue growth and new customers, but it has also caused pain due to a steady rise in fraud. Kount Payment Fraud solutions provide merchants with a comprehensive view of transactions and uses machine learning to set rules and automate approve and decline decisions, lowering operational costs and driving scalability for their fraud operations teams.

“Our goal is to help manage clients’ exposure to risk and quickly and effectively reduce fraud, all while maintaining the customer experience,” said Scott Przybyla, SVP of Kount Payments Sales, Digital Solutions at Equifax. “Together with Kompliant, we’re empowering financial institutions to drive their organization’s growth without compromising their security.”

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Arch Insurance Goes Live on Applied Systems Commercial Lines Panel

GlobeNewswire — Wed, 15 May 2024 15:30:28 +0000

Applied Systems Europe^® announced that Arch Insurance has launched its specialist property owners insurance product on its commercial e-trading panel, enabling brokers using the software provider’s cloud-based Applied Epic broker management system to now quote and bind directly with the insurer.

The new digital, e-trading solution is a specialist property investors insurance product designed for owners and landlords of let commercial and residential properties, as well as mixed portfolios. The policies also include all risks cover provided as standard.

The continuing expansion of Applied System’s commercial lines panel is part of its stated strategy to become a significant player in the provision of commercial lines e-trading access for brokers, building on its leading position in the personal lines market.

Tony Silve, VP, National Director, Arch Online, commented: “We are delighted to offer Applied brokers e-trade access to our popular Property Owner’s solution, as we continue to expand our digital solutions. We look forward to building our partnership with Applied, providing good customer outcomes and a choice for brokers to trade how they wish to trade with Arch”.

Chris Moseley, Vice-President of Insurer Solutions, Applied Systems Europe, added: “E-trading of commercial lines products is reaching a tipping point in terms of both brokers’ and customers’ expectations, and we are seeing more insurers like Arch Insurance answering the call. We are delighted that Arch is now fully live and trading on our growing commercial lines panel with its excellent property owner’s product.”

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SRA’s New Fining Powers: Is Your Law Firm Prepared?

Andrew Hawkins — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:30:57 +0000

Client funds safeguarding is paramount to law firms. As technology advances and information continues to flow in digital spaces, it is becoming increasingly challenging to identify and prevent financial crime activity. Recent research shows that 75% of UK law firms have experienced a cyber attack in the last 12 months, with more than three-quarters of these related to client accounts. As such, law firms are more concerned than ever about their security and risk profiles.

There have been industry-wide calls to introduce meticulous protocols to handling sensitive client data and a move to managing finances with secure digital solutions. A key driver of this has been the introduction of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) strengthened fining powers, as well as supporting movements from industry regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new Consumer Duty regime. Regulatory belts are tightening, prompting law firms to reevaluate their operational structures as a whole, with a strong focus on their payment processes and ways of managing client monies.

As the risk landscape for the industry continues to become more precarious, the SRA’s existing penalties for breaching their Accounts Rules – whether it’s money laundering, improperly hiding assets, or using client accounts as banking facilities – are no longer enough. The power of legal service regulators has been ramped up to address pain points and build public trust in firms. As such, a necessary crackdown on client money management is underway, signalling that change is on the horizon.

Client money management: A dying practice

As of August 2023, the UK’s base interest rate has soared from 0.1% in 2021 to a staggering 5.25%. This substantial increase has opened up new opportunities for law firms to earn significant interest by holding large residual balances in their client accounts. However, the financial landscape shift is closely accompanied by the watchful eye of the SRA, which has warned firms that they must pay a ‘fair’ sum of interest back to customers or face being investigated.

The SRA’s revised regulations encompass a dynamic framework of Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) rules. These aim to guide law firms to protect their clients and prevent financial crime, and are enforced by the authority to penalise firms with substantial fines or even more severe consequences, such as criminal charges. While these rules have been in place for several years, the latest AML annual report from the SRA has made it clear that law firms aren’t yet fully au fait with the requirements. Only 30% of law firms are fully compliant, with a further 51% only partially compliant. There is a growing knowledge gap in the legal industry when it comes to financial crime as increasingly complex criminal activity continues to take place – especially with the aid of technologies such as AI.

Due diligence, however, is a very standard procedure for a law firm, whether at the point of on-boarding a client or at the very end of a deal for verifying transactional parties. With this being such a mainstay of a law firm’s BAU activity, it is concerning that over two-fifths of UK law firms (42%), reported that due diligence is one of the most time-intensive aspects of managing client funds and payments. Completion processes must be rigorous to ensure the correct governance and precautions prevent money laundering or cyber risks, however legal teams should be applying themselves to delivering legal work rather than completing administrative paperwork.

