Global Banking & Finance Review Issue 35 - Business & Finance Magazine

Issue 35

Trading Master and Protégé Greg Morgan

Greg Secker Founder and Master Trader Learn to Trade

Chief Executive Officer APAC Learn to Trade

www.globalbankingandfinance.com

Building strong, collaborative partnerships for the long-term

When we talk about making legacy count, long-term partnerships are paramount.

For over 30 years we have been working collaboratively with our partners to design and structure solutions to protect and preserve the wealth of international upper affluent, high-net-worth individuals, families or institutions that they advise.

Learn more about our solutions: lombardinternational.com

EDITORS LETTER

FROM THE

editor

Chairman and CEO Varun Sash Editor Wanda Rich email: wrich@gbafmag.com

Dear Readers’

Head of Distribution & Production Robert Mathew

I am pleased to present Issue 35 of Global Banking & Finance Review. For those of you that are reading us for the first time, welcome.

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 Advertising Phone: +44 (0) 208 144 3511 marketing@gbafmag.com GBAF Publications, LTD Alpha House 100 Borough High Street London, SE1 1LB United Kingdom 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

Featured on the front cover is Greg Secker, Master Trader and Founder Learn to Trade and Greg Morgan Learn to Trade’s APAC Chief Executive Officer. Since its inception, Learn to Trade a specialist in Forex education & training gone from strength to strength. Secker first started teaching people how to trade from his bedroom, from there Learn to Trade rapidly began to grow into the global trading phenomenon and globally recognised brand that it is today. In our cover story, Learn to Trade: a Master Trader and Protégé Explain Their Game-Changing Brand, Greg and Greg explain the mindset of an effective trader, the importance of peer groups, and the many benefits of their SmartCharts platform and LifeStyle Trader events. (Page 22) Michel Roig, President of Payment & Access at Fingerprint Cards answers the important questions surrounding biometric payment cards on page 48. Discover how to unlock your brands awareness on page 20.

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!

Wanda Rich Editor

®

Stay caught up on the latest news and trends taking place by signing up for our free email newsletter, reading us online at http://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/ and download our App for the latest digital magazine for free on Google Play and the Apple App Store

Issue 35 | 03

CONTENTS

BUSINESS Why automation must be part of your supply chain strategy

14

Neil Humphreys Partner Howgate Sable

16

The real ESG talk - A challenging path from pure profit to wide benefit Anna Alex Co- founder Planelty

Unlocking Brand Authenticity Louisa Sorensen Senior Strategist Cowshed Social

20

32 As the SCA deadline approaches, fraud prevention is all the more important Ed Whitehead Managing Director EMEA Signifyd

Why today’s megatrends are the future of both technology and business Andras R. Szakal CTO The Open Group

04 | Issue 35

42

CONTENTS

BUSINESS Three tips for better supply chain management in 2022

12 44

Spencer Shute, Senior Consultant, Proxima – a leading procurement and supply chain consulting firm

BANKING

12

A two-step process to enhance operations at a newly merged bank Mac Thompson President and Founder White Clay

36

BANKING ON A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Tasha Chouhan UK & IE Banking Lead Tink

3 ways the banking sector can overcome the challenge of change and control

40

Michael D'Onofrio CEO Orbus Software

Issue 35 | 05

CONTENTS

TECHNOLOGY The main obstacle to digital transformation? The people

08

Chris Cabrera Founder and CEO Xactly

46

Secure Data Sharing and Collaboration Dr. Ellison Anne Williams Founder and CEO Enveil

Payment Innovation – A Closer Look at Biometric Payment Cards

48

Michel Roig President of Payments & Access Fingerprint Cards (Fingerprints)

COVER STORY/ INTERVIEW LEARN TO TRADE: A TRADE MASTER AND PROTÉGÉ EXPLAIN THEIR GAME-CHANGING BRAND Greg Secker Founder and Master Trader Learn to Trade Greg Morgan Chief Executive Officer APAC Learn to Trade

06 | Issue 35

22

CONTENTS

Cover Story

Issue 35 | 07

TECHNOLOGY

The main obstacle to digital transformation? The people As we enter our third year of navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, the reverberations continue to be felt amongst businesses globally. One of these is the increasing need for organisations to implement digital transformation in a sustainable and permanent way.

Restructuring an organisation’s business model to integrate digital technology into all areas is well recorded as improving efficiency and agility at every level, as well as being crucial in enabling remote working when physical office spaces are off limits. In the context of a pandemic, digital transformation became a necessity: not only does remote and hybrid working require it, but the uncertainty of the past year has proven that businesses would be wise to use data-driven tools to effectively plan for the future as much as possible.

However, many businesses have struggled to meaningfully understand the concept and implement it successfully, in a sustainable way.

Whilst Gartner reported that 69% of boards of directors accelerated digital business initiatives in 2020

08 | Issue 35

due to COVID-19 disruption, only 40% of companies managed to bring digital transformation initiatives to scale. McKinsey’s study from 2018 found that only 16% of digital transformations resulted in successfully improved performance.

Whilst the need and desire for digital transformation is strong, business leaders are still often attempting to make key decisions and solve challenges through intuition and gut instinct. By proceeding with this style of decision-making, rather than being guided by objective data and accurate insights, businesses are being led by ‘intuition bias’. This is a problem that is especially prevalent in the sales industry: Xactly’s recent Global Enterprise Sales Report found that doing things the way ‘they have always been done’ is the most influential factor in UK decisionmaking around sales planning today amongst sales leaders (31%).

However, business as usual has been an impossibility for the past two years, and thus doing things the way they’ve always been done is no longer working. Forecasting and planning has been met with an unprecedented

challenge due to economic uncertainty: 50% of sales decision makers, across the U.S., Canada, UK, France, and Germany, reported that it is more difficult to forecast bookings because of the pandemic.

With the goal posts of the business game having shifted so dramatically, leaders are now under pressure to transform the way in which they make decisions, and adopt a more strategic, data-driven approach, grounded in the digital space.

Cultural resistance: the hidden challenge Business leaders will easily be able to name the obvious obstacles in the way of scaling digital transformation: cost constraints; inflexible legacy systems; a lack of alignment amongst executive stakeholders on the plan of action. However, organisations often overlook what is perhaps the biggest challenge of all: cultural and behavioural resistance. Recent research from Capgemini found that 62% of respondents globally reported that culture is one of the top two hurdles to digital transformation.

TECHNOLOGY

The very nature of digital transformation, bringing nearly all operations to a new arena, requires a radical restructuring of a business’ operations. Dramatic change of any form is often met by the wider workforce with reluctance and pushback, even if the predicted benefits of such change are farreaching. Much of this resistance can be traced back to the natural human fear of unknown and uncertain territory.

Lead with proof In order to overcome cultural resistance to digital transformation, executives must first demonstrate to the workforce and other leaders how digital transformation will bring tangible benefits in helping enterprises grow, succeed, and increase revenue. Often leaders mistakenly take it for granted that employees understand the positive results of digital transformation.

Take, for example, digitising compensation and incentive plans.

The traditional way of compensation

has been paying sales reps after the sale has already been made. However, if they do not know how much they are getting paid until weeks after the sale has been made, this will not effectively drive behaviour, as they won’t know how much they stand to gain from closing a deal.

Giving sales reps instant visibility over their compensation just before the point of sale, based on real time analytics, is far more effective in encouraging successful sales. If each sales rep makes only five more deals a year due to a flexible and dynamic digital incentive scheme, the cumulative effects for the business are huge.

Optimise Covid Whilst the turbulence and uncertainty of the past two years may have encouraged a fear of radical change, Covid has also proved the necessity of investing in digital transformation in order to be agile and responsive to change.

The pandemic demonstrated the severe costs to businesses that weren’t robust and prepared for future disruption, with organisations scrambling to move resources and workplaces online. According to the same report from Xactly, only 26% of UK sales organisations were fully prepared for remote working with a full suite of digital tools when the pandemic hit, showing that there’s a long way to go until digital transformation is widespread.

Not only is digital transformation crucial for future-proofing against potential disruption, but it’s also key in ensuring the success of the new workplace. Hybrid working between home and the office is here to stay: a recent study from Microsoft found that 51% of UK respondents who had the choice to mix remote and office working would consider leaving their company if this flexibility was removed. Business leaders should leverage this point to executives to prove that an organisation must be digitised or risk losing employees amidst the Great Resignation.

Issue 35 | 09

TECHNOLOGY

Failing to effectively digitise operations in a hybrid workplace risks a fall in efficiency and productivity, especially when it comes to planning.

For example, sales leaders have always been able to walk around the office and check in on sales reps.

Remote working, however, means that sales leaders have lost sight of their reps, making it much more difficult to reliably forecast sales figures, therefore compromising revenue plans and predictions. Leveraging data analytics (both real-time and historical) to accurately forecast sales figures is one key example of how digital transformation is a necessity due to Covid.

When digital transformation is successfully implemented and tangible benefits are felt, these agents of change can point to their role in this, and leverage this as an innovative and forward-thinking career step.

Path to success Data has the potential to be the most valuable and unique resource available to each business. However, this potential is only realised when a business has the digital tools to effectively utilise data. Without these, organisations are forced to make decisions based on a number of assumptions; sometimes upwards of 30.

Innovative players As has been suggested, to imply that behavioural obstacles only pose a problem amongst the junior levels of the workforce, would be misleading.

Often junior employees are the most fervent advocates of digital transformation and are met with resistance at the executive level.

Those who are keen to implement digital transformation but don’t have the board-level powers to lead on this, can start by assigning ‘agents of change’ at all company levels. These agents can champion digital transformation amongst their teams and colleagues, drawing on the arguments above, and demonstrating bottom-up support that leaders will notice.

10 | Issue 35

For example, when undertaking sales planning without using data, leaders must make assumptions about how long it will take for reps to close a deal; attrition rates; the time needed to hire replacements. With the inaccuracy of each assumption being high, the cumulative room for error is enormous.

With the ability to make effective, fast and accurate decisions that are more likely to achieve the desired results within arms’ length, why should business leaders still be relying on gut instinct? Digital transformation is the best path forward for companies aiming to accelerate their revenue.

Outlining the strategic reasons behind this will encourage employees and executives alike to get on board.

Chris Cabrera Founder and CEO Xactly

HEADER

Issue 35 | 00

BANKING

A two-step process to enhance operations at a newly merged bank

While much of 2021 remained unpredictable due to the pandemic, bank mergers proved not to be.

According to S&P Global Intelligence’s December report, there were 208 U.S. bank deals with an aggregate deal value of $77.58 billion in 2021, which is highest level since 2006, and there’s no indication of this activity slowing down. Banks have benefitted from these mergers because of the operational expense efficiencies and operational revenue improvements.

