Bank Mandiri, one of the largest Indonesian banks, has launched a new Customs Management service in collaboration with Wirecard. The service is a payment integration with the Indonesian DJBC, the Directorate General for Customs and Excise. It is anticipated to help corporate users execute customs and excise transactions.

The service is accessible to the Banks’ 27,000 corporate customers enabling them to streamline Customs and Excise payments.

SVP Government and Institutions at Bank Mandiri, Dadang Ramadhan said that,

“In addition to providing the best possible financial services to our customers, we are committed to supporting Customs and Excise by meeting the financial needs of the Directorate General. 53% of customs and excise payments are already carried out through our MCM channel. Through our cooperation with Wirecard, we expect to further increase the overall use of MCM.” 

The new service around Custom management incorporated inside the Mandiri Cash Management solution is supported by Wirecard technology and provided to all the active corporate customers of Bank Mandiri. The solution lets the users carry out a number of different errands besides transactions like liquidity supervision, web foreign exchange, etc. It caters to the value chain of a full-fledged cash management service in a simple and customizable user interface.

This new setting can be rightly considered a result of DJBC integration with the bank on open APIs. It enables corporate users to look up for DJBC invoices, validate their billing stature and transact everything in a single cycle.

It will not only enable users to have access to real-time information about their accounts but also avoid redundant payments and expedite transaction time and enhance the efficiency of the transaction process.

Oliver Quadt, Managing Director Indonesia & VP Business Integration Asia at Wirecard, added,

“We are proud to support Bank Mandiri, one of the largest financial institutions in Indonesia, in their digital journey. We are delighted that Bank Mandiri has chosen us as their technology provider for corporate solutions, and are confident that the solutions we are providing together will continue exceeding the expectations of Bank Mandiri’s customers.“

With Bank Mandiri’s cross border expertise, Wirecard succeeded in developing an explicit solution keeping in mind the needs of Asian banks that are looking to expand their online banking operations to businesses and corporations. Wirecard already holds a reputation as a market leader in software solutions for corporate banking in Indonesia. The solution can mark a turning point for the financial situation of the bank as well as the nation as a whole.

Sixgill LLC has been reigning the data automation and authenticity products market since its inception. Now it is all set to launch a blockchain-based data authenticity solution under the name Sixgill Integrity™ 1.0. This authenticity solution is all set to fulfill the most critical data authenticity needs of the enterprises with its robust potential that can monitor the veracities of any kind of data streams.

The need for data authenticity has been manifold. The massive data processing in the Cloud network has not been free from intrusions. Therefore, the present crisis demands something that can assure data security beyond any limits and what else can provide the maximum protection from data vulnerability than blockchain technology. Sixgill experts tried to transform this vision into the reality of creating a blockchain-based data authenticity solution and this gave birth to Sixgill Integrity.

Integrity is a lot different and superior as compared to other data security offerings available. The basic difference lies in the fact that Integrity integrates DLT, which is the distributed ledger technology imbibed in the blockchain technology, with the modern distributed data system. The robust architecture of Integrity that combines the immutable properties of the private/public blockchains with the off-chain and on-chain data layers makes it possible. DLT makes it easier for Integrity to use cryptography and blockchain in authenticating the origin of the data completely. It also helps in verifying the data content and data chronology.

However, instead of using the normal blockchain technology, Sixgill chose the hybrid on-chain and off-chain architecture of blockchain technology. With such an implementation, Integrity is very hopeful about the project and as such, it believes that the organizations will be highly benefitted on aspects like security, transparency, and immutability of both the public and the private blockchain networks.

Pirelli has unveiled a smart tire called the Cyber Tyre, which can communicate with a 5G network, and pass on real-time information about the road conditions to both the car driver as well as the network. The car driver can take remedial action as per the data received. The 5G network will pass on the data to other car drivers in its vicinity. Thus, if there are big potholes on the road, water clogging, or snow-covered road, and even in pitch darkness, car drivers can get prior information about such risks before-hand and take corrective action. The smart tire can also transmit information about speed breakers so that speeding motorists can slow down their cars and prevent accidents.

