Up until recently, Visa and Mastercard had a negative crypto stance, banning crypto purchases and then reclassifying the way Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency purchases are processed on their networks. As a result, a few international exchanges have since been accepting Credit and Debit card crypto purchases. AltCoinTrader, a first in South Africa to follow international trends, now also accepts card payments for crypto purchases. AltCoinTrader one of South Africa’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges - established in 2015, boasts having the most cryptocurrencies on their portfolio that can be bought with fiat directly, now also have the option using Debit or Credit card purchases. Currently AltCoinTrader has nineteen coins, with more additions to be included in 2019. Richard de Sousa, Partner at AltCoinTrader says, “As the cryptocurrency market evolves and matures it is imperative to accommodate customers in various ways, as more people are entering the market. Ease of use-and-convenience allows the customer a seamless purchasing experience.” Over the last few years, crypto exchanges that allow traders direct trading facilities such as Credit card usage have grown in popularity. The main reason why Credit card acceptability in exchanges is important is the fast and streamlined trading process. As the market also is grappling from the Visa/Mastercard ban, the issuance of direct Debit Crypto-cards by both processors are slowly again in roll-out phase in various continents. Visa and Mastercard have since expressed their openness to continue offering processing services to crypto-card issuers. The companies has been strict in dealing with rule-breakers, as demonstrated by the ban that left thousands of customers without cards when a direct card issuer like Wavecrest was blocked. Even so, companies are exploring new partnerships and issuers that do operate within the processors frameworks. Customers can now pay using their smartphones in a faster and more . . .
Adapting to the changing role of data and analytics in banking and financial services
The constant evolution of technology is slowly proving to the world that banks are no longer a necessity however banking will always be necessary. Financial service providers’ focus has turned to harnessing the digital revolution, building consumers’ trust using data-driven solutions, and empowering banking operations to evolve into a digital millennium. According to Nikhil Aggarwal, Executive Director and Head of FCC Analytics at Standard Chartered Bank, ‘The biggest unexploited opportunity in banking analytics is the lack of ‘connectivity’ within the enterprise. For example, most financial institutions have built out separate analytics practices including marketing and digital (web, social, and mobile) analytics, credit risk analytics, operations analytics, fraud analytics, and compliance analytics.’ The changing role of data and analytics in the banking environment is allowing for the innovation of technological capabilities in order to get more intelligent about customers’ needs. The customers’ ability to act in real-time on that intelligence is one key trend affecting the financial services industry. The Evolution of Data Analytics in Banking Conference 2019 will be held on the 3 & 4 April at the Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg. The event will dissect the use of data and analytical techniques to help financial services providers meet regulatory and reporting requirements. Also to be discussed is how running analytics at a product level can provide a more holistic view of customers across their portfolios. The two-day conference will have a look at the evolution of data and analytics in banking, new innovation and technology; data security and cloud adoption; data management; data and analytics initiatives, and data regulatory concerns. Trade conferences international has been at the forefront of producing banking and financial services conferences. This conference will be an extension of TCI’s successful Big Data and Analytics . . .
Twenty Nineteen, plenty to thrive in, enterprise development that is – Thabo Phokane, Servest’s CFO reflects on the year ahead
Johannesburg 29 January 2019 - Enterprise Development (ED) and Supplier Development (E&SD) is one of the most current government and private sector driven programs, after the 2003 Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) document. These programs are racially selective systems to empower previously disadvantaged groups and to enhance the economy, in South Africa. According to the Stellenbosch Business School, Enterprise Development is defined as ‘the act of investing time and capital in helping people establish, expand or improve businesses.’ This certainly presents young entrepreneurs, inventors and those with unique business ideas, with the opportunity of making a difference in society - not just for themselves, but for other economically active citizens as well. At the end of 2018, nearly 800 000 matric candidates sat for their final exams across the country. Of these many will opt to further their studies through a tertiary institution, but for those who will be seeking employment, it will not be easy. According to an article in Fin24, less than a quarter of matriculates will find jobs relatively quickly. The economist, Mike Schüssler of economists.co.za said in the online article - about the previous year’s matriculates - dated January 2018, “Those members of the matric class of 2017 who will not be studying further, but will be looking for a job, will not be easily absorbed by the job market.” He continued, “it will be tough for them to get work. Over 50% of our matriculates under the age of 34 have not found permanent employment and it’s not getting better.” [https://goo.al/pfEP3H] Whilst the facts of the situation are important, seemingly, discomforting news articles make those who just completed their exams, be it in school or a tertiary institution, rather despondent. These are meant to be the years to which they look forward to making a difference and impacting the South African economy; and those communities in which they live. Those . . .
1Life leads direct life insurance market for the 8th year running
Tuesday, 29th January 2019 – 1Life, a leading direct life insurer, is proud to have maintained its position as South Africa’s leading direct life insurer, with the largest market share (by new business sold) for the 8th year running. This is according to the 15th annual Swiss Re Individual Risk Market New Business Volume Survey, published recently. “In a market that is defined by economic pressures, we acknowledge that we are in a very fortunate position to be at the forefront of the direct life insurance market. I believe that our success can be attributed to the strong support of our customers and their commitment to our market approach and product innovation,” says Laurence Hillman, CEO at 1Life. “In fact, our entire business is underpinned by seeking to offer solutions that change people’s lives.” There are several critical considerations to make when driving business growth – one of which is grasping a better understanding of target audiences and their changing needs - and then adapting products and solutions to meet these specific demands. “Placing a focus on getting this right is a key mantra for the 1Life brand and drives everything we do. Understanding your audience and addressing their needs, both from a lifestyle, and cost perspective, is paramount,” says Hillman. “Further to this is the ability to create an easy underwriting process across product lines, which not only encourages new business acquisition but, very importantly, customer retention. In 2018, we continued to make great strides in gaining a deeper understanding of the potential customer base, how we market to them and, most importantly, how we deliver products that are of specific value to any one target segment – all of which presented new opportunities for us to examine how to maintain and drive value for customers.” The Swiss Re research indicated that digital distribution strategies, simplified underwriting processes, product design and technology (84% in total) are all . . .
Section 12J – Putting your tax Rands to work for a better South Africa
One of the first entrants to the South African 12J venture capital landscape is celebrating its fourth year of profitable returns to shareholders. Anuva Investments Ltd (Anuva) reported R14.1 million in profit for its 2018 financial year and distributed R10.5 million to its Class-A shareholders – achieving an impressive 8% dividend yield. “We were incorporated in 2014 as a section 12J compliant venture capital company (VCC) making us the perfect partner for South African taxpayers looking to maximise the tax allowance on offer under section 12J of the Income Tax Act,” says Neill Hobbs, co-founder and CEO at Anuva Investments. The company has already raised more than R235 million in capital. Section 12J is South Africa’s answer to a popular business expansion scheme launched in the United Kingdom in 1994 – the Enterprise Investment Scheme. The tax incentives offered to UK investors under this scheme underpinned investments in more than 25000 small unlisted UK-based businesses over the decade ending 2015. In July 2009 the South African Revenue Services (SARS) introduced a similar tax incentive to encourage ordinary South African taxpayers to invest into qualifying small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) via an approved 12J VCC. Section 12J seeks to stimulate the local economy and create jobs by offering taxpayers a 100% tax allowance on investments into companies that meet certain qualifying requirements. Ordinary taxpayers can claim the full tax allowance provided they remain invested in the section 12J compliant opportunity for a period of five years. Although capital gains tax rules apply upon exiting such investments, financial modelling confirms greater efficiency using a 12J in a CGT scenario, together with the potential for significant returns over that period and thanks to the upfront tax allowance. Interest in section 12J investments picked up in 2014 as investors sought to alleviate their rising tax liabilities on the one hand and bolster . . .
World Record Cryptocurrency Meetup
Bitcoin Ben and the Wild West Crypto Show team up to host the Guinness Book of Worlds Record Worlds Largest Crypto Meetup at the Buggy Barn Museum in Blanco Texas April 6 2019. Kerrville, Texas, Jan 11, 2019 -- Join Bitcoin Ben, the Wild West Crypto Show and thousands of the worlds top Cryptocurrency Influencers, experts, youtube sensations, artists, radio and tv personalities and the CryptoCurious for a journey back in time at the Buggy Barn Museum in Blanco, Texas. Bitcoin Ben is one of the worlds biggest youtube sensations sharing and pontificating on all things Crypto and Blockchain. Been is embarking on a World Meetup Tour to inform and educate everyone who will listen about this amazing phenomenon taking the financial world by storm. Ben's daily you tube videos are fun and loaded with information. As a stuttering truck driver, he brings the crypto message to the masses. Click here for an example of his presentations, you will love him like more than 20,000 others do! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-uwNu-6kGU&t=2s The Wild West Crypto Show is the worlds foremost media resource for all things Cryptocurrency and Blockchain. Drew Taylor and Brent Bates bring the often cryptic topic of Cryptocurrency to a level any ole cowboy can understand. Their unique style and message is fun and informative. These ole Texas cowboys attend conferences all over the globe and interview every expert or enthusiast that is looking for their 12 minutes of fame. This TV/Radio/Podcast and YouTube show is in the top 150 podcasts on all of iTunes, can be found Wednesdays Primetime from 8:30-9:00 on 45 TV stations in every major city in the country as well as C-Suite TV and Radio and Binge Networks. These guys also have their own ROKU channel. www.wildwestcryptoshow.com The Buggy Barn Museum features over 200 horse drawn carriages including a Paddy Wagon, a Wedding Carriage and a Hearse plus buggies and carriages used in dozens of Hollywood movies. The grounds are an old . . .
