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Revolutionizing Financial Operations: AR/AP Automation & E-Invoicing

FTB News Desk — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:00:25 +0000

Table of Contents
1. The Case for AR/AP Automation: A New Era of Efficiency
2. E-Invoicing: The Digital Transformation of Invoicing
3. Integrating AR/AP Automation with E-Invoicing: A Synergistic Approach
4. Overcoming challenges and embracing change
5. The Future of Financial Operations: What’s Next?

It is evident that business finance has experienced some shifts, and the future is not so clear given that there are improved technologies that enhance the traditional practices. The most advanced technology in this process is the automation of accounts receivable and accounts payable together with e-invoicing. However, more than improving efficiency indicators, these technologies dictate the framework for building the future financial management of your enterprise. Embark on our exploration about how incorporating AR/AP automation and e-invoicing solutions can change your business tactics and prepare for the future.

1. The Case for AR/AP Automation: A New Era of Efficiency

Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable have always been paper-oriented and very time-consuming, and even more so when operational errors are involved. However, studies have shown that AR/AP automation proves to be a valuable solution to this problem. These are some of the procedures that, if passed through the process of automation, assist in the issuance of invoices, collection of payments, and other reconciliation processes in business entities.

Key Benefits:

Accelerated Cash Flow: Invoices need to be processed and paid, which is made easier by automation, thus improving cash flow and reducing DSO.

Error Reduction: The adoption of automated systems in data management saves time on data entry, hence no need for repetitive work, thereby reducing the likelihood of errors and inconsistency.

Enhanced Visibility: Analysis of accounts receivable and collection of cash in real-time is helpful in managing the cash collected from different customers.

AR/AP automation also offers a connection with other financial systems while integrating and synchronizing with other systems to become one system that is integrated. This integration assists in the integration of data to ensure that when information is passed from two systems, the form of transportation is optimal.

2. E-Invoicing: The Digital Transformation of Invoicing

E-invoicing can be described as the electronic version of paper-based invoices; it is the delivery of an invoice through electronic media with the capability of an invoice. This involves the creation, forwarding, and receiving of invoices electronically and has many advantages compared to traditional invoicing.

Key Benefits:

Faster Processing: E-invoices are more effective compared to paper invoices in handling and lead to faster payments and cash flow management.

Cost Savings: The elimination of the paper, postage, and unwanted manual handling of mail is a direct line to cutting costs.

Improved Accuracy: Implementing the data and data validation systems offer limited opportunities for errors and inaccuracies in tracking the company’s financials.

E-invoicing also enhances the manner of taxation compliance and any other legal requirements, thus a benefit with respect to audit trail. This trail is crucial to ensure that all the processes of issuing invoices are correct in accordance with the legal and tax provisions.

3. Integrating AR/AP Automation with E-Invoicing: A Synergistic Approach

Both automation of AR/AP and e-invoicing have all the benefits, so the best bet is to go for both. It incorporates all the various features of the processing of business finances, thus making it an easy and less tiresome affair to create, dispatch, and process invoices while at the same time minimizing the input of the human factor.

Benefits of Integration:

Streamlined Processes: Integration eliminates the need for several processes to go through separately; as an effect, invoices may go through the cycle of creation, processing, and payment.

Enhanced Data Accuracy: The adoption of external interfaces removes possibilities of data entry errors when passing data from one system to another to get right and timely financial data.

Increased Efficiency: Automation is an addition to the e-invoicing definition and enhances the swiftness of the total number of invoices in an organization, and e-invoicing is equal to a reduction in the amount of time employees take in typing invoices.

4. Overcoming challenges and embracing change

In essence, it is clear that AR/AP automation and e-invoicing have their advantages, but the process of implementing these technologies poses certain challenges. These may include the propensity of the organization to resist change, complexity in integration of additional work, and costs that accrue during the initial stages. However, all these obstacles, if tackled early enough, could lead to enormous advantages in the long run.

Strategies for Successful Implementation:

Stakeholder Buy-In: Identify and engage the key stakeholders during the initial planning process, secure their commitment, and address any of their concerns.

Phased Implementation: This could be done in phases, the first step being a pilot implementation to determine the effectiveness and problems that would arise with the system before the full program is started.

Training and Support: Another measure is necessary to provide training and instructional materials to all the new users since they will be working with new systems and procedures.

