Tech firm Exizent on why Bereavement processes are not fit for the 21st Century
Exizent, the Glasgow based technology firm recently launched its Probate Prospects survey which revealed why bereavement processes need a radical overhaul.
It surveyed the legal profession who handle probate, the process of dealing with the estate of someone who has died. It found that even though most law firms (64%) either have specialist probate teams or people who mainly work on probate cases, the vast majority feel the processes are inefficient and could be enhanced by technology.
The top reason respondents gave for why they think probate cases take so long was waiting for financial institutions to get back to them’, with more than half (56%) saying this was the main hold up. More than half of respondents also said they had to wait up to eight weeks for a response ”“ a third of those had to wait more than eight weeks.
After waiting on institutions’, respondents said administration’ was the next most time-consuming part of the probate process, with more than a quarter (27%) saying this causes the most delays.
Exizent’s research also revealed that Covid-19 has exacerbated the problem even further. Almost three quarters of those surveyed said the lockdown has impacted their executory work, citing financial institutions taking even longer to respond as a result of working from home.
Nick Cousins, founder and CEO of Exizent said:
“Our research shows that a significant majority of professionals think the time it takes to process probate cases is unreasonable, and that administration and waiting on institutions is taking up most of their time, yet most (85%) don’t have any technology dedicated to managing probate while 18% don’t use any software at all. “People’s lives are increasingly dispersed and varied. Performing executry work with a growing number of banks and institutions is more complex than ever. Without standardisation and the right tools available, too much time is wasted on administration. What this means for families is frustration, long delays and unnecessary anguish in trying to piece together what’s required to administer an estate and release assets to beneficiaries.
“However, with the right technology in place, we know professionals involved with estate administration could cut down the time and cost involved with managing probate cases exponentially and make the bereavement experience better for everyone involved.”
The Exizent online platform is specially designed for executry teams managing probate. Exizent is working with major banks, share registrars, and other institutions to build standardised requests and responses, making it easier for legal services firms and institutions to work together to sort out what is needed and making the process more efficient and easing the burden on executors and families.
Cousins’ and co-founder Aleks Tomczyk’s own experiences led them to establish Exizent. They felt that the administrative tasks facing families after the death of a loved one should be far easier.
They have spent the last 18 months carefully designing, developing, and testing the product with innovative partners, and, in September, successfully raised £3.6 million in funding from several investors including FNZ. It launched fully to legal professionals this month.
Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels
FinTech Scotland, ScotlandIS and LawscotTech to build strong digital economy through collaborative clusters initiative
Three of Scotland’s leading technology cluster voices are to work more closely to stimulate Scotland’s digital economy and develop cross-sector collaboration that will lead to growth and a prosperous economy.
The collaborative cluster approach by FinTech Scotland, ScotlandIS and the Law Society of Scotland’s LawscotTech aims to bring leaders together from a diversity of disciplines and expertise. The aim is to share learning experiences and solutions to help speed up the rate of innovation and help businesses and individuals adapt to new working practices, following the outbreak of COVID-19.
Scotland has distinctive advantages in terms of its existing collaborative business culture, access to government and funding agencies, its raw talent and history in global sectors such as finance, health, data, advanced manufacturing, energy, engineering and legal and other professional services.
Karen Meechan, Chief Operating Officer of ScotlandIS, the membership and cluster management organisation for Scotland’s digital technologies industry, said:
“ScotlandIS, the Law Society Scotland and FinTech Scotland have a shared ethos and ambition to create a truly digital nation, one that recognises the value of the digital economy and uses its power to enable growth for all sectors. This natural step forward will allow member companies of the three organisations to collaborate and innovate, and to further drive the step change in business and the wider society. We’re looking forward to working closely together going forward and the opportunities that it will bring.”
FinTech Scotland is the leadership body developing an integrated financial innovation cluster working with innovative entrepreneurs, large global enterprises, skills bodies, public sector, investors and citizen groups.
Stephen Ingledew, Executive Chair and founder of FinTech Scotland, said:
“Bringing together our collective strengths across the clusters will enable us to be best placed to address the economic and social challenges faced by many communities and businesses. This is reinforced by our shared values of inclusivity and collaboration being at the heart of all innovation developments. I am excited by the opportunities to bring together participants and development the collaboration with colleagues at Scotland IS and the Law Society of Scotland”
Amanda Millar, President of the Law Society of Scotland and founding member of the LawscotTech Advisory Board, said:
“At the heart of LawscotTech is collaboration and bringing the right people from the legal and technology worlds together to collectively stimulate legal technology innovation and build a stronger future for the profession and the clients we serve. I am really pleased that we have been able to reach out and expand that to work with Fintech Scotland and ScotlandIS who have been making great progress. Together we can harness our collective energy and create the right conditions for our tech eco-systems to thrive and play a pivotal role in the Scotland’s economy.”