First conference on third party risk management to be staged in South Africa
Trade Conferences International, the preferred conference organiser for the Southern African major banks, IT and financial service providers, will be hosting the first third party risk conference in South Africa. The Third Party Risk Management 2019 Conference will be taking place on 19 – 20 March 2019 at Indaba Hotel, Fourways, Johannesburg. This two days conference will be addressed by more than 15 industry experts, tacking the following The third party risk management landscape in Southern Africa Managing risk and instituting best practice due diligence principles Setting up a third party risk management framework Impact of technology and data on third party risk For the brochure with full programme contact Portia Dhlamini, Project Manager, on portia@tci-sa.co.za or 011 803 1553 Professionals dealing with the following will highly benefit from attending this conference; sourcing * vendor management * procurement * compliance* KYS/KYC * regulation * innovation *reporting * financial crime * monitoring & control * risk management * cyber security *identity management * legal affairs* fraud * auditing *forensics * information technology * data management * financial regulation and supervision * financial surveillance * assurance * transactional monitoring * treasury * shared services * cyber security * contract management * supply chain CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. . . .
Four good reasons to deep clean your office for the New Year, by Ross Anderson, MD of Office Services at Servest.
Johannesburg, 3 January 2019 - As the holiday season comes to a close, many of us make plans to ‘spring clean’ our lives, our cupboards, our homes and so much more. However, just as you plan to clean your personal space, de-clutter your surroundings, office managers and those responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of work spaces, should consider the benefits of using the quiet period to give the work or office environment a deep clean. 1. Downtime makes for good organisation While staff are away, there is likely to be very little disruption to the process and more importantly, to the colleagues of the company. The quiet period is the perfect time to get your ‘house in order’, as they say. During the year, when everyone is doing the grind and are too busy to side step their office space or use different bathrooms, it can be a great inconvenience to do more than the required cleaning and upkeep of the office environment. 2. Image is everything First impressions are important. In psychology it is defined as the event when one person first encounters another person, object or scene. In legal terms, a first impression is defined as a first consideration or judgement. In an interview scenario, you are being judged by your employer, however some employers simply don’t think about your judgement of their environment. An unkempt, unhygienic environment does not make for a good portrayal of the work environment and can leave any visitor to the office, with unintended and even unsuspecting forms of a negative mental image of the business. ‘Judging the book by its cover’, is not just a saying, it happens and as beings who are influenced by image, a negative appearance can greatly tarnish the image of your brand - and it does not matter who is affected because word of mouth makes for an impression by everyone with whom this information is shared. 3. Hygiene makes for a healthy work environment Absenteeism from work can be linked to many things in society . . .
Compare Car Insurance For You
In a recent drive to improve communications with prospective clients, Compare Car Insurance has taken the decision to implement a few changes to it's website. Whilst these updates may seem simple and obvious, they are fundamental improvements to the customer journey and will enable a caller to speak with a call operative in their preferred native language. It can be very difficult to fully engage with a client and understand their insurance needs if they are forced to speak a language that they are not 100% comfortable with. Many clients become frustrated when they are automatically forced into an initial sales funnel that attempts to determine both language and gender. It's for this reason that Compare Car Insurance has decided to better serve our customer by giving them the option of selecting in which language the call centre sales representative first speaks to them. A secondary gender selector further enables the system to select which companies are going to be the best fit. If for example you are a female, then the First For Women insurance products are a most likely fit and the quoting process is going to be tailored to suit your female profile. First For Women have invested a great deal of expertise in tailoring insurance products that are more affordable for it's clientele and Compare Car Insurance is able to streamline this initial contact process by matching clients to appropriate insurance products. Compare Car Insurance is committed to bringing you multiple quotes from only the best South African insurance companies. Expect these and other beneficial product and quoting improvement in the future. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. More Info on Compare Car Insurance For You here: https://www.comparecarinsurance.co.za/contact-us/ . . .
Bitcoin Basics 101-Part 14
https://youtu.be/PXI9i953F7Y Read and learn about the many aspects of Bitcoin and Markethive. You can Join Markethive Social Network For Entrepreneurs Here For Free. For any answers to questions Contact Clyde Thorburn Here. Author : Bitcoins Basics 101 PDF Ebook by DAVID DODGE and BRIAN DIXON Because it's somewhat complicated to use, there's a chance that a lot of the world's population may not use it, which will affect whether Bitcoin continues to grow or not. This is changing gradually as Bitcoin software becomes easier to use, but a lot more work needs to be done before Bitcoin really takes off. Luckily, there's a lot of financial gain to be had by those who can come up with easier ways to use Bitcoin. This means there's going to be a lot of people working on the problem of Bitcoin being difficult for some people to understand and use. It is a poor use of computing power Last but not least, you have to consider that Bitcoin mining takes quite a bit of processing power. This computational power could be used for other more productive reasons. Some say that the Bitcoin network is already the world's largest peer-to-peer network - at least when it comes to processing and number crunching. This may not seem like a big thing, but you have to consider all the electricity that's needed to keep all the computers on the network going. CHAPTER THREE. ADVICE AND TIPS FOR BITCOIN. For this last chapter, we're going to stick with some simple advice and tips for you to get the most out of your experience with Bitcoin. Become Involved. One of the very best ways you can learn more about Bitcoin is to become involved yourself. To do this, you just need to create a Bitcoin Wallet by installing the Bitcoin Client. Once you do this, you're going to be part of the network. You can use one of the methods mentioned earlier in the ebook to start to collect your own bitcoins and watch them increase or decrease in value over time. Be Wary. At the same time, you want to be cautious . . .
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