Issue 21
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Greg Morgan CEO APAC Learn To Trade
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Chairman and CEO Varun Sash
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Editor Wanda Rich email: wrich@gbafmag.com Web Development and Maintenance Anand Giri
Dear Readers’ I am pleased to present Issue 21 of Global Banking & Finance Review. For those of you that are reading us for the first time, welcome.
Head of Distribution & Production Robert Mathew Project Managers Megan Sash, Amanda Walker Video Production and Journalist Phil Fothergill Graphic Designer Jessica Weisman-Pitts Client & Accounts Manager Chanel Roberts Business Consultants Rick Saikia, Monika Umakanth, Stefy Abraham, Business Analysts Samuel Joseph, Dave D’Costa Accounts Joy Cantlon, Mirka Maruszak Advertising Phone: +44 (0) 208 144 3511 marketing@gbafmag.com GBAF Publications, LTD Alpha House 100 Borough High Street London, SE1 1LB United Kingdom
Due to economic uncertainty, the ongoing effects of the pandemic and the ever-present desire for financial freedom, the interest in trading is on the rise. To discover what it takes to be a successful trader, who better to learn from than those at the forefront of trading in the Forex market. In our cover story this issue Greg Morgan, CEO of Learn To Trade, the Forex education and training specialist talks about the importance of education, support and the right mindset in finding success as a trader, and shared with us his top tips for trading. Focusing on processes, products and innovation, Bank One Limited ensures its clients’ interests are at the core of all its activities. In our exclusive interview with Guillaume Passebecq, Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management, and Sunil Sathebajee, Head of Business & SME Banking at Bank One we discuss their success and how the bank is addressing the challenges of the current pandemic. We strive to capture the breaking news about the world's economy, financial events, and banking game changers from prominent leaders in the industry and public viewpoints with an intention to serve a holistic outlook. We have gone that extra mile to ensure we give you the best from the world of finance. Send me your thoughts on how I can continue to improve and what you’d like to see in the future. Enjoy!
Global Banking & Finance Review is the trading name of GBAF Publications LTD Company Registration Number: 7403411 VAT Number: GB 112 5966 21 ISSN 2396-717X. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources the publishers believe to be correct. The publisher wishes to stress that the information contained herein may be subject to varying international, federal, state and/or local laws or regulations. The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes all responsibility for the use of these materials and information. However, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter contained herein no legal liability can be accepted for any errors. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior consent of the publisher
Wanda Rich Editor
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Issue 21 | 3
CONTENTS
interviews... 8 DELIVERING EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE THROUGH PROCESSES, PRODUCTS AND INNOVATION Guillaume Passebecq, Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management, Bank One Limited Sunil Sathebajee, Head of Business & SME Banking, Bank One Limited
24 Cover Story THE PATH TO FOREX MARKET SUCCESS – TWO TRADING EXPERTS SHARE THEIR INSIGHTS Greg Morgan, CEO, Learn To Trade APAC Andrew Quine, CEO, , Learn To Trade EMEA and SmartCharts
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CONFIDENCE IN TOMORROW Euler Hermes provides trade credit insurance, surety, and collections services around the world through a strategic presence in over 50 countries. Its strength comes from the trust of our customers, partners and employees.
Best Trade Credit Insurance Company Asia Pacifi fic c 2020
CONTENTS
inside... BUSINESS
32
Accurate forecasting is vital for supply chains in the COVID-19 era and beyond Andrew Butt,Co-Founder and CEO of Enable
38
Investing into a more sustainable future: changing businesses from the inside out
FINTECH
11
What’s in Store for Fintech in 2021?
20
Why the UK is standing tall at the forefront of fintech
Scott Donnelly, CEO, CapitalBox
Michael Magrath, Director of Global Standards and Regulations, OneSpan
Shawn Welch, Vice President and General Manager, Hi-Cone Worldwide
42
Forget virtual and hybrid – in the future, events will be sold as a single blended experience Christopher Bo Shields, Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder, Totem
FINANCE
44
Why radical transparency should be a CFO priority Ilija Ugrinic is UK Market Director of Proactis
INSURANCE
34
2020: The paradoxical year that has reshaped the future of motor insurance and related sectors
PAYMENTS
Alan Inskip, Tempcover CEO & Founder
52
How Financial Services & Insurance leaders can get more scientific on risk Adrian Morgan, Global Head of AdvantageGo
TECHNOLOGY
13
Without Collaboration and Digital Transformation, leaders risk the very viability of the finance sector Matt Zilli, CEO, Clarizen
46
Using feedback to improve your IT implementation approach
Dr Roland Abel, Head of Employee Experience (EX) Solutions Strategy DACH at Qualtrics
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Beyond Transactions: The Payment Revolution Marwan Forzley, CEO of Veem
48
The Rise of Contactless Payments Bilal Soylu CEO of XcooBee
38
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Because you motivated us to grow as a digital bank, today we are recognized as the Best Digital Bank in Chile.
SANTANDER, CHILE’S BEST DIGITAL BANK We celebrate to have been chosen by Global Banking & Finance, as the Best Digital Bank and the Fastest Growing Digital Bank in Chile in 2020. Thank you for inspiring us to improve every day.
Banco Santander Chile: Infórmese sobre la garantía estatal de los depósitos en su banco o en www.cmfchile.cl. Publicidad valida solo para Chile.
INTERVIEW
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INTERVIEW
Delivering exceptional customer experience through processes, products and innovation Focusing on processes, products and innovation, Bank One Limited ensures its clients’ interests are at the core of all its activities. The Bank helps customers navigate the complex financial world and achieve their financial goals with its knowledgeable team, Open Architecture model and state-of-the-art Custody Platform. Its unique value proposition, strong corporate governance and ethical business conduct helped the Mauritian banking institution win Best Custodian Bank Mauritius 2020, Best SME Bank Mauritius 2020, and Best Corporate Governance Bank Mauritius 2020 in the Global Banking & Finance Awards®. Global Banking & Finance Review interviewed Guillaume Passebecq, Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management and Sunil Sathebajee, Head of Business & SME Banking at Bank One to discuss their success and how the bank is addressing the challenges of the current pandemic. What initiatives do you feel have contributed to the bank's outstanding performance in this year's competition? Guillaume: I believe that our success lies in the fact that Bank One spared no effort to fully embrace the rapid changes in the banking sector in recent years. We have invested massively in our digital channels by revisiting our business strategy and operational model. These channels include our Internet Banking platform, Mobile Banking application and our full-fledged Custody platform. We will definitely continue to adapt our products and services to a very demanding market and strengthen our position as the bank of choice for our sophisticated clientele. Sunil: It is undeniable that Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in most economies, particularly in developing countries such as Mauritius. At Bank One, we have a
dedicated team within our Retail Banking segment which focuses exclusively on serving the SMEs. We provide a wide range of highly attractive tailor-made products and services to support these companies in their current activities and long-term growth. Over time, we have developed a strong relationship with our SME clients through our team of seasoned Relationship Managers that offers, over and above traditional banking products and services, advisory and counselling services adapted to the needs of each customer. This is particularly appreciated in the current COVID-19 environment where many of our customers’ businesses are highly impacted. How has the bank addressed the challenges of the current pandemic? Guillaume: We are indeed at a very special moment in history right now and uncertainty around the depth and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced banks to review their current processes and re-invent themselves. More than ever, we have seen that digital transformation is the key to enduring such crisis. At Bank One, we have been able to navigate through the COVID-19 crisis and ensure normal banking operations are carried out thanks to the digitalisation of our internal processes. Furthermore, in every crisis, clients expect more proximity from their banks and a close follow-up of their investments. The period of financial stress has brought forward the resilience of Bank One’s Open Architecture management, as a multi-management investment solution can be an efficient way of reducing performance volatility. Our primary focus at the moment is the protection and growth of our clients' wealth and we make sure that their investments are kept offbalance sheet with a trusted depository like Euroclear acting as the provider for securities settlements.
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INTERVIEW
Sunil: The SME sector is one of the sectors which has been mostly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Mauritius and around the world - causing significant losses for operators and impacting their revenues. In an effort to support our clients in this difficult time, we have eased their financial burden by granting a majority of them a moratorium on their loans for a period of up to 6 months. We further extended this moratorium until December 2020 for those operating in sectors still affected by the pandemic such as the tourism and the hospitality sectors. In addition, we helped the SMEs meet their shortterm liquidity needs by offering flexible and tailormade solutions.
What is Bank One doing to ensure long-term business success? Building strong relations with customers has always been a priority for the bank. How do you maintain and grow the relationship with customers? Guillaume: Our strategic plan is driven by a longterm vision to avoid any short-sightedness in terms our decision-making process. We believe that the current crisis is changing the mindset of some investors with greater emphasis on green investments given a fresh focus that looks further into the future. COVID-19 is further accelerating ESG investments, which have seen a steady increase of inflows and betterthan-average returns since the beginning of the pandemic. I think that the rationale behind is that the COVID-19 crisis has put the spotlight on vulnerabilities and our dependence on the natural environment. Moreover, as a boutique bank, we developed a personalised approach to deliver tailor-made solutions. Our Relationship Managers take the time to understand their clients’ ambitions and risk appetite, before defining their strategy and creating a customized roadmap to achieve their goals. Sunil: As Guillaume mentioned, our Relationship Managers play an important role in our longterm business success. They are the ones who are in direct contact with our customers and who understand their immediate needs and their aspirations better. We are pleased that Bank One is recognised today as a valuable partner for the SMEs not only on the basis of highly competitive and attractive rates but also on the premise that we are here for the long haul and we always seek what is in the best interests of our clients in the long run. Let’s talk for a minute about product development. What drives product creation at Bank One?
Guillaume Passebecq Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management Bank One Limited
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Sunil: At Bank One, all our initiatives, including product creation, are customer-centric. In the last few years, we have adopted a culture of innovation which involves continuously challenging the status quo in the market whilst keeping in mind the customer journey at the core. In order to achieve tangible results, I believe that passionate and creative staff, a deep organisation commitment towards digital transformation and the adoption of tight controls and regulatory functions are essential for a sustainable business model.
INTERVIEW
SME’s play a critical role in Mauritius’ economy. How does Bank One help SME clients manage their working capital and expand their business? Sunil: At Bank One, we adapt our offers to each customer and every single request is considered on its on merit by our team of professionals. We provide various tailor-made products which cater for their working capital needs such as overdraft facilities, import lines, short-term working capital loans or bridging loans. We are very flexible in our approach and our main focus is our clients’ growth. During this period of crisis, given the lack of visibility due to numerous uncertainties globally, we often advise our clients to exercise caution when it comes to their business expansion and investment plans.
Clients can also delegate the management of their portfolios through a selection of independent FSC-regulated managers. To offer greater peace of mind, the securities settlements are guaranteed by Euroclear, rated AA+ by Fitch Ratings and AA by Standard & Poor's. All securities are kept off the Bank's balance sheet. By combining in-house knowledge and expertise with the best investment opportunities from asset managers globally, Bank One’s clients enjoy greater freedom, greater choice, and greater value.
How does Bank One contribute to the social and economic development and a healthy environment in Mauritius? Sunil: Expressed through Bank One’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability function, we have at heart the inclusive development of the communities in which we operate. Bank One believes in making an impactful and sustainable contribution and in playing a significant role in stimulating economic and social development. As a concrete example, one of our recent CSR initiatives is the Women Empowerment Program in collaboration with NGO Caritas Solitude under the framework of their ‘Lakaz Lespwar’ project. The objective of this project which is still ongoing is to provide an opportunity to women with an entrepreneurial spirit from an underprivileged background who have a valid business project but lack adequate funding. Five women were selected and are currently receiving financial support to start and operate their small businesses with the objective to be selfsupportive and economically independent. What advantages do clients receive from your state-of-the-art Custody Platform and Open Architecture model? Guillaume: Being the only Private Bank in Mauritius offering an Open Architecture Wealth Management combined with a real-time digital access and custody solution, Bank One is known for its innovation culture. We offer a securities platform that allows local and international investment in all asset classes, equities, bonds, investment funds and structured products.