The first article in a series of collaborative content from ScotlandIS Cyber and Data Clusters, FinTech Scotland and LawscotTech considers how working from home can impact on employees’ attitudes towards diligence and how companies can encourage a compliance-driven culture in a remote setting. It is available to read on the Law Society of Scotland website.
New Chief Financial Officer for fintech Autorek
Kenny Bain will join Scottish fintech AutoRek, a leading software provider to global financial services, as Chief Financial Officer. He will play a key role in evolving and scaling the company.
Bain was previously Chief Executive Officer of Rant and Rave and is very experienced in financial leadership and operational management with a proven track record of delivering substantial growth in the software and technology sector, in the UK and internationally. Prior to this, Mr. Bain worked for 14-year at Graham Technology, as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and EMEA Managing Director, as the business expanded across the US, Europe and Asia.
“We are delighted to welcome Kenny onboard. He brings a wealth of invaluable experience from the software technology sector, which will no doubt make an enormous contribution as we continue to build on the success of AutoRek within the UK financial services sector and internationally.”
Gordon McHarg, CEO, AutoRek
“I am delighted to join AutoRek at this exciting time and look forward to working with Gordon and the team to deliver further growth. The business has a fantastic culture, a highly engaged team, a market leading product and is passionate about customer success – all positioning AutoRek perfectly to capture the significant opportunities that lie ahead.”
Kenny Bain, Chief Financial Officer, AutoRek, added,
Check Point Software Announces Strategic Partnership with FinTech Scotland
Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a leading provider of cyber-security solutions globally, has today announced that it has become a strategic partner of FinTech Scotland, an independent not-for-profit body jointly established by the private sector and the Scottish Government. Check Point solutions bring a practical boost to cyber-security awareness and engagement with Scottish fintech firms.
The partnership will see Check Point deliver cyber-security education and training initiatives to organizations operating in FinTech Scotland’s cluster. It will also work with the fintech SMEs to enable cyber-security from the outset with focused solutions to help protect their businesses against cyber threats targeting networks, cloud deployments and mobile devices.
FinTech Scotland is supported by a broad range of global financial services, technology, and professional services firms, as well as University of Edinburgh and University of Strathclyde, the Financial Conduct Authority, Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise. Check Point brings its expertise and global experience on cyber security, which will help further develop Scotland’s position as a global fintech cluster.
“Scotland is home to a phenomenal pool of fintech talent. However, as with many sectors, these firms face complex challenges right now, as they navigate the changes to their networks due to the rapid digital transformation and remote working practices forced upon us all. By partnering with FinTech Scotland, we aim to equip these firms with the tools and support they need to ensure cybersecurity is deeply embedded within their business in these challenging times and beyond.”
Roddy MacCallum, Head of Scotland at Check Point Software Technologies.
“We’re delighted to welcome Check Point as a strategic partner. They join a group of global organisations that have decided to support the development and growth of the Scottish fintech cluster. Cyber threats are one of the biggest concerns for fintech entrepreneurs. Involving a global expert in cyber security will help address those concerns and support fintech SME’s to confidently develop safe and secure innovation.”
Nicola Anderson, interim CEO at FinTech Scotland.
The partnership with FinTech Scotland further demonstrates Check Point’s ongoing commitment to providing essential education and training in Scotland. To mark the launch of the partnership, Check Point and FinTech Scotland are hosting an online event on 26 November to discuss the latest cyber-security threats in the sector. To register for interest, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fintech-scotland-zero-touch-security-tickets-127138640095
Follow Check Point via:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/checkpointsw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/checkpointsoftware
Blog: http://blog.checkpoint.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/CPGlobal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies
About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is a leading provider of cyber security solutions to governments and corporate enterprises globally. Its solutions protect customers from 5th generation cyber-attacks with an industry leading catch rate of malware, ransomware and other types of attacks. Check Point offers its multilevel security architecture, Infinity Total Protection with Gen V advanced threat prevention, which defends enterprises’ cloud, network and mobile device held information. Check Point provides the most comprehensive and intuitive one point of control security management system. Check Point protects over 100,000 organizations of all sizes.
