Month: November 2019

Banking

100% of banking and finance bosses say they act on employee feedback

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

But trouble is brewing as only two-thirds of staff believe it ever happens

Nottingham, UK, 13th November 2019: 100% of the UK’s banking and finance employers claim to act on staff feedback, but only 67% of employees agree, research by People First, the HR solutions provider, has found.

Exploring the attitudes of 250 bosses and 250 employees across the UK, the research found just two-thirds (66%) of staff believe their bosses measure their satisfaction, even though 95% of employers claim to.

The research also revealed a growing sense of disconnection among new entrants to the workforce with only 50% of 18-24s believing feedback leads to action.

In addition, only 56% of employers in the banking and finance sector report the results of employee feedback monitoring to the wider company. More than seven-in-ten (71%) of those acting on what employees tell them say they do so at board level only.

“Trouble is brewing because although employers say they put feedback into action, it doesn’t ring true with workforces,” said Mark Williams, Senior Vice President Product, People First. “This is just not good enough. Feedback needs to translate into action.

“If there is no feedback loop, it can do more harm than good, annoying employees and discouraging them from taking part in future.”

Indicating the importance of principles and beliefs among workers, the research found nearly half the workforce (49%) will accept or reject a job on values. The figure rises to more than three-quarters (67%) of Gen Z respondents.

Eight-in-ten bosses (80%) measure employee satisfaction through employee surveys, while 61% use structured review meetings. More than half (53%) use informal conversations and exactly half use focus groups.

“Banks and financial institutions don’t just need to listen to and understand employees so they can pick up warning signs of disenchantment, they must act on feedback,” added Williams. “An ad-hoc approach is no good. That’s the same for gauging how employees feel about their own work and the company’s values and for putting that feedback into practice.

“This is an area that companies must tackle head-on in a much more thought-out and systematic manner, taking time to deploy the most effective and appropriate solutions to nurture employees throughout their time with a company.”

Economics

Pound boost as hung parliament and Corbyn risks reduce on Farage-Johnson pact

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

11 November 2019

The pound will receive a welcome boost after Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party will not be pitted against Conservatives in almost 320 seats in next month’s election, affirms the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial organisations.

The upbeat message from Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group comes as the Brexit Party’s leader Nigel Farage will stand aside in all 317 seats won by the Conservatives in the 2017 general election, fighting only seats held by other parties in the 12 December general election.

Mr Green notes: “Nigel Farage has given the Prime Minister a massive boost in the election as he stands down candidates from his Brexit Party.

“In turn, this will give a welcome boost to the Brexit-battered pound, which has consistently been something of a Brexit bellwether.”

He continues: “The move reduces the likelihood of another hung parliament, which would have led to more parliamentary paralysis and more crippling delays on Brexit.  

“All of this would have generated yet more, intensified uncertainty – something financial markets loathe.  This is why the pound has jumped on the news of the informal Johnson-Farage pact.

“Looking ahead, a Conservative majority would give the government the enhanced ability to move on with the Brexit process. 

“Wealth, jobs and opportunity-generating businesses – both in the UK and internationally – have been crying out for certainty. There is the hope a majority government could lift the fog of Brexit that’s been hampering investment and confidence.

“Should a Conservative majority be returned next month, I believe that the pound will reach $1.35.”

Mr Green goes on to add: “The pound will also be given a boost as the agreement is a serious hammer blow for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party.

“His anti-business rhetoric, and high tax and low-profit policies would lead to considerable and sustained selling of the pound.”

Last week, the deVere CEO noted: “I believe we can realistically expect a Corbyn government would trigger an exodus of the country’s most successful and wealthiest individuals who contribute significantly both directly and indirectly to the British economy.”

Nigel Green concludes: “Sterling’s outlook will become increasingly bullish over the next few weeks if the Conservatives continue to do well in the polls in the run-up to the election.”

Economics

GDP growth at slowest for a decade

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Could SME growth catalyse an economic surge?

Leading SME investment experts – IW Capital and the UKBAA – discusses the importance of supporting thesmall business economy.

It has been announced today that Britain’s economic growth rate has reached its lowest level in almost a decade, after the ONS announced that year-on-year growth fell to 1%. However, a narrowing trade deficit fueled by growing exports of both goods and services offered encouragement for firms trading outside the UK. What more can be done to ensure that the UK’s globally facing private sector will provide the growht and ambition to thrive and support a growing economy?
 
