Day: November 9, 2021

Posted on

Standard Bank enabled UnionPay contactless payments across South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Standard Bank South Africa (SBSA) and UnionPay International (UPI) jointly announced that Standard Bank point-of-sale devices have been enabled for UnionPay contactless payment.

The cooperation is a strategic move from UPI that follows the surging trend of the global contactless payment industry and accelerates the development of international mobile payment services.

According to a survey conducted by RTI[1], around 30% of the respondents have started to use contactless payments since the pandemic began. And 70% of those users are likely to continue using contactless payments post-COVID-19. Contactless payments have emerged as an essential solution for all the businesses as it enables them to drive their business forward along with ensuring safety to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“At Standard Bank, we continue to be at the forefront of providing our clients with a variety of innovative digital and contactless payment solutions,” says Nelisa Zulu, Head of Card and Payments at Standard Bank South Africa.

“We have seen contactless payment spend grow by 272% year-on-year, as we see our clients’ preferences shift towards digital alternatives for payment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through our relationships with UnionPay, we continue to offer easy and convenient payment solutions for our clients, including simply tapping their cards,” comments Zulu.

“We are grateful to further extend our cooperation with Standard Bank”, said Luping Zhang, General Manager at UnionPay International Africa. “We encourage UnionPay cardholders to use contactless payments to minimise the impact of the pandemic on their daily life”.

Standard Bank is the largest banking group on the African continent by assets offering universal financial services across sub-Saharan Africa. With a deep understanding of emerging markets and evolving consumer demands, Standard Bank is working to support and grow the number of transactions through partnerships.

At present, UnionPay cards are widely accepted in South Africa in all sectors, effectively meeting the diverse purchasing needs of UnionPay cardholders living and visiting South Africa. UnionPay’s acceptance network has expanded to 180 countries and regions in recent years, with cards issued in 70 countries and regions, including over 10 African countries. The Nilson Report (Issue 1154) shows that UnionPay ranks first among all card schemes in terms of cards issuance and transaction volume worldwide.  UnionPay has launched various innovative payment products in Africa in response to the worldwide digital transformation and financial inclusion.

Posted on

OANDA partners with CONVRS to revolutionise account opening process

LONDON, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — A global leader in online multi-asset trading services, currency data and analytics, OANDA has partnered with personalised customer engagement platform, CONVRS to enhance the account opening process and better engage with clients.

Under the partnership, prospective traders in the emerging markets can now open a demo account direct from a wide range of messaging apps, making the process simpler than ever. The new integration also enables OANDA to converse with prospects and clients through Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, LINE, Telegram and SMS in 53 languages.

Kurt vom Scheidt, Chief Operating Officer with OANDA, remarked, “In today’s world, people are increasingly using instant messaging apps in every aspect of their daily lives. As such, we wanted to upgrade our onboarding protocols to better reflect this, extending our channels of communication to include the world’s most popular social media and mobile messaging apps, ushering our client engagement activities into the 21st century in the process.”

“Combining deep-seated expertise in the retail trading industry with a comprehensive plug-and-play solution, CONVRS was a natural choice. It’s exciting for OANDA to be able to increase engagement with our clients in a way that’s easiest for them by using their choice of tools and methods rather than those that might otherwise be imposed upon them. We look forward to introducing our new messaging capabilities to other jurisdictions around the world in the coming months,” he continued.

Further commenting, Enis Mehmet, Cofounder at CONVRS, said, “A FinTech firm at heart, OANDA has earned a reputation for using cutting-edge technology to connect with their clients’ ever-changing needs. Given the 85% open rate for messaging apps, OANDA is now meeting its clients where they are. Being able to support them in a variety of available channels, we look forward to working with how they engage clients in the other stages of the customer journey.”