Operational revenue improvement, for example, is a result of deepening customer relationships by leveraging both banks’ product strengths and optimizing client profitability.

To maximize these benefits, the combined banks must establish consistent and accurate metrics and define holistic client relationships.

How do you define your metrics?

Merging financial institutions will have different metric definitions, incompatible disparate data, and different cultures for leveraging the information needed to drive client and shareholder value. The first step is to establish common metric definitions for the combined entity. Banks must use the newly gained benefits to create a list

12 | Issue 35

of key metrics that align with the deal revenue. Then, they will need to create calculations and data definitions for each metric, which will require detailed examinations of both as organizations may use the same language to communicate different meanings. Aligning the combined financial institution’s language and metric definitions are critical to realizing the benefits.

Once metric definitions and languages are standardized, both organizations can create a common information environment for the combined bank to establish baselines, targets, and ongoing measurement. Banks, however, don’t have to wait for the merger to be completed for this process to happen.

They can abstract and normalize the data into standard elements before the system conversions by identifying which of these elements will help them focus on understanding the client relationship depth, primacy, and profitability.

It’s important for the organization to be aware of the new language, measurement, and revenue opportunities for the future of the combined financial institution.

How do you define your client relationships?

To realize the revenue opportunities, the bank needs to define their client relationships accurately and consistently. These relationships can be defined by credit structure, partner, and client. Credit structure includes all the tax entities that are legally related to a particular credit issuance; this is important for underwriting and credit portfolio and monitoring, but not necessarily for ensuring the client and shareholder both receive value from the relationship. Knowing which relationships relate to a particular partner will be helpful in managing partner relations by understanding their portfolio and performance.

Client relationships will also be defined by the types of products and services they use, which is why having a complete view of this information will be important. For example, this relationship can include all the parties to the consumer household and/or all the legal entities of the business relationship. Understanding the holistic relationship provides the insight to optimally deliver the best product solutions and pricing to ensure both the client and shareholder receive value from the relationship.

BANKING

Once these relationships are defined, a bank must assign a primary banker/branch to it.

For example, some bankers/branches might focus on business banking and commercial and private banking while others on mortgages or bank-owned relationships. By assigning a banker to each relationship, they can determine which products and services might be useful for the customer and their household, further personalizing the banking experience.

Banks that have completed this two-step process can expect many different operational benefits.

As all relationships are now clearly defined, the bank has an overview across all subsidiaries, including the products and services the customer uses, along with transactions and behaviors.

This level of visibility and transparency helps them understand the economic value of each client, break down organizational siloes, manage relationships, and prevent attrition.

This two-step process of defining metrics and relationships will help banks maximize the use of their data, resulting in increased operational benefits. There’s tremendous value in determining a single source of truth before a merger, or even during it, to set the newly formed bank up for long-term success and growth. As the industry continues to see increased M&A activity, now is the time to ensure a uniform data environment is available to provide the common, understood metrics to drive operational revenue benefits and be ready for any upcoming changes.

Mac Thompson President and Founder White Clay

Issue 35 | 13

BUSINESS

Why automation must be part of your supply chain strategy Supply chain is the digital and organisational nervous system of any manufacturing or distributing business, the repository of data which allows the value chain to make decisions and operate effectively.

Recent developments in technology are having a dramatic effect on how cutting edge organisations operate, ‘robotisation’ of the function with machine learning and AI coming to the fore appears an unstoppable force.

It’s little wonder, then, that supply chain leadership has evolved to become a key part of management. It holds the ability to forecast business performance, enabling smart, dataled decisions at an operational and enterprise level, Disruption within the supply chain can be catastrophic – as evidenced by global challenges during the pandemic and beyond. Excellence in supply chain management means understanding the various moving parts that combine to create a value chain and being able to anticipate disruption and respond quickly.

Visibility is the key to this.

Connectivity is crucial to aiding visibility, but there are still many businesses which are slow to adopt automated processes in supply chain management. In my career in a leading executive search firm, I have worked with many businesses looking for increased agility and visibility in their supply chain. They require leaders with the skills, foresight and understanding to allow for effective supply chain leadership,

14 | Issue 35

coupled with the soft skills to work across the functional matrix; the IBP / S&OP processes aligned with finance and commercial functions is a perfect example.

A pressing need Matthew Spooner was VP of supply chain at Swedish-Swiss multinational firm ABB, and before that, a subject matter expert for Gartner in S&OP and demand driven networks. “The trend towards increased automation in supply chain has been slowly growing over the last decade or so, but the need for this level of technology adoption was crystallised by the pandemic,” he told me. “The pressures caused by the pandemic highlighted the lack of visibility of many top tier suppliers and caused a crisis in supply chains the world over.

“Organisations that were already mature in their supply chain automation and had invested in visibility saw markedly less disruption, and had a better pandemic experience as a result,” he added.

Spooner estimates that around 70 per cent of businesses globally are at a low maturity level when it comes to supply chain automation – only five per cent are considered to be at the pinnacle; businesses like Apple and Amazon. These are moving beyond the ‘standard’ levels of automation which encompass elements like packaging and moving towards greater use of robotics, drone technology, AI and machine learning to both lower the cost of operations and increase accuracy.

Global business approach One really interesting trend is the move towards decentralisation, which is causing businesses to establish a global approach to supply chain management. As businesses seek to professionalise their international dealings, many are opting to standardise their operations in various territories and supply chain is no exception.

Spooner commented: “As businesses are demanding that all locations operate the same processes and approach, automation becomes the natural next step. Certain geographies are already ahead. China, for example, is investing in world-class systems.

So, too, are the Emirates and areas of Europe. Interestingly, America can fall behind in automation progression but this is generally because American businesses haven’t typically needed to go outside of their own country for supplies before. As they become more internationally minded, this is changing,” he added.

The challenge of leadership Communication and networking skills have always been critical to the success of a supply chain leader.

Beyond technical competence, the emotional intelligence to work throughout a matrix with different functional agendas and inevitable politics is key. Supply chain, with finance, can lead through creation of a single source of inalienable data which can be trusted to guide decisions and mitigate risks.

BUSINESS

Recently, clients of mine have been seeking a similar profile irrelevant of industry: people who understand data, follow technology, have the business acumen to link these to commercial success – and, crucially, can convince a Board of the importance of investment. It is a fine balance of skills and one which can be rare.

Spooner is a vocal advocate of supply chain management as a Board discipline: “It is absolutely vital that the entire senior team understands how vital supply chain is and recognise the importance of investing in it. Financing developments in automation can give a business a sharp competitive edge – it cannot be an afterthought or left to one team. It’s imperative that it is part of every business’ long-term plan and that supply chain has a compelling presence in the Boardroom.”

Currently, only around 30 to 40 per cent of Fortune 500 businesses have a head of supply chain position on their Board. The scope for growth here is vast and savvy businesses must invest in supply chain development, technology and automation now if they want to thrive in future.

As Spooner predicts, the future will look very different for those who invest now versus those who don’t: “In 10, 15, 20 years’ time, the high performing companies will look very different and they will have the ability to monopolise their markets thanks to their clear understanding of their supply chain and their accuracy and agility in monitoring and responding to it. Few businesses can afford to be without this.”

Neil Humphreys Partner Howgate Sable

Issue 35 | 15

BUSINESS

The real ESG talk -

A challenging path from pure profit to wide benefit

By Anna Alex, Co- founder, Planelty When talking about ESG, there is a tendency to minimize the “E” to only carbon emissions and the “S” only to Gender Equality and Inclusion. These two topics seem to have the strongest supporters. But actually, it’s a much bigger conversation we need to have.

ESG is a mindset. And even though I am approaching it from the climate perspective - which is pretty understandable since I am a climate tech founder - I always look at the bigger picture. Especially now that my company Planetly has become part of the OneTrust family. And whenever I speak to other entrepreneurs, managers or anyone in a business context, I make sure to emphasize this.

support their many stakeholders, and demonstrate ethical leadership and governance practices. But is this action as easy as it sounds in theory or there is more (or less) to it when it comes to practice?

THE CURRENT STATE OF ESG Going back to the basics, the ESG framework, otherwise known as Environmental, Social, and Governance, aims to identify and measure the impact of an organization’s policies and procedures related to environmental sustainability and social standards. This is why ESG needs to be taken seriously if we want to save our planet from climate change. It is the new desirable guideline for investment.

Investing time and resources into solving the most pressing issue in our lifetime means investing in the most precious home we have - our planet.

Rethinking the way we approach and solve climate change heavily determines our future. And again, climate is just one piece in the large ESG puzzle.

And it should be even more than that.

As I see it, ESG needs to become a mindset for entrepreneurs as well as corporate managers - anyone who is in charge of a company’s steering wheel should be focussing on implementing ESG measures into their corporate goals.

Put simply, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) signifies the act of funding businesses that positively impact the environment,

Imagine a board meeting where the focus is not just on financial KPIs anymore but focussing on environmental, social and governance

16 | Issue 35

KPIs. I can clearly see the chairman of the board standing up in the middle of a board meeting vehemently asking his board members: “Why have we not reduced more carbon this year?”

The good news: the numbers are clearly in favor of ESG, as in the times of urgent climate action this framework attracts a lot of interest and capital. Global sustainable fund assets reached $3.9 trillion at the end of September 2021 while, at the same time, there were 270 new sustainable fund launches worldwide just in the third quarter of last year.

According to a recent survey by the CFA Institute, 85% of investment managers across countries are increasingly incorporating ESG criteria into investment decisions.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ESG - SHIFT FROM PURE PROFIT TO MORE BENEFIT Long gone are the days when investing for most business people meant purely diversifying your portfolio to preserve and maximize value. Investors are now increasingly eager to align their investments with ESG-related companies and fund providers. This puts them in a really good position to orientate the economy towards more sustainability.

BUSINESS

At the same time, this position gives the investors the possibility, as well as the responsibility, to educate portfolio companies on ESG from day one. Essentially, they invest in the companies so they can direct them to a better path. As they grow, companies then easily incorporate ESG in their processes, policies, goals, employees program from the very beginning and therefore become more sustainable. Consequently, sustainable companies have a higher chance to succeed, as well as limit their risks around ESG. This all coincides with the climate neutral efforts. Companies are a part of the problem, but can also be a part of the solution. The race for net zero, or UN sustainable goals by 2030, is also a business opportunity, as our future depends on businesses which solve climate change issues.

A record $649 billion poured into ESG-focused funds worldwide in the first ten months of last year.

ESG funds now account for 10% of worldwide fund assets. According to Statista, 82% of professional investors worldwide plan to increase their allocation of socially responsible investments over the course of 2022.

That means the appeal of ESG is not only moral but also, business-wise, a smart financial move as more funds will be pouring in those sectors.