Sunil Sathebajee Head of Business & SME Banking Bank One Limited
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FINTECH
What’s in Store for Fintech in 2021? What a year it is has been. It has been tough for many – from small businesses, to big high street retailers. We can’t however ignore the fact that the pandemic certainly forced companies to adapt and learn to be agile quite quickly. To not depend on typical lines of communications, funding, and ways of working. We witnessed legacy banks and financial services push for innovation at record speeds for their own workforce, and to stay connected with customers. The more innovative and agile fintech companies have this year explored new territories to help business operations, provide quick and easy access to capital, and better the overall customer experience, especially in times of need. The next year will bring even more to these ever-changed industries. Brexit will of course play its part in changes to regulation and the
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fintech playing field itself, and there will be much opportunity to capture – from more available capital to invest in businesses, to carrying out expansion plans, this will be a significant year for fintech. In fact, these are the top predictions for the fintech sector and what is to come in the new year. Fuelling growth and expansion plans through consolidating fintech players In 2021 we will see a rise in levels of consolidation in the space, with small financial leaders being acquired by larger players. This will be partially evident in mature areas, such as lending, alongside emerging areas of the financial market like blockchain. For start-ups, consolidation can fuel and scale international growth and also help them to rebuild themselves, and their
FINTECH
balance sheets, after a challenging year. Consolidation offers small businesses a golden ticket to every aspect of the financial services ecosystem. Take CapitalBox’s recent acquisition of Spotcap Global, one of the most recognized online lenders in the Dutch market. This consolidation has allowed Spotcap Global to grow their business through the combination of expertise and technology, solidifying a strong market position and translating into better funding options for Dutch SMEs. The time is right … to buy and invest! Private equity and venture capital are perfectly placed to take advantage of an economic downturn. For investors skilled enough to act on the dry powder in the market, we expect a top buying opportunity for reasonably priced corporations in 2021 – especially as there is a considerable amount of institutional investor money sitting on the side-lines right now. According to BDO’s Private Capital Pulse Survey private equity and venture capital managers share the same optimism, with only 15% saying they expect the economy to worsen in 2021. eCommerce to succeed with better tech solutions and partnerships With more payment options available, from mobile to pay-later, the eCommerce space has already got a taste of the profits of modern financial technology, and there is only more to come. In a world that is growing more digital by the minute due to social distancing, the COVID-19 driven surge in ecommerce is unlikely to fully subside even when rules are relaxed.
The use of chatbots, biometrics and blockchain tech have revitalised the customer experience for good, therefore in 2021 fintech companies that facilitate, assist or fund ecommerce transitions will be thriving. Many small businesses have had to learn to digitise and sell online during this time in order to survive. A report released by Adobe shows COVID-19 has massively enhanced the growth of e-commerce with a 77% rise, an increase that would have otherwise taken 4-6 years. Therefore, we expect rapid growth in SME ecommerce tools as businesses prepare for the future. To be e-commerce 2021 ready, organisations must prioritise the use of external tools, like digital payment process systems and analytics tracking platforms, that can handle the dynamic environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Without these, small players run the risk of getting left behind as a result of a weak consumer experience. Brexit will create opportunity for those that are multilingual The US has some really big fintech players and in the UK, there are a lot of businesses in the space albeit small to medium sized. The real opportunities in fintech however, come from targeting smaller countries rather than large markets. With markets such as the US and UK, companies tend to trade internally as it is easier than getting to grips with multiple languages, currencies and regulations. The latter are difficult to deal with, but if your fintech business can navigate multiple regulatory ecosystems, then there are some serious opportunities to take, and have a bigger presence across the globe.
Brexit will be a benefit for continental fintech players next year, as it will add more regulatory hurdles for companies looking to enter the market. However, it will be even harder to establish as a fintech in the UK. To get past this, the UK Government needs to connect players in the UK to larger players in the environments it wants to expand and find a way to work together. Looking beyond 2020 to the potential that 2021 can bring the fintech industry, there is not only the opportunity there, but a big role for them to play in restoring what has been impacted the hardest this year. Helping businesses and economies to rebuild and grow again. The increased focus on fintech acquisitions and the e-commerce boom, both supported by AI, blockchain and cryptocurrency, offer an optimistic start to next year.
Scott Donnelly CEO CapitalBox
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TECHNOLOGY
Without Collaboration and Digital Transformation, leaders risk the very viability of the finance sector Even before the financial sector felt the full impact of COVID-19, the industry had faced tough challenges in enabling wider workplace collaboration, digital transformation, and long-term business adaptability. In a rapidly changing, digitized business world driven increasingly by advanced work management technologies, many banking and finance firms have failed to keep pace. Indeed, too many are still relying on manual processes and legacy systems comprised of little more than email and spreadsheets. Still, many players in the sector had been carefully phasing in new ways of working supported by methodical digital transformation. Then the pandemic struck and, overnight, entire workforces were forced to start working remotely and adapt to bigger changes than they had ever faced. Carefully laid plans to incrementally deploy work management solutions and other technologies that enable better efficiency, flexibility, and working methods were suddenly superseded by the need to get workforces up and running from home immediately.
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The result is the pandemic has shone a light on exactly where companies are on their digital transformation journeys – and for some, it's not very far. The new reality is that the COVID crisis has accelerated the pace of change for financial firms and their clients, leaving business leaders in banks and other companies facing critical questions. The most pressing for most has been how to keep a stretched workforce connected, coordinated, informed and on-task with so many employees suddenly forced to work remotely. The answer for most has been to fast-track their digital transformation journey. Indeed, the seismic change thrust upon most companies by COVID has forced the issue of digital transformation. Finding a means to enable executive visibility, support an effective work culture, maintain productivity, and boost agility for a predominantly remote workforce has been central to surviving the crisis and preparing for a post-COVD world. If mishandled, this transition could hinder employees' ability
to communicate and work together to meet objectives and set the whole organization on a downward trajectory. The barriers to effective collaboration Engaging a remote workforce isn't as simple as having employees working from home equipped with laptops and their emails. Not having the right processes and tools in place can prove detrimental to organizations striving to keep day-to-day operations running while executing strategies that protect their future. But for businesses to make it through the pandemic and set themselves up for post-COVID success, there are a few barriers to effective collaboration that they must overcome. Often, remote workers may feel isolated and disconnected as a result of a lack of communication, which will affect a team member's ability to manage workflow effectively, keep projects on track and, in turn, reduce the enterprise's business agility. This disconnection hampers efficiency
TECHNOLOGY
and hurts the company's ability to adapt to competitive pressures and broader business challenges quickly. On the plus side of homeworking, while a digital workspace can make employees feel less connected, it can also offer fewer distractions which can bolster productivity. The key is that organizations need to have the technology in place to enable remote staff to communicate effectively and in context of their tasks, update and check status reports, and keep abreast of priorities and deadlines – all in real-time. Even as offices open again, social distancing and the need for many to continue working from home means that everyone – wherever they are working from – needs to have equal access to the files, documents, and resources required to function day-to-day. Without the right work management tools, teams waste time chasing and on-site colleagues for the information they need.
Today's management challenges For managers, there are obstacles too. As we move into the next phase of the pandemic, most people have been able to adjust to remote working but many – especially younger team members who value an office environment and are now away from direct management oversight – may still need to be managed closely and prompted to complete tasks and meet deadlines. In comparison, others may need extra guidance when it comes to understanding what needs to be accomplished and which tasks need to be prioritized. It is difficult for managers to provide this support without realtime visibility of ongoing and completed work. This lack of visibility also affects senior management's strategic decision-making. For organizations to flourish, employees must have the means to stay connected to colleagues and their managers to collaborate effectively. They need to understand not just what their specific assignments and goals are, but that
the broader direction and objectives of the organization are – and buy into these. Leaders at every level within the business must be able to provide ongoing updates and share the leadership team's vision to keep their people motivated and on-track. Tomorrow's technologies today Deploying the right technologies and then making them integral to the business is vital for most banks and financial firms moving forward. JPMorgan Chase & Co's CEO of Consumer Lending and former CFO, Marianne Lake, has described the company as "more than just a bank". With a technology budget of $9 billion, a third of which is used to invest in new technologies, JP Morgan and many other financial institutions now consider themselves tech companies. This level of support for digital transformation is critical to ensuring businesses have the adaptability to not just survive and thrive at each new stage of the COVID crisis but to futureproof the organization.
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TECHNOLOGY
No longer do companies want to be unprepared for the unexpected, and there has never been a time more critical than now to foster the agility and adaptability needed to deal with any unexpected challenges that come their way. That level of business agility depends on whether whole teams across an organization can quickly react and have the flexibility to make adjustments together when faced with unexpected challenges. It requires collaboration and information sharing across the business. The companies that thrive in rapidly changing situations are the ones that put in place technologies that empower teams to work together to recognize changing market dynamics, make quick, insightful decisions, and react effectively. There are, fortunately, highly configurable cloud-based work management tools available to help
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forward-thinking enterprises navigate the current climate successfully. Employing tools that keep multiple teams across numerous locations and time zones in sync provides the agility needed for whole organizations to embrace opportunities that come from shifting market dynamics – implanting it deep within the company's core DNA. Through the pandemic, it has become increasingly clear it is more important than ever for financial firms to have cloud-based technologies that create a centralized hub for all relevant work information, updated in realtime. This provides visibility of work progress for teams and managers. Work management tools that integrate with applications such as email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, and Excel can make the task of enabling smooth collaboration of employees no matter where they are even easier.
Teams can collaborate, set processes, and monitor the completion of tasks and deadlines, while management is provided with a unified view of progress. This makes it easy for decision-makers to assess whether overall goals are being met and provides the visibility needed to ensure effective collaboration and make the right decisions fast – which are crucial to maintaining and even boosting efficiency and productivity. Preparing for the new frontier of digital work Digital transformation is already playing a key role in enabling financial companies to successfully execute strategies that will see them through the rest of the pandemic and ensure they flourish in the aftermath. While many organizations were methodically implementing new ways of working and
TECHNOLOGY
adopting technologies to help adapt to the digital future before the coronavirus crisis, most suddenly had to accelerate their timetables and drive complex transformation at scale. The impact of the pandemic has left little doubt that linking a diverse workforce through technology is no longer an option. It has instantly become a necessity, and those investing in the right tools to help maximize every individual's time and productivity today will be best placed to handle any unforeseen hurdles and thrive whatever the working world holds for the future.
Matt Zilli CEO Clarizen Matt has over 15 years of experience in go-to-market execution, building and leading world-class customer-facing teams, and directing global marketing, sales and customer success campaigns for some of the world's most recognizable B2B software brands. He joined Clarizen, a global leader in collaborative work management software, in March 2020. Prior to joining Clarizen, Matt served as Chief Customer Officer at Marketo where he supported its growth from $60M in revenue through to the $4.75B acquisition by Adobe.
Issue 21 | 17
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2021
FINTECH
Why the UK is standing tall at the forefront of fintech In recent years, the UK has established itself as one of the world’s leading financial centers, with a strong heritage in financial services and technology. This heritage has helped it become a prominent player and top innovator within the fintech space, particularly when it comes to fostering pioneering startups. Its technological prowess and everevolving regulatory landscape have played key roles in driving the UK forward. For example, technology has enabled business and personal financial transactions to be completed entirely remotely and in a secure manner, while regulations are encouraging strict compliance to better protect customers’ sensitive information. The country’s leading position in the world of financial services doesn’t look like it’ll disappear anytime soon. In fact, several factors are helping the UK to propel it’s fintech industry even further, with a number of technology initiatives and regulations laying the foundations for a modern, secure, and competitive financial services ecosystem.
