Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 5 February 2018
B-Hive and the LHoFT sign MoU to Collaborate & Mutually Share Knowledge
As part of the LHoFT delegation at the Paris Fintech Forum held on January 30 & 31 at the former stock exchange in the very heart of Paris in Palais Brongniart, the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology Foundation (LHoFT) is pleased to announce the signature of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Belgian Fintech hub B-Hive on Tuesday, 30 January.
This MoU was signed by Ellen Thijs, VP Business Development of B-Hive and Nasir Zubairi, LHoFT CEO and witnessed by Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg Finance Minister, as well as Johan Van Overtveldt, Belgian Finance Minister.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during a LHoFT invite-only cocktail at the Paris Fintech Forum gathering key representatives of the Luxemburg Fintech community, corporate partners & members of the B-Hive delegation, Fintech startups as well as other delegates attending the Forum. The objective of the two hubs is to work on collaborative initiatives and further promote the FinTech industry across Europe for the benefit of the whole industry. A direct action will follow the signature of this MoU as the LHoFT will have the pleasure to welcome a B-Hive delegation on the 15th of February where Luxembourg and Belgium Fintechs will have the possibility to discuss, exchange best practices and collaborate towards new business deals.
Arachnys and Fenergo Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement
Arachnys and Fenergo today announced a joint partnership. Arachnys, the provider of cloud-based investigation management technology, partners with Fenergo, the leading provider of Client Lifecycle Management solutions for investment, corporate and private banks.
This partnership will provide seamless inclusion of Arachnys’s due diligence research and management solution within Fenergo’s end-to-end onboarding workflow, to add global screening and KYC data collection capability, ensure a seamless and integrated audit trail for external information, enable automated periodic review, and accelerate onboarding and compliance for new business.
Arachnys’s expertise in search, audit trail, and reporting will support Fenergo’s regulatory rules and risk scoring engine to offer financial institutions the most comprehensive solution for KYC and CLM.
Ed Sander, President of Arachnys, said: “We are delighted to partner with Fenergo to improve the visibility and tracking of due diligence processes across the customer risk lifecycle, eliminating the need to work across multiple systems. The harmony between Fenergo’s rules engine and Arachnys’s search, audit trail and reporting technologies will convert compliance into an accelerator for top line revenue.”
Europe’s first international Blockchain Centre launches in Vilnius
Europe’s first international Blockchain Centre launched its operations in Vilnius – the capital of Lithuania. The launch attracted entrepreneurs, investors, key decision-makers and experts from around the world.
It is the first facility of its kind on the continent. The global network of Blockchain Centres includes Melbourne, Shanghai, and now, Vilnius. It is a not-for-profit knowledge-hub, co-working space and incubator for blockchain technology companies.
The official launch ceremony included a series of signings of cooperation agreements by Blockchain Centre Vilnius and numerous partner organisations, including PWC, the UK’s 20|30 & Pillar Project, Singapore based NEM.io Foundation, Canadian GCAC, Malaysian PUNDI X LABS, Australian Coinstop and Lithuanian Lympo.io among others. The Minister of Economy of Lithuania, Virginijus Sinkevičius, witnessed the signings.
“Experts from the world´s Intellectual centres predict diverse scenarios in cryptocurrency development; however blockchain is not just about cryptocurrency. Blockchain technology is already being adopted by many businesses and public administration sectors. The potential is enormous, therefore, Lithuania must become an important link in the global blockchain industry. I am pleased to be able to put the first block in place today”, V. Sinkevičius said at the ceremony.
Finland first cashless destination chinese travelers
Alipay, the world’s largest mobile payment and lifestyle platform, operated by Ant Financial Services Group, announced that a group of Chinese travelers have concluded the first ever cashless journey to Finland, with all transactions throughout their trip made via their Alipay accounts.
From booking flights, making local retail purchases in Helsinki, and dining out, to visiting museums, experiencing recreational activities, and managing transportation, as well as receiving an instant tax refund at the airport, Finland becomes the first country outside China where Alipay users can make all payments with their smartphones, and enjoy their trip without worrying about cash and language barriers, just as they would at home in China.
To encourage future seamless, cashless journeys, Alipay has also teamed up with Lähitaksi, one of Finland’s major taxi companies. Alipay will be made available on all 1,250 Lähitaksi taxis in Helsinki and the city’s surrounding towns before the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays later this month.