CHALLENGES ON THE WAY FORWARD ESG issues cover a variety of topics that are applicable to all industries and organizations. At the same time, ESG investing supports solutions to major issues through business initiatives.

It covers a broad scope of issues, from climate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, biodiversity, water and waste (environmental), to working conditions, equal opportunities or perhaps human rights (social) to board diversity and structure, bribery and corruption or tax strategy (governance).

The practice of engaging in ESG clearly requires a mindset shift. But, this all comes with its own challenges and there are certain problems that need addressing.

Climate risks and opportunities should be front and center as organizations plan their future growth strategies and report progress. But putting this on the agenda and creating the ideal of

tomorrow might be a bit overwhelming for an early stage company, as they have other priorities.

Monitoring issues also need to be taken into consideration. Data quality is of the utmost importance, and it is crucial to see how t o reflect that quality in the outputs. Taken alone, quality tells us nothing about a company’s ESG strategy. On the other hand, quality and ESG, taken together, can best be understood as two dimensions of the same underlying theme: sustainability.

Disclosure of data is an important factor as it is still unclear how/if ESG disclosures for financial products are going to be audited. Reporting is not yet mandatory. From 2023 onwards, more companies will actually be obliged to publish sustainability information. In April 2021, the EU Commission presented a new proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

That the challenges are real, has been recently also shown in a study: Many of the world's biggest companies are failing to meet their own targets on tackling climate change, according to the New Climate Institute report.

Issue 35 | 17

BUSINESS

WHEN AMBITIOUS CLAIMS DON'T DO THE WORK The study conducted on 25 corporations alleges that Google, Amazon, Ikea, Apple and Nestle are among those failing to change quickly enough. The Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor was conducted by non-profit organizations New Climate Institute and Carbon Market Watch. The study looked at the publicly stated strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, created by anything from transporting goods, to energy used in factories or shops, or cutting down trees, in order to reach net zero. Companies set their own targets. Google promises to be carbon-free by 2030, while Ikea pledges to be "climate-positive" by 2030. Amazon wants to reach netzero carbon by 2040, and is on a path to powering operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.

Assessing factors like annually disclosing emissions, giving a breakdown of emission sources, and disclosing information in an understandable way, the study put these above-mentioned companies on the low integrity spectrum. At the same time, the report says 70% of Apple's climate footprint is created by upstream emissions, one of the most controversial

18 | Issue 35

areas, including the consumption of electricity by consumers using Apple phones, laptops and other products.

As reported, many companies did not include these emissions in their climate plans.

The study concluded that overall, the strategies in place - if implemented - would reduce emissions by 40% at most, not the 100% implied in the term "net zero". Out of 25 companies encompassed in the study, just Maersk, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom are clearly committed to removing 90% of carbon emissions from their production and supply chains.

Put simply, companies' ambitioussounding headline claims often lack real substance. Because it is not that easy to change a running system. But we have to. When it comes to ESG, integrity is of the utmost importance, as well as making informed decisions. The relationship between Environmental, Social and Governance aspects is so intertwined, that it is important to emphasize: Actions speak louder than words.

Anna Alex Co- founder Planelty

BUSINESS

Unlocking Brand Authenticity Brands have been using social media to build rapport with their customers ever since it took off in 2004, yet the pace at which it is going to move in 2022 is forecast to be phenomenal.

With 4.55 billion users and over a hundred platforms, the opportunities are seemingly endless, but what do businesses need to do to generate stand out and all important cutthrough? And, what are audiences seeking from the brands they choose to purchase from today? It’s largely to do with creating an authentic connection and that starts with building meaningful relationships.

20 | Issue 35

Emotional connections are king Emotional connections are king in 2022, so brands that consider what people feel first and what they see second will reap the rewards. Social savvy audiences can no longer be won over by overt advertising and product placement posts have become transparent so we’re going to experience a shift in the kind of content used across all social platforms. In order to build these deeper relationships, brands need to dig deep and be prepared to offer meaningful entertainment. A large part of this is about taking risks too, and it's those businesses that are learning through trial and error that will succeed.

Content creators, or influencers if you prefer, will continue to lead the way. Their structure enables them to be nimble allowing them to be early adopters of new trends. Through understanding the right ambassadors to align your brand and working with them, it can be fast tracked to the top - but neglect a careful appointment process at your peril as an inauthentic connection could do more harm than good.

Brands that use talent as a catalyst will become even more prominent this year. Attaching credible voices to your brand that align with your brand values will help build that all important emotional connection.

BUSINESS

More than ever, brands need to understand their target audience and deliver what they want so if they’re seeking entertainment, in 2022 it will be vital to provide it. Utilising owned social media channels to offer meaningful entertainment allows your business to build true connections through emotion and secure long term customers rather than one off sales, placing businesses on much firmer footing.

Expect the return of audio to be a big trend for 2022 across other platforms, too. Twitter launching ‘Spaces’ in late 2021 was not predicted by many due it being a widely textbased channel, but when trends are examined more closely, it’s clear that years of non-verbal communication have left many yearning for human connection through genuine spoken conversations. Instagram and Facebook are expecting to see further growth through their video and live functions and as demand shows no signs of abating, brands looking to strengthen their customer relationships should produce content that adheres to this.

Building flexible social media ecosystems

Telling stories through content experiences As we travel further through the 2020s and move deeper into the digital age, people are increasingly seeking connection so 2022 will be a pivotal year for telling stories through content experiences. Therefore, brands that allow consumers into conversations and act as facilitators will be the ones to build favour. It’s no coincidence that podcasts have 15 million listeners and further still, it's the shows that are encouraging conversations around cultural touch points and meaningful content that are predominantly topping the charts.

Understanding the nuances of different social media channels allows businesses to maximise reach and offer audiences value which in turn, will be repaid with brand awareness, credibility and loyalty. Somewhat understandably, often brands prefer short form content, including still image/caption format as it can be quicker and less costly to produce. However, those embracing longer form video content platforms, such as YouTube, as a content engine reap the rewards of a social ecosystem.

side, which builds rapport with the audience and helps them to connect with a narrative and brand more widely. Tailoring content specifically to platforms in terms of what resonates and what works best, while also treating YouTube as a content engine works particularly well for younger audiences.

Fashion and sport brands, take note.

As we’ve started to see in recent years, brands that take an adhoc or inconsistent approach to their social media outputs and behaviour often fail to resonate with their audiences. In contrast, those embracing an ‘alwayson’ strategy are taking the lead. This is because always-on brands have regular, authentic reasons to connect with their followers and think beyond key moments or seasonal campaigns.

Content experiences stand the test of time Ultimately, it’s content experiences that matter most. Brands that focus on creating the best consumer experience and try to evoke an emotion will truly resonate with their audience and stand the test of time. Brands are elevated via the content they create, so those that think deeply about how they want people to engage with them will come out on top in 2022 and beyond.

Being faster and bolder Layering content is a huge trend that’s here to stay and the major players, such as Footasylum and KFC, are leading by example. They plan short and long form content to tell stories side by

Louisa Sorensen Senior Strategist Cowshed Social

Issue 35 | 21

INTERVIEW

Learn to

Trade: Greg Secker is the founder of forex education and training specialist Learn to Trade, and Greg Morgan the CEO for the Asia Pacific region. Since its inception in 2003, Learn to Trade has gone from strength to strength.

Secker first started by teaching people to trade from his bedroom while living with his parents, and using the knowledge and experience he gained as a Vice President at Mellon Financial Corporation, he began to show people how they could do it too. From there, Learn to Trade began, and grew into the global trading phenomenon and globally recognised brand that it is today.

Wanda Rich, editor of Global Banking & Finance Review, recently interviewed them to learn more about the mindset of an effective trader, the importance of peer groups, and the many benefits of their SmartCharts platform and LifeStyle Trader events.

Secker initially described how Learn to Trade’s unique offering set it apart from its competitors from the very start. “The company, in its original form , was the only trader education company that offered one-on-one coaching from professional traders on a trading floor in London. The competition at the time was running

22 | Issue 35

a Trade Master and Protégé Explain Their Game-Changing Brand

seminars and workshops, but there was no live trading and there was certainly no live one-on-one coaching.

When we introduced this in 2003, we'd literally disintermediated the market and we started winning awards within two years from that point.”

Secker credits constant innovation as the secret to their success.

He recognised the importance of introducing new techniques and practices to help new traders overcome the initial emotional hurdles that they will almost definitely encounter because, as he explained, “the human brain itself is just not set up to be successful in this game.

“It therefore requires a fair amount of unlearning to happen in order to be successful. As an organisation, we have spent many hours working with different coaching practices, and high-performance and peakperformance strategists, on how to overcome the hurdles associated with a lack of discipline and emotional control for our clients.”

This approach means that the people who attend their programmes are better equipped to handle the emotional control associated with high-performance trading early on,

and to meet their aim of getting into a profitable situation sooner. “We spend a great deal of time with our clients.

Whether that's on flying trading days or boot camps, we take time to understand what their challenges are and we’re constantly refining and tailoring the training programme. I would imagine that over the last 18 years, we have changed and updated the programme probably 10,000 times.

It’s a constant game of refinement to make it easy and applicable to trading success as quickly as possible.”

Morgan, meanwhile, highlighted that the accessibility of their programmes allows people from all walks of life to learn how to trade the markets while keeping their risk low. “The trading programmes, trading plans and strategies that we teach are so simple and easy to understand and follow, that even a complete beginner can start to yield reliable results. We have perfected our methods of trading through years of trial and error, and now we teach those tried and tested trading strategies - that actually work - to people from all corners of the world, with phenomenal success. We have always remained committed to putting our students first and ensuring that we provide an enhanced trading experience and training.

INTERVIEW

“You see, a lot of people think trading is pot luck or unpredictable, when in fact it’s totally plan-driven.

If you can follow a step-by-step trading plan, you could and should be a successful trader.”

Secker cited two key factors that make being a trader so worthwhile.

“One, it is emotionally very liberating, and two, it is a real challenge from an emotional discipline standpoint, and one that can be enhanced only by coaching and practice,” he elaborated.

“It allows me to literally take my laptop, convert it into a fast way of assessing opportunities and placing hopefully successful trades, and travel with it wherever I need to go. It's the fastest way to do this bar none, and it allows me to use interesting instruments which are quite taxefficient in my own country.”

For Morgan, the value in trading is that it has enabled him to live a life of contribution. “What I mean by that is that trading in the first place is not about the money. The money will come. You must learn this first, and the money will roll in.

When you do start making money from trading, plan on giving back.

Look after yourself and your family first, then others. I believe in helping

others - after all, that’s our primary human function - and when you do that, the law of attraction kicks in and abundance will flow. That’s exactly what happened to me. That’s what trading has gifted me, the ability to help others. For example, I’ve been a keynote speaker for Bowel Cancer Australia; I’ve been able to speak at other charity events, and assisted people less financially fortunate.

