Global Payments Asia-Pacific Limited, a joint venture between HSBC and U.S.-based Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN) , has introduced a secure GPRS-powered mobile payment service called Global MobilePay(TM) that provides mobile card acceptance capabilities for merchants in the Asia-Pacific region. Global Payments is one of the first payment processors to launch an extensive mobile payment solution for merchants across Asia. This service is now available in Brunei, China, India, Malaysia, the Maldives, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
Global MobilePay is a sophisticated card acceptance solution that uses GPRS wireless communication network for merchants that need to accept card payments beyond fixed locations or when traditional land line communication does not meet business needs. Merchants can now conduct face-to-face transactions anytime and anywhere. Through Global MobilePay, Global Payments now provides a comprehensive package that includes a mobile payment terminal, SIM card and GPRS network connectivity through a telecommunications partner, as well as payment processing services.
This new offering from Global Payments is ideal for merchants who need to accept card payments away from a retail countertop, such as cash-based delivery service providers or trade show exhibitors. With Global MobilePay, mobile merchants can now accept electronic payments to improve customer service and reduce the cost of handling cash significantly. For merchants in hospitality industries, Global MobilePay can help enhance customer payment experience. Hotels can use this payment solution to offer in-room check in and check out services, while restaurants can provide payment at table services to bring more convenience to patrons.
Showing posts with label Asian Finance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asian Finance. Show all posts
Friday, 19 September 2008
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
WealthCraft Deploys ATOMS for SWIFTNet
WealthCraft Systems has deployed ATOMS Enterprise for SWIFTNet Funds for ING Platform Services in Asia. Built on Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006, ATOMS Enterprise for SWIFTNet Funds is a gateway application which acts as messaging middleware for in-house unit trust applications.
It fully supports ISO20022 for funds and 100 per cent of available messages on SWIFT for the current SWIFTNet Funds Release 4 business solution. The gateway application takes advantage of BizTalk Server's robust industry- standard architecture and helps transform messages from different in-house applications into the corresponding SWIFT messages, and sends them via their own direct connection to SWIFT, automating the process of funds trading and achieving straight through processing (STP).
"By implementing fully automated STP transactions with their distributors, fund houses can greatly reduce risk and costs of operations while supporting rapid expansion of business growth and open architecture," said Eric Chua, SWIFT's Regional Head, Investment Fund Solutions. "ATOMS enables automation and scalability of mutual fund operations in financial institutions by significantly reducing the dependency on re-keying or manual intervention."
WealthCraft CEO Kelly Tallas added: "Financial institutions and ultimately markets have much to gain with straight through processing by reducing the complexity, cost and risk associated with processing domestic and cross-border trades and speeding the flow of standardised information to all parties involved in the mutual funds sector."
ING Platform Services Ltd (ING PS) was the first company to successfully deploy the ATOMS solution in Asia. Integrated with its existing WealthCraft Advisor Workbench (AWB) application, ATOMS provides ING PS with improved operational scalability for its I-WRAP services in Hong Kong and Singapore. I-WRAP, an integrated transaction recording, account keeping and valuation reporting service, consolidates and enables investors and their advisors to monitor their investments easily, with a broad menu of more than 1,000 mutual funds available for subscription.
Sheida Hadji-Ashrafi, worldwide industry manager for payments, Microsoft, commented: "Fund houses have found in Straight-Through Processing a way that helps them automate their processes and increase their efficiency and thus, respond to customers more efficiently. To do so, they need to have the right technology and Microsoft's commitment to the financial industry is to partner with leading financial technology firms to develop empowering solutions. WealthCraft's gateway application, which is built using BizTalk Server, offers financial institutions a secure and reliable platform and help them meet their clients' needs now and in the future."
It fully supports ISO20022 for funds and 100 per cent of available messages on SWIFT for the current SWIFTNet Funds Release 4 business solution. The gateway application takes advantage of BizTalk Server's robust industry- standard architecture and helps transform messages from different in-house applications into the corresponding SWIFT messages, and sends them via their own direct connection to SWIFT, automating the process of funds trading and achieving straight through processing (STP).
"By implementing fully automated STP transactions with their distributors, fund houses can greatly reduce risk and costs of operations while supporting rapid expansion of business growth and open architecture," said Eric Chua, SWIFT's Regional Head, Investment Fund Solutions. "ATOMS enables automation and scalability of mutual fund operations in financial institutions by significantly reducing the dependency on re-keying or manual intervention."
WealthCraft CEO Kelly Tallas added: "Financial institutions and ultimately markets have much to gain with straight through processing by reducing the complexity, cost and risk associated with processing domestic and cross-border trades and speeding the flow of standardised information to all parties involved in the mutual funds sector."
ING Platform Services Ltd (ING PS) was the first company to successfully deploy the ATOMS solution in Asia. Integrated with its existing WealthCraft Advisor Workbench (AWB) application, ATOMS provides ING PS with improved operational scalability for its I-WRAP services in Hong Kong and Singapore. I-WRAP, an integrated transaction recording, account keeping and valuation reporting service, consolidates and enables investors and their advisors to monitor their investments easily, with a broad menu of more than 1,000 mutual funds available for subscription.