5. The Future of Financial Operations: What’s Next?

With the never-ending advancement in technology, the future of AR/AP automation and e-invoicing looks bright. AI, machine learning, and blockchain are other trends that are expected to gear up finance processes even more. Such innovations will increase organizational efficiency, accuracy, and transparency in handling the finances to even higher standards.

Looking Ahead:

AI-Driven Insights: The use of AI will provide enhanced advantages in the sphere of financial analysis so that better decisions could be made as the risks managed.

Blockchain Integration: The use of a blockchain approach could give new levels of security and openness to financial transactions than previously seen.

Advanced Analytics: The advanced analysis will provide a better understanding of existing financial results and provide businesses with improved tools for further operations adjustment.

Conclusion
AR/AP automation and e-invoicing are not novelties or simple trends; they are some pillars of modern companies’s financial management. Thus, by adopting these technologies, companies can transform their financial processes and receive more value, fewer errors, and lower costs. In that respect, the main challenge that this field will pose in the future is keeping up with the fast-changing business environment and developing excellent solutions.

Here we have the precise quote. Now get the message? Roll out the AR/AP automation and e-invoicing solutions into your company’s financial management and be future-ready for the constantly evolving financial industry.

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Zest AI Debuts AI-Powered Fraud Detection for Lenders

PRNewswire — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:00:30 +0000

Zest AI, the leader in AI lending technology, announced its new fraud detection solution, Zest Protect. Zest Protect quickly and accurately identifies fraudulent activity during the loan decisioning process, helping credit unions, banks and other lenders navigate the rising application fraud environment while safeguarding the borrower experience.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that consumer fraud losses in 2023 exceeded $10 billion while credit unions and community banks reported a 69% surge in fraud cases across consumer accounts.

“Lenders need to outsmart fraud, including an increasing volume of AI-driven fraud in the industry, with AI,” said Adam Kleinman, Head of Strategy and Client Success at Zest AI. “Our team designed Zest Protect to create an efficient tool that can more accurately detect all types of fraud now and in the future, including AI-created fraud, with the ultimate goal of boosting lending confidence for our bank and credit union customers.”

Zest Protect leverages Zest AI’s proven, industry-leading machine learning technology to instantly detect first party and third party fraud, as well as flag income inconsistencies within the automated loan decisioning process. This integrated solution empowers lenders to take control of their fraud risk, allowing them to adjust specific detection thresholds based on their risk tolerances and automation objectives. With access to fraud prevention data and analytics, Zest AI can flag applications swiftly, and protect against emerging threats.

“Capturing application fraud, especially more sophisticated AI-powered fraud, without compromising the member experience is a top priority for us,” said Gather Federal Credit Union’s EVP, Justin Ganaden. “The insights, accuracy and end to end automation we have experienced with Zest AI technology has transformed our lending business. We’re excited to bring that same level of innovation and intellectual rigor to fraud prevention with Zest Protect.”

“The banking industry is bracing for an onslaught of fraud as AI tools become more ubiquitous, making it easier to generate deepfakes, clone voices and otherwise defraud people and businesses,” said Zest AI CEO Mike de Vere. “Now with a combination of AI-automated underwriting technology and fraud detection, we can enable lenders to safely and efficiently fund more loans.”

Zest Protect has been piloted with select Zest AI credit union customers. For more information about the availability of Zest Protect, please contact us via our contact form on Zest AI.

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FinTech Interview with Arthur Mueller, Vice President of Financial Crime at WorkFusion

FTB News Desk — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 13:30:58 +0000

Arthur Mueller, VP of Financial Crime at WorkFusion, shares his journey and insights on AI’s role in transforming AML and Sanctions compliance.

Arthur Mueller, Vice President of Financial Crime at WorkFusion

Arthur, welcome to Fintec Buzz. To start, could you please share a bit about your professional journey and what led you to become the Vice President of Financial Crime at WorkFusion?

Thank you! Before joining WorkFusion in 2022, I spent more than 20 years in anti-financial crime programs across financial institutions, tackling the same complex banking problems our customers face today: sanctions, anti-money laundering (AML), fraud, and Know Your Customer (KYC). My professional journey includes American Express, UBS, Commerzbank, and Rabobank. Combined with my legal and compliance experience as a practicing attorney, you could say that I have been readying myself for WorkFusion for years! I joined WorkFusion because I saw it as a game changer for the anti-financial crime industry, with pre-packaged AI Assistant Digital Workers that could complete many of the rote, mundane, repetitive tasks as well as help tackle the false positive problem.