£9m investment for Scottish fintech Modulr
Edinburgh based fintech, Modulr, just announced a £9 million investment from PayPal Ventures. This fresh investment will help the company develop new products, recruit and reach new clients.
Modulr let companies easily implement new payment products and services within their customer journey. The fintech provides a full stack Payments as a Service API, whilst taking care of the complexities and regulatory overhead. Modulr has a direct access to the
Modulr works with platforms that serve small and medium-sized businesses. This year has been rich in news for the company with the onboarding of new customers despite problems caused by COVID-19. Modulr connected to the Back scheme, the Faster Payments scheme, Visa and Mastercard.
“This investment marks an important milestone for Modulr’s modern payments infrastructure. Modulr lowers the barriers to bringing payments into a platform, creating endless new possibilities for our customers while allowing them to focus on their core competencies. The investment from PayPal Ventures enhances our ability to execute on that vision.”
Myles Stephenson, CEO of Modulr
“More digital businesses are looking to incorporate payments into their existing user experience but either don’t have the expertise or the resources. Modulr is well-positioned to be an enabler of this trend and will undoubtably expand end-users’ access to fast, reliable and secure financial services. We look forward to working with Modulr as it helps to powers the next generation of digital businesses.”
Anil Hansjee, partner at PayPal Ventures
In total, Modulr has raised £63.3 million including investment from PayPal Ventures, Highland Europe, Frog Capital, Blenheim Chalcot and a £10m grant from the Capability and Innovation Fund.
FinTech Scotland welcomes Google Cloud to the fintech cluster
Google Cloud is joining forces with cluster management organisation, FinTech Scotland, to support the growth of the fintech small and medium enterprise community in Scotland.
With most fintech firms using cloud solutions to integrate more easily with their clients cost-effectively, the addition of Google Cloud to FinTech Scotland’s cluster will further enable new innovation at speed as well as benefiting from Google’s cloud knowledge and expertise.
This will especially be valuable to the growing number of fintech enterprises focused on data-driven innovation to improve financial services and products.
Google Cloud will join a broad range of large financial services enterprises and global technology and professional services providers in supporting the growth and development of the innovative fintech SME community .
Since its launch in January 2018, FinTech Scotland has been growing the number of global organisations involved in the cluster to bring innovation and collaboration opportunities to the fintech SME community.
Google Cloud’s strengths in data capabilities plus the innovative and entrepreneurial nature of Scotland’s fintech community will help further develop Scotland’s position as a major global fintech cluster.
Scotland’s fintech cluster is continuing to grow, evidenced by the growing number of fintech SME firms, innovation and research initiatives with universities, plus the collaborative support from government and global organisations.
“We very much welcome Google Cloud expert engagement with the fintech community and cluster as it acts as a further boost to driving impactful innovation. Google Cloud data capabilities and know-how will certainly be of great value to the innovative SME community in Scotland.”
Stephen Ingledew, FinTech Scotland’s executive chair
AutoRek to partner with iSoftware4Banks in the USA
It was announced today that Scottish fintech, AutoRek, would be partnering with iSoftware4Banks, a company based in the USA which provides solutions to support effective financial reporting and compliance.
With this partnership, AutoRek and iSoftware4Banks will offer their clients improved automation and better ROI. This will be achieved by bringing together highly experienced consultants and leading data management technologies.
Due to the current global epidemic, the financial sector, historically office-based, is moving towards different ays of working with many more people working from home. This change generates various operational issues across financial institutions. To adapt, those firms are reviewing their IT infrastructure, systems and outsourced services to future proof robust operational resilience strategies to ensure uninterrupted service. This is why this partnership was born, to help large financial companies achieve transformation whilst keeping on top of reporting and compliance requirement in a new and more efficient way.
“Our partnership with iSoftware4Banks comes at a crucial point of this year. As financial services firms consider their 2021 budgets after a turbulent year of operational risk, they will inevitably seek optimal value, which together we are confident in delivering.”
Head of Partnerships at AutoRek, Marc McCarthy
“We are delighted to be partnering with AutoRek to offer excellence in financial and operational controls to meet regulatory and compliance requirements. In-depth market research confirmed AutoRek’s solution is the best on the market, and we look forward to working together.”