The Cyber Tyre will be a boon for motorists who are clueless about the condition of roads they routinely use, after rains or snow. While corrective action can be taken for fog as the driver will not be able to see and hence, will naturally drive slowly, snow and rain are much trickier. Thus, prior real-time data can be very helpful in preventing accidents due to skidding and slipping of cars in rain and snow.

Pirelli collaborated on the Cyber Tyre project with Ericsson, Audi, Tim, Italdesign, and KTH. The team behind the Cyber Tyre recently gave a real-life demonstration of how a car equipped with the Cyber Tyre and connected to a 5G network passed on information about the water-filled street to the car behind it whose driver took corrective action to avoid the water.

Pirelli has claimed that the Cyber Tyre is the world’s first 5G enhanced ADAS service enabled tire.

The Cyber Tyre’s sensor will be upgraded to record several parameters like kilometers clocked, dynamic load, and to suggest corrective actions to avoid potential dangers like water-clogging or potholes.

In the future, the input from the Cyber Tyre will be processed by the car itself, which will recommend necessary changes in speed, etc. to the driver. It will greatly improve comfort and safety.

Indonesian multi-finance company Indosurya Inti Finance today announced that it has managed to raise 50 million Euros worth of funding credit facilities. The money has been raised from two globally renowned institutions; the Netherlands-based FMO and Proparco, From France. However, the important bit about the development is that the money is going to be used to finance a wide range of small and medium enterprises in Indonesia.

Indosurya is going to be involved in providing SMEs in Indonesia with working capital loans. Additionally, it will also provide those businesses with Indosurya products that could improve business operations. On the other hand, it should also be noted that finance companies in Indonesia are currently going through liquidity issues. The fact that Indosurya managed to get a credit facility from two renowned institutions is an indictment of its capabilities as a business.

Both FMO and Proparco have been long term advocates of financing SMEs in developing countries. The SME sector is one of the most important constituents of the Indonesian economy and contributes as much as 57% to Indonesia’s annual GDP. Due to this credit facility, Indosurya will now be able to provide financing support to as many as 400 SMEs in the country.

Indosurya Finance’s CEO, Henry Surya, spoke about the company’s targets with regards to its SME push. He said,

“Our target for channeling financing for SME entrepreneurs in Indonesia through these credit facilities must be achieved within one to one-and-a-half years.”

It is a significant development, and it remains to be seen how the finance company boosts the SME businesses in the country.

Supply chain marketplaces and payments company Tradeshift has moved on to new premises in downtown Bucharest. The move to larger premises signals the company’s continued expansion in Romania. The new office of the company is located in the Tower Center, which is regarded as one of the most highly sought after locations in Bucharest for businesses. The latest move is an indication of the sort of growth that Tradeshift has enjoyed in Romania so far.

The company has also grown at a global level over the past few years. Since June last year, the number of employees at its Bucharest office has risen by as much as 100%. In total, 144 employees have been added to the operations in Bucharest. Since the staff strength has increased to such a degree, the move to new premises had become necessary. The new office will be able to accommodate all the developers, finance, and human resource professionals.

Oana Apostol, Tradeshift DevOps Engineer, Bucharest, spoke about the company and its aims. She said,

“Tradeshift is quite unlike any other tech company present in Bucharest. Employees are empowered to bring forward ideas and work on their own projects, I am encouraged to think for myself, and creativity is highly valued within the organization.”

The company’s operations in Bucharest have become highly important over the past year.

It is the hub of Tradeshift’s app development and cloud operations, which lie at the core of the business. Tradeshift’s Talent Acquisition Head, Eric Knauf, stated that Romania has proven to be an excellent source of talented individuals who have helped the company immensely. The new Bucharest office has also lined up a series of Developer Meetups over the next few months.

Karatbars, a German Cryptocurrency firm that sells “Cryptonized gold” tokens, has been ordered to stop operations by German government banking regulator BaFin, over allegations that it was running a pyramid scheme.

BaFin issued a cease-and-desist order to Karatrbars parent firm Karatbit Foundation, which is registered in Belize. BaFin also asked the firm to settle all outstanding claims.

Karatbars also had a cryptocurrency, KaratGold Coin (KBC), which was used to buy tokens. Seiz claimed to have sold KaratGold Coins worth $100M.