SMEs make up 99.9% of private sector businesses and so supporting entrepreneurs to start businesses as well as providing vital growth finance is clearly of the utmost importance to the overall health of the UK economy. Small firms also employ over 16million people in the UK and has recently grown at a faster rate than the overall job market.

Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital, reacts to the news:

“The small business community and its success is as important to the economy as any change in Government in the near future. With an economic contribution of over £2trillion, the success of the UK economy as a whole may in future hinge on the prosperity of SMEs, start-ups and high-growth firms. There are a fantastic range of innovative, growing SMEs that we work with that are likely to drive our private sector forward in the coming years. And it certainly seems that private equity, through routes such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme, as well as other alternative finance options will be key to the business community in the future of a growing economy.

“As entrepreneurs and investors look to capitalise on new opportunities that are bound to exist in the next few years, growth finance will be key to making the most of that. The predicted growth of the economy should be marked as a statement of intent by investors looking to support small businesses that make up our fantastic SME arena and wider private sector economy.”

Jenny Tooth OBE – CEO of the UK Business Angels Association said:

“The SME sector is full of ambitious entrepreneurs looking to ignite economic growth in their respective regions within the UK. With SMEs making up 99.9% of all businesses in the UK, it is essential that they continue to deliver vital growth. With manufacturing output decreasing, we need to make sure that small businesses in other sectors are given the full confidence they need to continue to thrive.  Although we may be going through murky political waters, the business community of the UK must stand together. Investors, whether they be institutional or private, such as angel investing, have never been so important to the sustainability of British SMEs.”

Finance

Congrid promotes the development of PropTech in Finland and internationally

Author ByCFI.co Blogger
Congrid promotes the development of PropTech in Finland and internationally

RecoTech is an event focusing on key technological innovations in the real estate and construction industry in the Nordic countries. This official side-event of SLUSH will be arranged on 20 November at the Train Factory in the Vallila district of Helsinki. The event is jointly organized by RAKLI, PropTech Finland, Nordic PropTech Initiative and Rond Production House. 

RecoTech is an event focusing on key technological innovations in the real estate and construction industry in the Nordic countries. This official side-event of SLUSH will be arranged on 20 November at the Train Factory in the Vallila district of Helsinki. The event is jointly organized by RAKLI, PropTech Finland, Nordic PropTech Initiative and Rond Production House. Commercialisation of new business models and technologies is vital for the whole industry. Property industry technology, PropTech in brief, is emerging as a new hit investment target among capital investors. PropTech refers to the technology applications and platforms that link innovative technology services, service providers and users. PropTech makes information more easily accessible and enables its sharing in digital formats, which improves data flow and transparency. Congrid wants to promote PropTech development in Finland and internationally. The company has developed a software platform for the management of quality and safety in construction projects. Congrid’s software improves data flow and cooperation on construction sites by making the required information available to all the project parties in real time. Congrid’s goal is to promote quality management in building projects through information, enabling the various project parties to understand what was built and why. The purpose of RecoTech is to showcase PropTech expertise and key trends and innovations of the industry to businesses, start-ups, investors and professionals in the industry. An increasing number of PropTech companies come from Finland, as according to a survey by Unissu, the number of PropTech start-ups in Finland is the highest in Europe on a per capita basis. Congrid participates in the ReCoTech event for the third time and in cooperation with PropTech Finland. In addition to Congrid, other participants in PropTech Finland’s event stand include GBuilder, Exquance, Frostberry, Chaos, Cityfier, Assetti, Duuers, Hyperin, Realx and Realsource. The event features major players and influencers in the industry as keynote speakers, including Mike Butcher of TechCrunch, David Malott of AI Space Factory and Bruce Oreck, former US Ambassador to Finland. About Congrid: Congrid was founded in 2013 by a team of construction site managers who had become frustrated with the use of pen, paper and Excel-files to control the quality and safety of construction sites. Congrid’s cloud-based software offers users one platform to handle quality and safety management on any construction project, reducing quality costs, improving safety and maximising site productivity. Customers include major developers, construction firms, contractors and subcontractors in the Nordic region. www.congrid.com.

Commercialisation of new business models and technologies is vital for the whole industry. Property industry technology, PropTech in brief, is emerging as a new hit investment target among capital investors. PropTech refers to the technology applications and platforms that link innovative technology services, service providers and users. PropTech makes information more easily accessible and enables its sharing in digital formats, which improves data flow and transparency. 

