IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Interviews

Thomas Schumann, Founder, Thomas Schumann Capital; Markus Barth, CEO, Anatase LtdThe TSC Water Risk Index went live in January 2021 through a partnership between Thomas Schumann Capital and Anatase Ltd, a consultancy specialising in index development. The investment ethos behind it is guided by Thomas Schumann Capital’s support for UN Sustainable Development Goal SDG6 – sustainable management of water. Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence spoke to Thomas Schumann of Thomas Schumann Capital and Markus Barth of Anatase Ltd about their commitment to increasing water security through responsible investing.(You may also listen to our first podcast with Thomas Schumann)

Elena Sinelnikova, co-Founder, Metis, and CEO, CryptochicksMetis recently raised $1 million in seed funding to assist with the release of its new blockchain solution for decentralised autonomous organisations. Company co-Founder Elena Sinelnikova explains the concept to Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence. Sinelnikova is also CEO of Cryptochicks, a non-profit blockchain educational hub which aims to support the potential of women in the blockchain industry.

Sassan Danesh, Managing Partner, Etrading Software; James Haskell, Business Operations Officer, Etrading SoftwareEtrading Software has been nominated as the exclusive Registration Authority for the new International Organization for Standardization’s standard for Digital Token Identifiers. The crypto asset class includes cryptocurrencies, stable coins, security tokens and utility tokens. Developing a standard way of identifying one digital token from another is a key factor in helping this asset class to move mainstream and attract institutional investment. Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence spoke with Sassan Danesh and James Haskell of Etrading Software.

Scott Johnson, Head of Product, Western Union Business SolutionsWestern Union Business Solutions, the payments arm of Western Union, is expanding its global B2B payments platform. The expansion includes adding SWIFT gpi and expanding the currency portfolio within its Mass Payments API to cover 130 currencies. The increased functionality will enable partners to send up to 10,000 payments in a single batch. Scott Johnson of Western Union Business Solutions spoke with Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence about the latest move and how he sees the future of payments.

Colette Miller, Director Payment Solutions, moneycorp AmericasCorporate culture is at a crossroads. One recent report suggested that 80% of the workers who left the US labour force in January were women. This abrupt slump needs to be addressed through a more balanced corporate culture. Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence spoke with Colette Miller of moneycorp Americas, asking her how the business environment needs to change so that business can take advantage of a resource too many companies fail to recognise.

Bharat Mistry, Technical Director, UK & Ireland, Trend MicroWhile cybercriminals are beginning to use more complex attacks on the cloud, according to the 2020 Cloud App Security Report from Trend Micro, high-risk email threats rose by 32% in 2020 and email remains the largest single threat vector. Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence discussed the report’s findings with Bharat Mistry of Trend Micro. Although business email compromise declined 18% year-on-year, losses continued to rise, up 48% quarter-on-quarter between Q1 and Q2 2020.

Ian Henderson, Chief Executive Officer, KyckrRegulators across the globe took aggressive action against AML violators, handing down major financial penalties and in some cases, lengthy prison sentences to the individuals involved. 28 financial institutions were issued fines totalling more than $3.2 billion for AML-related violations last year, according to Kyckr’s 2020 AML Bank Fines Report. Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence discussed the report’s findings with Ian Henderson, CEO of Kyckr.

Anthony Culligan, Chief Engineer, SETL Following on from the first successful live settlement of a fund using Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) tokens what are the next steps in the development of CBDCs. How will they work and what will that mean, not just for banks but for all of us? Anthony Culligan of London-based settlement and payments infrastructure provider SETL spoke with Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence. 

Matthew Williamson, Vice President Global Financial Services, Mobiquity It may not quite be a case of ‘go digital or go dinosaur’, but it is close! Digital banking is the way of the future with 13.6% CAGR forecast over the next six years, and the number of online and mobile banking users estimated to reach 3.6 billion by 2024. Matthew Williamson of Mobiquity discusses the outlook and the firm’s digital banking playbook with Robin Amlot of IBS Intelligence.

Josipa Majic, Founder and CEO of RevutoHas every consumer-facing service provider adopted a subscription model? Sunniva Kolostyak speaks with Josipa Majic, Founder and CEO of Revuto, about investors’ preference for subscription-based companies – and how to help younger generations protect themselves against both the subscription economy and buy now pay later schemes.