Like regular cryptocurrency firms Karatbars also had an affiliate program where it gave commission to affiliates for bringing more affiliates.

Unlike other cryptocurrency firms, Seiz claimed that the company’s assets included a mine in Madagascar, which held gold worth £772M as well as a “Cryptocurrency bank” in Miami. Seiz claimed that these assets backed up his tokens.

Seiz persuaded footballers like former German captain Lothar Matthäus, Patrick Kluivert, and Roberto Carlos to promote Karatbars. He also boasted of presenting Lamborghinis and other luxurious items to affiliates.

Things started to unravel in May this year when Namibia branded Karatbars, a pyramid scheme, and then Florida’s financial regulator rejected the company’s application for a banking license. South Africa’s financial regulator asked the public not to deal with Karatbars.

Seiz had claimed the gold mine he owned in Madagascar was named Fort Dauphin, but an online mining tool revealed that there was only one mine in that area, and it held only titanium and zircon reserves.

After this, Seiz went back on his earlier claim and admitted that the company only owned some shares in a mine in Madagascar.

It is pertinent to note that even Bitcoin faucet have revenue models in that they pay a fraction of what they earn from advertising back to the buyers. Thus, when a firm like Karatbars, which deals in a precious metal like gold, is found to lie about its very foundations, investors have every right to feel cheated.

Seiz has claimed that KBC was never sold to German customers and was only given as a bonus gift. He also claimed that the information on which the BaFinn order collected from a fake Karatbars website.

Industry veteran Patricia Sutter has been appointed as the new head of the Wells Fargo Corporate Trust Services on October 15. She replaces Troy Kilpatrick, who was presiding the position since 2014. Troy Kilpatrick has now taken charge of the Risk transformation work for the company.

She will work in the Chicago office and will be reporting to David Marks, Head of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital (WLCC). She will be leading a team of 2000 professionals holding the new responsibility.

Sutter has been leading the CTS Chicago office for the last 15 years and is a renowned corporate leader with 31 years of leadership experience at various prominent organizations. She has also headed multiple lead roles within CTS. Previously, she was in charge of the Conventional Debt Specialized Services (CDSS) team.

About Wells Fargo 

Wells Fargo & Company is a prominent global financial services corporation with $1.9 trillion assets. It was founded in 1852 and its headquarters are based in San Francisco. Wells Fargo has a huge network of 7600 offices across 32 countries. With 263,000 employees, it offers investment services, banking, and mortgage product and services and commercial finance.

David Marks, Head of WLCC quoted, “Wells Fargo is a leading provider of trust and agency services related to debt and equity securities, and we will continue to deliver the highest caliber of services to corporate Trust clients under Patricia’s leadership.”

Praising her business acumen, he said, “Patricia has an extraordinary knowledge of the business and our clients and she will be a valued addition to the WFCC leadership team.”

Recent reshuffle in the company

Recently, Wells Fargo has been going through a reshuffling process to expand its mortgage services and is going to hire more workforce to meet the growing business volumes. This move is followed by the last year’s dismissal of 1000 employees from the same department.

A fresh report has revealed that Brazilian banking giant Banco Inter SA is exploring the option of tying up with ride-hailing giant Uber over a financial services partnership. A partnership of this nature is helpful to both the bank as well as the ride-hailing giant. A source who is close to the developments could not divulge the actual terms of any possible partnership, but it is believed that the partnership is targeted at Uber drivers in Brazil. In addition to the drivers, one must also consider the millions of customers of Banco Inter customers in the South American country. At this point in time, Brazil is one of the most important markets for Uber and has emerged as the biggest market after the United States.

As a matter of fact, Sao Paulo alone records the highest number of Uber rides for any city in the world. In this regard, it is important to point out that Uber has done something of a similar nature in Mexico. It partnered with Mastercard and BBVA to create a debit card for Uber drivers. Countries like Mexico mostly run on cash and such partnerships eventually help in bringing formal banking to unbanked people in a big way. Uber could be trying something of a similar nature in Brazil.