About OANDA

Founded in 1996, OANDA was the first company to share exchange rate data free of charge on the Internet, launching an FX trading platform that helped pioneer the development of web-based currency trading five years later. Today, the group provides online multi-asset trading, currency data and analytics to retail and corporate clients, demonstrating an unrivalled expertise in foreign exchange. With regulated entities in nine of the world’s most active financial markets, OANDA remains dedicated to transforming the business of foreign exchange. For more information, please visit oanda.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

About CONVRS

CONVRS (conv.rs) was established in 2018 and is presently used by over 25 financial intermediaries including leading FX/CFD brokers and digital banking solutions. The technology integrates messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, LINE together with SMS and website chat in an API-driven omnichannel platform, streamlining the company and customer conversations. Founded by two financial markets industry veterans, CONVRS is now the leading partner for financial intermediaries looking to engage their clients in conversational experiences, from opening demo accounts, chatting with business agents or receiving personalised curated content.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1581985/OANDA_colour_logo_Logo.jpg

Posted on

G&W Electric Announces All New Teros™ Recloser for High Speed Fault Isolation

The all-new smart solution improves grid reliability, resiliency, mitigates outage risks and easily integrates into existing electrical grids

BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — G&W Electric, a global supplier of electric power equipment since 1905, today announced the launch of its Teros™ Recloser which is available for markets outside the U.S. and Canada. Capable of working with a variety of configurations in any application, the new Teros recloser is designed to improve system reliability and grid resiliency. This new recloser provides overcurrent protection for temporary faults on overhead distribution lines and reduces long-term system outages.

“Grid reliability affects everyone—all around the globe—from the average household to entire factories and telecom systems. The results are not just inconvenient, but economic,” said John Mueller, chairman and owner of G&W Electric. “To better mitigate disruption and to manage reliable electrical service, improvements made in recloser technology are imperative to ensuring a reduction in widespread power outages. Today, reclosers are the critical must-have in a utility’s grid reliability.”

The new Teros recloser offers a wide range of benefits and fits most configurations, despite a wide variance of requirements from country to country. Requiring no oil or SF6, the Teros Recloser eliminates the need for routine maintenance and improves personnel safety. Solid dielectric and electronically controlled, Teros has been field-tested for reliable load switching and overcurrent protection. Whether looking to improve or expand grid systems and capabilities, the Teros offers utilities site-ready designs for new and existing electrical systems.

“With growing populations and a greater demand for reliable power, paired with new construction, a reliance on technology and the effects of climate change, utilities are working hard to save customers the expenses and inconveniences of frequent outages,” added Mueller. “Reclosers have become the global market solution to the expansion and modernization of distribution networks for enhanced reliable power.”

The Teros system is designed to reduce the amount, frequency, and duration of outages on overhead systems, including main distribution lines, distribution branch circuits and substations. Lightweight and compact, the Teros site-ready designs provide all the necessary brackets, arresters and voltage transformers providing ease of installation. In addition, this new recloser is power grid automation ready, simplifying the need for future automation requirements.

To learn more about the grid resiliency challenges faced around the globe, download G&W Electric’s latest white paper titled, “Reclosers: Safeguarding Electrical Grid Reliability, reducing system outages and increasing reliability by providing quality overcurrent protection on overhead lines.”

To learn more about Teros System Recloser visit www.gwelectric.com/teros.

About G&W Electric

Since 1905, G&W Electric has helped power the world with innovative power grid solutions and products. With the introduction of the first disconnectable cable terminating device in the early 1900s, G&W Electric began to build a reputation for innovative engineered solutions to meet the needs of systems designers. With an ever-present commitment to customer satisfaction, G&W Electric enjoys a worldwide reputation for quality products and superior service. For more information on G&W Electric visit their new website at www.gwelectric.com. Follow G&W Electric on Twitter @GW_Electric and on LinkedIn.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1600848/GW_Electric_Logo.jpg

Posted on

NASA Bumps Astronaut Moon Landing to 2025 at Earliest

NASA on Tuesday delayed putting astronauts back on the moon until 2025 at the earliest, missing the deadline set by the Trump administration.

The space agency had been aiming for 2024 for the first moon landing by astronauts in a half-century.

In announcing the delay, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Congress did not provide enough money to develop a landing system for its Artemis moon program and more money is needed for its Orion capsule. In addition, a legal challenge by Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, stalled work for months on the Starship lunar landing system under development by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Officials said technology for new spacesuits also needs to ramp up, before astronauts can return to the moon.