That’s the greater good that trading has given me - having a greater impact on others around me, because trading is not just about making money; it’s about transformation, self-development.”

Like Secker, Morgan also eluded to the sense of liberation that trading affords. “Trading for me is about living life on my terms, doing what I want when I want. The ability to make money while sitting on a plane flying to London or sitting on a beach in Bali with my family.

It is the perfect online business.

I could pay for my whole trip with a few trades whilst sitting on a beach sipping a margarita. I know that sounds cliché, but it is so true.

Trading has the potential to change your life, and who doesn’t want to live life on their terms?”

Issue 35 | 23

INTERVIEW

For trading novices who don’t know where to begin, Secker suggests against seeking too much advice from too many different sources, which would lead to confusion and ultimately destroy a beginner’s path. “It is important to realise that lots of different traders will have different timeframes, approaches and suggestions,” he warned. “The best thing a new trader could do is to learn a simple trading strategy from start to finish, practice it in a handful of currencies and start implementing with a demo account. I have a 5:3:1 strategy, which means that I teach people to analyse five major currency pairs and focus only on three strategies. The one relates to the same time of day.”

Morgan’s biggest tip for those starting out was to avoid buying online programmes that are not regulated or reputable, but to instead seek a trusted provider. “At Learn to Trade we have the ideal beginners’ programme: the three-day Learn Forex programme. To this day, I still have not found a better forex trading programme on the planet. For those who do not know where to start, I strongly suggest attending one of Learn to Trade’s free two-hour live trading webinars. That is the perfect starting point. After that, you can decide for yourself if you want to pursue trading further.

“When I was first trying to become a consistently profitable trader, I was trying to work it out by myself,” he went on. “I was trying a multitude of trading strategies and systems from unregulated forex educators and brokers. Some seemed quite sensible, while some were downright bizarre, and I lost serious money trying to learn it this way.

24 | Issue 35

“I got into this business of trading because I loved the idea of being able to earn a good income without my money being capped by an employer, and of being able to effectively work from home - and that’s something we have to do now by default, ironically, thanks to COVID! When I look back on it now, I just had this underlying feeling that I wasn’t actually making any money because I was wasting money and time trying to learn this stuff on my own.

“My point is, you need to be connected to a positive, supportive trading peer group. This is really important for one thing alone - belief. There is a well-known saying: ‘The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the expectations of your peer group.’”

Morgan’s view is that one cannot help but adopt the same belief patterns and success of their trading peers, as they all expect to consistently make money from the currency markets.

Contrastingly, someone who is starting on their own, perhaps trading from their home, will find themselves not connected to a positively enforced peer group. “Having a trading peer group keeps you focused on your trading goals and financial targets.

Most people who embark on this journey alone often have to fend off ridicule from their nearest and dearest, many of whom - with the best intentions in the world - haven’t a clue what they are talking about. They don’t know anything about trading, yet they have an opinion on it. They don’t know what they don’t know.”

For this reason, he also advises beginner traders to avoid spending time with others who are starting out. “You will reinforce negative beliefs, and you won’t be focused on a successful trading plan. It’s no wonder that people doing this on their own fail pretty badly. A trading-friendly peer group is massively important to your

INTERVIEW

success, as is connecting with likeminded people, but not making this about money in the first instance. This has to be first and foremost about mastering a skill, and once the skill has been mastered, making money is just an output of that skill.”

The two men first met seven years ago when Morgan was, as described

by Secker, a “very keen graduate” who attended his training programme. “He made some mistakes at the beginning,” Secker recalled. “I would visit my trading floors once or twice a year. I spent a lot of time in Australia because I had a home out there at the time. Greg was certainly one of the most animated and enthusiastic delegates back in the day, although he did have a challenge with following proper risk management.

He would take unnecessary risks early on, which was important because it taught him a very vital lesson, which is that if you do that, you will come unstuck. Which, of course, he did.

“However, importantly, he didn't let that defeat him,” Secker continued.

“He turned it around, and realised that you could own the things that were holding you back if you took ownership of them. Of course, when he did that, he had the power to then change that behaviour, that vacillating behaviour.

“The real steps to change are a desire to change and realisation that change is required. An in-depth analysis of what behaviours the individual is automatically being triggered into is needed, to replicate the behaviour and then replace the behaviour with the more empowering set of beliefs - focus, disciplines, principles and intentions. You'll find very quickly that this can have a quite transformative effect on the trader's results. This is exactly what we did with Greg, and he went from being good one month and then bad another to being consistent, until he won our Trading Cup Challenge three years in a row.”

Morgan’s move into trading followed two years out of work due to a strenuous battle with cancer, and a decision that the rest of his life would happen on his terms. In the initial stages of trying his hand at forex trading, he was scammed online through trading programmes from unregulated brokers, traders and educators. “I was spending thousands trying to learn this stuff on my own and trying to get some sort of return on my investment. It just didn’t work.

“When I found Greg Secker, he was sharing the stage with Tony Robbins at a business event in Melbourne,” Morgan said. “When Greg was on stage demonstrating how trading the currency markets works and that anyone can do this with the right education, I was hooked. I signed up then and there to his award-winning three-day Learn Forex course. After those three days, I asked my wife, ‘Why haven’t I found this before? It has to be our pathway to moving ourselves and the family forward financially.’

Issue 35 | 25

INTERVIEW

“I then invested into an advanced trading programme with Learn to Trade, called the Unlimited Wealth trading plan programme. In this programme, I was taught how professional currency traders make their money, and how they consistently take money from the markets in a clinically unemotional fashion.”

Twelve months later, after following Learn to Trade’s programme and being taught how to trade by the world’s best traders, he became Global Trader of the Year. “I haven’t looked back. Greg Secker himself rang me and asked me to come and work with him, helping other beginner traders to transform their lives. I jumped at the opportunity.

“Now I’m Learn to Trade’s APAC CEO. I run two trading floors for Learn to Trade in Australia and the Philippines.

I love my role; I feel very, very blessed and privileged as it gives me an opportunity to change people’s lives through trading.”

26 | Issue 35

“I won't have anybody run my trading floors who isn't passionate about trading,” Secker confirmed. “Greg is 100% passionate about trading; he lives and breathes it. He trades every instrument that he can get his hands on. He is constantly talking to me about the effects of macro and microeconomic inputs into the markets. I believe that unless you have your leader passionate and driving from the front, it would be very difficult for the business to thrive.”

Secker explained that he looks for passionate, enthusiastic individuals rather than managers. “Everybody knows trading is hard, and if you have people who are not successful and passionate, that can spread a negative ripple effect across the trading floors.

Of course, we have clients come into our trading floors and trade alongside us and it is very important that they have a positive influence that leads right from the front. I will not scrimp on that - that is non-negotiable.

“This is a business which is built by traders for traders. This is quite a different business model and one which is based on flexibility and disintermediation, trying to give opportunities to ordinary people interested in trading , which is reclaiming your life, reclaiming your time and doing what you want, when you want and as much as possible. I found that being able to successfully and consistently trade the largest market in the world, namely the Forex currency market, provides the individual with that opportunity. I've been doing it for 26 years and I've watched thousands of people do the same; if they follow a regimented trading plan and implement it with discipline on a frequent basis, good results tend to come .”

That is not to say that everybody has the correct mindset to be successful at trading. “Anybody who comes into this without a plan shouldn't be there in the first place, because it indicates that they are doing the opposite they are coming in just to have a

INTERVIEW

punt,” Secker said. “When people come in for a punt and the market moves against them, they don't know what to do because they haven't got a predefined plan. They then just go into emotional planning on the spot, which always ends in disaster. So, it's very simple. Do they have a plan or do they not? That is the first step.

The second is, do they follow the plan or do they not?”

He described the process incorporated

by Learn to Trade whereby all clients are heavily screened before they attend the programme. “We put them on a trader personality profiling call following our early introductory trainings to ascertain what type of psychological profile they have, and then we suggest trading strategies and a trading plan to suit. For example, there's very little point in having an in-depth, structured and highly analytical plan for somebody who is not structured and finds it difficult to follow instructions and a plan. So, it's different horses for different courses.”

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. However, Morgan reiterated that trading is not for everyone. “If you’re just looking for a way to get rich quick, this is not for you,” he stated. “Trading requires patience, discipline, effort and a bit of time.

Treat it like a business; treat the markets with respect. You need to trade clinically and unemotionally.

You need to tame the beast between your ears - your mind. Fear and greed, FOMO - fear of missing out - you need to get these elements in check to be a successful trader.

“If you have a gambling mentality, don’t trade. Winning traders possess a firm, basic belief in their ability to be winning traders – a belief that is not seriously shaken by a few or even several losing trades. In contrast, many losing traders have serious, nagging self-doubt.

Issue 35 | 27 00

INTERVIEW

The biggest lesson Secker himself has learned from training forex relates to mindset – that is, to not let the previous trade’s outcome dictate intentions for the next. “They are not related, other than in the mind of the person who's trading them,” he pointed out. “Therefore, all trades should be treated equally and hence from that, I developed a systematic way of trade sizing every position our traders place to keep it under 2% risk of the account. This is one of the main reasons that the delegates who attend our programmes worldwide are much more successful and become longterm, professionally-minded , selfdirected traders.

“Education, support and the right mindset is critical in finding success as a trader,” he added.

Greg Morgan’s Tips to Improve Your Trading Mindset 1.

Develop an effective trading routine.

2.

Do not deviate from your trading plan, no matter what the market is dishing up.

3.

Never stop learning.

4.

Always have your losses under control.

5.

Keep a trading journal.

6.

Connect with peers.

7.

Control your emotions.

8.

Remember that the market is neither moral nor immoral – it's amoral.

“In fact, our competitors are miniscule by comparison. If you consider our 700-plus employees worldwide, our 100-plus traders, our systems research and the fact that companies in the group are regulated in multiple jurisdictions, this all means that the level of professionalism we bring to the game is way beyond that of the average Joe who sets up a small trading business.”

Wanda went on to ask about LifeStyle Trader events, an element of Learn to Trade’s teaching programme that focuses on technical analysis, taking into account current market context.

“The idea of these events is for people who have never traded before to gain access to a live, interactive session where they can watch a professional trader execute a simpleto-understand trading plan and approach based on their analysis, and then watch that trade play out in real time,” Secker explained.

He finds it to be a powerful way of demonstrating the effectiveness of their trading strategies, training, coaching and mentorship. “First and foremost, the strategies are simple to understand, explained in context and detail during the webinar, and then put into practice so the individual can

28 | Issue 35

INTERVIEW

see exactly what type of activity they would be engaging in before they enrol on the full programme.

“They get an understanding of the effectiveness of the strategies.