With the new regulations now set, a crucial question comes to mind – how can law firms navigate the evolving boundaries set by regulators whilst meeting the pressing needs of clients who seek both swiftness and security in their legal dealings?

Time is money

Partnering with a payment provider has become an attractive solution for many law firms to help ease the burden of completing complex transactions and making deal payments, Nearly half (49%) of top law firms in the UK now report that they engage a paying agent/escrow provider (25%), or banking partner (24%) to manage client payments.

While facilitating payments via a paying agent or holding funds in escrows have been long-standing options for legal teams to handle deal payments, they are now becoming even more common for UK-based law firms in light of the SRA regulatory updates. Departments such as M&A, real estate, litigation and supply chain have been the first to see real benefit, but there are far reaching applications across the legal sphere.

A key component of these transactions that builds complexity in the deal flow is the international spread of transactional parties. Not only do these global deals require enhanced due diligence, but they also need FX. By partnering with third-party payment providers, legal teams gain access to global payment networks and financial expertise, streamlining international fund flows for both them and their clients.

With the risk landscape only becoming increasingly fraught, law firms need to update their payments processes and outsource their client money management. The shift not only reduces the administrative burden of tasks like governance and supervision, risk assessments, transaction monitoring, and suspicious activity reporting, allowing legal teams to reduce risk and time-consuming tasks that drain precious resources.

Adapting to the modern era

Within the legal sector, tradition and legacy practices have long been the hallmark of the industry. However, as technology evolves and client expectations grow in complexity, law firms find themselves at a crossroads. To thrive and remain competitive, they must pivot towards operational efficiency and resource optimisation, or risk being left behind.

In this shifting landscape, time is both a precious commodity and a financial asset, and how law firms manage both is undergoing a transformation. The spotlight is now firmly fixed on legal professionals due to regulatory changes. It has never been clearer that the conventional approaches of the past no longer suffice for managing client accounts. The digital age has brought a surge in cybersecurity threats, the spectre of fraud and increasingly complex deal fund flows, compelling law firms to re-evaluate how they can streamline the time-intensive processes while continuing to meet the demands of their clients.

As a result, law firms are increasingly turning to third-party payment providers to simplify the complexity of client money management. Technology offers the promise of a noteworthy shift in the operational structure of legal services. It’s a call for law firms to bid farewell to the old ways and embrace the new.

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Andrew Hawkins, CEO, UK & Europe at Shieldpay

Andrew Hawkins is the Chief Executive Officer of UK and Europe for Shieldpay, the B2B payments partner for legal services. In his role, Hawkins is leading the scaling strategy for the company within the UK and Europe with a strong focus on technology-led innovation. Hawkins joined Shieldpay as CTPO and has over 25 years of technology experience in the financial services and technology arenas, including seven years at Microsoft before holding senior leadership positions at HSBC and the unicorn challenger bank Zopa.

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Trintech acquires Financial Reconciliation Business from Fiserv

PRNewswire — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:30:22 +0000

Financial close automation leader bolsters capabilities for an additional 400 blue-chip clients to drive ROI for the Office of the CFO. Trintech, a leading global provider of cloud-based financial close solutions for the Office of the CFO, today announced its acquisition of Frontier Reconciliation and Accurate Reconciliation from Fiserv (NYSE: FI), a leading global provider of fintech and payments solutions. Serving customers across multiple verticals including financial services, telecommunications, retail, insurance and utilities, the acquired reconciliation business will act as a springboard for innovation, expanding Trintech’s accounting automation platform.

Through the acquisition, Trintech gains two leading reconciliation solutions, further enhancing the company’s portfolio of capabilities. Trintech brings over 35 years of global innovation in automation, reconciliations and financial close processes. The addition of Frontier Reconciliation and Accurate Reconciliation, used by more than 400 blue-chip clients across the globe, including eight of the top ten banks and two of the top three insurance companies in the United States, enables these newly acquired clients to benefit from complementary product offerings and differentiated solutions across key U.S. and international markets. Fiserv will continue to deliver solutions and services to many of these clients.

“In this era of intense digital transformation, accounting automation, reconciliations and financial close represent a significant market opportunity. This acquisition positions Trintech to provide even more compelling financial close capabilities, broaden the reach of our partner ecosystem and drive impressive ROI for our customers,” said Darren Heffernan, CEO of Trintech. “It’s also the latest illustration of our holistic growth strategy – one which places a dual mandate on rapid expansion into key verticals and the prioritization of continuous innovation and talent recruitment. We are thrilled to add this powerful complement to Trintech’s market-leading portfolio.”