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Regulations level the playing field Better data privacy and protection practices have long been on the minds of regulators and the introduction of the second Payment Service Directive (PSD2) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set out greater focus on security and privacy than ever before. Since their inceptions, they’ve been replicated around the world. Combined with the pioneering initiative of Open Banking, the UK’s regulatory landscape has been breaking new ground for global markets to follow suit. As a result, the UK has created a strong financial services ecosystem. For example, traditional banks are digitizing their services for more streamlined digital user experiences that can compete with many emerging challenger banks and other financial services through Open Banking. New regulations have largely contributed and ultimately reaffirmed the UK at the center of financial services globally. The provisions of GDPR post Brexit shall remain since the UK government enacted the Data Protection, Privacy
and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 – which amends the Data Protection Act (DPA 2018) and merges it with the requirements of the EU GDPR. This is under the name,‘UK GDPR’. GDPR and the UK GDPR, are very similar so organisations that process personal data on UK citizens should continue to comply with the requirements of the EU GDPR.
Brexit impact on open banking In July, the European Banking Authority (EBA) announced that eIDAS certificates of UK TPPs, required to access customer account information from account providers, or initiate payments, would be revoked when the transition period ends on 31 December 2020. On November 3, 2020, The Financial Conduct Authority announced that it “will permit UK-based third-party providers (TPPs) to use an alternative to eIDAS certificates to access customer account information from account providers, or initiate payments, after Brexit. Firms must act to ensure they can continue to provide open banking services.”
FINTECH
Technology is driving competition The emergence of digital only challenger banks over the past few years in the UK has triggered a number of major changes from their traditional banking counterparts and financial regulators. Now, due to the current climate amidst the ongoing pandemic, consumers are using less cash and digital channels have become the norm. The implementation of digital technologies and legislation has been accelerated, creating an increasingly competitive financial services market. As a result, the main differentiators that banks and financial institutions (FIs) now depend on are the technological capabilities that their user experiences offer. But, baring the threat landscape in mind, digitization can’t be chased to the detriment of security. Banks need to source technologies that enable them to offer frictionless digital customer experiences while maintaining a strong security posture. It’s clear that consumers today are more familiar with digital channels, which is why they now demand fully seamless experiences. Friction in the user experience can cause frustration and, in the digital environment we find ourselves in, it’s all too easy to switch to a competitor. The best approach for banks and FIs is therefore to create exceptional digital experiences. By focusing on security and implementing the latest technologies, banks can create platforms that are entirely seamless. Technologies such as biometrics and risk-based authentication solutions are also growing in usage, helping banks to remove friction points and provide better customer journeys and onboarding processes. The increased level of competition today means technologies like these are vital for traditional banks and FIs in order to continue to compete and grow their customer base into the future.
Developing a secure digital identity As the ongoing pandemic has continued to shift the focus towards digital financial platforms, secure identity verification has become a major talking point which is now receiving more attention than ever. The pandemic has emphasised the need for a secure central database that banks and other FIs could use to efficiently and securely verify that a customer, new or current, is who they say they are. Today, more digital identity initiatives are developing rapidly, with the UK government saying it will continue to consult on issues related to privacy and technical standards for secure digital IDs by driving legislation forwards. The UK government is looking to these new initiatives to support the private sector by undertaking preliminary discussions related to the development of a standard identity verification system alongside the Her Majesty's Passport Office . This would allow banks and FIs to be able to securely verify customers’ identification documents through a central database, significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to complete certain financial activities such as opening a new account. This is in a one-year pilot scheduled to conclude in July 2021. Furthermore, the Cabinet Office has issued new guidance with next steps to be taken in the area of digital identity, “with plans to update existing laws and a new set of guiding principles for policy development”. As these discussions and developments mature into written laws, we’ll see an industry more capable of offering digital identities that allow individuals and organisations to do business in a more secure and seamless way, fit for the modern digital era. While the UK Cabinet Office is still involved, the government’s digital identity endevours have migrated to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) with “all hands” focused on the development of a UK-wide Trust Framework for Digital Identity that can be used across both public and private sectors.
The nature of upcoming and newly introduced regulations, highlighted in the latest Global Financial Regulations Report , demonstrate the UK remains at the pinnacle of financial services around the world due to its involvement with modern regulatory standards as part of the EU, and thanks to the pioneering products and services offered by the UK’s challenger banks and FIs. Today, we again see the UK innovating with modern technologies to offer better services and customer experiences, supplemented by regulations that are driving the industry beyond the norm for the rest of the world. As we have seen with legislation such as GDPR, UK GDPR and PSD2, new regulations that work towards improving the security of customer data and the processes with which financial activity is undertaken, other countries and regions will continue to look to the UK to set an example.
Michael Magrath Director of Global Standards and Regulations OneSpan
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PAYMENTS
Beyond Transactions: The Payment Revolution The uninterrupted disruption brought on by the pandemic accelerated the need for robust, digital-first tools created to support remote teams and accelerate online commerce. As offices across the US moved to work from home for indefinite periods, specialized back office departments handling sensitive information have had to go a layer deeper to find tailored solutions that support the transition of their in-person workflow. For finance teams, payment approvals, issuance, and general management became a challenge overnight. Particularly for those who — even in 2020 — continued to send and receive paper checks through the mail. For years and even to this day, millions of small business owners around the world have relied on slow and confusing bank processes to manage their business finances. Every day, they spend valuable time using old, complex and expensive platforms to transact with domestic and international vendors — never knowing where their payment is or even when it arrives at its destination. With ongoing economic and logistical uncertainty looming as we move into 2021, this old norm should not be expected for much longer. This year has
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seen small business owners wear more hats than ever before, and has influenced a mass adoption of online financial applications that offer heightened security, save more time, and provide more value as budgets tightened. A study conducted by Mastercard earlier this year saw online business-to-business payments skyrocket in popularity with more than half (57%) of small business owners across North America turning to digital services since the start of the pandemic to improve cash flow and modernize their payment processes. If this study is of any indication, the days of making an appointment with a banker or sending a wire transfer through an outdated web portal have passed. And the time for the payment revolution is here.
Putting the user in the driver’s seat Major world events have always acted as a catalyst for innovation and change. As of a result of the growing pains we experienced this year, in 2021 businesses can finally say goodbye to huge transaction fees and bankimposed gatekeeping when it comes to managing their financial processes.
PAYMENTS
The financial technology firms, in partnership card and local bank networks and sometimes even each other, have been building and iterating on products over the past decade that were created to work flawlessly from a desktop or smartphone. For the first time, small businesses have access to needed, user-friendly financial tools packaged to make their lives easier. No longer reserved for major enterprises, those previously underserved by traditional banks can sign up for applications that consolidate billing, payments, working capital and more to one central dashboard. With the owner in the driver’s seat, they can better communicate with vendors and customers and reallocate their time previously spent manually sending, receiving and reconciling payments toward growing their business — without ever stepping foot out of their home. Genuinely seamless and automatic integrations with complimentary functions aligned to core financial activities mark a fundamental change in how businesses will choose to operate moving forward. Not only should experiences be integrated, but the entire lifecycle of the transaction should be digital. Consider a freelance contractor that uses a time tracking and invoicing software to invoice a client. Through an integration between the time tracking tool and Veem (a complete online business payment tool) the client receives and captures the invoice within their Veem payment dashboard. Because Veem and Quickbooks are integrated partners, as soon as the invoice is received, a bill is automatically created, marked as paid, and reconciled on the client’s accounting software as soon as the funds are issued. In this flow, the contractor only needs to send an invoice, and the client only has to approve the payment for everything else to move. Thoughtful integrations like
these empower businesses to log-in to one application, but benefit from several, ultimately eliminating inefficiencies.
Relentless transparency Understanding that old habits die hard, it’s expected that businesses of any size have questions when it comes to moving payments from a bank to an online provider. Answering these questions with unprecedented product value and relentless transparency is the best way forward to bring more businesses onboard in 2021.
Right now, small businesses deserve more. More access, more choice and more credit. In the road ahead we expect online payments and bundled user friendly financial services to play a pivotal role in the recovery of small businesses. The payment revolution will see the continuation of important and meaningful products that value the users time and enable businesses to launch, grow, and scale regardless of what’s to come in 2021.
This means providing up front pricing, tracking, choice and flexibility to users. Before, during and after the pandemic, cash flow management remains the most critical part of running a small business. Digital payment providers enable the entrepreneur to have unparalleled insight, visibility, and control over their cash flow. Through non-bank payment options, businesses can secure their information over a secure data network, watch their money move from origin to destination, and choose the speed at which they would like funds to move. By these tools working in harmony, the user can remove friction and spend more time focused on their business.
Separating the signal from the noise 2020 is a year that changed everything for the global small business community. In a report by Veem issued at the start of the pandemic, an overwhelming 80% of businesses shared that they anticipated COVID-19 to impact their business over the next 12-16 months. Problems surfaced that many didn’t even realize they had. And in finding those problems, businesses turned to technology to support them. As enabling technology, it’s our job to listen and bring clarity and solutions to those contributing to and growing our local and global economies despite the hurdles and challenges they’ve faced.
Marwan Forzley CEO Veem
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COVER STORY
The Path to Forex Market Success – Two Trading Experts Share Their Insights
Due to economic uncertainty, the ongoing effects of the pandemic and the ever-present desire for financial freedom, the interest in trading is on the rise. To discover what it takes to be a successful trader, who better to learn from than those at the forefront of trading in the Forex market.
Others do it just for the unique sense of freedom and independence it can offer. However, in order to become successful at trading we believe you need to get the right education and support. It’s like anything in life, not just trading - to move yourself forward in life financially, you need education. That is the key.
Greg Morgan is the CEO of Learn To Trade APAC, the Forex education and training specialist listed on the Next 100 Global Companies to watch this year, alongside its sister company, SmartCharts. Greg talked to us about the importance of education, support and the right mindset in finding success as a trader, and shared with us his top tips for trading.
Traders have to be self-reflective and self-reliant. They look at their strategies and objectively note if there is a better way of doing things. If a strategy was working, but no longer is, ask yourself why. Did market conditions change? Is there more or less volatility than before?
What does it take to become a profitable trader? Can anyone trade? In today's world, trading is becoming increasingly popular, especially with the volatile job market, the COVID-19 pandemic and other global economic forces. Many people learn to trade with the goal of generating an extra income stream and growing their capital.
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Are you just barely getting stopped out of your trade or are you completely wrong? Such questions help you isolate the problem and improve your trading results. Is trading hard work? Once you learn how to trade – the fundamentals, the technicals, trading psychology - you may find yourself trading 3 or 4 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week, with the intention of earning the same amount of money as though you were working full time or even increasing your income.
A lot of people think trading is potluck or unpredictable, when in fact it’s largely plan-driven. It’s our thinking that if you can follow a step-by-step system, you can be a successful trader. Whether you're completely new to trading or have traded other markets before, the volatility of the Forex market is a very unique environment that takes time to understand. In addition, financial products that are traded on margin are complex and they are not suited to all, and we’d urge anyone thinking of taking up trading on the Forex market to fully understand the risks involved as there can be a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. However, potentially anyone can trade Forex if they develop their trading knowledge, build a Forex trading strategy and gain experience trading the market. I’ve found now that I’m a trader – and really, I’ve only been trading for 3 years - is that to get an edge, the key is education. Like anything in life, if you want to move your life forward financially, health wise, mentally - you need education.