Congrid wants to promote PropTech development in Finland and internationally. The company has developed a software platform for the management of quality and safety in construction projects. Congrid’s software improves data flow and cooperation on construction sites by making the required information available to all the project parties in real time. Congrid’s goal is to promote quality management in building projects through information, enabling the various project parties to understand what was built and why.

The purpose of RecoTech is to showcase PropTech expertise and key trends and innovations of the industry to businesses, start-ups, investors and professionals in the industry. An increasing number of PropTech companies come from Finland, as according to a survey by Unissu, the number of PropTech start-ups in Finland is the highest in Europe on a per capita basis. 

Congrid participates in the ReCoTech event for the third time and in cooperation with PropTech Finland. In addition to Congrid, other participants in PropTech Finland’s event stand include GBuilder, Exquance, Frostberry, Chaos, Cityfier, Assetti, Duuers, Hyperin, Realx and Realsource. 

The event features major players and influencers in the industry as keynote speakers, including Mike Butcher of TechCrunch, David Malott of AI Space Factory and Bruce Oreck, former US Ambassador to Finland. 

About Congrid

Congrid was founded in 2013 by a team of construction site managers who had become frustrated with the use of pen, paper and Excel-files to control the quality and safety of construction sites. Congrid’s cloud-based software offers users one platform to handle quality and safety management on any construction project, reducing quality costs, improving safety and maximising site productivity. Customers include major developers, construction firms, contractors and subcontractors in the Nordic region. www.congrid.com.

Economics

GDP output holds up but comes in below forecast

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

The latest figures on GDP performance show a 1% year on year increase against a forecast of 1.1% and a quarterly increase of 0.3% against a forecast of 0.4%, although business investment is much better than forecast. 

Founder and CEO of REL Capital, Andy Scott, commented:

“The basket of economic performance indicators just published is a mixed bag but when viewed in context to a political dynamic that is more Carry On film than carry on as usual, the economy is holding up ok. GDP, arguably the most important measure of fiscal health, is still hanging on in there in positive territory. Kicking and screaming with it’s head just above the surface, for sure but still breathing nonetheless at a positive 1% up year on year and quarter to quarter.

In particular, construction output is better than the forecasters had expected by some way, as is overall business investment which, whilst flat in real terms, provides a further silver-lining versus expectation. Stiff upper lip and all that.” 

About Andy Scott

Founder and CEO of REL Capital, Andy Scott
Founder and CEO of REL Capital, Andy Scott

Andy Scott is the Maserati 100 winning entrepreneur and owner of nine businesses across the property development, transport and recruitment sectors, with a focus on the catering and construction sectors to name but a few.  

His specialism is buying distressed businesses and turning them around via REL Capital, his holding company. Consequently, his group now has revenues of over £30m annually.

From living on a boat during his uni years, before dropping out and building a successful business empire largely in the hotel trade, Andy lost everything in the 2008 crash but has since fought his way back to be one of the UK’s most successful and resilient businessmen.

Andy is a colourful character. A former nightclub doorman turned yacht owning tycoon, pilot and white-collar boxer who has never forgotten where he came from and continues to operate with the same core business values (and partners) as he did when he first started his journey.

He has appeared on TV and in the press as a business pundit many times including: 

BBC Radio 4’s The Bottom Line 

BBC Business Live

BBC’s CEO Secrets 

More about Andy’s story:  

The Times: When you’re down, I’ll take you out of administration

Evening Standard: Entrepreneurs: After weathering the blows, boxer Andy Scott is raising firms off the canvas

This is Money: ‘I built a property empire with a £5k windfall… and lost it all’

BBC: ‘I got wiped out, but I was determined to make it back’

Finance

Lytix Biopharma announces a clinical collaboration agreement with Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA)

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

MON, NOV 11

Lytix Biopharma AS, a Norwegian clinical stage immunoncology company, today announces a clinical collaboration with the US-based company Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., a late-stage biotechnology company developing novel cancer immunotherapies based on tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) technology, to evaluate Lytix`s first-in-class oncolytic peptide, LTX-315, in combination with Iovance`s autologous ready to infuse T cell therapy.

Lytix Biopharma is focused on the development of oncolytic molecules based on pioneering research in “host defense peptides”. The company`s lead compound, LTX-315, is administrated intra-tumorally and works by inducing lysis of intracellular organelles of tumor cells thereby unleashing a broad spectra of tumor antigens. Clinical trials have demonstrated an increase in CD8+ TILs in the majority of evaluated patients with solid tumors resulting in size reduction of distant non-treated lesions.