The acquisition also includes the addition of key employees with technical expertise supporting these solutions across North America, EMEA and APAC, bringing Trintech’s global headcount to nearly 700. New and existing customers benefit not only from expanded technical talent and capabilities but also by gaining access to Trintech’s partner ecosystem of leading technology and service providers. Additionally, as part of an exclusive referral agreement with Fiserv, Trintech expands its global presence and capabilities into new international markets.

“Trintech is well-positioned to guide the Frontier and Accurate reconciliation business through its next chapter, and we are confident they will provide excellent service to our clients and support for their businesses,” said Whitney Stewart Russell, President of Digital Solutions, Fiserv. “We are excited about the partnership we have built with Trintech and look forward to serving clients through our future relationship as a referral partner.”

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John Hancock and Clareto Streamline Life Insurance Purchase Process

PRNewswire — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 23:30:03 +0000

Today, John Hancock announces a strategic collaboration with Clareto, a leader in digital solutions to acquire and aggregate electronic health data, to further improve the Company’s underwriting speed and efficiency as part of its ongoing commitment to transform the life insurance purchase experience.

Clareto’s capabilities include enabling access to more than 52 million unique patient records* through a fully HIPAA-compliant integration of state and regional health information exchanges and national electronic medical record vendors. John Hancock will leverage Clareto’s growing network to obtain the health data required for underwriting purposes in real time with proper HIPAA authorization from the customer. Through this collaboration, John Hancock life insurance agents will gain access to an entire field of electronic health data sources via a single-entry point, eliminating time and paperwork from the application process.investments

“At John Hancock, we’re committed to making decisions easier and lives better for our customers, and that means working every day to radically simplify the life insurance purchase process and reduce the time from application to issue,” added Susan Ghalili, VP, Underwriting Transformation and Chief Underwriter of John Hancock Insurance. “We’re pleased to be working with Clareto to further advance the customer experience and provide our services in a way that they not only expect but deserve. This kind of collaboration has the potential to shape the future of the industry.”

“We are excited to be working with an innovative and forward-thinking company like John Hancock,” said Dave Dorans, CEO of Clareto. “We are building an industry-leading network to enable access to electronic health data for insurance underwriting and claims, typically only requiring a standard HIPAA authorization. We are convinced this data can be a big part of the solution to transforming the customer experience for insurance products.”

This type of innovative and seamless technology integration is a significant stride toward building a modern, digital sales process that enables the level of service and security consumers demand and enhances the overall experience for John Hancock life insurance agents and customers.

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Persistent Systems and Gojoko announced a joint offering

PRNewswire — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 12:30:31 +0000

Persistent Systems and fintech platform leader Gojoko today announced a joint offering – the Community Lenders Gô Digital® Platform running on the Persistent Digital Credit Union Solution. Persistent also announced the availability of the Persistent Digital Bank Solution, which includes an industry-first actbot, providing new levels of proactive interaction with customers.

Community Lenders Gô Digital® Platform supports Gojoko Marketing’s mission to elevate community banks and credit unions to help them grow and expand into modern financial institutions. The solution offers customers the choice of modularized capabilities based on their needs, which will run on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The new service will provide the agility necessary to enable banks and credit unions to rapidly design, launch, service and scale banking and lending portfolios. It also offers credit unions an effective way to leverage a cutting-edge banking platform without significant investment. Gojoko deploys a fintech platform, digital customer interface and advanced digital marketing to its banking customers. Persistent provides systems integration, including the aggregation of loans and booking into the Mambu banking platform.

Tobias Gruber, CEO, Gojoko Marketing

“The opportunity for credit unions in the UK is tremendous. Currently less than 3% of banking here is done through credit unions. Our strong relationship with Persistent lends itself to formally partnering to provide this packaged offering to make it even easier for credit unions to get up and running fast. It’s a platform that is flexible and scales quickly, allowing credit unions to offer high value to its customers fast.”

Philip Acton, CEO, My Community Bank

“Gojoko & Persistent have built a fintech ecosystem, giving My Community Bank access to a state-of-the-art and end-to-end banking infrastructure. This digital infrastructure integrates several cutting edge technologies from partners like Mambu and Salesforce, and runs on AWS. My Community Bank has been able to leverage this infrastructure to become the fastest growing credit union in the UK and helps us to deliver a best-in-class product to our customers.”