COVER STORY
Greg Morgan CEO APAC Learn To Trade
In your opinion, what type of person makes a good Forex trader? Who may not be suited for trading? What mindset is needed to be successful at trading? A good Forex trader to us would be someone who can embrace discipline, focus, patience, commitment, respect, and being able to follow a plan. To your surprise, not everyone’s brain is prewired to trade. But if you have a combination of the traits listed above and can follow a plan, we believe you can be a successful trader. Trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it takes time and education. Like anything in life, the more you put into it, the more successful you, hopefully, will be. If you have a gambling mentality and cannot follow a plan, trading is not for you. Whether you come up with your own methods or use someone else’s, it is likely going to take you 6 months to a year until you develop enough consistency to start seeing recurring profits. For many people it will take longer; a year is not unreasonable. A year or two of profits is good, but that’s just the beginning. At some point - it may be 1 to 5 years after you
become profitable - you WILL hit a major rough patch. It may be because you become disillusioned with trading, have kids, your strategy stops working, market conditions or regulations change dramatically, you get married, you want to do something else, you need a change, you become arrogant… The list goes on, but something is going to negatively affect your trading. At that point, you will likely need to get back to basics. Mindset is critical to trading on the markets, as is trading psychology. Trading is a simple process. Mastering that process and your own psychology could set you on a more successful path. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned trading Forex? What are your top tips for traders? The biggest lesson I’ve learnt in trading is quite simply to have a trader mentor. When I started trading, I lost AU$20,000.00 in a week. Then I turned to my trader mentor, who completely changed my life in terms of my trading and in turn helped me to improve my trading results.
The benefits of a trader mentor are huge. You could see a strong improvement in your trading and they could save you years of uncertainty, and potentially a lot of money too, as you avoid the pitfalls of trial and error. Trader coaches tell you what you need to hear in education. You can do what star traders do. You'll have more positivity in your life. In my opinion, the reason over 90% of traders never make it is that they are uncomfortable asking for help with their trading challenges, or they try and learn to trade on their own without the support that is needed. I made this exact mistake myself. Trying to learn how to trade on my own, buying online FX courses, watching YouTube videos, trading on my own and trying to get a return on my investment. But I didn’t know what I was doing. It was a bit like tossing a coin. I lacked the knowledge and discipline required to trade successfully. My trading coach put a stop to this mess I was in. Our trader mentors at Learn To Trade can have a positive influence on your trading performance, because they are your advocate for change. Chances are that your family and friends are
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COVER STORY
opinionated and biased about you and your trading; a trader coach will look at you objectively and strive to empower you to take the necessary actions to help you achieve your trading goals. In short, while the people in your life tend to tell you what you want to hear, your trading coach will be honest and tell you what you NEED to hear to help make your trading goals a reality. What are the steps necessary to succeed in trading? When you start out trading, or if you want to get into it, you may wonder how long it takes and what the steps are to become a successful trader. Establishing realistic expectations is important. If you think you’ll get rich in a few weeks you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Yet, it shouldn’t take years of training before you see some success either. The important steps are to find a trader mentor, get some trading education, trade on a top trading system, and be patient. Successful traders want to refine and perfect their methods. It’s what drives them. Once you have developed a method, practice implementing it with precision. Focus on process, not results. Results come from the good execution of a plan, so focus on the plan and the results should take care of themselves. Study how your strategy can be adapted to changing market conditions – do this before market conditions change. Continually be asking yourself: ”If the market becomes more or less volatile, or if it shifts from trending to stagnant (or vice versa), how will this affect my strategy? How will I adapt?”. Commensurately, you will need to be realistic about your ambitions and the amount you are willing to risk in each trade and over time. Small accounts can be grown if you’re consistently profitable, but it will likely take longer with a smaller account to achieve what you want.
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What makes the Forex education at Learn to Trade different from other Forex education options? Why is Learn to Trade the Forex educator of choice for both beginners and experienced traders?
Learn to Trade has been named the number one Forex educator in the world for eight years in a row. These awards are not purely based on the brilliant education we deliver, but also on the achievements of our students and graduates.
Learn to Trade offers a variety of educational support to those wanting to be successful in Forex trading. To trade effectively, it's critical to get a Forex education. You can find a lot of useful information on our websites. As you may learn over time, nothing beats experience, and if you want to learn Forex trading, experience is the best teacher. To get started, you'll need to understand what you're trading. New traders tend to jump in and start trading anything that looks like it moves. They will usually use high leverage and trade randomly in both directions, leading to loss of money.
What are the different educational options available?
Understanding the currencies that you buy and sell makes a big difference. For example, a currency may be bouncing upward after a large fall and encourage inexperienced traders to ‘try to catch the bottom.’ The currency itself may have been falling due to bad employment reports for multiple months. Would you buy something like that? Probably not, and this is an example of why you need to know and understand what you buy and sell. You have to do your own research too. That’s where Learn To Trade excels with their training programmes. To get started with Learn To Trade, all you need to do is attend one of our free web classes which you can find on our websites, or sign in and watch Greg Secker’s webinar and that will get you started. Or simply call our office in London, Sydney or Manila and we’ll get you started. Learn To Trade Australia is also licenced by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), the government agency that regulates Forex brokers and educators and has the power to shut down scams.
All our trading courses and programmes have one goal in mind: to change your trading life. Within the context of education, we teach risk management, money management, beginner trading strategies, advanced trading strategies, goal setting, trading psychology, technicals, fundamentals, news trading - the list goes on.. Using our systems , a proprietary charting and award-winning trading software such as SmartCharts, our trader coach team can help you embark on a new and exciting journey in currency trading. Every week we host live webinars where we help you understand the live market setup, up to 27 per week. We share our trade analysis and let you know about what we trade and explain all setups. We explore all Forex pairs, futures and commodities to trade and different time frames in order to review the best trading opportunities. We look over your shoulder, so you can learn to trade like a pro! How difficult is it to learn how to trade on the Forex market? Yes, Forex trading is difficult and it is certainly not without risk, especially if your only aim is to make money quickly. With this mindset you will set yourself up for failure, even before you start to trade. Forex trading becomes more understandable if you are willing to dedicate the time and effort into becoming a successful trader. Taking losses is part of Forex trading but it sure is possible to be successful at trading. You just have to know how, and again, that comes down to education. Knowledge is everything in the context of trading.
COVER STORY
In order to be successful in any field, you need to dedicate the time and effort. Forex trading is not very different. Therefore, the answer to whether Forex trading is easy or difficult depends on you. It is also important to understand that Forex trading is not for everyone. At Learn to Trade we help you understand from the outset if Forex trading is right for you and what we believe it takes to be successful in the Forex markets. If you are willing to dedicate the time to learn about the currency markets and put it into practice, over time, your confidence will grow. Trading FX currencies is not a get-rich quick scheme. It takes time, knowledge and an ability to master your emotions. There are people who make a good living from trading and have done so for many years. Some people actually do sit on a tropical beach or on an A380 on the way to London making money trading, like I have. Armed with only a laptop and an internet connection, carving out a living from the market. That, of course, is the allure of trading for a living: freedom. Freedom to be your own boss, to work where and when you want, and to be financially secure. There are others, of course, who have been less successful, but we believe we can provide the education to facilitate the former, and also for those with more modest aspirations.
As well as providing high-quality trading systems, at Learn To Trade we believe that trading is about people. We connect our experienced, professional Forex trader coaches with private traders of all levels to share our educational knowledge, experience and views on the markets. We have been committed to building a worldwide trading family since our inception in 2013, and will continue to bring a human side to trading to all our students, users and graduates around the world. This is an amazing and exciting space to work in. About Learn To Trade, I can tell you this: we are a passionate group of people, a trading education company built by Greg Secker, built by traders for traders, for people like you and me to offer us a vehicle to help live life on our terms. What types of ongoing support do you offer those who have taken your courses? We’ve been providing trading courses and programmes across the globe for the past 10 years. Above all, the thing that our clients appreciate the most is our level of support. Our team of trader coaches and mentors are ready to talk you through any questions you might have, no matter how big or small. The courses cater to all levels of experience, from beginners to advanced.
How are COVID-19, Brexit and the US Presidential election impacting the Forex markets? Trading is hot right now and with good reason. COVID-19, US elections, Brexit, negative interest rates, Donald Trump, employment rates. All these events move currency markets. As such, the currency markets are very volatile, and as a currency trader that’s what we want: volatility in the markets, not a flat market. Therefore, currency traders are currently busy because of these events. We are making hay while the sun shines, so to speak. But in all seriousness, in this context there may be no better time to enter the Forex trading world. All you need to do is learn one trading strategy and make it profitable. Just one. The reason why top traders live the lifestyle they live is because they have mastered three things. And when you know what these three things are that give these traders their advantage, you will kick yourself. They are: they know what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Yes, there’s a lot more to it than that, but in a nutshell, that’s it.
If you want to go full time, being a fulltime trader does not mean you work every day. It simply means that your trading is paying for your lifestyle. This is a very important distinction and one I recommend you ponder if your goal is to trade full time. To me, trading is about creating a lifestyle, not making it your lifestyle.
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COVER STORY
As Greg mentioned, SmartCharts is an award-winning hybrid eLearning and trading system and the proprietary software of Learn To Trade. To find out more we spoke with Andrew Quine, the CEO of Learn To Trade EMEA and SmartCharts. We discussed how the platform assists traders and helps to manage risk, and what sets it apart from other trading systems. What led to the creation of SmartCharts? We’ve been teaching people how to trade for 15 years in different forms, and as we progressed through the years, like any successful business, we would make changes to keep abreast with training initiatives for our clients, and also to improve ourselves. As we evolved our education programme, we soon realised that while the students were catching onto the concepts of trading quickly, there was a clear challenge with understanding the technology. Most clients are excited about the prospect of learning how to trade, but are then overwhelmed when they try to work on a typical trading platform.
Andrew Quine CEO Learn to Trade EMEA and Smart Charts
We would continuously trial third-party platforms, and these platforms would consistently fall short. Platforms were often too complex to use or simply lacked the features needed for modern day trading. We knew that with the right platform, we could substantially improve our clients’ learning experience and essentially give them what they needed. With that in mind, the idea of SmartCharts was born and now here we are, a successful, award-winning trading system with thousands of clients across the world. What makes the SmartCharts trading system stand out from other trading systems? When we designed SmartCharts, we had two key design requirements. The first was that people using it should have access to everything they needed in one place, whether that be on a laptop, tablet or even a smartphone. The second was that it had to be simple enough for a beginner to use, but also powerful enough for a professional. We wanted something that our clients were comfortable using right from the start, but also something that our professional traders on trading floors could use to suit their full requirements. The biggest challenge was creating an interface that allowed us to combine so many different elements, but remained easy to navigate.
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COVER STORY
We also had to look at solutions for the other various challenges that our clients had while using third-party platforms. We engaged an award-winning video and animation company to produce our eLearning Suite, and all the tutorial videos taught trading techniques in the context of SmartCharts. This meant that while clients learnt how to trade, they were simultaneously learning how to use the SmartCharts trading system. Another challenge our clients encountered was time management, so we looked at creating several features to help reduce user error and save time. For example, we built an automatic risk size calculator which completely removes the need to manually calculate your risk size. And since none of us had encountered any client who wanted to just sit staring at their screens for trading patterns, we spent a considerable amount of time and effort in what I believe is a key tool on our SmartCharts platform, a remarkable pattern recognition scanner. It scans hundreds of charts every millisecond in the background, and provides you with a shortlist of patterns
to review that have been found by the inbuilt algorithm. It’s a tool that many of our clients actively use every day. Another feature design that comes to mind is that we completely redesigned the traditional trading ticket system, and replaced it with one that allows you to visually drag and drop orders on the chart. The smart trading journal analyzes your trades in the background and generates insights to allow you to review your trading strengths and weaknesses, without having to export and compile Excel spreadsheets. It’s 2020 - no one needs to be using Excel spreadsheets for this! Sorry, I do tend to evangelize about SmartCharts, but I’m really proud of where we are and what we have accomplished. It took a lot of effort and millions of pounds in investment to make it happen, but we met our design criteria - you can access everything in one place on any device. The feedback we’ve had both from our clients and our traders indicates that it is indeed easy to use, but also powerful enough for professionals. And of course, we continue to look at new features and tools to add on for our clients.