Plus, the LifeStyle Trader events are live and interactive, so prospective clients have the opportunity to ask a multitude of questions to ensure that they are completely confident and aware of their required commitment to the programme, how long it takes and how their expectations should be set.”

Morgan sees these events as the perfect foray into currency trading.

“They are jam-packed, two-hour trader training webinars, and free to attend.

But that’s not why you should attend.

“You should join because it's our promise to you that this webinar event will leave you with a lot more handson understanding of trading tools than all the books you’ve ever read and all the videos you’ve ever seen. At the event, you won’t just learn the trading basics, but you’ll also learn some potential smart trading systems that most traders haven’t yet discovered.

Instead of focusing on individual profits or losses, this event highlights the importance of having a solid trading plan.

“Our Lifestyle Trader live webinar events are engaging, informative, and absolutely 100% focused on the goal – which is to have you walk out with clear, correct, complete knowledge of trading in today’s world.”

Morgan hosts these events himself, and he listed some of the content that features in the two-hour sessions. “We include our exclusive risk management techniques, which show you how you can easily keep risk to 2% risk per trade using our system; how to use ‘set and forget’ systems to help automate your trade orders and free up your time; a step-

by-step walkthrough of a systematic approach that can help you to identify key patterns in any market movement, up or down; our approach to trader psychology, and how to successfully master your mindset; how traders rev up for the huge impact of global news and events on the currency markets; live trading analysis; how to use SmartCharts, and how to think about what you want to achieve with your trading.”

On the subject of the award-winning SmartCharts, which Morgan describes as “a transformational trading platform that finds the trades for you,” Wanda asked both men to discuss the advantages it offers.

“SmartCharts integrates all of the learning that takes place on all of our programmes,” Secker affirmed. “It has it all pre-recorded in bite-sized chunks so that at any time, a delegate can go back over the material and focus on exactly what part of the syllabus they need more training on.”

He explained that the system is intelligent enough to know in which areas the delegate is weakest, and will direct their focus to those areas while keeping track of their training schedule. Morgan added, “SmartCharts is the only professional trading platform that has won industry awards for the quality of the trader education centre bundled into the platform, which has been broken down into modules to ensure that there are no gaps in the knowledge you need to become a successful, profitable trader.”

Secker also described SmartCharts’ inbuilt scanner, which finds the taught trading strategies in real time, so that users do not need to spend hours in front of the screen. “In fact, most of the work is done for the user before they log on each day, which means that the trading opportunities matching are presented in a clear way. Then, after making their own assessment, the trader can, if they

wish, place those trade orders while keeping risk to less than 2%, using the very same strategies that they just learnt on the training programmes in an automated fashion.”

The SmartCharts platform allows clients to book their coaching to interact with real, live trader coaches.

“They can get updates, feedback, mentorship and coaching on their trading performance, as well as share their trading records with a designated coach who participates in the coaching and training,” Secker continued. “They can also watch daily live-streamed webinars that broadcast in multiple trading floors around the world, which analyse the markets on a daily basis for our trading community, direct from our professional trading teams, so that potential opportunities can be gauged.

“SmartCharts really is so much more than that. Effectively, if you wish to become a lifestyle trader, all you need is a laptop and SmartCharts, as the entire programme captures everything else.”

“It was the game-changer for me,” Morgan agreed. “SmartCharts contains an arsenal of highly tested trading strategies, advanced trading tactics and tools. Everything has been tried, tested, tweaked and perfected to get this trading platform to a point where you can learn, implement and eventually scale. The trade scanner finds those high-profit trading opportunities across our five inbuilt trading strategies, scanning for those trade signals for you. This means that you will have a profit-making arsenal, irrespective of whatever market condition you are faced with.

“The trader will have a complete understanding of the strategies within minutes, which means that they will be implementing and testing them within hours. This is an amazing way to get you up to speed very quickly.”

Issue 35 | 29

INTERVIEW

The platform’s accessibility and ease of use make it suitable for users of all levels of capability, Morgan said. “It is so easy to trade using this clever technology, that even a complete beginner can use it. All of the algorithms, the indicators, the scanners, the five trading strategies and the settings are going to be preprogrammed in for you, so you do not need to be an advanced programmer to get your trading station set up. It will be completely pre-configured out of the box and ready to work for you.

You also have the ability to access SmartCharts on any device, on any platform. You can access it from an Android device, an iPad or iPhone, a laptop or any device that can display a webpage effectively. You can check your trades anywhere, anytime - even on a plane!

“Regardless of whether you are advanced or not, there is a complete suite of traders’ tools available within SmartCharts for you to mirror any of your previous platform configurations.

SmartCharts can literally scale up to the most professional trader’s requirements.”

He also highlighted another impressive feature inbuilt into the SmartCharts trading platform: with a click of a button, users can stream into a live trading session with top London traders and join the most profitable session in the forex market. This also provides the user with that all-important peer group that Morgan discussed earlier. “This specific feature is one of the main reasons that we have been voted the number one trading platform.

It really doesn’t get more live and interactive than that. Most people comment that it’s like having a seat on our professional trading floor, five days a week, and it really is the heart of our community. This element is truly worth its weight in gold.”

There are tools incorporated into the platform that allow traders to manage risk; indeed, SmartCharts was specifically built with risk mitigation in mind, Secker revealed.

“It's impossible to place a trade on SmartCharts straight out of the box without risk management scaled and applied to every single trade before execution,” he said. “This is the critical reason that so many of our delegates are successful and are still trading today: because the system helps them to manage that downside risk professionally, without even having to reach for a calculator.

“It is quite surprising that after all this time, many other institutions and trading houses haven't built in proper trade side management into their programmes. This was a move that we made very early on and has stood us in good stead, ultimately leading to us winning multiple awards.”

So far, Learn to Trade has trained in excess of 400,000 people. Its mandate is to train as many people as possible around the world, using trading and SmartCharts as the vehicles to create financial freedom.

“Learn to Trade will be expanding globally over the next three years,” Secker reported. “We already have a high number of development projects in progress which we are very excited about, and from our user testing with our friendly client base, we believe that this will be yet another gamechanger in the retail forex and retail stock commodity and index trading world. As a group, we anticipate extending across Asia and Europe this year and making inroads into North America next year.”

that we can provide our training 24/7 around the world, to traders who have not been able to attend our in-house three-day Learn Forex programme, but now can attend from anywhere in the world, from the comfort of their own living rooms. How good is that? All live and interactive, as though you are face to face in the classroom.”

In a time when all types of people from all walks of life are looking to take control of their financial destinies themselves, they are turning to new ways of doing so. “Learn to Trade gives retail investors, mums and dads, retirees and people like myself a way of tapping into a potentially lucrative opportunity with flexibility and ease,” Morgan went on.

“As well as providing high-quality systems, at Learn to Trade, we believe that trading is about people.

We connect our experienced, professional forex traders with private traders of all levels to share our knowledge, experience and views on the markets. We have been committed to building a worldwide trading family since our inception.

“This is an amazing, exciting space to work in. At Learn to Trade we are a passionate, dedicated group of people.

We are a trading education company built by traders for traders, for people like you and me, to offer us a vehicle to live life on our terms — financially free.”

DISCLAIMER: Learn to Trade Pty Ltd (ACN:138178542, AFSL:339557) will only provide you with general advice, not personal advice.

That means, we will not take into account your personal objectives, financial situations or needs, even if they are known. Accordingly, the advice may not be appropriate for you. We may provide general advice regarding trade size, the level of

“We are now 100% online, a shift caused by the pandemic,” Morgan said. “We have perfected the online trader training model, which makes it as though you are live in the classroom. This means

margin needed and risk management techniques appropriate for our trading strategies. You should obtain professional advice and ensure you read and consider the appropriate offer or disclosure document before trading or acting upon any general advice provided

30 | Issue 35

INTERVIEW

Greg Secker Founder and Master Trader Learn to Trade

Greg Morgan Chief Executive Officer APAC Learn to Trade

Issue 35 | 31

BUSINESS

As the SCA deadline approaches, fraud prevention is all the more important

Risk professionals and retail leaders for months have been fixated on the new strong customer authentication (SCA) requirements that arrived with PSD2 — and rightfully so.

The new payments regulation, which will be mandatory in the UK in March 2022, is a once-in-ageneration change with the potential to massively disrupt an enterprise or to push an enterprise ahead of its competitors when it comes to customer experience.

But while SCA itself will be a vital pillar of protection for merchants and consumers alike, there is more to fraud and more to fraud protection than simply deploying an SCA solution. It is not, as some have mistakenly assumed, the only fraud solution a merchant will ever need.

European retailers have faced historic fraud pressure levels at a time when the payments landscape is undergoing upheaval due to the enforcement of PSD2’s Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirement. The addition of SCA’s robust two-factor authentication process has already been rolled out across much of Europe. But one only needs to look to the European countries where enforcement has begun in order to understand the limits of SCA’s fraud protection.

32 | Issue 35

Many transactions are not subject to SCA, and whilst this is a saving grace for merchants who are worried about online customer experience, it means they will still be vulnerable to fraudsters who will inevitably target the transactions which are exempt from this added SCA layer. Merchants should also consider the fact that a low-fraud rate will be vital for providing a topnotch customer experience once SCA is enforced, and this is only possible by ensuring they have the most robust defenses in place.

That’s SCA in simple terms but the wonder of the regulation lies in the detail. And on closer inspection of what SCA stipulates, it is clear that a robust fraud protection solution will be the bedrock of a merchant’s successful SCA strategy because:

SCA puts retailers’ revenue at risk

3. SCA deals head-on with payment fraud. It does not protect a merchant from friendly fraud or policy abuse by consumers.

The promise of SCA is that it will better protect consumers by routing many transactions through 3D Secure and requiring two-factor authentication that calls for a shopper’s identity to be confirmed through two of the following: something the user knows (like a one-time passcode); something the user has (like a mobile device); and something the user is (fingerprint, facial recognition, typing behaviour).

Notably, there is nothing stopping fraudsters from attacking transactions protected by 3D Secure alone — and they do. The security protocol does shift liability from the merchant to its bank, but if a bank is hit by fraud often enough, it will protect itself by declining more orders.

1. Low fraud rates are required for key exemptions that allow consumers and merchants to bypass SCA. 2. SCA does not cover every transaction a merchant will process — far from it.

4. Fraudsters are innovative and entrepreneurial. SCA may prove a barrier initially, but professional fraud rings will find an alternate path of attack.

Let’s start with exemptions, as they are the key to providing a seamless SCA experience for online customers. Exemptions allow orders to be approved without undergoing SCA based on the notion that the transaction isn’t very risky or wouldn’t be very costly if things go wrong.

BUSINESS

Skipping SCA is a highly desirable outcome as stricter authentication measures have the potential to disrupt the customer’s online checkout experience. Featured in the latest CMSPI report into the impact of SCA in Europe, testing shows 29% percent of SCA transactions are abandoned.