Banks face numerous challenges with AML and Sanctions regulatory compliance. From your perspective, what are the biggest obstacles financial institutions encounter in this area?

The three biggest challenges with AML and Sanctions regulatory compliance are evolving regulations, risk mitigation, and staff management. Banks and financial institutions have struggled with the same challenges for decades. The combination of manual work, large numbers of false positives, and limited capacity combined with increasing volumes creates a vicious cycle. The shortage of full-time analyst staff, whether due to hiring freezes or the general lack of L1 analyst availability, results in FinCrime compliance teams becoming massively overwhelmed, which can lead to burnout among existing staff and difficulties maintaining effective and efficient compliance operations.

Additionally, the sheer volume of alerts that needs to be reviewed, dispositioned and investigated for AML and Sanctions compliance is enormous. And 99% of these alerts are false positives. This leads to inefficiencies as compliance teams spend considerable resources, time, and effort reviewing alerts that ultimately do not represent genuine risks, diverting attention from higher risk and more critical investigations.

Can you explain what AI Digital Workers are and how they function within the context of financial institutions?

WorkFusion’s AI Digital Workers are AI AML and Sanctions analysts that come out of the box with up to five years of experience in a specific job role. They are technology controls that mitigate risk and can integrate into financial institutions seamlessly, increasing their compliance team’s capacity. Think of WorkFusion’s AI Digital Workers as employees that have infinite capacity to automate alert reviews and document-heavy, tedious, and error-prone work.
We launched our AI Digital Workers in 2022, after in-depth conversations with how our customers were using our machine learning and automation. We learned that many had given the technology a human name and interacted with it like it was an employee. That was the beginning of packaging the technology up as personified AI solutions – they each have a human name, a human persona, and were trained to do a specific job in AML and Sanctions compliance. We have Evelyn, who does adverse media monitoring and sanctions/PEP screening alert review; Tara, who is a transaction screening analyst; Isaac, who is a transaction monitoring investigator, and many more focused on KYC and pKYC.

Our AI Digital Workers improve the quality and consistency of the work being done, help mitigate risk, improve operational effectiveness and efficiency, and help ensure a positive customer experience. They are also easier and faster to onboard than a traditional employee or outsourcing the work. They improve compliance with detailed narratives and complete audit trails. They also make work easier for analysts by taking on the document-heavy, tedious busy work that is typically done by Level 1 analysts. It turns the analyst from hunter-gatherers to true risk analysts. This helps reduce employee burnout and improve job satisfaction. For example, we have even seen U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) officers doing the work of L1 analysts because they were so short staffed. An OFAC officer shouldn’t be dispositioning sanctions alerts, especially when there is technology that can alleviate that burden.

How are AI Digital Workers helping financial institutions meet compliance with regulatory bodies such as the BSA, AMLA, OFAC, FinCEN, OCC, and FDIC?

There is already a collective push toward integrating technologies to augment, liberate, and improve human intervention and judgment, which will enhance operational effectiveness and efficiency, while reducing errors. Government agencies, regulatory bodies, and financial crime oversight organizations, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), with its AML Act of 2020 and Innovation Initiative, explicitly advocate for innovative approaches to address various challenges to mitigate financial crime and AML and Sanctions compliance risks.

An enormous amount of manual work and false positives exist within financial crime programs — onboarding, periodic reviews, risk assessments, transaction monitoring, sanctions alerts, and quality control — making it time-consuming and error-prone. For example, with manual operations, a transaction may get delayed for hours due to similarities of one on the OFAC sanctions watchlists. Consider this: Level 1 analysts can typically work 200-300 sanctions alerts per day. Yet when sanctions alert volumes spike, financial institutions can face up to 500-800 daily sanction alerts. This becomes not only overwhelming but impossible without automation.

AML and Sanctions compliance can be significantly eased through automation, reducing the amount of time-consuming and tedious tasks worked by human staff and allowing analysts to concentrate on genuine risks.

Addressing AML risks is a critical task for financial institutions. How do AI Digital Workers contribute to mitigating these risks effectively?

WorkFusion’s AI Digital Workers significantly enhance the ability of financial institutions to mitigate AML and Sanctions compliance risks by automating repetitive and data-intensive tasks traditionally performed by human analysts. These AI AML and Sanctions analysts are technology controls that organizations can use in their risk mitigation toolkit. By automating these job roles, there is increased consistency and quality of reviews, material and immaterial errors are reduced, alert surges have nearly zero impact, they avoid missed escalations and missed true positives, and avoid delays leading to poor customer experience. Ultimately, AI Digital Workers improve overall risk management and operational effectiveness and efficiency by freeing up human analysts to focus on high-risk areas.