What types of support are available to assist traders in achieving their goals? When you learn to drive a car, you have to learn driving theory and your driving lessons give you practical teaching. Trading is pretty much the same. We have an abundance of learning resources and tools to allow people to understand how trading works. And while that is great, we know from experience that people also seem to deliver their best when they have hands-on training. Many people prefer to ‘learn on the job,’ so to speak. That’s why in SmartCharts we have daily webinars with live technical analysis so you can see our trader coaches live, in the market and in context. We also provide one-to-one mentoring with SmartCharts so your progress can be reviewed. We included one-to-one coaching because we know how important it is to have that extra support when you are starting out. During these one-to-one mentoring sessions, clients use the smart journal to review the areas of their trading
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COVER STORY
that can be improved. This enables our mentors to tailor the training session so that it is specific to your trading needs and goals. Can you tell us about the Smart Sync system and the advantages this offers? Client feedback is very important to us, and we were made aware that our clients disliked the fact that with many platforms out there, their trades and setups were only ever available on the initial device where they were set up. This was usually limited to their main computer or laptop. Because of this, they would have to duplicate things or wait until they were using the original device again to see what had happened. Imagine if you were on holiday and you didn’t have
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your PC; it’s easy to understand how this could be frustrating. To solve this, we built the Smart Sync system for our platform. It allows all SmartCharts users to seamlessly take their trading and training with them on the go. This means that when you log on to SmartCharts from any device, anywhere in the world, the settings from your last session will be transferred across. That allows you to carry on your analysis or e-learning course from exactly where you left off. And it doesn't limit you to a set number of devices! How does the platform make trading clearer and easier? To ensure SmartCharts was suitable for both experienced and new traders, we wanted to have a single interface that was as clear as possible so that
COVER STORY our traders were able to focus on the quality and speed of their decisions. The saying ‘Keep it Simple’ was important to us; remove the clutter that most trading platforms have and show the client what they need to see at the right time. It is for that very reason that the software is broken down into the various stages of the trading and learning process, so you learn how to trade, analyze, manage and review trades in separate areas. We feel this structure is key to our clients feeling more empowered and less overwhelmed. Our aim was for the platform to be disruptive in the industry. It was also important to us that we looked at how we could improve areas of the platform that work with the trader rather than against them. I realize that sounds like a standard requirement, but you would be surprised about what’s out there. We allow the user to have a workflow of the least resistance. For example, the scanner allows you to instantly find price patterns that match your criteria and then when you look at a particular opportunity, there is a wealth of information available to you as you
drill down. As well as all the standard indicators and analysis tools, we also put news alerts straight onto the chart which stops people either ignoring economic releases or having to go somewhere else to look them up. And with the visual trading system, you can preview your trade levels and the trade size on the chart visually before you place the trade, rather than having to translate a lot of numbers in your head. How does it help manage risk? Managing your risk when trading is paramount. We refuse to play into a gambling mindset when it comes to trading. Most platforms require a trader to manually calculate their trade size by inputting information into the platform in lots or in value-per-point formats. Manually calculating your risk can be time consuming and is obviously risky, especially when you are just starting to learn how to trade. SmartCharts allows a user to directly input their risk size as a percentage or a monetary amount. This helps reduce client error and saves a lot of time. In addition, SmartCharts has smart alerts where the user is notified if they accidentally increase their trade risk, which allows the client to take the necessary preventative action. We see it as a responsibility on our end to ensure our clients are well informed on how to manage their risk when they trade.
How does the journal section help traders navigate and adjust their trading style? Just like a business, you need metrics to evaluate your performance so you can see what works and where you can improve. This is what the journal section does - it provides clear detailed reports of a trader’s performance, showing trading statistics by strengths and weaknesses. It allows traders to identify their best and worst trading systems, markets and even times of day. Savvy traders have always used a journal, but most of them were forced to painstakingly export these numbers to Excel – yes, the dreaded Excel sheet again! - where they would crunch the numbers themselves. With our smart journal system, it is instant, automatic and, of course, user-friendly like all our tools and features. What are your plans for continued development? Although SmartCharts already has an impressive and extensive list of features on the platform, we have a continuous improvement programme in place, powered by requests from our clients and our global trading team. As many of our competitors keep a very close eye on what we release we don’t disclose our full development roadmap, but I can confirm that a social function, more advanced trading tools, automation tools and courses are all areas we plan to develop.
For more information, visit Learn to Trade’s websites at: https://www.learntotrade.com.au https://www.learntotrade.co.uk The webinar “Learn To Trade Forex With World Class Trader Greg Secker” can be found at https:// tradingwebclass.com/mag
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BUSINESS
Accurate forecasting is vital for supply chains in the COVID-19 era and beyond All companies have to know how to prepare for an uncertain future – from shifts in the market and consumer behavior to the possibility of reduced revenue or increased overhead, it’s often necessary to adapt to changing circumstances as quickly as possible. This is particularly true when companies are attempting to navigate the economic consequences of a oncein-a-lifetime pandemic. If a company doesn’t have robust forecasting tools, it will continually be forced to respond to new developments and crises in a reactive instead of proactive way. Forecasting is especially important for the management of rebate contracts, which are typically negotiated on the basis of last year’s performance and expected growth. This presents a significant problem for companies that aren’t capable of accurately predicting supply and demand or how other shifts in economic conditions will affect their business. This problem is even more serious in the COVID-19 era, which has thrown existing projections about consumer spending patterns and the state of the economy into disarray. COVID-19 has been a stark reminder that rigorous forecasting is vital for negotiating rebates, facilitating alignment between manufacturers and distributors, and planning for the future in many other ways. However, despite
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the existence of increasingly powerful and accessible digital forecasting resources, many companies are still relying on antiquated methods to anticipate and prepare for the future.
means they’re subject to human error (they also use up valuable human capital); and they’re not updated with the latest industry data or other relevant information.
The forecasting status quo isn’t working for many companies
But all these problems are solvable. Companies have never had more access to digital platforms that can help them collect and analyze the data necessary to generate detailed forecasts and align their production and distribution processes with the market.
Consumer behavior drives supply chains – when distributors submit an order to manufacturers, they do so based upon predictions about what volume of products and materials they need to satisfy demand. This is why it’s striking that, according to survey data from EY, only 20 percent of consumer products companies are “confident they can rapidly align their supply chain activity with changes in demand.” At a time when 94 percent of Fortune 1,000 companies are experiencing supply chain disruptions due to the economic consequences of COVID-19, the ability to identify which adjustments are necessary to avoid costly inefficiencies and missed opportunities is paramount. However, too many companies are trying to make predictions with a limited set of tools. They’re using simple linear extrapolations which don’t take into account seasonality and other fluctuations (much less the effects of a crisis like COVID-19); many of their forecasting efforts are manual, which
Why forecasting is necessary for rebate negotiations When a merchant or other distributor purchases products from a supplier, it’s important to determine which goods will be required in which locations and quantities. Rebates are retrospective payments that help buyers and sellers align their transactions with each others’ objectives – i.e., if a buyer purchases the seller’s target quantity, the seller can provide additional rebate as a bonus. This incentivizes continued trading with a partner and ensures that neither party is wasting resources. While this may sound like a simple concept, rebate negotiation and management can actually be quite complex. For example, some rebates are based on year-to-year revenue growth, in which certain forms of
BUSINESS
purchases are eligible and others aren’t. Other rebates are contingent on an array of other elements, such as productspecific incentives and the maintenance of certain margins, promotions, etc. In these cases, forecasting is essential to account for many different variables over time, which will allow buyers and sellers to sign agreements underpinned by accurate pricing calculations. When rebate forecasting is systematized and data-driven, the chances of a dispute are much lower. And if a dispute does arise, there’s an audit trail that allows companies to resolve it more quickly and fairly. The ability to predict which rebate structures and pricing make the most sense doesn’t just strengthen relationships between suppliers and distributors – it increases margins and cash flow, allows companies to allocate human capital more productively, and ultimately leads to stronger and more sustainable growth. Accurate forecasting in the COVID-19 era As economies around the world saw massive contractions amid COVID-19, supply and demand across many industries and sectors swung wildly. An analysis from the U.S. Federal Reserve pointed out that the “massive lockdown of the economy represents a large
negative demand shock” while “supply chains in a number of industries have been affected not only internationally, with international trade in general greatly reduced, but also domestically, resulting in price increases for many goods and services.” It’s extremely difficult to negotiate and manage rebates amid this economic uncertainty, which makes it much likelier that anticipated rebate thresholds (and the attendant pricing tiers) won’t be met. This could lead to a lack of motivation from buyers, which would result in lost profits all around. For some product categories, however, the recovery will be surprisingly fast, which means sales will quickly outpace their thresholds and pricing tiers (thereby eliminating the incentive to make rebate deals in the first place). To address these issues, suppliers and distributors should renegotiate their rebate agreements after considering several potential scenarios for the next few months (and for 2021 more broadly). This is where technology comes in – digital rebate management platforms don’t just provide the ability to compare multiple forecasts, but they also make the process of renegotiation (and adherence to the terms of a new deal) more streamlined.
COVID-19 has demonstrated how important it is for supply chains to become as data-driven and flexible as possible, and forecasting is an integral part of that process. We’ll never know exactly what the future holds, but we can come closer to predicting it than ever before.
Andrew Butt Co-Founder and CEO Enable Andrew Butt is the CEO and Co-founder of Enable -- a modern, cloud-based software solution for B2B rebate management. Enable empowers distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers to make better trading decisions to drive mutually profitable growth, while improving cash flow and reducing risk.
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INSURANCE
2020: The paradoxical year that has reshaped the future of motor insurance and related sectors
There’s no doubt that 2020 will be remembered as the year that changed the world. Whether that overall change was for the better or for the worse is a matter of perspective. One thing is for certain, 2020 has been the year of immense innovation and adaptability in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this piece, I’ll touch on some of the greatest challenges that could have had a potentially crippling effect on the economy but instead were overcome and ultimately paved the way for increased resilience and innovation. Public transport shunned in favour of private vehicles, but driving patterns dramatically shift With ten months of varying national and regional lockdown restrictions, passenger numbers on public transport have plummeted as many people continue to work remotely, and with most opting for the safety of travelling by private vehicle when they do need to get out and about. But
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because of restrictive travel measures, motorists have been using their vehicles far less frequently. This posed a major challenge for traditional motor insurers that were not able to swiftly adapt to this change, with many coming under fire for failing to adjust annual premiums in line with new driver trends . As motorists became increasingly frustrated having to pay the same premiums or sometimes even more despite their vehicle usage being substantially minimised, the relatively new and still largely unfamiliar InsurTech industry was able to rise to the occasion. In short, InsurTech involves the utilisation of the latest technological innovations such as data analysis, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable insurance products to become more agile and flexible in line with modern consumer demand – all while remaining price competitive.