Iovance Biotherapeutics intends to improve patient care by making T cell-based immunotherapies broadly accessible for the treatment of patients with solid tumors and blood cancers. Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy uses a patient’s own immune cells to attack cancer. TIL cells are extracted from a patient’s own tumor tissue, expanded through a proprietary process, and infused back into the patient. After infusion TILs reach tumor tissue where they attack tumor cells.

The collaboration is a non-exclusive collaboration where both parties will maintain ownership of their own assets.

Øystein Rekdal, CEO of Lytix Biopharma, said: “We are very excited about the collaboration with Iovance, and the combination of our technologies can be a potential new approach to T cell therapy for cancers. This agreement affirms that we remain committed to the further development of LTX-315 as a single agent and in combination with other therapies.”

For more information contact:

Øystein Rekdal, CEO, e-mail: oystein.rekdal@lytixbiopharma.com

Politics

Trade War: China wants Trump re-elected in 2020 for its economic agenda – here’s why

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

November 8 2019

China wants Trump re-elected in 2020 to achieve medium-term and long-term economic objectives, affirms the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations.

The comments from Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, come after China fuelled hopes that a deal can be reached to end its trade war with the U.S. after agreeing with Washington to roll back on some tariffs.

The deal to reduce trade tensions could encourage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revise up global growth forecasts next year.

Mr Green notes: “There has been an argument that in regard to the trade war, China was holding out, playing the long game and waiting for President Trump to leave office, before dealing with another administration.

“Whilst this argument might have held water before, I now believe this is not the case – and it is what is fueling recent developments in the trade war negotiations.”

He continues: “It is likely that China is currently fueling hopes to reach a phased agreement in the trade dispute with the U.S. and cancel tariffs as soon as possible because it will help President Trump’s re-election.

“His re-election would suit them for two major reasons.

“First, because they will assume that reaching a deal with Trump to end the damaging trade war will probably be easier than with some others. These include Elizabeth Warren, the potential Democratic rival, who could, say many supporters, win next year’s presidential election.  

“Ms Warren can be expected to be even tougher with China than Trump, and not only on trade, but on other difficult issues, including climate change and human and labor rights.

“And second, despite the trade war, Trump’s policies and rhetoric have proven to be strategically helpful to China in achieving its longer-term goals.  

“In many respects, President Trump has undermined Washington’s global credibility, international governance bodies and key alliances, and has been indifferent if not antagonistic towards major trading agreements.

“This all compromises America’s standing as the world’s primary superpower and it provides China with openings and opportunities it has previously never had in terms of global influence and setting international trade conventions.” 

The deVere CEO concludes: “The positive signs coming from Beijing and Washington on the trade talks between the world’s two largest economies have been welcomed by stock markets – some reaching all-time highs this week.

“Investors’ exuberance will grow further still should the deal be cemented, and also should Trump be re-elected.

“However, U.S. investors should perhaps also question whether Mr Trump’s administration has, in fact, handed China a great strategic opportunity that could damage America’s preeminent superpower status in the longer-term and, therefore, its economic dominance.”

Finance

Rogue Device Mitigation Startup Sepio Systems Completes $6.5M Series A round led by Hanaco Ventures and Merlin Ventures

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Gaithersburg, Maryland – US and Israel-based cybersecurity company Sepio Systems, has raised a $6.5 million in Series A funding round led by Hanaco Ventures and Merlin Ventures, with the participation of existing investors Energias de Portugal (EDP), Mindset Ventures and Pico Partners. Since its establishment Sepio Systems has raised $11 million.

Yossi Appleboum, CEO of Sepio Systems Inc.
Yossi Appleboum, CEO of Sepio Systems Inc.

In conjunction with the financing, Sepio also announced the appointment of two new executives to its management team: Gili Sahar joins as Chief Financial Officer and Chen Ben Eliyahu takes as Vice President of Business Development.

Sepio offers the world’s first end-to-end solution that detects and mitigates hardware-based attacks, rogue peripherals, invisible network devices, and manipulated firmware. The company’s Sepio Prime, which is a software-only solution, has been successfully deployed in over 25 banks, insurance, and telecom companies in the U.S., Singapore, Brazil, South Africa and Israel.

