The Monday Roundup: what we are watching this week | February 13th

By Puja Sharma

The Monday Roundup sets the scene for the week’s biggest news stories, industry deals, and upcoming events. For Prime subscribers only.

Payment value propositions

🤝🏽Ascenda, the world leader in powering global rewards card and payment value propositions for financial brands, announced its partnership with Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank to power their innovative new rewards program.

Axis Bank, with a presence of 4,760 branches in India across 2,676 cities and towns, is going to leverage Ascenda’s premium rewards infrastructure and points exchange marketplace to produce a unique proposition targeting the ever increasing premium traveler segment.

Speaking on this announcement, Sanjeev Moghe, President & Head- Cards & Payments, Axis Bank, said, “We have been continuously working on innovation-led partnership models to strengthen value propositions for customers and deliver premium benefits at convenience. In this endeavour, we are delighted to have  partnered with Ascenda to power our innovative rewards program. We have observed that the travel segment is a high engagement area for our customers and our best-in-class rewards proposition will add an immense value to our customers’ travel plans.”

James Cooper, VP of Partnerships & Marketing at Ascenda, added: “We’re proud to announce this partnership and are delighted to be working with Axis Bank, enabling their growth in the Indian premium card market at a time when travel is rebounding in such fantastic fashion.”

🌿In the FCA’s discussion paper, a wide range of experts discuss sustainable initiatives and how the financial sector is evolving.

The FCA is asking for interested contributors to respond to questions using an online form by the 10th of May 2023. The discussion paper explores regulatory compliance and competence in the sustainability sector and is targeting banks, asset management firms, investment firms, and financial institutions.

FCA director of ESG Sacha Sadan said, “As a regulator, we are committed to playing our part in the government’s vision for the UK to be the world’s first net zero aligned financial centre. In the Chancellor’s latest remit letter to us, the Government called out the important role the FCA has and requested that we have regard to their ambitions for the provision of sustainable finance and their commitment to a net zero economy by 2050.

“But creating positive, sustainable change isn’t just about climate change. It’s about looking beyond and considering the wider environmental issues, such as biodiversity and nature, as well as social and governance issues, such as diversity and inclusion, the living wage, fair taxation and supply chains.”

Sustainable future

✂️US-based financial technology company Affirm has laid off 19% of its workforce, the company announced in its second-quarter earnings report. “We are reducing the size of our team by 19%. This was the single most difficult decision I have had to make since Affirm’s founding, but I believe it is the right one. I take full responsibility for it and the actions that led us to this point,” Founder & CEO Max Levchin wrote in a message.

Levchin further said that during the early part of the pandemic, the company “consciously hired ahead of the revenue required to support the size of the team”, with revenue growth justifying the strategy. Moreover, the fintech firm also mentioned that the company will be sunsetting several initiatives, such as Affirm Crypto.

The CEO told shareholders Affirm expects to keep its headcount “essentially flat for the foreseeable future”. “In FQ2023, we redirected the substantial majority of our R&D efforts towards margin-improving projects, repeat consumer engagement, and Debit+ and plan to continue executing this focused roadmap for several quarters,” Levchin said. The employees that are laid off in the US will be offered a minimum of 15 weeks base pay as severance plus an additional week per year of tenure, according to the company.

🌳 To provide ESG data and reporting solutions and services, KPMG has partnered with business data and reporting solutions provider Workiva.

KPMG US ESG leader Rob Fisher said, “We’ve experienced more momentum for sustainability reporting to meet the same rigors as financial reporting. As a premier implementation partner, we are working with Workiva to help clients go beyond compliance, to develop decarbonization strategies that connect data with technology and drive not just reporting but trust.”

According to both firms, the enhanced alliance comes as global sustainability reporting requirements continue to evolve, with emerging expectations for companies to provide “investor-grade” ESG disclosures based on complete, accurate and consistent data.

KPMG will leverage Workiva’s platform, enabling simplified and automated ESG disclosure, while providing auditability and assisting clients in maximizing value.

Workiva COO and president Julie Iskow added, “As sustainability disclosure requirements continue to evolve, there is an expectation that ESG disclosures be board-ready and investor grade. Workiva’s cloud technology is unrivaled.

What is the buzz

🤖Sanctions have been imposed on seven members of the Russian hacking collective Trickbot by the United States and the United Kingdom, as reported by Finextra.

In 2016, Trikbot emerged as a trojan virus designed to steal financial data and has since evolved into a highly modular malware suite used for ransomware attacks.

According to US and UK officials, current members of the Trickbot Group are associated with Russian Intelligence Services and have aligned the gang’s actions with Russian state objectives – including targeting the US government and US companies.

One of the seven, Kovalev, has also been charged in the US with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and eight counts of bank fraud in connection with a series of intrusions into victim bank accounts held at various US-based financial institutions that occurred in 2009 and 2010.

“Cyber criminals, particularly those based in Russia, seek to attack critical infrastructure, target U.S. businesses, and exploit the international financial system,” says Under Secretary Brian Nelson. “The United States is taking action today in partnership with the United Kingdom because international cooperation is key to addressing Russian cybercrime.”