Being fully-digital and technologydriven, InsurTechs demonstrated the flexibility and agility that enabled them to adapt to the huge shift in customer demand and step change in how insurance is purchased and consumed. They did this by offering an entirely digital user experience in near real-time, with temporary policies tailored to the time actually needed – anywhere from 1 hour to 28 days. In a time of furlough and economic uncertainty, this meant that many motorists who were not using their vehicles regularly did not have to take drastic action like declaring their vehicle SORN to achieve short-term financial relief. Nor did they have to risk driving uninsured or committing to an annual policy that they could ill afford at the time. The rise of the digital dealership offering temporary insurance as part of the purchase journey
INSURANCE
In the automotive retail market, dealerships were forced to make drastic changes to their operating models to comply with social distancing guidelines. Showroom footfall and subsequent sales initially plummeted . But in the face of this immense adversity, we witnessed the rise of the digital dealership, a concept that would have been unfathomable even just a year ago. Cazoo was the first fully-digital platform to enter the vehicle dealership market in late 2019, and there has also been significant investment this year in new entrants such as Cinch and Carwow. Traditional dealerships such as Arnold Clark, Cargiant and Motorpoint have extended the digital aspects of their purchase journeys with services including home delivery and Click and Collect as alternative options to the full show room experience. InsurTech has been instrumental in ensuring that car insurance supports this shift to digital, as several national
blue-chip dealerships, with both physical and digital showroom floors, now offer temporary driveaway insurance policies that cover the vehicle for a fixed-term, usually between five to seven days. The entirely online one-step user experience is the first of its kind in the traditionally outdated and inflexible driveaway insurance industry and it is dramatically simplifying the process of how insurance is purchased and consumed. Due to the flexibility and agility of the digital solution, each retailer has its own unique URL, where the customer can obtain a simple single-cost policy in just 90 seconds through an entirely digital process, which fits in line with the evolving consumer purchase trends. This takes the stress out of searching for annual insurance on the spot and provides the driver with near instant cover so that they can immediately drive their new car while giving them the opportunity to thoroughly research the best annual policy to suit their needs.
It’s also an ideal solution while the car is under its money-back warranty, as the driver does not have to commit to an annual policy on a car that might be returned. Another benefit is there’s no risk to any existing No Claims Discount, as it’s a separate and standalone policy. Declining brand loyalty and a demand for a more personalised and convenient user experience Insurance has an unenviable reputation for being inflexible and even unwilling to adapt to shifting consumer trends – making it confusing for most customers. Even pre-COVID-19, there was a clear trend that brand loyalty was in decline, as modern day consumers are no longer prepared to remain blindly loyal to any company for a long-term period. Instead, they will reward businesses that offer a simple and convenient user experience at best value. COVID-19 accelerated this trend and many large insurers have struggled to adapt accordingly.
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INSURANCE
Conversely, this has enabled InsurTech to thrive, as the products and user journeys are developed with direct input from customers to ensure that they are receiving a straightforward and fit-for-purpose solution that best fits their needs and requirements. Just some examples of this are simplified terms and conditions, near-instant and paperless policy documentation via the web or dedicated app, and datadriven customer engagement initiatives that offer personalised discounts and communication via email and text messaging. The end result is a user experience that is easier, more convenient and better value for potential consumers in the market. Cautiously optimistic (if somewhat uncertain) future Even in the most stable periods, it’s a challenge to accurately predict future market trends. And with 2020 completely rewriting the rulebook on how business is conducted, it would be remiss of me to make outright predictions. One thing is for certain, the days of slow, inflexible and costly motor insurance are numbered. It is important
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to note that this doesn’t mean that InsurTech is gaining the upper hand at the expense of the traditional insurers in a bid to replace them. Instead, it is there to fill a gap and act as a complementary add-on to provide the best possible value to the consumer. Industry players that enter new collaborative partnerships will dramatically improve the consumer experience, leading to new business wins and return custom, which ultimately impacts positively on the bottom line. But those that fail to adapt will be left behind. I believe that we can look forward to a futuristic economy in 2021, where ground-breaking technology continues to advance at an unprecedented rate to adapt to rapidly evolving consumer lifestyles and subsequent purchasing habits. The real winner will be the consumer and that is in everyone’s best interest.
Alan Inskip Tempcover CEO Founder Alan Inskip sets himself apart from other InsurTech business leaders, as he is an experienced insurance broker whose parents spent more than 40 years in the industry too. In 2006, Alan had a lightbulb moment – an insurance provider that can offer truly flexible cover for the time drivers actually need. No long-term commitment, no auto-renewals, just the cover they want for the time they need. The UK’s first InsurTech company, Tempcover, was born the next day. Alan has since grown the business into a market-leader and is today responsible for overseeing company strategy, policy and performance.
COVER STORY
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BUSINESS
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BUSINESS
Investing into a more sustainable future: changing businesses from the inside out
As industries across the world are facing unprecedented uncertainty and anticipating the economic implications of the current health crisis, business leaders have the unique opportunity to seize the chance to make lasting, positive changes and re-interpret the business challenges in a positive way – without forgetting or minimising the toll the pandemic has taken. When trying to identify a way forward, the future must be sustainable. We must take this opportunity to find a more sustainable way for businesses and manufacturers to survive. Environmental and economic concern have only increased the gap on what consumers want – more sustainability – and how much progress businesses can make without risking their viability. However, rather than giving up on ambitious goals, maybe we need to reframe the way we look at sustainability. So far, businesses have tended to react to consumer demands, often without looking into the long-term implications and research-based due diligence one would expect. Therefore, now is the right time to be more deliberate: to continue on the path towards a truly sustainable ‘new normal’, businesses need to consider the bottom line impact more than ever before and truly invest in changing their business models to become more sustainable. To meet the UN’s ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, businesses ultimately must thrive - working towards establishing a circular economy remains crucial. Instead of a linear ‘extract, use, dispose’ approach, materials need to be respected and re-used as many times as possible, which is only possible if products are designed for re-use, re-manufacturing, repair or restarting. After all, any and all consumption comes at a price. In manufacturing, processes draw on resources to produce items that, once they have served their purpose, become surplus to requirements. Yet, to ignore this is to take an incomplete view of
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BUSINESS
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BUSINESS
sustainability: instead, materials are extracted from waste to re-enter production processes. Reuse and recycling initiatives are central to this and great strides have been made in raising awareness of this need. The full environmental cost of production and consumption includes the choice of materials themselves but also the level of carbon emissions generated, and energy consumed.
Once products and processes have redesigned for a circular approach, this initial investment will often easily be recouped, especially if we start with looking at the facts when starting this crucial process. To make the Circular Economy a focus for any business very often means changing the business model. Here, investing in research and development is vital. In the packaging industry, for example, we are seeing that customers and consumers are increasingly more focused on sustainability, and that surprising changes can unlock societal and business value. Through minimising a product’s carbon footprint or making recycling easier for consumers, lifecycle-assessmentbased product redesigns or using recycled plastics instead of larger quantities of cardboard, companies are identifying these more creative options and enjoying the long-lasting benefits that come with implementing them. In any case, leadership is key. A researchdriven approach gets everyone on-board and seeing management committing to these goals as part of business plans helps cement these. At a recent Reuters Responsible Business Summit virtual panel, I was part of an interesting conversation. Here, Yolanda Malone, Vice President Global R&D Snacks PKG, PepsiCo, discussed how leaders have to drive the behaviours within the organisation and the tone for the culture. She explained that her sustainable plastics vision is a world where plastics never become waste. Only through putting the mantra of “reduce, recycle, rethink and reinvent” can we bring circular products to consumer. She stressed that, if we don't reinvent, we will fall back into old habits. Of course, consumer behaviours play a part and the easier the solution, the more likely consumers will get behind it. End consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of packaging. So, to be truly circular, we need to take into account the entire lifecycle. Mindset change needs to continue to happen. Consumers need to be clear about what their choices are.
To achieve this, we must change our businesses from the inside out, allowing for close collaboration inside and outside of our organisations. Other organisations – such as governments and recycling organisations – will need to be involved in businesses’ efforts, multiplying the impact our investments will have. We must address all aspects of sustainability and, for example, have better recycling, a focus on infrastructure and emphasis on consumer education. To recover, reuse and recycle, the R&D must be in place and dedicated to sustainability. Partnerships are important as we, as other leading global companies realise, cannot do this alone. Collaboration is key when investing in a more sustainable, more Circular, future.
Shawn Welch Vice President and General Manager Hi-Cone Worldwide Shawn Welch is Vice President and General Manager of Hi-Cone Worldwide, a solutions provider for beverage multi-packaging. Shawn is an active advocate for a circular economy and has led a range of initiatives to advance it, from partnership programs to increase recycling rates of Hi-Cone products, to the launch of its +50% recycled content product and its first State of Plastic Recycling report.
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BUSINESS
Forget virtual and hybrid –
in the future, events will be sold as a single blended experience
As we look to 2021 and beyond, we need to rethink our concept of events and the categorisation of events into real life, virtual, and hybrid which have emerged so clearly over the last turbulent year. It is my opinion that such terms will soon become meaningless and terribly old-fashioned. In the future, people will no longer consider the platform they are using to experience an event as an important factor in the value they take from that event. Think about how the majority of people experience Glastonbury every year via their TV sets. These people still think of themselves as having “watched Glastonbury”; they still feel like they are properly participating in the experience, albeit with a lot less mud on their shoes! Terms such as real life, hybrid and virtual devalue the events experience. Instead, events organisers will talk about the blend of experience that they will be sharing with their delegates, and selling it as a single proposition. We must learn the lessons of other industries such as retail – ultimately, the rise of the digital native cannot be ignored. Just because we will all (hopefully) be vaccinated in 2021, it would be a huge mistake for the events industry to turn its backs on
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the progress that has been made and stop investing in platforms that blend online and offline experience. Because, regardless of Covid or anything else, the move towards digital is inevitable. The winners in the events space are those that will take on this point of view, and they are the ones who will also nail the four keys to achieving events leadership in 2021 and beyond: data; interactivity; monetisation; and scalability.
1. Data
Remember, clients have experienced a wealth of great data from their events since they went online over the last year. This sudden change has been one of the surprise results of Covid, so the threat of whipping that added level of data away from them now that we’re going back to physical events will not be welcome. So the challenge for event organisers is to ensure that the shift back to real life does not impair the improvements in data collection that we’ve experienced. We need to be equally adept at gaining data from attendees taking part in the offline ‘real-life’ side of the event, as that which is gained from the online delegates. For instance, by using the platform as the app for the physical event, and ensuring that attendees use it for activities such as polling.
2. Interactivity
The problem with many events platform is the lack of interactivity. If you think about the best experiences that you’ve had at real-life events, you will probably think mostly of the people you met, the relationships created and the deals made. Events platforms need to be geared up for interactivity, with features such as interactive exhibition stands that allow for oneto-one meetings, supported by curated content. Think about live polling, Q&As, exclusive downloads and live video content across multiple tracks. Real time metrics and data should also provide immediate ROI for sponsors and exhibitors. In this way, events in 2021 should resurrect the much-missed creative hustle and bustle and spontaneity of real-life events networking. People need to feel like active participants and not merely voyeurs and we need to inject the personal and professional, which creates richer engagement.
3. Monetisation
In 2020 it was difficult to find ways to show sponsors the value of their involvement in events. Organisers need to have a flexible range of sponsorship opportunities of anything from meeting rooms and roundtables to exhibition stands and virtual delegate bags. There are still a lot of advertising
BUSINESS
opportunities at events that have an online element. Sponsors can get involved with mailers, social media, banners on attendee's screens, push notifications, video ads or even on your registration platform. The platform is where it is at – the starting point of all of your potential. The platform should allow you to create a virtual exhibition hall, in which you 'sell' spaces just like at live events. Here, attendees can view product/service showreels, brochures, chat with salespeople, book oneto-one meetings and demos. Bigger sponsors can occupy more space on the page, just as they would have the largest physical booths, with smaller sponsors taking up less.