In your opinion, why is it essential for financial institutions to innovate their AML and Sanctions compliance programs continuously to mitigate risk?

Continuous innovation in FinCrime compliance programs is essential for financial institutions to effectively mitigate risk because the landscape of financial crime is constantly evolving. As illicit activities become more sophisticated, so must the tools and strategies used to combat them. Traditional manual processes are inefficient and increasingly inadequate in addressing the complexities of modern financial crimes. Innovating with AI and machine learning allows organizations to keep pace with the rapid changes in transaction patterns and regulatory requirements and expectations, ensuring they can detect and respond to threats more swiftly and accurately. Additionally, regulatory bodies such as FinCEN and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (FCA) advocate for innovative approaches, underscoring the importance of leveraging technology to enhance compliance efforts and reduce the risk of non-compliance and associated penalties.

There is often caution among financial institutions when it comes to implementing AI. What are the primary concerns, and how can these institutions overcome them?

The primary concerns around implementing AI are data privacy, model risk management, and security issues, the potential for bias in AI algorithms, the complexity of integrating AI with existing legacy systems, and regulatory compliance. To overcome these concerns, we recommend that institutions take small steps. Ensuring robust data governance and security measures can address privacy and security issues. Implementing transparent and explainable AI models can help mitigate biases and increase trust in AI-driven decisions. Ensure you follow internal governance when planning, implementing, and deploying any AI use case. Follow your model risk management framework and testing protocols, and put analytics, monitoring, and guardrails in place to ensure the AI solution is working as intended and within acceptable parameters. Partnering with experienced AI solution providers can facilitate smoother integration with legacy systems and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

Leveraging the benefits of Generative AI without adding risks is a delicate balance. How can financial institutions achieve this balance effectively?

Generative AI and the LLMs that support it have absorbed the mindshare of the AI market. To best achieve its promised value — particularly in financial services — organizations need to not only seek the benefits but mitigate the risk. To do this, they need to look to processes that combine the best of LLMs and complement them with traditional AI and human-in-the loop.

To go deeper, financial institutions can achieve a balance in leveraging Generative AI by implementing comprehensive risk management strategies encompassing both the technological and operational aspects of AI deployment. This includes developing clear policies and guidelines for AI usage and ensuring that all AI-generated outputs are subject to human review and validation to prevent errors and biases. Employing robust data governance frameworks will help maintain data integrity and security. Regular staff training and upskilling on AI tools and their implications can foster a better understanding and more effective use of these technologies.

Adopting a phased approach to AI implementation, starting with low-risk areas and gradually expanding to more critical functions, can help institutions mitigate risks while realizing the benefits of AI.

Could you share your personal strategy when it comes to staying ahead of trends and changes in the AML and Sanctions compliance landscape?

Staying well-informed and prepared will help you keep up with trends and changes in the AML and Sanctions compliance landscape. My strategy involves continuous learning and engagement with customers, other industry experts, and regulatory bodies. I regularly participate in industry conferences, webinars, and training sessions to stay informed about the latest regulatory changes and technological advancements. I also engage with professional networks and forums to exchange insights with peers and experts. Paying close attention to publications from regulatory bodies such as FinCEN, OFAC, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) helps me understand emerging expectations and compliance requirements. Additionally, I invest time in to understand the latest advancements in AI and machine learning, as these technologies are pivotal in shaping the future of AML and Sanctions compliance.

Finally, what advice would you give to professionals in the financial industry who are looking to enhance their AML and Sanctions compliance programs with AI technology?

For professionals seeking to enhance their AML and Sanctions compliance programs with AI technology, my primary advice is to start with a clear understanding of your specific challenges and objectives. Identify the area where AI can have the most significant impact, such as automating repetitive task, aggregating data or documents, or reducing false positives needed to be adjudicated. It is crucial to partner with experienced AI solution providers who understand the unique requirements of the financial industry. Focus on integrating scalable AI solutions that deploy quickly with minimal customization.

Training and upskilling staff to work alongside AI tools are also essential to maximize the benefits and ensure a smooth transition. Maintain robust data governance and ensure transparency in AI decision-making processes to help build trust and compliance with regulatory standards. Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of AI systems to adapt to any regulatory environment changes and improve their effectiveness over time. By following these steps, financial institutions can leverage AI to significantly enhance their AML and Sanctions Compliance programs.