This could be because they are declined, because of technical errors or because the customers simply got too frustrated with the added security layers. All of this could amount to an annual loss for merchants of €90 billion combined.

Why put a customer through twofactor authentication when it’s not necessary and when customers don’t like being inconvenienced?

In a recent consumer survey conducted for Signifyd by market research firm Upwave, more than 37% of UK consumers said they’d been unable to complete a transaction because of new online security procedures. Moreover, more than 46% said they were very or somewhat likely to give up on transactions that require two-factor authentication.

And so, exemptions. The important thing to remember about exemptions is that a low fraud rate is the price of admission. Let’s break the exemptions down and consider the role of best-inclass fraud protection in making them possible and secure: 1. Low-risk and low-value transactions: Online orders of €30 or less that arrive without fraud red flags do not need to clear SCA. By definition these orders are getting less scrutiny than orders of above €30, which makes them attractive targets for fraudsters. Having a high-quality fraud solution in place will protect these orders from fraud.

Given that a business dealing in basket sizes under €30 are likely doing a high volume of low-cost orders, a solution that provides automated decisioning will save the business from being consumed by conducting manual reviews.

2. Recurring transactions: Subscription payments for the same amount made to the same merchant are exempt from SCA, once the first

payment clears SCA. That’s great, as far as it goes. But once that first transaction is processed, the following transactions are not subject to SCA and are vulnerable to fraud — unless a fraud solution is in place.

3. Trusted beneficiary payments: Consumers can select specific merchants and ask their card-issuing bank to allow purchases from that specific merchant to be processed without SCA. The key here is, the consumer asks for the exemption and the bank can say no for any reason. If the bank says yes, a trusted beneficiary payment becomes a transaction that is not protected by SCA, again making those transactions targets for fraud. It doesn’t take a lot of creativity, for instance, to come up with potential targets. Consider Amazon’s huge customer base and the frequency with which Prime customers buy on Amazon. It’s the perfect recipe for a trusted beneficiary request. And a perfect merchant for a fraud ring with stolen credentials to visit, because SCA is less likely to be a barrier.

Issue 35 | 33

BUSINESS

4. Transaction risk analysis (TRA): Having a top-flight fraud prevention solution is exactly what TRA is all about.

The exemption allows merchants with low fraud rates, using acquiring banks that also have low fraud rates, to bypass SCA on a sliding scale of order values. Those with an exceedingly low fraud rate of .01% can skip SCA on orders under €500. If a merchant’s fraud rate is under .06% they’re good for under €250. A rate under .13% means purchases less than €100 are exempt from SCA. Again, the merchant’s acquiring bank must match those fraud-rate limits.

Exclusions provide another set of circumstances to avoid SCA Beyond exemptions, there are a host of scenarios under which SCA does not come into play, which leaves merchants vulnerable to fraud unless they have a solution in place. We live in a global economy. We live in a time when consumers shop the way they want to shop when they want to shop.

34 | Issue 35

The new SCA regulations apply to merchants within the European Economic Area. But not all customers who shop with merchants in the EEA live in the EEA. Their purchases are subject to an SCA exception known as the “one leg out” exclusion. If either the issuing or acquiring bank involved in a transaction is outside of the EEA, SCA does not apply. Therefore, those orders are protected only by whatever fraud solution the merchant has in place.

Certain types of orders — mail order and telephone — are not subject to SCA, meaning the next call-in order a retailer gets could well be from a fraudster. Transactions made with anonymous payment instruments — think prepaid gift cards — are not subject to SCA. This only leaves room for fraudsters to make their move.

BUSINESS

Ed Whitehead Managing Director EMEA Signifyd

The pandemic caused an alarming spike in friendly fraud Finally, consider the challenge of nonpayments fraud, sometimes called friendly fraud. Signifyd’s Consumer Abuse Index, a measure of abusive consumer claims, ended 2020 at a level five times what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic set in. Another measure of the increase in friendly fraud was evident in Signifyd’s consumer survey. More than 36% of UK consumers surveyed said they’d falsely claimed that a legitimate charge on their credit account was fraudulent. Just over 30% admitted to falsely claiming that an order never arrived or that an order was unsatisfactory when it did arrive. Obviously, SCA is not going to detect friendly fraud, and retailers will need additional solutions in place.

Fraud rates and risks vary by retailer and even by retail vertical. But as the UK joins Europe under SCA regulations, it is clear that the new regulation is not a be-all and endall fraud solution and merchants will need to consider other fraud solutions to protect their business and maintain an excellent customer experience online.

Issue 35 | 35

BANKING

BANKING ON A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

The United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in November last year was seen as a turning point in speeding up the pace of climate action. It’s now largely accepted that today’s mitigation activities — such as lowering plastic use and reducing emission-heavy travel — are not enough to reach key climate and netzero goals. Extreme climate events coupled with tightening regulations have added pressure on countries and companies across the globe to come up with new ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

Responsibility for being more sustainable used to lie firmly on the shoulders of industries like transportation and energy, that had the biggest direct impact on the environment. But today, more sectors have a critical role to play in helping us to reach our net-zero commitments and achieve a sustainable future – and the financial services sector is key.

Helping individuals drive sustainable lifestyle changes As we move further into the UN’s Decade of Action, ‘climate-conscious’ is fast becoming a defining attribute of consumers. As the impact of climate change becomes more and more evident, people are no longer staying idle; instead, they’re eager to learn about how they can reduce their carbon footprint, and the financial services sector can help with this.

36 | Issue 35

As an industry, the amount of realtime payment transaction data it controls on a daily basis is eyewatering. Through open banking, this data can be aggregated and analysed to provide a complete overview of a users’ behaviour, consumption patterns and preferences — from where they buy their morning coffee to the energy provider they use and the number of trips abroad they take.

The knowledge derived from this can then be turned into actionable advice, value-adding services and lifestyle insights — helping financial services providers to bring clarity to their customers on how they can change their behaviour for the better and lower their carbon footprints.

Transaction-based carbon accounting as a value-add for financial services The good news is that an increasing number of banks and fintechs are opening their eyes to the opportunities that open banking has to offer in the journey towards sustainability. And we’re seeing an increasing number of partnerships forming between financial services providers and open banking platforms as a result.

The outcome? The creation of an ecosystem of partnerships to help people reduce their carbon footprint — with Greenly, Youtility, Ecolytiq, Deedster, GoKind and epap just a few of the companies that are helping to guide us towards more sustainable habits, be that by tracking utility bills,

and everyday spending against their climate impact or helping people to go paperless.

NatWest is an example of a bank taking huge strides in this area, launching a carbon tracker within its money management app in partnership with CoGo and Tink. Now available to over eight million NatWest retail banking customers, NatWest’s mobile banking app enables users to see their CO2 emissions associated with their daily spending and offers nudges to help them reduce their climate impact. Customers can also track the impact of their behavioural changes — such as eating less meat, switching energy suppliers or buying secondhand clothes — all from the app.

The value of solutions such as this is made clear by insights gathered from the pilot programme which indicated that, on average, Natwest app users lowered their emissions by approximately 11kg every month by making these small lifestyle changes.

These use cases firmly show one thing: Open banking is intrinsic to creating innovative solutions to help banks and fintechs tackle what is arguably the greatest challenge the planet currently faces. As the climate crisis continues, banks and fintechs are likely to double down on investments in new services that help businesses and individuals to become greener.

BANKING

Global pressure for climate action is increasing Aside from enabling companies and consumers to better understand the way their day-to-day habits impact the environment, open banking will also play a significant role in helping businesses meet regulatory requirements for sustainability.

For example, it provides banks with detailed data, enabling them to understand the carbon footprint of their individual and business customers. This, in turn, means they can identify the climate liability on their books — something which is integral to Scope 3 emissions reporting — and address areas of risk. The importance of this can’t be stressed enough; particularly given the UK has made the global climate risk disclosure standards, recommended by the TCFD, mandatory. This means that by 2025, all mid and large-sized UK companies will have to report on their operational carbon footprint, as well as that of their suppliers and customers.

With just 10 months to go until COP27 in Egypt, the pressure is on for governments, corporations and individuals to be held accountable for the impact of their actions on the planet. Fintechs and banks are now faced with a unique opportunity. While adapting to new sustainability requirements may be demanding, forwardthinking organisations can leverage open banking to turn sustainability into a competitive advantage; taking the lead in navigating their customers towards a greener future and driving meaningful change across the globe.

Tasha Chouhan UK & IE Banking Lead Tink

Issue 35 | 37

Call For Entries INVITING BANKS

INVITING BUSINESS

INVITING

SHOWCASE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

FINANCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

LEADERS

Submit your nomination today to awards@gbafmag.com OR Submit Online at GlobalBankingAndFinance.com

2022

BANKING

3 ways the banking sector can overcome the challenge of change and control The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said that "change is the only constant in life." This is something we have certainly experienced throughout the pandemic. Ecommerce accelerated, we shifted to a remote/hybrid working model and we’re seeing a whole new focus on digital transformation.

When we look at the banking sector, we witnessed increased regulations (around data protection and cybersecurity), tighter budget controls, as well as rising consumer expectations for digitalised processes over the past 2 years. In turn, we’re seeing three hurdles emerge for financial services CIOs: 1. Achieving a first-class customer experience, 2. Overcoming disruption from new technologies and emerging business models, 3. Maintaining business as usual.

How are these challenges connected?

It’s clear there is a balancing act of controlling risk while driving technology-driven transformation.

Companies who demonstrated a more proactive approach to managing risk did well throughout the pandemic.

Therefore organisations who take a back-seat and follow a reactive approach are unlikely to be the winners of this competitive landscape.

What is more, “almost half of global financial services organisations are still in a very early or even immature stage of their digital transformation journey" according to Gartner, and rely on traditional business growth as opposed to digital transformation

40 | Issue 35

efforts. In the face of this challenge, those with a successful Enterprise Architecture (EA) will be better equipped to respond.

1. Achieving a first-class customer experience According to McKinsey, 76% of US consumers moved to digital channels for the first time during the pandemic, while a survey by Accenture demonstrated that 58% of customers want to be able to switch between human and digital channels.

To maximise customer interactions and revenue opportunities, retail banks need to ensure they personalise online interactions for their customers and provide a seamless experience across communications channels.

It’s becoming clear that power has permanently transferred from brands to consumers — but equally clear that many companies have not fully realised the extent of this shift.

To remain competitive, financial institutions need to focus on delivering true omnichannel interaction in order to achieve a first-class customer experience.

Empowered by technology, today’s consumers have declared, “it’s no longer you, it's about me.” Therefore offering equivalent services to customers across all digital and offline channels and synchronising their data for re-use across channels in real-time, will be crucial to winning and obtaining consumers.