This move will also be beneficial to Uber’s biggest shareholder SoftBank, which has invested billions in South America in recent years. SoftBank has invested in Fintech and healthcare sectors in a big way. This move will, hence, help SoftBank’s larger vision of bringing millions of Brazilians into electronic payments platforms. Back in August, the Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Marcelo Claure spoke about its plans in South America. He said,

“There are so much innovation and disruption taking place in the region and I believe the business opportunities have never been stronger.”

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced the launch of Peer-to-peer trading also known as P2P in China. With the launch, the platform aims to extend support to traders making transactions via many popular Chinese payment apps like Alipay and Wechat Pay. The P2P services can be accessed by the citizens of China.

According to a report, Binance launched P2P trading functionality with ETH, BTC, and USDT for trading against the Chinese Yuan or CNY. Binance has emerged as the world’s leading crypto exchange platform in terms of volume. In the beginning, only Android users with Binance accounts will be able to access P2P trading functionality. Additionally, Android users must have registered the Binance accounts for more than 30 days.

Binance has also assured that it will gradually launch this service for iOS and web interface users.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, took to his Twitter handle and divulged that they are beginning with China so that over 1.4 billion people can use the latest P2P functionality. The exchange will soon expand the service in several other regions. When asked about the options of choosing Alipay and Wechat Pay as a mode of payment for the service, Zhao revealed that the leading Chinese apps have been supported for users to make payments for one another without any direct involvement of the company.

As of now, Alipay and Wechat pay have been the dominant players in the local payment market for a few years. Users are allowed to use these two apps almost anywhere in the country. These apps QR codes can be displayed right from the vegetable sellers on streets to luxury retailers. China is fast moving in the direction to become a cashless society. A recent survey reflected a swift rise and popularity of mobile payments in the world’s most populous economy. People in China now seldom use cash to make their transactions.

Alipay and Wechat Pay have emerged a force to reckon with. Now Alipay and Wechat have become so popular in the country that it will not be a big surprise if they become popular with cryptocurrency investors in the coming time.

Zhao also clarified that Binance is in no direct connection with Alipay or Wechat to make these features accessible. He tweeted, “Some confusion by some news outlets.”

Meanwhile, the Malta-based Binance is also planning to provide its services in South Korea by launching a new exchange.

Zhao divulged the exchange plan to offers its services in a new market. In a bid to simplify the process, it has decided to collaborate with local news outlets and local associates.

Zhao said, “We do not know the details related to the establishment of the Korean branch. We are working with local partners, but we do not know the details.”

Binance spokesperson informed that the exchange is planning to work with a blockchain FinTech company, BxB and right now is in discussion with the firm. It has not yet taken any specific decision on it. The exchange has yet to decide and consider whether to build a branch in South Korea or not.

Zhao revealed that the exchange firm is clueless about the establishment details of its new headquarter in S.Korea.

It is a well-known fact that banks in India are in trouble but it seems that they could be saved by e-commerce behemoths like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. The credit has dried up from banks all across the country and in such a situation; it is hard for any bank to survive for long. At the end of the day, credit is the lifeblood of a bank and also of a thriving economy. That being said, the small loans meant for online shopping for Indian customers located in villages, towns and even in large cities, are chugging along at a decent pace. The money disbursed by the banks for online purchases are small but the volumes could eventually be huge due to the rapidly growing appetite for online shopping in the country.

The Indian economy is currently week but the big festive season sales conducted by Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart saw both companies report record sales. Despite not being at the level of China, the two companies recorded combined sales of $3 billion according to a leading consulting firm. In addition to that, another market research firm has estimated that the spending could actually hit $5 billion by October end. However, the most important thing to mention in this regard is the fact that as much as 70% of the transactions that took place during these discount periods were done through credit methods.

That is a key statistic and goes to show that the appetite for online shopping could eventually lead to a revival in banks. On the other hand, a large percentage of the purchases made on both Amazon and Flipkart were from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the country. Moreover, the fact that these loans are often paid off within a short turnaround time makes it an excellent debt asset for the bank. Internet penetration is growing in India at a breakneck pace and that will further help in developing the customer base all across the nation. Notably, extending its operation further, Amazon has come up with a fulfillment center in Rugby, Warwickshire for which, it will soon be hiring locally.