Vincent Raniere, Chief Executive Office, iSoftware4Banks
Obashi, first Scottish company to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community
Scottish fintech Obashi has become the first Scottish business to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community, an invitation-only group of the world’s most promising start-ups. It provides a tool to engage with public and private sector leaders and to contribute new solutions to overcome current crises and build future resiliency.
In their latest white paper, “A Roadmap for Cross-Border Data Flows: Future-Proofing Readiness and Cooperation in the New Data Economy”, the forum recently recognised that understanding dataflow is paramount when developing the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We are delighted to have Obashi join our Global Innovators Community,” says. We are excited to work with Obashi within the Data Policy Platform given their focus on data flows as a key to accessing the opportunities of the new global data economy”
Sheila Warren, Head of Blockchain, Digital Assets and Data Policy at the World Economic Forum.
Obashi provides a flexible dataflow governance model that enables any organisation to understand and unlock their dataflow potential.
“Dataflow underpins every industry on the planet, and it’s exciting and heartening to now see it being recognised as a vital global utility and a key component part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We’re delighted to be the first Scottish company to begin collaborating with the World Economic Forum and other technology leaders as part of the Global Innovator’s Community.”
Fergus Cloughley, CEO of Obashi
As part of the Global Innovators Community, Obashi will help define the global agenda on key issues with a particular focus on shaping the future of technology governance ”“ Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Ping Identity to acquire Scottish fintech Symphonic Software
It was announced today that identity solution Ping had acquired Scottish fintech Symphonic Software, who specialises in dynamic authorisation for protecting APIs, data, apps and resources through identity.
This acquisition comes after a couple of years of collaboration between the 2 companies during which they combined Symphonic’s authorisation platform with Ping’s data privacy and consent products. The combination of both solutions allows their clients to centralise administration and enforcement of critical resources and data for all types of users, applications and devices in a language that is easily understood.
“With increasing data privacy regulations, users are demanding that enterprises give them better digital experiences with more transparency and control. The acquisition of Symphonic accelerates our vision for enterprises to not only maintain security and compliance with confidence, but to easily deliver personalised, trustworthy experiences.”
Andre Durand, CEO and Founder of Ping Identity
The features offered by both companies help companies avoid costly bespoke integrations thanks to native services that are at the centre of identity platforms like users, groups, entitlements, consents, and risk.
“For the past two years Symphonic has worked alongside Ping to make policy management easy for enterprises. Ping Identity’s dedication to their customers aligns well with Symphonic’s values, and we are thrilled to continue our journey together as one.”
Derick James, CEO of Symphonic
Auticon launches Autism Advisory Service
Many organisations are now familiar with the advantages they can gain from diversity in their workforce and most consider diversity in social backgrounds, gender, culture, and other individual qualities of their employees. Benefits from neurodiversity are similar but more direct. Because neurodivergent people are wired differently from “neurotypical” people, they may bring new perspectives to a company’s efforts to create or recognise value.
The case for neurodiverse hiring is especially compelling given the skills shortages that increasingly afflict technology and other industries. The biggest deficits are expected to be in strategically important and rapidly expanding areas such as IT security, data analytics and IT services implementation, whose tasks are a good match with the abilities of some neurodivergent people.
A growing number of companies, including SAP, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and Microsoft, have reformed their HR processes to access neurodiverse talent. They have reported seeing productivity gains, quality improvement, boosts in innovative capabilities, and increased employee engagement as a result.
To create a neurodiverse workforce, there are three key things that your organisation can do today to attract and retain highly skilled workers on the autism spectrum: Start by having an awareness of your current organisation and its needs; adapt your hiring practices that could be unintentionally eliminating people on the autism spectrum; and review how you communicate both within and out with your organisation.
auticon, an International IT Consultancy and Advisory business, exclusively employing autistic consultants, can help you plan and implement these changes, enabling you to tap into the traits and talents of neurodivergent people which are beneficial to business: the ability to look at a problem differently, see trends in large amounts of data, apply problem-solving methodologies, and persist and follow through on repetitive tasks. These abilities lend themselves to high performance in technology roles.
auticon Scotland have obtained funding from the Scottish Government as part of their Increasing the Understanding of Autism’ campaign and are using this funding to launch their Autism Advisory Service in Scotland. This service can work with you and your organisation and make recommendations as to how you can attract, recruit and retain your own neurodiverse talent. The bonus is that while auticon have this Scottish Government funding, they are able to offer this service for free.
To find out more, please contact auticon directly: emma.walker@auticon.co.uk
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels