Issue 7 2021

4 Acquisition International - Issue 7 2021 News : from around the world DeVere E-Money Appoints New CEO DeVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and fintech organisations, has appointed a new CEO to lead its growing electronic money brand. Dimitris Litsikakis will take over with immediate effect as chief executive of deVere E-Money from Nigel Green, the founder and CEO of the deVere Group of companies. Mr Green retains 100% of the shares and remains on the Board of deVere E-Money. Before this appointment, Mr Litsikakis was Global Head of Fintech at deVere Group for two and a half years. He joined deVere after a year with Revolut, and previous to that a 15-year career with other fintech companies at a senior level. In his new role, he will be responsible to oversee all the company’s operations and business activities, including long and short-term business strategies and plans. He says: “I’m delighted to be taking on the CEO position at a time when digital-only banking is beginning to reshape the entire sector on a global scale. “The future of banking is digital – fintech has already redefined the way we deal with money - and deVere E-Money, an agile, ambitious, tech-focused company, is at the forefront of the industry. “We will develop and grow our existing offerings and will expand our proposition further. Our plans include imminently launching a corporate banking feature for businesses that require advanced banking tools that automate their operations and reduce costs and fees.” Of the appointment, Nigel Green notes: “I’m delighted that someone of Dimitris’ remarkable skill set, expertise and experience is taking the CEO role as we move to use our resources to further dominate digital banking and meet growing demand and evolving client expectations. “deVere E-Money aims to be a trusted partner of its clients by delivering world-class fintech solutions, including deVere Vault. “Our mission is to help our clients spend, receive, send, pay and hold money in no less than 27 currencies for less. “We know our clients increasingly think of themselves as global citizens and, as such, they want borderless, instant, 24/7 access to, use and management of their money wherever they are in the world. This is what we offer.” He adds: “Dimitris’ appointment will also give me the space and time to push ahead in other key areas of growth and development of the deVere Group of companies, which now includes almost 100 entities.” Earlier this month, the results from a deVere Group global poll of more than 550 millennial clients (those born between 1980 and 1996) show that 59% of those surveyed already only ever use digital banking services or are planning to make the switch to do so this year. Of that poll, Nigel Green noted: “Mobile-first millennials expect easy, immediate access and control of their finances in the palm of their hand. They demand to be able to transfer money and pay bills in one tap or swipe. They want to be able to review their spending habits, be offered guidance and have real-time access. “Traditional banks have a long way to go to catch-up with tech-driven challenger banks and fintech firms.” Specialist RegTech provider Shield today announces a new and enhanced version of its powerful end-to-end communications compliance platform. The new version provides powerful enhancements including additional Alert Transparency information, additional management options, and a new Segregation of Duty layer. The new features are designed to deliver greater flexibility, control and visibility of alerts to compliance teams, as Nicole Aviv, Head of Product at Shield commented, “We have introduced a raft of new and enhanced features which provide real-world benefits to firms. Greater transparency of data enables the compliance officer to make an informed choice and better understand what needs further attention.” On the same theme of providing more power to the compliance officer, the additional model management and Alert Scoring options enable users to customize and have further autonomy on their use of the Shield platform, fine tuning the configuration to ensure it fits the specific needs of business operations, internal policies, and the requirements/practices of applicable regulators. Nicole added, “Our new Segregation of Duty layer enables the firm to better control access to sensitive data. This works across a variety of different criteria, depending upon data privacy restrictions and specific requirements of the business.” Featuring improved transcript capabilities and support for additional third-party sources, the latest upgrade ensures the Shield platform always has access to the most appropriate data, and therefore generates the most accurate results. Enhancements to the new version also ensure that the Shield platform always performs its own checks, rather than relying on the data source to give this reassurance, whilst providing a full view of every step of the ingestion process. The enhancements to the Shield platform are rounded off with an updated language filter, based upon feedback from Shield’s customers. The new version of the Shield platform is just the latest stage in its continued evolution, as Nicole concluded, “As financial sector working practices and regulations continue to evolve in the new normal, it is vital that our platform continues to reliably anticipate and alert on ongoing and potential threats and issues. The new version’s refinements and additions are designed to ensure our clients have all the tools necessary to ensure their business remains compliant, and customers remain fully protected.” New Version of the Shield Compliance Platform Ensures Enhanced Protection and Greater Transparency in a Rapidly Evolving Financial Sector