Community Lenders Gô Digital® Platform is the first Persistent Digital Bank Solution, designed as a ready to use set of Digital Banking components and expertly integrates with existing IT systems. The microservices-based integration layer and sandbox is hosted on AWS and is available worldwide. For smaller financial institutions, like community credit unions, this solution removes the technology barrier to entry and allows them to focus on their core mission. In addition, AWS provides them the same security and scalability enjoyed by the largest financial institutions. Find more information here.

The Solution includes:

Online application for Loans & Advances (personal, vehicle, education, vacation and more to follow)
Customer Digital Onboarding (eKYC for Individual, Small Enterprises)
Online Deposits opening (Saving Accounts, Checking Accounts, Term Deposits)
Integration with Payments processors including Debit card and Credit card
Integration with Regulatory reporting tools
Integration with a wide range of platforms and solutions including Mambu, Salesforce, various credit scoring agencies, KYC data providers, etc.
An actbot built on sophisticated machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies, offering Conversational User Interface.

Chris O’Connor, Executive Director & CEO, Persistent Systems

“Persistent’s expertise is our ability to seamlessly integrate various components to complete the technology mosaic needed for today’s business platforms. We work with some of the world’s largest banks as well as cutting-edge fin-tech companies. Partnering with Gojoko to offer this advanced banking solution as a product is a perfect fit for our respective strengths and a great win for customers.”

Nitin Gupta, Global Head, Financial Services Solutions and Partners at AWS

“AWS helps ease the deployment of sophisticated banking solutions for community banks and credit unions, while enabling them to benefit from the agility, scalability, and security that the cloud offers. By extending our relationship and work with Persistent, community credit unions and challenger banks will have access to a complete cloud-native lending aggregation service, in turn providing the foundation for a fast and efficient banking experience for consumers through the Community Lenders Gô Digital® Platform .”

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Asia’s growth ceiling – and how to break it

FTB News Desk — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 13:00:29 +0000

When working with customers around Asia, I’ve noticed that most businesses have a real desire to adopt the latest digital solutions. They want to grow fast, and they appreciate how the efficiency and scalability of automated, self-service SaaS platforms can help them do so. But at the same time, they tend to not feel comfortable adopting these solutions unless they have someone to take them through the implementation process, one step at a time – which can result in longer deployment times and slower ROI than the solution might otherwise provide. That prompts the question: can reliance on that high-touch customer service slow down growth?

It is no secret that customer service is king in Asia: 3 in 4 consumers in the region think it should be every company’s top priority, an expectation they usually bring to their roles as businesspeople as well. Mostly, good customer service is synonymous with a high-touch experience: having a dedicated rep guiding you through the decision-making and purchasing process from start to finish. However, the two are not always one and the same. In fact, a more self-service and even automated approach to customer care may deliver the best experience for both businesses and employees alike.

The biggest risk: falling behind?
Today’s digital solutions tend to provide that self-service adoption model if customers want to take it up. Most SaaS services are designed to be rolled out at scale, with minimal fuss, by customers themselves. If need be, remote assistance and implementation support is usually just a click away, along with resources like webinars or tutorials that can fill the gap between self-service and high-touch. For most businesses, those resources prove more than enough to get new digital services up and running on their own.

If so, then why do Asian businesses still gravitate towards the slower approach where someone takes them by the hand through each stage of the adoption process? Confidence and awareness tend to play a part. If you’re rolling out a radically new product or service to your entire business, it’s understandable to be concerned about potentially making costly mistakes along the way. High-touch service often looks like a lower-risk option than doing it yourself – but this is only true up to a point.

A much bigger risk comes from the solution not delivering on its promise as quickly or as effectively as expected. If that happens, the rest of the business may end up unconvinced of the solution’s merits…and give up on something that could drastically help their performance and growth. Often, the best way to see the full benefits of new digital solutions is to take that seemingly riskier self-service approach, and see just how fast and far the results extend. One of our largest customers, for example, rolled out SAP Concur’s platform to seven markets in just seven weeks – but only because they took the plunge with that self-service model of adoption.

A hand in need
For us, we’ve been trying to strike the balance between high-touch interactions and self-service efficiency in various ways – like shorter, but more frequent, contact points between our sales teams and our customers. I’ve seen that in some markets, like Singapore, that awareness of self-service resources is leading to more and more businesses taking the DIY approach to adopting SaaS platforms like ours.

There will always be a need for a helping hand when bringing a new product or service on board, and it’s our responsibility as platform and service providers to extend that hand at a moment’s notice. The more businesses trust in their own hands to set things up, however, the faster they can scale and adapt to using these tools – which in most cases is why you’d want to go digital in the first place.