Sheida Hadji-Ashrafi, worldwide industry manager for payments, Microsoft, commented: "Fund houses have found in Straight-Through Processing a way that helps them automate their processes and increase their efficiency and thus, respond to customers more efficiently. To do so, they need to have the right technology and Microsoft's commitment to the financial industry is to partner with leading financial technology firms to develop empowering solutions. WealthCraft's gateway application, which is built using BizTalk Server, offers financial institutions a secure and reliable platform and help them meet their clients' needs now and in the future."
Thursday, 11 September 2008
US Banks Failing on Identity Fraud Prevention
While highly sophisticated algorithmic trading has taken off in the rest of Asia, Singapore’s banks and financial institutions have been slow to adopt the technology when compared to their counterparts in Japan and Hong Kong.
Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), a provider of application infrastructure software to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, made this observation today at a world congress on derivatives, attended by more than a thousand arbitrage traders, brokers and proprietary houses.
Speaking at the Derivatives World Asia Congress, Mr Richard Bentley, Progress Software’s Vice President of Field Technical Services for the Apama division, said “A recent move by the Stock Exchange of Singapore to put a platform for high-speed trading in place will provide the catalyst for the adoption of algorithmic trading in Singapore. In addition, as more and more international players adopt the technology, the benefits will be very apparent.”
“We therefore expect regional and local financial institutions to jump on the bandwagon quickly in order to continue competing effectively,” he added referring to the company’s unique Apama application.
Algorithmic trading relies on computers to analyze and come to conclusions about market-based data, or news, and react by executing trades in milliseconds, before humans have even scanned the headlines.
One of the biggest barriers to uptake in Asia is the lack of localized algorithms, due mainly to the absence of local resources to undertake the complex development modelling, including assessment of the sentiment of news reports, price, volume and liquidity and the likely affects on those local markets.
However, banks and institutions in Japan and Hong Kong have already begun to develop their own localised algorithms, often bringing in foreign talent to enable them to trade in sub-millisecond timeframes and deploy new trading scenarios to better meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of their clients. Korea has also begun to invest in development.
“Algorithmic trading is in its infancy here, with the maturity of the concept varying among financial institutions,” said Mr Bentley.
“Local domestic players are less advanced than regional and international players. However this is set to change with the changing competitive landscape and the introduction of incentives by the SGX designed to attract algorithmic traders to Singapore,” he added.
As the SGX strengthens its position as an Asian gateway, the local trading exchange landscape is changing. On 7 July 2008, the exchange moved its securities market to a new, enhanced trading system to attract algorithmic and high-velocity traders.
Currently, according to SGX data, algorithms account for about 12 per cent of value traded in equities on SGX and 18 per cent in derivatives. Mr Bentley expects these values to rise significantly in the near term.
Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), a provider of application infrastructure software to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, made this observation today at a world congress on derivatives, attended by more than a thousand arbitrage traders, brokers and proprietary houses.
Speaking at the Derivatives World Asia Congress, Mr Richard Bentley, Progress Software’s Vice President of Field Technical Services for the Apama division, said “A recent move by the Stock Exchange of Singapore to put a platform for high-speed trading in place will provide the catalyst for the adoption of algorithmic trading in Singapore. In addition, as more and more international players adopt the technology, the benefits will be very apparent.”
“We therefore expect regional and local financial institutions to jump on the bandwagon quickly in order to continue competing effectively,” he added referring to the company’s unique Apama application.
Algorithmic trading relies on computers to analyze and come to conclusions about market-based data, or news, and react by executing trades in milliseconds, before humans have even scanned the headlines.
One of the biggest barriers to uptake in Asia is the lack of localized algorithms, due mainly to the absence of local resources to undertake the complex development modelling, including assessment of the sentiment of news reports, price, volume and liquidity and the likely affects on those local markets.
However, banks and institutions in Japan and Hong Kong have already begun to develop their own localised algorithms, often bringing in foreign talent to enable them to trade in sub-millisecond timeframes and deploy new trading scenarios to better meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of their clients. Korea has also begun to invest in development.
“Algorithmic trading is in its infancy here, with the maturity of the concept varying among financial institutions,” said Mr Bentley.
“Local domestic players are less advanced than regional and international players. However this is set to change with the changing competitive landscape and the introduction of incentives by the SGX designed to attract algorithmic traders to Singapore,” he added.
As the SGX strengthens its position as an Asian gateway, the local trading exchange landscape is changing. On 7 July 2008, the exchange moved its securities market to a new, enhanced trading system to attract algorithmic and high-velocity traders.
Currently, according to SGX data, algorithms account for about 12 per cent of value traded in equities on SGX and 18 per cent in derivatives. Mr Bentley expects these values to rise significantly in the near term.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)