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SIMPLER, FASTER AND SMARTER BANKING FOR CONSUMERS AND SMES WITH MISYS FUSIONBANKING ESSENCE

Enhanced personalisation capabilities enable banks to give their customers better insight and control over finances
Misys announced today its latest release of FusionBanking Essence, its retail banking solution, to enable banks to deliver a simpler, faster and smarter banking experience to consumers and SMEs.
Streamlined digital onboarding capabilities ensure rapid account opening, while advanced technologies such as secure fingerprint authentication enable high quality customer service and security. Flexible and intuitive account personalisation and faster ways to set up payments respond to customers’ individual needs and preferences. Advanced analytics enable banks to meet customer needs more effectively, coupled with interactive financial planning tools which help customers better manage and plan their finances. Features such as multi-currency accounts, facial and ID recognition during onboarding further address the needs of a tech-savvy globalised world.
“We are seeing the emergence of two-speed banking – a world in which forward thinking banks are embracing digitalisation and analytics to put customer needs first,” said Simon Paris, President at Misys. “These fast-lane banks are in the market for modern front-to-back digital banking solutions to meet the needs of the increasingly mobile and tech-savvy customers, who demand highly personalised and relevant experiences. Our latest release equips banks for the digital transformation journey ahead, enabling them to expand, compete and thrive.”
Building on the Misys “outside-in” banking philosophy, the enhancements are designed to help banks meet the expectations from consumers and SMEs for fast, relevant and convenient digital banking.
Stephen Greer, Analyst at Celent, said: “The new normal of financial services necessitates a broader understanding of what it means to be digital. Banks must be able to meet the demands of today’s tech-savvy consumers and SMEs, pushing customer experience levels to new highs whilst still meeting regulator demands and driving down costs. A critical element to digital effectiveness and competing in this era is an intentional organisational shift away from legacy practices towards becoming a truly digital organisation.”
Within the bank, FusionBanking Essence’s modern architecture delivers increased operational performance and ongoing regulatory compliance capabilities. Its digital engine and digital development kit enables banks to customise and extend the capabilities of their digital channels to meet customers’ ever-changing requirements. Advanced analytics support the development and rapid delivery of relevant products and services through preferred customer channels, improving the cost/income ratio and ensuring low TCO. This ability to understand customer behaviour and deliver back highly personalised and relevant services and added value is vital in today’s competitive landscape.
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Bitcoin, ether hit fresh highs

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Bitcoin hit a fresh high in Asian trading on Saturday, extending a two-month rally that saw its market capitalisation cross $1 trillion a day earlier.
The world’s most popular cryptocurrency rose to an record $56,620, taking its weekly gain to 18%. It has surged more than 92% this year.
Bitcoin’s gains have been fuelled by evidence it is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, such as Tesla Inc, Mastercard Inc and BNY Mellon.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and daily volume, hit a record $2,040.62, for a weekly gain of about 12%.
Ether is the digital currency or token that facilitates transactions on the ethereum blockchain. In the crypto world, the terms ether and ethereum have become interchangeable.
Ether futures contracts launched on derivatives exchange CME earlier this month.
(Reporting by Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by William Mallard)
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World Bank pushing for standard vaccine contracts, more disclosure from makers

By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank is working to standardize COVID-19 vaccine contracts that countries are signing with drug makers, and is pushing manufacturers to be more open about where doses are headed, as it races to get more vaccines to poor countries, the bank’s president said on Friday.
World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters he expected the bank’s board to have approved $1.6 billion in vaccine funding for 12 countries, including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Tunisia and Ethiopia, by the end of March, with 30 more to follow shortly thereafter.
The bank is working with local governments to identify and fill gaps in distribution capacity, after they purchase vaccines under a $12 billion World Bank program, and also to standardize the contracts they are signing with manufacturers, he said.
The bank’s International Finance Corp, its private financing arm, has $4 billion to invest in expanding existing production plants or building new ones, including in developed countries, but needs more data on where current production is headed, he said.
“We are eager to be investing in new capacity, but it’s hard to do because you don’t know how much of the existing capacity is already committed to the various off-takers,” Malpass said in an interview with Reuters. New or expanded plants could be used to produce other types of vaccinations in the future, he said.
The bank’s funds could be used to expand plants in advanced economies, if the production was earmarked for developing nations, he said.
Malpass welcomed Friday’s pledge by the Group of Seven rich countries to intensify cooperation on the pandemic, saying it could help jump-start deliveries of vaccines to poorer countries, which are lagging far behind rich countries in getting shots in arms.
Data compiled by Our World In Data, a scientific online publication, showed Israel was leading the world in COVID-19 vaccinations, with nearly 82 of 100 people vaccinated, while India and Bangladesh reported less than one person per 100, Many African countries have not started at all.
Malpass said he was heartened by news about new vaccines coming down the road, and about Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE seeking permission to store their vaccine at higher temperatures, which would ease another obstacle to deliveries in lower-income countries.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Heather Timmons and Leslie Adler)
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Google to evaluate executive performance on diversity, inclusion

By Paresh Dave
(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google will evaluate the performance of its vice presidents and above on team diversity and inclusion starting this year, the company said on Friday in one of several responses to concerns about its treatment of a Black scientist.
Timnit Gebru, co-leader of Google’s ethical artificial intelligence research team, said in December that Google abruptly fired her after she criticized its diversity efforts and threatened to resign.
Alphabet and Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai ordered a review of the situation. While Google declined to share specific findings, the company announced on Friday it will engage human resources specialists during sensitive employee departures.
Pichai in June said that by 2025, Google aims to have 30% more of its leaders come from underrepresented groups, with a focus on Black, Latinx and Native American leaders in the United States and female technical leaders globally. About 96% of Google’s U.S. leaders at the time were white or Asian, and 73% globally were men.
As a result of the investigation, the company also expanded a commitment announced in June to devote more resources to retaining and promoting existing employees, including by expanding a team addressing disputes among workers and their managers.
The diversity component of executive performance reviews was not previously announced, and the company did not immediately share details about what would be measured and how pay would be affected.
Alphabet for years had rejected proposals from shareholders and employees to set diversity goals and tie executive pay to them.
Irene Knapp, a former Google employee who advocated for one such proposal at a 2018 shareholder meeting, said on Friday, “I am pleased that they met our demand from 2018, which was a bare minimum that should have been easy to do immediately.”
Evaluating managers on diversity goals is becoming more commonplace. McDonald’s Corp on Thursday tied executive bonuses to diversity.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)