RIPPLE ACQUIRES 40% STAKE IN ASIA'S LEADING CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS SPECIALIST TRANGLO

 Strengthens ongoing partnership to expand RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity in key markets starting in Southeast Asia


SINGAPORE, March 30 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ripple, the leading provider of enterprise blockchain solutions for global payments, announced that it has agreed to acquire 40% of Asia’s leading cross-border payments specialist Tranglo. This partnership will allow Ripple to meet growing customer demand in the region and expand the reach of On-Demand Liquidity (ODL), which uses the digital asset XRP to send money instantly and reduce working capital needs.

As a pioneer for cross-border payment services, Tranglo will play a critical role in supporting existing corridors, such as the Philippines, and introducing new ODL corridors within its current network. As Ripple broadens its ODL footprint in the region, RippleNet customers using ODL will also be able to leverage Ripple’s Line of Credit to free up working capital and scale cross-border payments into more markets than ever before. Tranglo will continue to provide and expand its current payment services to make cross-border transactions faster, cheaper and more secure for its customers.

Southeast Asia’s payments landscape is highly fragmented. Each country comes with its own unique process and payments infrastructure - the lack of a standard integration for regional cross-border payments currently requires expensive workarounds. This partnership will see both companies combine their in-depth local expertise to address the challenges associated with cross-border payments.

Ripple’s investment in Tranglo is a reflection of the company’s deepened commitment to enriching the payments ecosystem in Southeast Asia, the fastest-growing region for RippleNet adoption. Last week, the company announced Brooks Entwistle as Managing Director of Southeast Asia to lead and scale its SEA operations.

Jacky Lee, Chief Executive Officer at Tranglo, said: “Tranglo has always prided itself on making cross-border transactions faster, cheaper and more secure. By partnering closely with Ripple and introducing On-Demand Liquidity to new markets, we aim to further that ambition to provide accessible and equitable financial services to the masses.”

Asheesh Birla, General Manager of RippleNet at Ripple, said: “Tranglo’s robust payments infrastructure coupled with their unparalleled customer service and quality makes them an ideal partner to support our expansion of On-Demand Liquidity starting with the Southeast Asia region. We are excited to continue and carry out our shared mission to transform cross-border transactions to be faster, cheaper and more secure with blockchain technology and digital assets.”

Completion of this transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions and is expected to occur in 2021. Upon completion, Amir Sarhangi, VP of Product and Delivery at Ripple, and Brooks Entwistle will join Tranglo’s board of directors. TNG Fintech Group will remain the majority shareholder in Tranglo and will work with Ripple to further expand Tranglo’s global remittances network.

RippleNet leverages distributed ledger technology to deliver financial solutions - from bi-directional messaging, settlement, liquidity management and lines of credit - to a global network of partners. Last year, Ripple announced Line of Credit, a service on RippleNet that allows customers using On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) to source capital on-demand to initiate cross-border payments at scale using the digital asset XRP.

About Ripple

Ripple enables payments everywhere, every way, for everyone using the power of blockchain. By joining Ripple’s growing, global network (RippleNet), financial institutions can process their customers’ payments anywhere in the world instantly, reliably and cost-effectively. Banks and payment providers can use the digital asset XRP to further reduce their costs and access new markets. With offices in San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York, London, Mumbai, Singapore, São Paulo, Reykjavik and Dubai, Ripple has hundreds of customers around the world.

About Tranglo

Tranglo is a cross-border payment hub with a proven track record in business payment, foreign remittance and mobile payment solutions. Founded in 2008, we have offices in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Dubai and London. Our global network spans more than 100 countries, 2,500 mobile operators, 1,300 banks/wallets and 130,000 cash pickup points.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210329005796/en/

Contact

Stacey Ngo
press@ripple.com

Source : Ripple

AM BEST AFFIRMS CREDIT RATINGS OF NEW ZEALAND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS LIMITED

 SINGAPORE, March 26 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” of New Zealand Medical Professionals Limited (NZMPL) (New Zealand). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect NZMPL’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

NZMPL’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which remains at the strongest level. In addition, the balance sheet assessment is supported by the company’s reinsurance program placed with a highly rated counterparty, which protects NZMPL against large single losses and aggregate exposure. However, an offsetting balance sheet factor is the company’s small absolute capital base, which increases the sensitivity of capital adequacy to shock events. Prospective risk-adjusted capitalisation is viewed to be dependent on NZMPL’s ability to retain earnings to support business growth, which is driven by its underwriting performance and investment income, as well as the level of future dividend distribution. AM Best also considers the company to have limited financial flexibility.