What does this mean for financial institutions? This is driving the need for digital customer experiences, which is leading to the following challenges:

• Omnichannel technology projects are often impacted by disconnected silos of enterprise information, • Security and compliance risks are not always accounted for nor visible, • Cost and complexity of adopting omnichannel technology can increase rapidly This is where a strong Enterprise Architecture model can come in handy in delivering integrated channels and seamless end-to-end transactions.

Additionally, EA can create a single source of truth for all enterprise information from all areas that are to be integrated, help control investment across IT portfolios, and gain visibility into and reduce cybersecurity threats.

2. Addressing market disruption 70% of business leaders report high disruption to their company, up 11% in the past year. That’s according to a 2022 Alix Partners study, which also found that 94% of executives say their business model must change in the next three years. Leaders can simply no longer ‘wait and see’ what is in store for the years ahead, but prepare themselves for inevitable disruption.

Those who will best succeed, will be the companies who adapt themselves on an ongoing basis.

Technology is the foundation of the modern bank. However, many banks now rely on customised and legacy systems and are slowly migrating to cloud-based options. Outdated technology infrastructure reduces organisation resilience and agility you simply can’t just bounce back from a threat as quickly.

BANKING

Michael D'Onofrio CEO Orbus Software

Navigating disruption requires clarity and alignment on the hurdles being confronted. Despite this, many enterprises don’t have the tools needed to cut through this level of chaos.

With Enterprise Architecture, companies are equipped with a common language which allows them to understand what aspects of the organisation are impacted, and provides the instruments to respond. Additionally, EA supports application and data integrations, and the automation of organisational processes or workflows while ensuring better control over situations. For Financial CIOs, this speed and clarity is essential when responding both to change and planning for the future.

3. Reinventing Business-As-Usual As noted in this FT article, banks in the US and Europe were starting to show signs of being back to ‘Business as Usual’, overcoming the negative impacts brought on by the pandemic.

The storm is far from over, but this does feel like the beginning to an end.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated two key things: the importance of planning and the need for cross-departmental collaboration.

Companies need to say goodbye to reactive habits and learn to embrace proactive ones to gain market share.

Now is the time for the banking sector to re-evaluate the short-term measures that were put in place and look long-term.

We can all back what Heraclitus declared, that change is indeed constant, but what differentiates the most successful and agile companies is the ability to learn and thrive from this change. With Enterprise Architecture, companies have the agility to align IT assets with risk, resiliency and business processes and programs around an actionable plan.

Enterprise Architecture is the necessary link between technological resilience and operational resilience.

It provides organisational clarity to accelerate business transformation in a strategic and purposeful way.

Overcoming these challenges in the years to come will be crucial for the banking sector in order to be truly resilient and be able to weather the next storm.

Issue 35 | 41

BUSINESS

Why today’s megatrends are the future of both technology and business The Open Group passed its 25th birthday last year, and in that time, it has played a significant role in building and supporting the weave of technology which we now move through on a daily basis. From standardizing UNIX to setting out the world’s most widely-used Enterprise Architecture framework, this vendorneutral technology consortium is now so fundamental that it feels something like an oak tree: sturdy, reliable, part of the landscape.

Just like an oak tree, though, The Open Group has achieved its longevity not by resisting change, but by continuing to grow in new directions.

A quarter of a century is a long time – especially considering that technology and society develop and progress as rapidly as they do today – and The Open Group has both sparked and adapted to many business and technology trends in that time.

42 | Issue 35

Today, there is a host of trends on the horizon which won’t just alter certain sectors or ways of going to market, but shift the operation of large parts of the economy en masse.

Business imperatives like supply chain transformation and climate action are being joined by emerging technologies like quantum computing and robotics to give us a daunting set of megatrends to navigate in the coming years.

Understanding megatrends The potential energy bound up in these megatrends is made particularly potent, of course, by the fact that we are now emerging from perhaps the most significant and wide-ranging global disruption in living memory.

More than enough has been written about the impacts of the pandemic, but it still bears mentioning that even just five years ago many of the strategies we used to mitigate

its damage – from remote working to rapid vaccine and therapeutics development – would not have been possible in the same way.

In that disruption, many assumptions have been shed and many patterns have been changed, perhaps permanently. Looking closely at workforce changes, for example, we find that the ‘great resignation’ of people changing careers during the pandemic represents not just directionless churn, but a clear move from jobs centered on more simplistic human interaction, like hospitality, to areas seeking to digitally transform.

Moreover, these career-changers often cite the nature of the work, and not just their ability to get a job, as their main motivating factor.

This trend itself has been empowered by the fact that so much more work can now, following the forcing effect of the pandemic, be performed remotely.

Thanks to a suite of technologies which businesses have implemented over the last decade, skills can often be matched to business needs without regard to geography. Indeed, many businesses are now rethinking what kinds of labor truly need to be done by people who live locally.

BUSINESS

There are a few different things we could call megatrends at play in the story: the ongoing evolution of SaaS to offer new, more powerful services; working from home maturing from a stop-gap into a permanent strategy; and, as career preferences change, the opportunity for robotics and automation to fill gaps in the human workforce. Which is to say, this very recent example shows how business and technology megatrends should be seen as distinct from one another.

Navigating the megatrend We could tell a similar story about how quantum computing will interact with security and privacy in a world where consumers are growing increasingly wary of how their data is used. Or about how augmented reality will further erode geographic barriers in areas like online learning. Or about how AI is being applied to both measure and reduce emissions in the race to respond to climate change.

The question is one of how we should prepare to navigate trends which will, in real ways, affect the human condition – especially given the complex level of interdependence between them.

The answer, I think, comes back to technology architecture. The fact that they are cross-sector in nature means that these megatrends will draw areas of life into contact with each other which never previously needed to share information and processes. In this cycle of business needs and technology shifts sparking one another across large parts of the economy, we will find that systems

as distinct as healthcare, supply chain logistics, and AI development will suddenly need to be able to communicate effectively and reliably.

Without a holistic architecture to structure that communication, the end result will be chaos; even now, many businesses are having to ameliorate technical debt which built up in responding to the pandemic with suboptimal overnight changes to working processes.

Too often, when we speak of technology architecture, we think purely in terms of IT, of how systems can be provisioned and how data can be appropriately piped to them. In order to grow and adapt through the next waves of change, which blur any distinction between technological and business pressure, that kind of thinking will need to be elevated to encompass a bigger, clearer picture where continuous digital transformation is core to the strategy At The Open Group we’re doing that by constantly evolving our longstanding products, such as the TOGAF® Standard, a standard of The Open Group, to offer clearer methods for applying Enterprise Architecture principles to the digital,

Agile enterprise. We’re also doing it by building out new solutions, such as The Open Group Open Footprint™ Forum, which is poised to standardize how enterprise environmental data is measured and shared.

It's really no exaggeration to say that these anticipated megatrends will significantly affect the human condition. In order to make their effect as positive as possible, we need to prepare for them now or risk being buffeted by unpredictable disruptive forces.

Andras R. Szakal CTO The Open Group

Issue 35 | 43

BUSINESS

Three tips for better supply chain management in 2022 Create predictability through supply chain investment, risk mitigation and proper data use to face the unknown

There is no end in sight to the pressures businesses have faced throughout the pandemic. The culmination of higher wages, price hikes, shortages of materials, and supply chain disruptions continue to create both challenges and opportunities.

On average, 70% of a company’s revenues are spent with external suppliers. That means many business outcomes and the associated cost, risk and innovation depend upon third parties. Finding the right partners to work with, managing those relationships, and optimizing supply chains are crucial.

Moving into 2022, businesses will need to continue to invest in their supply chains, effectively mitigate risk and react quickly with data. Below, we dive into these topics and how professionals can drive organizational change while delivering value to the bottom line.

The supply system is not optimized; but your organization’s supply chain can be Through the pandemic, the weaknesses that underpin supply chains have been exposed. The ripple effect of the lockdowns and disruptions across the world means

44 | Issue 35

that goods, and the transportation used to move those goods, are not where they should be.

In the coming years, we will witness fundamental changes to the traditional low-cost, price-led approach many organizations have taken when it comes to choosing their suppliers. Currently, we are pushing more and more into a system that is not working. With just in time supply chains there is minimal room for delays should a factory close for a day or two, anything more than that causes problems as we have seen.

A single disruption in a supply chain in one place, when everything is lean and complex, affects most of the direct chain, but also that impact spreads across other supply chains. The big unknowns are how additional shocks will impact a system that has already been hit time after time. New variants, extreme weather and/or political intervention are all likely in some form or another over the next 12 months and businesses will be planning as such.

When faced with a challenge or shortage, the first step is to acknowledge it and then to work around the constraint. While many will look to first reduce the amount of that product or to reduce dependency on it, it will take innovation, creativity and supplier relationships to solve

these challenges. For example, the packaging industry is encouraging end-user collaboration to create circular models for recycling. Visibility to your suppliers will help you get ahead of these issues. In the following sections, we take a closer look at how that can be done.

Effective risk management Through the disruptions, there is now a growing appreciation for how businesses manage supply chain risks. Moving forward, visibility into the supply chain is an incredibly important step in risk management.

For effective risk management, businesses need to understand every node in their supply chain and what interconnects each so that if there is a break, there is a solution. A good place to start is with suppliers, contracts and what you are buying. Understanding your internal positions will put you in a better place to make decisions when the unthinkable does happen.

While it is impossible to eliminate all risks, visibility will allow companies to react quicker when the unknown happens. Businesses are adapting their strategies and investing in new processes and technology to aid this transition. The decisions being made now will determine a company’s agility and therefore define their future success.

BUSINESS

Data led decisions will enable quick solutions to extreme situations.

Last year, there was quite a lot of stock and not a lot of consumer confidence. This year, there is not a lot of stock and more consumer confidence. These are two outof-the-ordinary extremes to plan around, and many businesses took the time to invest in just that. In fact, Proxima’s Finance Leaders Outlook report at the beginning of 2021 found that 74% of US finance leaders indicated that IT investment had risen significantly as a budget priority as a result of the pandemic.

Many organizations have invested in IT in a high-tech way. Those who are connected to their customers, supply chains and data have been able to spot issues and react quickly.

Comparing sector by sector those who were able to make quick, data led decisions have fared better over the last 12 months, than those who thought and waited to assemble 100% of harder to find data.

Well-implemented digital transformation can completely change any business and deliver real competitive advantage.

However, business leaders need to ensure that they have solid foundations in place on which to deliver truly impactful change.

2022 could just be the year of predictability Several people gauge supply chain challenges through the amount of shortages there are. Those in the industry actually prefer to keep a close watch on the predictability within the supply chain as that dictates additional costs and challenges. That could look like labor struggles or accelerated demand. With the increased focus on supply chains, businesses will now focus on collaboration resiliency than ever before.