4. Scalability
The other key imperative for any events organiser looking to hold valuable events is the question of scalability. You need to have scalability built into any platform that you use, so that you can host events of any size – from a roundtable of ten to a multi-track event for 10,000 people. With this kind of flexibility built in, organisations can launch a wide range of events while collecting data from every event and storing it in a single place. This will help you build broader insights from data to identify which of your events are making the biggest impact. In this way, organisers can track what is working and do more of it. If your attendees like roundtables, give them more roundtables; if they like virtual goodie bags, give them more virtual goodie bags. With this kind of holistic view over all of your events, you can quickly build a permanent strategy and scale up your operations.
Conclusion
When the events industry finally nails these four issues in 2021, then I predict a more positive attitude towards the blend of online and offline will follow, regardless of what else happens in the wider world.
Christopher Bo Shields Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder Totem
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PAYMENTS
Why radical transparency should be a CFO priority Radical transparency is slowly filtering through organisational functions. The concept, based on radically increasing the openness of organisational processes and data, is relatively novel. It received international attention in 2017 in a book by Ray Dalio but has still to become part of everyday business. There is, however, change afoot. What began as a strategic, almost visionary, concept has now become a tangible and measurable approach to business management. Radical transparency is most at home within procurement, sustainability and management. Its most valuable use is seen in managing supply chains, which produce 5.5 times[1] more CO2 emissions than a company’s direct operations and are encumbered with ethical challenges at every stage. So important is getting supply chain management right, that most CPOs / Procurement Directors[2] are now more invested in transparency and sustainability than they are in seeking new partnerships or sourcing in new countries. Indeed, we have seen a shift away from global supply chains to domestic or regionally focused ones, which has the additional benefit of derisking and simplifying at a time when complexity is unlikely to be welcome. Ultimately, process is king. With sourcing costs rising thanks to the impact of Covid-19 on manufacturing and distribution networks as well as in-demand products such as PPE, organisations cannot risk having black holes in their supply chains.
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Many aspects of radical transparency are actually shaped by the finance function. The time has come for the concept to infiltrate finance teams and to become a strategic priority of CFOs. The most important elements of radical transparency cut across finance in two ways. On the one hand, some require long term investment – for example, digitising a traceability strategy might include adopting new technologies to label or trace products; on the other hand, some decisions require active financial management now, such as wage management, harmonising procurement standards or automating processes. What are the risks of inaction? The entire Source-to-Pay process is a balancing act between compliance and efficiency. But if organisations cannot be certain that its suppliers meet performance and ethical standards, not to mention meet regulatory requirements or payment terms, there is a significant risk of disruption, expense and reputational damage. By looking at the issue through a finance lens, businesses will become better equipped to understand the art of the possible. This is also why CFO and CPO / Procurement Director must harmonise their thinking. Spend management, and supply chain management in particular, is a continuous process. From consolidating a supplier base, testing the market routinely, responding to business needs and even leveraging spend or managing budget surplus, supplier management is a constant.
No other function of business has more leverage and insight into these processes than finance. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on supply chains is a case in point. Where globalisation once made supply chains stronger and more accessible, now they are fragile. Logistics decisions have been up ended by a lack of mobility and entire manufacturing processes have stopped or paused. It is the role of CFO to rebalance financial priorities and enable relevant departments – sourcing, audit, sustainability, even marketing – to deal with rapid change. And central to change is digitisation. A classic case in point from within the finance function is the rise in e-invoicing since lockdown. We know from our own international customer base that there was a major pivot towards paperless invoicing in the months after lockdown. We also know that the speed with which that happened necessitated rapid onboarding for many businesses lacking the software to either read or submit electronic documents. There is, of course, a much longer list of examples of how digitisation can create financial savings and resource efficiencies in the supply chain. CFOs must be alive to this and work handin-hand with those managing suppliers to understand where the best returns may lie. From distribution and shipment tracking to quality control, compliance and even risk assessment, many tasks can now be automated to some extent.
PAYMENTS
The most common pain points in supply chains are found when manual processes are in place. Quite frequently, unexpected outcomes can be explained by this fundamental point. It can explain why purchased items fail to meet actual needs, how off-contract buying becomes an expensive problem, and why unwanted contracts renew automatically when they should have been cancelled or renegotiated. In practice, when these tasks are manual and ad-hoc, the results can cost a business money and resources. However, these are often deep-rooted issues lurking within finance or procurement teams, which can be very hard to spot. Beyond the financial savings and the management of supply chains specifically, there are also reputational and strategic benefits to radical transparency in the finance function. There is a growing expectation from consumers and shareholders to deliver profits with purpose. So being able
to openly demonstrate how active financial management supports your business strategy is likely to reap rewards. Explaining why and how your profit distribution works, or what your investment strategy is, or how you are tackling your gender pay gap, are just three examples of how to bring important stakeholders with you. Radical transparency bears the hallmarks of modern, open business. But it is much more than that: when applied within the finance function, it can open up resources, save money and modernise a business for the better. The time for CFOs to adopt its principles is now.
Ilija Ugrinic UK Market Director Proactis
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TECHNOLOGY
Using feedback to improve your IT implementation approach We all know what it feels like when a new piece of software is introduced. Most of the time it‘s without warning, context and any real interaction. Instead, it feels like a chore; yet another thing to learn and adapt to on top of your daily work routine. From the company's point of view, it’s not much easier. The more employees that use a new piece of software, the more uncertainty builds and the bigger the impact on employee productivity. In addition, there are the typical risks involved in any new IT project, around exceeding budgets and not meeting deadlines. In short, new technology rollouts are hard work, and are made all the more difficult by disjointed and uncommunicative project teams. One of the biggest mistakes that IT teams and project managers make when planning such rollouts is attempting to complete their project without receiving direct feedback from the end user. These are the people who are most affected by the new
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technology. Ironically, the people who will be closest to the new software are often those who don’t get a say in how the system will operate. This lack of communication is not because IT teams aren’t interested in hearing from end users. More often than not, it’s simply because they’re not equipped with the tools needed to collect and understand employee feedback on such a large scale. Without this direct feedback, IT project managers can easily get lost in the specific features and functions of their new solutions, without considering how the overall changes implemented could negatively disrupt the day-to-day work of the internal clients or tech users. By removing this feedback layer, some IT project managers think that they’re streamlining their rollouts – getting the job done faster and with less internal resistance. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t true, with any time saved typically being lost further down the line.
If users don’t feel involved in the decisions that will impact their dayto-day work, they are far more likely to push back against any changes made. A lack of interest, or worse, a resentment towards the changes made, can quickly build up. This can result in more time spent on training, persuading and re-educating users further down the line. All of this can add up to spiralling project, time and investment costs. If project managers are to ensure a successful technology implementation, they need to incorporate a system of feedback from the very start of their project designs. Typically, this means incorporating feedback from three key groups: The implementation team: Whether it’s IT, operations, or a developer team, regular check-ins with those responsible for the project’s implementation are vital. Where possible, look to set up brief assessments at least once a month. This will help identify project risks, reveal the
TECHNOLOGY
level of confidence in project success, and help you act on any findings or challenges before they escalate. End-users: When implementing a new software project, it’s all too easy to get hung up on the technical details. At the end of the day, providing a positive experience for the end user should be at the heart of any new technology rollout. As such, their feedback is most important of all. Make sure that your project is focused on simplicity and usefulness as defined by the end user, finding time to get their feedback at regular intervals along the project timeline. HR colleagues: This is one group that often gets overlooked. When implementing a new technology or process, it’s important to incorporate the feedback of HR. Often, HR professionals have the best insights into the workforce’s moods and mindsets, hearing feedback that employees may not feel comfortable providing face-to-face. When implementing a particularly disruptive project, it’s important to incorporate HR’s feedback before, during and after the project’s competition, to ensure every perspective is being captured. To ensure feedback is received from each of these groups, IT heads and project managers should incorporate regular employee surveys into their timelines. When designing these surveys, however, be mindful of how they may be received by a busy workforce. All too often, well-meaning feedback projects result in survey fatigue, bombarding employees with time-consuming questions, with little thought for their busy schedules. To avoid such survey fatigue, bare the following pointers in mind when designing your feedback mechanisms:
Stick to short, relevant questionnaires. When designing a survey, the temptation can be to try and squeeze as much information out of each employee as possible. Typically this approach results in far more data but fewer useful insights, as employees quickly lose concentration. Keep surveys short, and only stick to those questions that will deliver real, immediate insights.
Ask for feedback on your feedback processes. When collecting feedback from your teams, make sure you ask whether the process has made them feel valued and listened to. Do they feel like the feedback process is working, and that their suggestions have been incorporated into the project? If not, speak to your implementation team to ensure that your insights are being translated into the project design.
Don’t start from scratch. Once you have a survey that you’re happy with, reuse it at regular intervals to track the changing views of the workforce - especially the implementation team - before going live with your new technology. It can be tempting to recreate surveys from scratch, adding new questions as a project evolves. This approach takes up more time and makes it harder to compare and contrast the resulting data. Where possible, write a template for your questionnaire and stick to it.
For today’s project managers and IT implementation teams, feedback has never been more important – but it’s also never been easier to run a good (or bad) project survey. When implementing a new technology or launching a new project, it’s crucial to get your feedback approach right from the very beginning. That means combining dedicated expertise with the right experience management technology, listening to the employees involved and affected, and incorporating their specific feedback into every part of a project’s design.
Ask about the status quo. When collecting feedback for your new technology project, it can be easy to bias your research, asking about all the things that workers hate about their current set up and why they would want it to change. Try to avoid these types of biased questions, asking what people enjoy about their current technologies and work processes. This feedback can prove vital to help minimise disruption down the line. Invest in the right technology. If you’re running a small project, then a simple online survey may be enough to collect and collate feedback. As the scope of your project expands however, you may need to adopt a full employee ‘experience management’ platform. This will help you to collect and collate data automatically, as well as uncovering far more in-depth insights which a manual analysis simply wouldn’t provide.
Dr Roland Abel Head of Employee Experience (EX) Solutions Strategy DACH Qualtrics
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PAYMENTS
The Rise of Contactless Payments Today, banks involved in the issuances of credit cards, and companies at the nexus of merchant services, are experiencing a rare event in the industry. For years, digital payment innovators fought a hard battle to adopt contactless systems and create standards. The effort and push came from companies with much of the effort directed at consumers to adopt their methodology. Whether it is Samsung Pay, Google Pay or Apple Pay they all had to overcome similar hurdles consumers were reluctant to adopt a technology that did not have a sufficient number of merchants; thus, the progress was slow. The COVID-19 pandemic rewrote the script in a whirlwind. All of a sudden, consumers began to demand contactless payment experiences in every way imaginable. The supply side push has turned into a demand side pull and the adoption rate is spiking. This left banks, originators and companies involved in the eco-system with an interesting dilemma – fast decisions have to be made as to which digital technology to invest in and do they bind themselves, for multiple years going forward, to a specific infrastructure.
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While previously the belief was that this could be explored over a longer period of time, the current reality is that these decisions are forced on institutions “overnight”. In this light, there are many different aspects to contactless payments and originators, and banks need to make smart bets on which type should be supported. So, let’s look at all the relevant elements of contactless payments to explore a better model for institutional support.