AM Best views NZMPL’s operating performance as adequate, as demonstrated by a five-year average return-on-equity ratio of 10.1 % (fiscal-years 2016-2020). NZMPL has a track record of positive earnings, driven by its sound underwriting performance and stable investment returns. Following a period of unfavourable claims experience in fiscal-years 2018 and 2019, NZMPL’s underwriting performance improved in fiscal-year 2020, as a result of remedial actions taken by management including premium rate adjustments. However, the company’s investment performance in fiscal-year 2020 was affected adversely by financial market volatility driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospectively, AM Best expects the company to report positive earnings over the medium term, despite near-term challenging investment landscape.

AM Best views NZMPL’s business profile as limited. The company is a small and niche insurer in New Zealand focused on providing medical indemnity insurance to medical practitioners and health professionals. The company’s claims consist largely of legal fees, as most medical injury costs are covered by the Accident Compensation Corporation in New Zealand. As a monoline insurer that operates solely in one country, the company has limited product and geographical diversification. NZMPL’s access to new business is supported by its affiliation with the New Zealand Resident Doctors’ Association.

NZMPL’s ERM is viewed as appropriate given the size and complexity of its operations. The company has moderate exposure to operational risks, as it has outsourced most of its operations to third-party service providers. However, the company’s management has taken suitable measures to mitigate this risk including using high quality providers and contract arrangements to ensure the continuity of services.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210325005671/en/

Contact

Yi Ding
Financial Analyst
+65 6303 5021
yi.ding@ambest.com

Yuan Tian
Senior Financial Analyst
+65 6303 5016
yuan.tian@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Manager, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Jim Peavy
Director, Communications
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644
james.peavy@ambest.com

Source : AM Best

JAPAN’S FIRST DIGITAL ‘BANK FOR EVERYONE’ STARTS COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS IN MAY

 

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (Bernama) -- Minna Bank Ltd, the Japan’s first digital bank which acquired a banking licence last year-end, will commence commercial operations in May.

According to a statement, Minna Bank which means ‘a bank for everyone’ in Japanese, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fukuoka Financial Group Inc.

Minna Bank’s services are designed to cater to needs and sensibilities of digital natives - a segment traditionally underserved by the financial services industry.

The services are exclusively and entirely accessible by smartphone, where customers can easily open an account and deposit, withdraw and transfer funds 24/7.

Minna Bank will run on a next generation banking system, developed in partnership with Accenture and running on Google Cloud.

Running entirely on the public cloud (a first in Japan), Minna Bank will deliver an entirely new and technologically-advanced banking experience.

Minna Bank’s core banking system will not only run their retail operations, but also be made available to third parties wishing to leverage the highly flexible system to power discrete embedded finance offerings or even run comprehensive branded banking services.

“We have built our system based on the ideas of digital natives and a flexible API architecture, making it possible for everyone to create and deliver embedded finance offerings,” said Minna Bank Ltd President, Koji Yokota.

Yokota added the company planned to deliver a cloud native banking system to Asia and other regions of the globe.

-- BERNAMA

Groundbreaking FENIX360 App to Be Made Available to FENIX Global Artist Ambassadors and Their Invitees

 

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 24 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FENIX360 today announced that in the coming week, the groundbreaking FENIX360 app will be made available to its growing and impressive force of celebrity Global Artist Ambassadors (30+ and rapidly increasing). These are highly accomplished artists that are excited about the FENIX360 platform and keen to speak to fellow artists, friends, and others about the opportunities it uniquely affords.

When FENIX360 completes its Global Artist Ambassador phase at the end of April, 2021, it will then announce plans for the immediate and progressive rollout of the FENIX360 app globally.

ABOUT FENIX

In 2018, FENIX began building a blockchain ecosystem designed to facilitate all musicians with a dedicated following -- however small or large -- to be able to earn a living. The principal was that FENIX should provide all revenues to the artist apart from the small percentage necessary for running the FENIX business. And that FENIX should continually create new tools for the artist. Since that time, in what FENIX describes as an “evolution to a revolution,” FENIX has focused on making the core feature of its ecosystem -- being able to build a unique, content-filled app in 20 minutes -- available to anybody as the basis for a completely new type of social media. www.fenix360.net and www.fenix.band


View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210323006016/en/

Contact

DOMINIKA BANDIKOVA
+421 911 290 741
dominika@fenix.cash

Source : FENIX360