Spencer Shute Senior Consultant Proxima – a leading procurement and supply chain consulting firm

Issue 35 | 45

TECHNOLOGY

Secure Data Sharing and Collaboration Dr. Ellison Anne Williams, Founder and CEO of Enveil discusses the challenges of secure data sharing and collaboration.

Why is secure data sharing and collaboration critical now?

We are in an era of digital transformation where data is a foundational component of success. Organizations have (or are seeking) access to more data than ever before and while this data can be an incredible tool when used to inform decision making and influence future strategy, respecting data privacy, confidentiality, and security is essential. This is especially critical when some portion of the data is sensitive and/or restricted due to regulatory requirements. Organizations need to be able to leverage data, from both internal and external sources, without elevating risk by compromising their competitive interests or the data itself. This increasingly has them looking for technical solutions that can secure data without affecting usability — after all, data serves no purpose unless you are able to unlock value through usage.

Why is the problem so challenging?

There are several factors that complicate the secure and private use of data, many of which revolve around volume and complexity. Whether sharing and collaborating across internal data silos or with third-party entities, most organizations are dealing with a large amount of data spread across a number of disparate sources, many of which have specific use restrictions and heterogenous regulatory and/or confidentiality requirements.

Alternatively, pooling data assets substantially increases risk relating to customer privacy, competitive interests, and data localization requirements and, even when data centralization is possible, the benefits gained often do not outweigh the risks introduced. Not to mention that it is incredibly risky to create single points of security failure.

What are Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) and what makes them unique?

Privacy Enhancing Technologies are a business-enabling family of technologies that enhance, enable, and preserve the privacy of data throughout its lifecycle. PETs can secure the usage of data, allowing data to be searched, analyzed, and operated on without compromising that interaction or the underlying data. The category, which includes technologies such as homomorphic encryption, secure multiparty, computation, and trusted execution environments, has seen a recent surge of interest driven by market factors such as a consumer-driven increased

46 | Issue 35

drive for privacy and the quick-moving heterogeneous regulatory landscape. By protecting data while it's used or processed, PETs enable capabilities that are not otherwise possible for a number of business use cases, including a decentralized approach to collaboration. This uniquely allows organizations to leverage data assets where they are today, overcoming many of the risks inherent in centralizing or pooling assets.

What is driving the adoption of PETs in the commercial market?

For businesses, the core interest in PETs is driven by a need to leverage and extract value from a wide range of data sources. Gartner analysts recently named privacy-enhancing computation as one of its 2022 Top Strategic Technology Trends, estimating that 60% of large enterprises will be leveraging one or more of these techniques by 2025. The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom have also recognized the category’s value to protect privacy and intellectual property, and enable cross-border and cross-sector collaboration.

They recently announced plans to collaborate on bilateral innovation prize challenges specifically focused on advancing the adoption of PETs. Can you give an example of how organizations are leveraging PETs for secure data sharing and collaboration today?

In the financial services space, banks are using PETspowered solutions to facilitate secure and private data sharing in order to more effectively evaluate customer risk. These organizations spend a massive amount of time and resources completing Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) checks on new and existing customers, but regulations prevent them from sharing customer risk intelligence across privacy jurisdictions or between entities. This lack of access to existing intel often forces analysts to make risk-rating decisions based on incomplete information. PETs can help eliminate that gap by enabling banks to securely and privately crossmatch and search regulated data across jurisdictions in a business-relevant timeframe while ensuring sensitive assets remain protected during processing. Gaining access to a wider set of data in this secure and privacypreserving manner improves outcomes by reducing false positives, driving prioritization, advancing the efficiency of financial crime investigations, improving enterprise data quality, and enabling greater operational efficiency.

TECHNOLOGY

What do you think this market will look like 18 months from now?

PETs are just beginning to come into their own as a category as recent technology breakthroughs have made them computationally practical for commercial use at scale. In the next 18 months, we’ll see a substantial shift toward using these technologies to solve big-picture privacy challenges like data sharing and collaboration.

Organizations will recognize their unique ability to deliver both business-enabling and privacy-preserving capabilities and we’ll see market-leaders implementing PETs for operational use at scale.

Dr. Ellison Anne Williams Founder and CEO Enveil

Issue 35 | 47

TECHNOLOGY

Payment Innovation – A Closer Look at Biometric Payment Cards Global Banking and Finance Review sat down with Michel Roig, President of Payments & Access at Fingerprint Cards (Fingerprints), to ask the important questions about biometric payment cards. What opportunities do they provide for banks, retailers and consumers? How can their security be guaranteed? And when will we all get our hands on one?

1. How does a biometric payment card work?

Biometric payment cards are exactly like your current contactless debit or credit card, just with an ultra-thin, low-power fingerprint sensor built in. Before you use it, you just need to enroll your fingerprint. This can be done in a number of ways, such as with an enrollment sleeve that you slot the card into, in the bank’s local branch, or with a smartphone (using NFC to power the card).

When making a payment, the power for the fingerprint sensor is drawn from the point-of-sale, meaning consumers can use their biometric card as they usually would for any other transaction. Instead of a PIN, simply place you finger on the sensor as you tap the card on the terminal

48 | Issue 35

for contactless mode, or as you dip the card in the terminal. In less than a second, the biometric data is captured, matched and the payment is authenticated.

Purchases made using a biometric payment card automatically have two-factor authentication (through both the card itself and its fingerprint sensor), meaning that contactless limits do not apply. A consumer can buy any size purchase – whether a coffee or their weekly grocery shopping – without having to type in their PIN. 2. Why would consumers want one and how big is their appetite for them?

Consumers have come to love the convenience of contactless and ‘tap to pay’. Our research shows that 50% of card payments globally are made using contactless, and 77% of consumers use it regularly.

However, there are still concerns with contactless payments.

On average, 51% of consumers are worried about contactless fraud if their card is lost or stolen, 25% are confused about contactless limits, and 23% feel that limits are too low.

When limits have been increased – take in the UK, where the limit rose to £100 (USD137) in October 2020 – contactless cards have been dubbed as a ‘thief’s dream’, since £300 can be spent before a PIN is needed.

Clearly, more security (without sacrificing convenience) is needed for contactless cards; this is where the biometric payment card comes in. It provides all the benefits of contactless, with an added security guarantee. The appetite is clear.

Across all age groups, around threequarters of consumers would say ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ to a biometric payment card, over half (51%) would switch banks to get one, and 43% would pay extra for one.

3. What opportunities do biometric payment cards bring to retailers and banks?

With many consumers willing to pay to get a biometric card, and even more stating they’d switch banks to get one, there are obvious commercial opportunities for banks. This can therefore be seen as a method for attracting and retaining customers – a useful tool as the era of ‘one bank for life’ comes to an end. Further to this, since only the owner of the

TECHNOLOGY

biometric payment card can use it, the threat of fraud is diminished. This will save banks a huge amount of money and resources previously spent on combatting fraud. It also allows banks to be fully PSD2 compliant in regard to SCA as every transaction involves strong customer authentication without interrupting or harming the consumer journey.

A major benefit for retailers stems from the elimination of both the contactless payment limit and the need for PIN entry. This will lead to far less confusion at the POS. But let’s take a growing trend as another example. Contactless walk-offs – when a customer doesn’t pay for their purchase after they fail to notice that a PIN is needed – are a growing problem. In the UK, this has been identified as a significant risk, and a key reason why some retailers won’t implement the new £100 contactless payment limit.

To protect against spoofing, a user’s biometric data is stored as an encrypted binary code template (in ones and zeros) rather than an image of a fingerprint. The template is stored securely in the card itself and hence no biometric data ever leaves the card. This approach makes hacking a biometric payment card a significant and futile challenge. Even if hackers should manage to get hold of the data, which is protected in the same way as your financial information on the card, the templates are irreversible. This means the fingerprint image cannot be reverse engineered to re-create the original fingerprint image.

5. How do biometric payment cards compare with digital wallets?

Digital wallets are an increasingly popular choice for consumers, and like biometric payment cards, they require strong, multi-factor authentication for every use and are not affected by contactless payment limits.

4. How do you guarantee security?

Years of innovation in biometric technology, particularly for fingerprint sensors, means that it is now almost impossible to replicate or ‘spoof’ a fingerprint on a biometric payment card.

Our research shows that, at present, just two percent of consumers think ‘mobile-first’ for their instore payments, with the majority still opting for their credit or debit

card. While digital wallets have clear security and authentication benefits when compared to regular contactless cards, they’re not accessible to (or wanted by) all consumers. With this in mind, in the future we expect to see biometric payment cards and mobile wallets working in harmony as there will be a rise in digital payments when cash usage is going down. This coexistence will give consumers the choice of payment methods they want, while bringing consistency to the authentication, convenience and security provided by cards and mobile.

6. How widespread is this technology in the payments industry?

Following 24 bank pilots there have been six commercial launches of biometric payment cards, all of which featuring Fingerprints’ solution. BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole in France; Cornèr Bank in Switzerland; BBVA in Mexico; Bank Pocztowy in Poland; and most recently, Jordan Kuwait Bank in the Middle East, have launched the technology, and we expect to see more commercial launches happening in 2022.

Issue 35 | 49

TECHNOLOGY

7. What barriers are there to adoption and how are you lowering them?

The decision to roll out biometric payment cards sits with the issuing banks.

As with most innovation, the initial barrier is cost so this has been a big focus for some of our recent collaborations and innovations bringing the per-card cost down. As the market grows and economies of scale kick in, the price will also reduce.

Further to this, Fingerprints has secured Mastercard approval for our latest T-Shape 2 sensor module and software platform for biometric payment cards. This ready-made, pre-approved solution will drastically lower costs and development time for banks and card manufacturers. Our work with manufacturers such as STMicroelectronics and Infineon has also evolved the technology behind biometric payment cards and significantly lowered development costs, making the solutions more attractive for smaller card manufacturers and issuers.

Alongside cost, consumer wariness of biometrics is another barrier to mass market adoption. Biometrics are becoming increasingly popular and the de facto authentication method for many smartphone users. We will continue to educate the market and consumers about biometric payment cards, the complete security and convenience of the solution, and what it means for people’s every day in-store payments.

50 | Issue 35

Michel Roig President of Payments & Access Fingerprint Cards (Fingerprints)

HEADER

We are advancing towards a new approach to banking.

Better prepared for the future.

Based on innovative digital solutions and driven by our commitment to sustainability.

Because of this, we have been named

BEST DIGITAL BANK ANDORRA 2022

BEST CSR BANK ANDORRA 2022

Andorra Luxembourg Spain USA Mexico Panama creditandorragroup.com

Issue 35 | 00

Get Any Work Done Online!

https://gawdo.com/