NASA is still targeting next February for the first test flight of its moon rocket, the Space Launch System, or SLS, with an Orion capsule. No one will be on board. Instead, astronauts will strap in for the second Artemis flight, flying beyond the moon but not landing in 2024, a year later than planned. That would bump the moon landing to at least 2025, according to Nelson.

“The human landing system is a crucial part of our work to get the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface, and we are getting geared up to go,” Nelson told reporters. “NASA is committed to help restore America’s standing in the world.”

Nelson made note of China’s ambitious and aggressive space program, and warned it could overtake the U.S. in lunar exploration.

NASA’s last moon landing by astronauts occurred during Apollo 17 in 1972. Altogether, 12 men explored the lunar surface.

During a National Space Council meeting in 2019, Vice President Mike Pence called for landing astronauts on the moon within five years “by any means necessary.” NASA had been shooting for a lunar landing in 2028, and pushing it up by four years was considered at the time exceedingly ambitious, if not improbable.

Congress will need to increase funding, beginning with the 2023 budget, in order for NASA to have private companies competing for the planned 10 or more moon landings by astronauts, Nelson said.

The space agency also is requesting a bigger budget for its Orion capsules, from $6.7 billion to $9.3 billion, citing delays during the coronavirus pandemic and storm damage to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the main manufacturing site for SLS and Orion. Development costs for the rocket through the first Artemis flight next year stand at $11 billion.

Vice President Kamala Harris will convene her first National Space Council meeting, as its chair, on December 1. Nelson said he updated her on the latest schedule and costs during their visit to Maryland’s Goddard Space Flight Center on Friday.

Source: Voice of America

Posted on

Facebook Plans to Remove Thousands of Sensitive Ad-Targeting Options

Facebook Inc. said on Tuesday it plans to remove detailed ad-targeting options that refer to “sensitive” topics, such as ads based on interactions with content around race, health, religious practices, political beliefs or sexual orientation.

The company, which recently changed its name to Meta and which makes the vast majority of its revenue through digital advertising, has been under intense scrutiny over its ad-targeting abilities and rules in recent years.

In a blog post, Facebook gave examples of targeting categories that would no longer be allowed on its platforms, such as “Lung cancer awareness,” “World Diabetes Day,” “LGBT culture,” “Jewish holidays” or political beliefs and social issues. It said the change would take place starting Jan. 19, 2022.

The company has been hit with criticisms around its micro-targeting capabilities, including over abuses such as advertisers discriminating against or targeting vulnerable groups. In 2019, it agreed to make changes to its ads platform as part of a settlement over housing discrimination issues.

“We’ve heard concerns from experts that targeting options like these could be used in ways that lead to negative experiences for people in underrepresented groups,” Graham Mudd, the company’s vice president of product marketing for ads, said in the post.

Its tailored ad abilities are used by wide-ranging advertisers, including political campaigns and social issue groups, as well as businesses.

“The decision to remove these Detailed Targeting options was not easy, and we know this change may negatively impact some businesses and organizations,” Mudd said in the post, adding that some advertising partners were concerned they would not be able to use these ads to generate positive social change.

Advertisers on Facebook’s platforms can still target audiences by location, use their own customer lists, reach custom audiences who have engaged with their content and send ads to people with similar characteristics to those users.

The move marks a key shift for the company’s approach to social and political advertising, though it is not expected to have major financial implications. CEO Mark Zuckerberg estimated in 2019, for example, that politicians’ ads would make up less than 0.5% of Facebook’s 2020 revenue.

The issue of political advertising on social media platforms, including whether the content of politicians’ ads should be fact-checked, provoked much debate among the public, lawmakers and companies around the U.S. presidential election.

Twitter in 2019 banned political ads altogether, but Facebook had previously said it would not limit how political advertisers reached potential voters.

Facebook, which now allows users to opt to see fewer ads related to topics like politics and alcohol, said on Tuesday it would early next year give people more controls over the ads they see, including ones about gambling and weight loss.

Source: Voice of America

Proudly powered by WordPress