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9Spokes Introduces Automated Cashflow Tool for Financial Organizations

PRNewswire — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:00:19 +0000

9Spokes, a leading global data platform, announced the launch of its new Cashflow forecasting product, an advanced tool designed for integration within the digital platforms of financial organizations. This new offering provides small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with automated, predictive cashflow management and forecasting capabilities.

A recent study highlighted that 70% of SMBs operate with less than four months of cash reserves, with 60% spending upwards of five hours weekly managing multiple cash flow tools. 9Spokes’ Cashflow product not only simplifies this crucial task but also aligns with global trends towards open banking and open data, providing SMBs a comprehensive view of their financial standings across multiple bank accounts and various providers.

Unlike traditional tools that require manual input and provide only historical data, the 9Spokes’ Cashflow product leverages advanced machine-learning algorithms to automatically pull historical cash balance data. It aggregates data from multiple sources, including cash balance history and forecasts from various bank accounts—even those held across different financial institutions—giving SMBs a complete view of their current and future cashflow.

“The financial landscape is evolving, necessitating tools that harness open banking data to drive strategic insight,” said Kevin Phalen, Executive Chairman of 9Spokes. “Our Cashflow product empowers SMBs and financial organizations with the automated, data-driven capabilities needed to navigate and thrive in this changing environment.”

Key Features and Benefits:

Automated Insights: Leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms, the tool provides predictive cashflow forecasts and visualizations. This automation minimizes manual intervention, enabling SMBs to navigate financial landscapes with unprecedented accuracy and confidence.
Pre-Built and Configurable: This ready-to-use solution is configurable to meet the diverse needs of the financial organization, ensuring seamless integration into their existing workflows and systems for their SMBs.
Comprehensive Financial Overview: SMBs receive a holistic view of their financial health, allowing for better cashflow forecasting and strategic decision-making to optimize financial operations.
Forward-Looking Insights: The tool can equip credit and lending teams at financial organizations with predictive cashflow data, improving credit decision-making and risk management.
White-Labeled Innovation: Financial organizations can offer this cutting-edge tool under their own brand, enhancing customer loyalty and positioning themselves as leaders in financial support and innovation.

The 9Spokes Cashflow product is now available for integration by financial institutions and fintech firms globally, promising to transform the way SMBs manage their finances and make strategic decisions.

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eflow Global launches enhanced eComms Surveillance tool

eflow Global — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 12:12:49 +0000

In response to the escalating need for comprehensive and effective eComms surveillance in the financial sector, RegTech (Regulatory Technology) scaleup eflow Global announces the launch of an enhanced, more inclusive version of TZEC, its AI-powered eComms surveillance platform.

Designed to meet the increasingly sophisticated requirements of global financial firms and regulators, TZEC integrates sophisticated analytics and machine learning to analyse, identify and predict the types of activities that are associated with instances of market abuse, offering firms access to continuously evolving behavioural-led insights.

Tackling key trade surveillance pain points

Since 2021, over $2.7bn in fines have been issued by global regulators for eComms surveillance failures, with $95m in fines handed out in the first five months of 2024 alone. With regulatory bodies such as the FCA, SEC, CFTC and FINRA intensifying their focus on eComms surveillance as part of broader market abuse detection strategies, firms are under increasing pressure to monitor the digital channels used by their teams to share information.

TZEC addresses these challenges by offering a highly configurable, holistic solution that uses eflow’s sentiment analysis tooling to accurately identify suspicious behaviour, link messages to associated trading activity, all while minimising the reporting of ‘false positives’ that can drain compliance resources. Unlike existing systems that merely provide ‘archive and search’ functionality, TZEC utilises eflow’s Client Lexicon Service to learn firm-specific vocabulary and slang terms that are unique to that organisation. These are then combined with other wider linguistic trends and industry terminology through eflow’s Global Lexicon Service, which enables TZEC to continuously evolve and improve surveillance outcomes based on behavioural-led insights.

Ben Parker, CEO and founder of eflow Global, commented: “As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, firms cannot afford to rely on outdated and fragmented surveillance tools. There’s an urgent need for a solution that goes beyond traditional siloed surveillance tools, which drain resources and require multiple teams to ‘join the dots’ between systems in order to detect market abuse. TZEC represents a significant advancement in our commitment to providing comprehensive, integrated, and intelligent surveillance solutions that not only meet but exceed regulatory requirements.”