General Drivers of Contactless Acceptance Growths Safety Physical safety from virus infection by avoiding touching 3rd party equipment or allowing safe distancing from other people and/or equipment is the main driver today. It has been emphasized by many epidemiologists as a basic requirement for conducting business. Consequently, it will be no surprise that safety is the factor that underlies the rapid adoption of a number of contactless payment technologies by once reluctant consumers. We expect this to be a primary driver well into 2021. Thus, any technology to be rolled out in the short term
should enhance safety in some form or contribute in a way to the improvement of safety.
Security An early benefit highlighted and emphasized by contactless technology providers was the data-security aspect that surrounds the transaction. Rather than exchanging the actual credit card number, for example, a tokenization is performed to create transaction specific tokens that are then used to complete the transaction. Even when intercepted, these tokens cannot be used outside this transaction and, thus, the approach is considered to be more secure. Although the data-security value was incessantly marketed to consumers, most had, and still have, a limited understanding of the implementation of the technology. Thus, the appeal to the consumer with this benefit was not successful. However, the increased security elements were a clearer benefit for merchants and issuers. Hence, a steady growth of terminals and accepting merchants was the result. In general, the tokenization approach to security has been chosen for many types of contactless payment systems, this includes NFC based card chips, digital payments like Apple Pay, Google
PAYMENTS
Pay or Samsung Pay. However, for QR payments the use of tokenization should be verified as there are no current standards that govern its use consistently. Convenience Convenience was the aspect of many contactless payments system that appealed the most to consumers prior to Covid-19. The ability to either very quickly conduct a transaction or very flexibly conduct a transaction drove consumer adoption. For example, being able to load many payment methods onto a mobile device that users carry with them anywhere increased the appeal of use to consumers. Thus, when evaluating a particular contactless payment technology with a longer-term outlook the convenience aspect should be emphasized. Given the historical basis, consumers are very likely to be attracted by this aspect as the main driver of adoption again. A financial institutions’ post-Covid planning and investment models for contactless technology should consider this to be a major aspect.
Contactless Payment Categories When we speak of contactless payment systems, we normally refer to any payment technology that can trigger a payment transaction in the physical space with direct consumer presence, but without direct contact with merchant equipment. Thus, we would exclude online and ecommerce transactions for this purpose.
two devices are needed and must be near each other to communicate via radio signals. Both the reader (interrogator) and sender (tag) must be within 4cm (1.5in) for the transaction to be initiated. ExxonMobile’s Speedpass is widely believed to be the first implementation of this touch and go type of pay experience that has come to exemplify NFC based contactless payments.
NFC Payments
There are two common sub-categories from that technology today; The single card-based sender (tag) and the mobile-phone-based sender (tag). The mobile phone-based application tends to be more flexible allowing consumers to combine multiple cards into one mobile-wallet that is secured with some form with biometric access.
Technology
Market
Near Field Communication (NFC) payments are the earliest form of contactless payments that found acceptance in the markets. Generally,
However, NFC signals are not uniform and different standards are used in the Far East (i.e. Japan) rather than in Europe.
We will focus on the two mainstream contactless technologies, NFC and QR payments, and review them here. Other contactless payment technologies exist but have not reached widespread adoption so we will only provide brief overview of those.
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NFC payments found early success in developed western markets where the population already had easy access to banking and bank issued cardbased tags. However, in countries where the banking system developed later and card-based payments were not common, NFC payments did not flourish. Thus, today, the market for NFC is mainly concentrated in Europe, Japan, and US. Activation The roll out of NFC requires hardware on the merchant and consumer side. The merchant hardware is normally leased, and leasing programs have been steady revenue generators for those companies. Whereas, today, the global contactless Point of Sale (POS) terminals market is poised to grow by $5.54 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 16% during the forecast period, according to research done by Technavio . However, with the pandemic, the speed of system activation has been a key criterium for selection of the technology. In this context, delivery of hardware, setting up of POS systems and testing connectivity slows down rollouts and potential revenue. Similarly, requiring consumers to be equipped with supporting hardware may also introduce a friction element, especially in markets where NFC has gained less momentum.
QR Payments Technology QR codes are like 3D barcodes. The user scans the QR code via a smartphone and the smartphone, then interprets the barcode and a related website or application may complete the payment process. Like NFC, this can be done very quickly without any contact between smartphone (reader) and the item or display using the QR code.
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Normally, QR codes are immutable, meaning that once generated they do not change. However, there are now dynamic smart QR codes, like the ones Xcoobee offers, that can overcome this limitation. Market QR codes found strong distribution in markets where banking reach was limited in some form through government or market forces. The QR payment process, in many markets, also exemplifies a jump to direct digital payment, bypassing much of the banking system for purchase transactions. Especially when QR payment systems are connected to mobile wallets the provider of the wallet handles all transaction steps in-system, reducing friction and creating an ease to use and adoption. They have found popularity mainly in China, where AliPay and WeChat pay are gaining dominant market shares. However, with the advent of COVID and the speed advantages in implementation and cost, other nontraditional markets such as EU and US are seeing dramatic increases in use of QR payments as well.
Activation Activation of QR code payments commonly requires merchants to simply print codes, which can be accomplished with less hardware. The integration into bank systems is handled via merchant or bank app and the consumer simply requires a smartphone. While bank offerings in this segment tend to be limited, given the simplified requirements, QR implementation can be quick for merchants to roll out.
Other Contactless Options There are other contactless payment technologies that are currently competing for market attention and can be grouped into a biometric group and a technology group. The biometric group includes such options as voice, facial or palm recognition-based payments while the technology group includes options like Bluetooth and Farfield-type technologies. None of these have gained sufficient market share or have execution or security advantages that would push them ahead without concerted efforts from large market-players. Similarly,
PAYMENTS
there is no consumer advantage that would drive a consumer demand-based distribution for these technologies. NFC vs QR Which one should you choose to support? Each one of these contactless payment methodologies has advantages and disadvantages. NFC can be nominally faster to use for consumers and more lucrative for banks, but QR codes currently reach a wider market since more phones can read them than those that can read NFC tags. Operational simplicity and speed also favor QR code activation, but if there is already and existing NFC infrastructure this may become a secondary consideration. Simply speaking, we are living through unprecedented times, consumers are demanding contactless payment and creating a demand side wave in exchange for safety. How each institution answers this call best will depend on circumstances and context. Overall, it may be advisable to hedge bets and support both methodologies and offer services based on both. Evaluate customer input, and then, adopt and activate the best option for your financial institution.
Bilal Soylu CEO XcooBee Bilal Soylu is CEO of XcooBee, a privacy and payments startup, focusing on contactless solutions for hospitality and retail. Bilal spent more than two-decades in supply chain technology leadership and business consulting in multiple industries including retail, hospitality and financials. www. Xcoobee.com
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How Financial Services & Insurance leaders can get more scientific on risk Risk runs through every facet of insurance. Products are taken out as a mitigation against it; customers pay a premium based on how much of a risk they pose to insurers; it colours every decision, the constant balance of trying to find where the risk is acceptable, and where it is not. But how are these decisions made? If you were to ask senior executives at most major insurers, they might say how any assessment of risk includes science and data. A study we conducted recently on the Science Of Risk with underwriting decision-makers from across the UK and the US, revealed that 99% of decision makers are confident in their organisation’s ability to make underwriting decisions on risk that are datadriven and scientific.
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Dig a little deeper, however, and things start to appear a little less clear cut. There was certainly a sense of there being room for improvement - 87% admitted their organisations could be more scientific in their approach to underwriting decision making and risk. But is that a major problem if they are already using data in their processes? Surely the gap between being confident in their abilities and could do more is negligible? Unfortunately not. With just 16% of organisations saying they have access to all the external data they need, it’s not surprising that 81% have had to make pre-bind decisions and 72% have had to make post-bind decisions that are not based on all of the data necessary to be profitable. Put another way, a lack of access to the right data directly impacts the bottom line.
INSURANCE
What then do insurers need to be doing to get more scientific?
Three ways to become more scientific Quite simply, it breaks down into three areas: organisational change, skills availability and the right technology. First, there needs to be a clear understanding of the organisation’s true use of data and science. We’ve already seen that almost all decision-makers are confident in their company’s datadriven decision-making capabilities. What’s also notable is the gaps in perspective between senior executives, such as the C-suite and heads of department, and the people on the frontline – the underwriters. When it comes to whether competitors are using technology to make more accurate decisions, just 12% of sector leaders were very concerned, growing to 22% of their employees.
There were also marked differences in opinion when talking about how effective the technology insurers currently were in adapting quickly to customers’ changing underwriting requirements. Well over a third of C-suite respondents rated it as highly effective, compared to slightly more than a fifth of frontline workers. If there’s a significant disconnect, organisations are less likely to make the right decisions when it comes to investing in appropriate tools and technologies or, even if they fail to get the correct levels of user adoption to make it a success. Insurers need to have a consistent understanding of how the entire business uses data, which means clearer communication between senior executives and the front line. Of course, that frontline needs to have the skills to use science, data and the right tools in their decision-making
processes. That is why the second area of focus is on skills availability, and making sure insurers are attracting the right talent. Positively, there is significant confidence that the talent available has the skills to ensure technology can drive better and more scientific underwriting decisions, with 89% stating confidence in employees’ willingness to embrace new technologies to deliver better decisions on risk. Attracting the next generation of employees was more of a concern, with more than half saying that they struggle to attract new talent into underwriting roles. However, even then there are hopes for the future - 72% believe that the growing acceptance of remote working practices post COVID-19 will increase access to technical talent going forwards.
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Ultimately, however, the right people, with the appropriate levels of understanding across the business, can only do so much if they do not have the best tools at their disposal. That’s why technology needs to be the foundation for insurers to get more scientific in risk. The research highlighted time and time again that technology could do much more when used to assist with underwriting decisions. Ninety-three percent stated there was room for improvement with how technology provides scientific insights to guide the underwriting decision process, while almost all believed that technology could improve profitability and drive down combined ratios. Furthermore, nearly three-quarters think they will need to evolve their use of technology to compete effectively post COVID-19, with 96% stating a likelihood that they will look to invest in new technology platforms to help with this challenge. However, most organisations have barriers that are holding investment back, with the top two reasons cited
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as investment cycles for IT being set and difficult to influence (28%) and tech investment not being controlled by those making underwriting decisions (25%). This again highlights why there needs to be better communication and understanding at all levels of the business as to what the true capabilities of the organisation are when it comes to data-driven, scientific-based decision-making.
The science of risk Insurers understand the value of applying a data-driven, scientific approach to risk decision-making – they wouldn’t rate themselves so highly if they didn’t. The problem is when there’s a disconnect between what leaders think is happening and the frontline reality. By focusing on the three areas of organisational understanding, skills availability and technology, insurers will be better placed to ensure that the technology they deployed can be effectively used by employees with the right abilities to become even more data-driven. In doing so, not only will their risk decision-making processes become more scientific, but they will enjoy enhanced bottom-line benefits.
Adrian Morgan Global Head of AdvantageGo As the leader of the business, Adrian has overall responsibility for the strategic direction and the operations of the company. He has over 20 years’ experience and expertise in delivering technology services to the global Insurance industry. Adrian joined AdvantageGo from CSC where he was the UK Digital Transformation Practice Head and most recently held the position of UK Head of Digital for Insurance. Prior to that, Adrian was Head of Insurance Software at Xchanging where he established and led Xuber, a globally recognised software and services supplier to the broking, commercial insurance and re-insurance markets.
Another feather in our cap! We are the
BEST CORPORATE BANK PHILIPPINES 2020 in the 10th Global Banking & Finance Awards
Taking renewed inspiration from this recognition and its feat as Best Green Bank Philippines 2019, the Development Bank of the Philippines reafďŹ rms its mandate to influence and accelerate sustainable economic growth, providing resources for the continued well-being of the Filipino people. We give back the honor to our partners in development!
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www.dbp.ph
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