Rogue device cyber-attacks are rapidly growing as demonstrated by CNBC’s recent report on ATM attacks and the serious data breach in NASA, whose Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was hacked through the use of an unauthorized Raspberry Pi Computer.

“The increasing number of hardware based cyber-attacks is a major concern to all enterprises. While all other security solutions are focused on software threats, they are incapable of stopping threats coming from hardware”, said Yossi Appelboum, co-founder and CEO of Sepio Systems, Inc.

“Sepio defines and solves a problem most enterprises know they have but cannot quantify or resolve,” explains Alon Lifshitz Founding Partner at Hanaco Ventures. “Besides creating the Rogue Device Mitigation category, it’s rare as an investor to back founders that have worked as a team for over twenty years now building their third startup together.”

“Partnering with Hanaco and Merlin and the continuous support from our existing investors highlights the industry reception to our solution. This major investment allows us to grow faster, increasing marketing and sales activities and engineering resources.”, added Mr. Appleboum.

Merlin’s partnership with Sepio includes bringing its Rogue Device Mitigation solution to market in the US Federal space. “As soon as we saw Sepio, we realized it was filling a critical gap in supply chain security by extending network visibility down to the physical layer. Our model is to invest in differentiated cybersecurity technology that we can bring to market to solve our customers’ most difficult challenges, and we see Sepio as the perfect fit.”, added David Phelps, Chairman and CEO of Merlin.

As part of its expansion, Sepio is opening a new office in Mclean, Virginia for supporting the US federal customers.

About Hanaco Ventures

Hanaco Ventures is a New York and Tel Aviv based Venture Capital fund that invests in the most promising start ups from the Israeli ecosystem. Hanaco partners with Israeli companies, wherever they are in the world, helping them become category leaders beloved by their customers.
www.hanacovc.com

About Merlin Ventures

Merlin Ventures invests in emerging technologies to create enterprise ready products that protect government and commercial organizations. Merlin offers a broad portfolio of solutions that secure the enterprise from endpoints to networks, from governance to risk management, from infrastructure to information. Combining solutions with deep industry expertise and experience, Merlin delivers the cybersecurity solutions that organizations need to protect their most critical business assets while furthering their mission.
www.merlincyber.com

About Sepio Systems 

Sepio is disrupting the cyber-security industry by uncovering hidden hardware attacks. Sepio Prime provides security teams with full visibility into their hardware assets and their behavior in real time. A comprehensive policy enforcement module allows administrators to easily define granular device usage rules and continuously monitor and protect their infrastructure. Leveraging a combination of physical fingerprinting technology together with device behavior analytics, Sepio’s software-only solution offers instant detection and response to any threat or breach attempt coming from a manipulated or infected element.
www.sepio.systems

Business

Qualcomm set to benefit from wider 5G adoption

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Comments from Anthony Ginsberg, Managing Director of GinsGlobal Index Funds

Qualcomm set to benefit from wider 5G adoption

Qualcomm has reported a drop in its adjusted earnings per share to 78 cents, but it was not as high as most analysts were expecting. The company was expected to provide a much gloomier report than it did, based off its Q2 numbers.

The company’s shares were up around 3% in after hours trading, while earnings are expected to trail last year’s figure.

Qualcomm’s large investment into 5G has proven fruitful for the San Diego-based semiconductor maker. We believe it will be a leader in the Internet of Things and benefit from the explosion in Cloud Technology too – since companies active in this sector will be dependent on 5G technology.

It’s likely 5G wireless networks will usher in a range of new possibilities for businesses. Health-care startups could use the speed and power of 5G to conduct remote surgery. 5G is predicted to be 100 times faster than the current generation of wireless. Qualcomm Inc.’s venture-capital division is setting aside $200 million to invest in 5G wireless startups – an indication of its commitment to this area.

Qualcomm is partnering with US phone carriers such as Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. – in the race to roll out 5G offerings. In September, Qualcomm announced new mobile platforms that will power lower-cost 5G phones – making them far cheaper than the current $1000 plus cost. This includes new Series 6 and Series 7 chips.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm is both working and competing with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. over 5G intellectual property and to supply 5G-compatible chipsets to smartphone makers as they introduce 5G-enabled phones.

We expect the US-China trade war to simmer down – now that Phase 1 is expected to be agreed to imminently. Qualcomm has previously been hurt by possible trade war worries. Qualcomm will likely be one of the biggest beneficiaries of a reduction in the trade dispute with China. Its share price has already started to show signs of recovery.