“By leveraging advanced AI and machine learning, TZEC ensures that our clients can stay ahead of potential compliance issues and focus on their core business operations with confidence,” Parker continued.

Having been engineered to normalise all communications channels, TZEC also allows firms to add new messaging services with ease, future-proofing a firm’s eComms surveillance strategy. It also generates comprehensive digital audit trails to satisfy regulatory record-keeping requirements more efficiently and allows firms to fine-tune the platform’s configuration to their specific needs by experimenting with various parameters in an independent sandbox environment.

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Cogitate Names Lava Jois as Chief Technology Officer

PRNewswire — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 15:53:36 +0000

Cogitate announces the appointment of Lava Jois as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), reporting to CEO and Co-founder, Arvind Kaushal. Lava will lead the development and implementation of Cogitate’s DigitalEdge Insurance solution suite, spearheading innovations in artificial intelligence, large language models and machine learning, data analytics, and data science. Lava will also oversee information security and infrastructure management.

Jois joined Cogitate in 2021 as Vice President, Enterprise Architect, and had an immediate impact on Cogitate’s product offering. As the chief architect responsible for design and development, he drove the initiative to launch the DigitalEdge Policy V. 2.0 – the cloud-native, multitenant, microservices architected platform hosted on Azure. He has also managed the dev ops practice at Cogitate and facilitated security certifications.

“We are so pleased to offer this well-deserved position to Lava Jois. I have been so impressed with Lava’s entrepreneurial approach to innovation. He has seized opportunities to incorporate AI and data science into our solutions, which align with the needs of our insurance partners. Under his guidance, we have advanced tremendously, and I rely on his competencies and strategic vision to guide us forward,” shared Arvind Kaushal.

Jois brings more than two decades of technology architecture expertise to his new role as CTO at Cogitate. Previous to Cogitate, Jois employed his consultative skillset with Cloud By McKinsey where he guided clients through transformative cloud migration strategies. Jois has also held several technology consulting roles with Fortune 100 companies across the US. Beginning his career as a software developer, he has architected various solutions for B2B, B2C, and SaaS. Jois holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Mysore.

Jois expressed his enthusiasm stating, “As we enter this exciting phase for Cogitate, I am honored to take on the role of CTO. With a commitment to innovation and a focus on collaboration, I look forward to leading our tech vision with passion and purpose. Guided by the visionary leadership of Co-founders Arvind Kaushal and Jacqueline Schaendorf, we will align our technological advancements to enhance the insurance user experience.”

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Acuity Knowledge Partners Acquires PPA Group

BusinessWire — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 14:52:28 +0000

Acuity Knowledge Partners (“Acuity”), a leading provider of high-value research, analytics and business intelligence solutions to the financial services sector, announced the acquisition of PPA Group (“PPA”).

PPA is a leading technology-enabled service provider to financial institutions in Germany and Switzerland, providing services focused on bespoke structuring of global financial and ESG data for commercial lending and ESG analysis.

With offices in Darmstadt, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland, PPA has over two decades of experience in working with leading European banks to help them better understand and utilise complex counterparty data. PPA’s software-enabled services, developed in-house, and deep domain expertise deliver accurate, cost-effective and secure results to its growing client base.

“Advanced, accurate and timely data processing to assist financial institutions engaged in commercial lending is a key growth area for Acuity. The acquisition of PPA Group is a strategic investment to support Acuity’s commitment and growing presence in supporting best practices in commercial lending. I am also delighted that we will partner with the highly experienced PPA management team to scale this business and bring its capabilities to Acuity’s global client base,” said Robert King, Chief Executive Officer, Acuity Knowledge Partners. “Our combined platform will provide clients with a market-leading service, and we look forward to integrating PPA’s innovative use of AI and Machine Learning into our portfolio of solutions. The acquisition also adds direct presence in two important and major European financial markets, Germany, and Switzerland.”

Heimo Saubach, Chief Executive Officer, PPA Group, said, “We have built a best-in-class data extraction and processing business serving European lending customers. Becoming part of Acuity Knowledge Partners will allow us to expand our market share globally and provide additional value to our existing customer base. It also means we can combine our advanced understanding of AI platforms with that of Acuity to create new and market-leading solutions. Acuity and PPA share the same mission of being a strategic and trusted partner to our customers and a great place to work for our employees. We feel very comfortable becoming part of Acuity and are confident that we can add value to our common endeavours.”

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DataVisor Enhances Multi-Tenancy Capabilities

BusinessWire — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 17:00:57 +0000

DataVisor, the world’s leading AI-powered fraud and financial crime prevention platform, is excited to announce significant enhancements to its advanced multi-tenancy solutions. These enhancements allow organizations to configure and customize fraud prevention and anti-money laundering (AML) strategies and seamlessly deploy them across multiple sub-tenants. This includes the deployment of features, business rules, and machine learning models, ensuring comprehensive and consistent protection, with flexible data segregation, orchestration, and reportings.

DataVisor’s new multi-tenancy enhancements empower core banking providers, processors, and acquirers to offer advanced fraud and AML tools to their customers, while utilizing their network-level view of transactions and activities to develop consortium risk signals. It also addresses unique compliance challenges for sponsor banks, enhancing their risk management with fintech collaborations with better transparency, governance, and risk control. Additionally, large financial institutions can also leverage the multi-tenancy setup to centralize data and feature computation at the main tenant level, while enabling individual business units to make decisions independently through sub-tenancy.

DataVisor’s next generation multi-tenancy capabilities offer customers three distinct options tailored to different levels of data segregation, control, and configurability at the sub-tenant level:

Enforcement Option: Provides the main tenant with the highest level of control, allowing it to define all data computation, strategies and reportings for the sub-tenants.
Recommendation Option: Centralizes data computation, but offers sub-tenants the flexibility to define their own strategies while building upon those established by the main tenant.
Enrichment Option: Allows sub-tenants to be in complete control of their own data computation, development of strategies and reportings, with the ability to retrieve consortium risk signals from the main tenant to enrich decision-making.

These options empower organizations to choose the right level of control and customization that best fits their operational needs. Different from other multi-tenancy solutions in the market, DataVisor supports true data segregation to ensure complete data isolation and privacy, providing better protection with customizable access controls at the tenant level, data level, and view level. It also includes advanced data orchestration and reporting functionalities at both the main-tenant and the sub-tenant level, enhancing visibility and transparency–particularly in today’s regulatory environment–to allow effective compliance policy control and monitoring across different business units and between sponsor banks and fintechs.

The enhanced multi-tenancy from DataVisor brings innovation and versatile benefits to both large and small organizations alike. It boasts a cloud-native architecture with total elasticity to scale performance as the number of sub tenants increases, supporting real-time payment use cases with over 15,000 transactions per second (TPS) and 100-200 ms end-to-end processing latency for both the main tenant and the sub-tenants. Additionally, with no-code/low-code support, unsupervised machine learning and Gen AI powered AI Co-pilot, DataVisor’s multi-tenancy enables larger organizations to extend advanced machine learning models and AI capabilities to their clients who may not have in-house machine-learning capabilities, enhancing protection across all sizes of clients against the most sophisticated attacks in the world.

“The enhanced multi-tenancy capabilities exemplify our dedication to empowering customers in their fight against modern fraud and money laundering activities,” said Caiwei Li, CTO of DataVisor. “Unlike other solutions, we offer a greater variety of advanced technology and flexible options, tailored to meet the specific business needs we’ve identified through customer feedback. These enhanced capabilities are already being rolled out to several of our existing customers, demonstrating its effectiveness and reliability.”

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The Power of Insurtech Partnerships with Channel Partners in Embedded Insurance

Rafael Gallardo — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 12:30:23 +0000

Rafael Gallardo CPO & Co-founder Weecover
The insurance landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by technological advancements and evolving consumer expectations. At the heart of this transformation is insurtech, a vibrant sector breathing new life into an industry often perceived as stodgy and slow to adapt to new technologies. One of the most exciting developments within insurtech is the emergence of embedded insurance—a model that seamlessly integrates insurance products into non-insurance purchase processes. However, the true magic happens when insurtech companies form strategic partnerships with channel partners to deliver these embedded solutions.

The Essence of Embedded Insurance
Embedded insurance, at its core, aims to meet customers where they are, offering them cover at the point of need, without the friction of traditional insurance processes. Imagine purchasing a car online and getting a motor insurance policy bundled into the same transaction. Or booking a holiday and receiving travel insurance as part of the package. These examples illustrate how embedded insurance can provide a frictionless customer experience while enhancing the value proposition of the primary product or service. In essence, embedded insurance is an industry game-changer, where customers no longer seek out the right insurance product, but the product seeks the customer at the point of need.