The importance of 5G

In the delivery of healthcare – 5G will be of tremendous economic benefit – especially in the areas of telematics and wearables – tracking how people are living. Healthcare accounts for almost 20% of the US GDP – so any efficiency drivers in this area will be widely adopted.

We believe wireless and 5G represent the future of business digitization. Qualcomm is well positioned to benefit from these significant trends. We expect early 5G innovations could occur in enterprise business settings next year.

About GinsGlobal

GinsGlobal Index Funds provides a wide variety of index-linked investment products.  These include traditional Index Funds (mutual funds), Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Principal Protected (Capital Guaranteed) index notes. GinsGlobal has pioneered a common-sense investment approach that has challenged the fund management industry by offering customers a transparent and low-cost way to invest in any asset class whether it be stocks, bonds, real estate or alternative (hedge) investments.

Banking

Strogner Together: Women’s Payments Networks Join Forces Across the Pond

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Alliance between EWPN and Wnet sees increased benefits on both sides of the Atlantic for women in fintech and payments

Women's Payments Networks Join Forces Across the Pond

Amsterdam and Atlanta – 07 November 2019 – The European Women Payments Network (EWPN) and the U.S.-based Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet) share a mission to create better opportunities for women and the men that advocate for them in the fintech and payments industries. As a result of their like-minded goals to improve inclusion and diversity, the two organisations today announced they are coming together to allow their respective members to share the benefits of both networks. Members of both organisations can learn more by visiting EWPN and Wnet.

Through the new alliance, EWPN and Wnet will publish dedicated landing pages where members can access each organisations’ extensive intelligence, networking opportunities events, and programming. EWPN, launched in 2015 to champion diversity and inclusion in fintech and payments, serves over 1,000 individual members and 11 corporate members. Wnet, launched in 2005, serves over 3,000 women each year in the U.S., through events, information and knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities.

“This exciting alliance will see EWPN and Wnet working together, leveraging both networks for the benefit of all our combined members”, explained Martha Mghendi-Fisher, Founder of EWPN. “Both networks are dedicated to improving prospects for all women in the payments industry, increasing inclusivity and diversity. Sharing our insights, knowledge and membership will make us both stronger and allow us to bring about change as quickly as possible”.

Members will also have access to each organisation’s workshops and networking events in various U.S. and European countries throughout the year, as well as mentorship programmes. In addition, individual members of EWPN and Wnet may become members of the other organisation at a discounted rate, even if their employer is not a corporate member or sponsor.

Wnet Executive Director Lisl Dutterer announced the collaboration news on stage at the 2019 Wnet Leadership Summit “Leading in a Changing World“, the premier payments industry event designed by and for women leaders and the men who advocate for them.

“By working together, Wnet and EWPN are creating global change and the opportunity for more women to lead in the payments industry”, said Dutterer. “Wnet has been extending our member benefits to women around the globe, and we are excited for the opportunity to work with EWPN’s leadership to accomplish that goal. Sharing our insights, knowledge, and experience will make our organisations stronger and is another effort to bring about positive change across the global payments ecosystem”.

For further information, please contact:

Wendy Harrison – Harrison Sadler, for EWPN

T: +0208 977 9132

E: wendy@harrisonsadler.com

Jessie Hennion, Wnet Public Relations

T: +1 781-876-6280

E: jhennion@virtualinc.com

Notes to Editors

About EWPN

The European Women Payments Network (EWPN) is focused on championing the skills and expertise of women in the burgeoning FinTech and payments sectors. In particular, through mentorship, leadership programmes, networking events and workshops, EWPN is providing the opportunity for women to learn, network, share and celebrate their achievements.

Each year EWPN holds the only Pan-European Conference specifically focused on women working in FinTech & Payments. The conference brings together women from all over Europe for a full-day event, featuring interactive panels, deep-dive workshops, and plenary sessions with industry female leaders.

About the Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet)

The Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet) is the premier professional organization for women in payments and the men that advocate for them, providing personal enrichment no matter what stage members are in their careers. The organization provides world-class national and regional programming, fosters networking and promotes mentoring to help members achieve greater personal success, influence and professional parity. Founded in 2005, Wnet is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization serving thousands of women in payments annually. For more information about national and regional events and programming, or to become a member, please visit www.wnetonline.org.

Note from editor: see also this article about Promoting Women