Leveraging Advanced Technologies
The insurtech companies driving these innovations are leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, and specific tech platforms. These tools enable them to offer personalised, real-time insurance solutions that are not only more convenient but also more relevant to the customer’s specific needs. However, technology alone isn’t enough to revolutionise the insurance industry. This is where the power of strategic partnerships with channel partners comes into play.

The Role of Channel Partners
Channel partners—whether e-commerce platforms, tech manufacturers, or fintechs—hold the key to accessing a vast and diverse customer base. By collaborating with these partners, insurtech firms can embed their insurance offerings directly into the purchasing journey of consumers, effectively meeting them at the point of sale. This not only simplifies the buying process but also enhances the overall customer experience, creating a win-win situation for both the insurance provider and the channel partner.

Building on Existing Trust
One of the key advantages of such partnerships is the ability to tap into the existing trust and relationship that the channel partner has with its customers. Customers are more likely to purchase insurance when it is offered by a trusted entity as part of a broader transaction. This trust transfer can significantly increase the uptake of embedded insurance products, driving growth and scalability for insurtech companies.

Adding Value to Channel Partners
Ultimately, channel partners benefit from offering embedded insurance as it adds value to their primary product or service. It differentiates them in a competitive market by providing an additional layer of convenience and protection to their customers. For instance, an online retailer offering embedded insurance for electronic devices can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty by ensuring that their purchases are protected from damage or theft. This creates a more comprehensive and appealing customer proposition, separating the retailer from its competitors.

Harnessing the Power of Data
Data is another critical component of these strategic synergies. Insurtech companies excel at using data analytics to understand customer behaviour, predict risks, and tailor insurance solutions accordingly. When they partner with channel partners, they gain access to a wealth of customer data that can be used to further refine and personalise insurance offerings. This data-driven approach not only improves the accuracy and relevance of insurance products but also helps in identifying new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Navigating Challenges
However, these partnerships are not without challenges. Aligning the interests of insurtech firms and channel partners can be complex, requiring careful negotiation and collaboration. Both parties must be committed to a shared vision of enhancing customer experience and delivering value. Additionally, regulatory compliance is a significant consideration, as embedded insurance models must adhere to stringent insurance regulations in different jurisdictions.

The Future of Insurance
Despite these challenges, the potential benefits of strategic synergies between insurtech companies and channel partners are immense. As the insurance industry continues to evolve, these partnerships will play a crucial role in shaping the future of insurance. By leveraging the strengths of both insurtech innovations and established customer relationships, embedded insurance can deliver unprecedented value and convenience to consumers.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the power of insurtech partnerships with channel partners in embedded insurance lies in their ability to seamlessly integrate insurance into everyday transactions, enhancing the customer experience and driving growth for both insurers and their partners. As these partnerships continue to develop and mature, they will unlock new possibilities and set the stage for a more dynamic, customer-centric insurance industry.

The future of insurance is not just about protection—it’s about convenience, relevance, and strategic synergy. And that future is being built today, one partnership at a time. Collaborations with fintech companies like BNPL services and neobanks are revolutionising how insurance products are distributed and accessed, ensuring they are more convenient and relevant to modern consumers.

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Rafael Gallardo, CDO & Co-founder Weecover

Rafael Gallardo is an expert in digital business, product, and the entire ecosystem surrounding the internet era, a sector in which he has developed his professional career since 1996. Gallardo has held senior positions in Digital Management at companies such as Zurich Spain and Credit Suisse. He has collaborated on digital strategy for prestigious companies like Mercedes-Benz, L'Oréal, Telefónica, Grupo Prisa, RTVE, etc. Additionally, he has consolidated his expertise in digital business by serving for 7 years as Chief Digital Officer on the board of directors of Grupo Océano. An Executive MBA from EAE, he has always defended and specialized in the executive bridge position between technology and business, seeking full synergy between both as the only path to successful digital business.

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Experience High Returns with InvestGPT: The AI Advisor with Spot-On Picks

GlobeNewswire — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 17:00:54 +0000

Investing can be daunting, especially with the myriad of choices and the ever-changing market dynamics. But what if you had an intelligent advisor that consistently picked the right investments for you? Meet InvestGPT, your unique AI-driven investment advisor designed specifically for Canadian users. With a proven track record of high returns and spot-on recommendations, InvestGPT simplifies the investment process, ensuring you can grow your wealth with ease.

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