TymeBank, a South African digital challenger bank established in 2018, has deployed IMX’s new KYNETIX regulatory reporting solution to enhance its compliance infrastructure for international card transactions. In under three months, KYNETIX was integrated with TymeBank’s core banking system to report all international card transactions.

IMX KYNETIX is a sophisticated, automated reporting suite that only requires manual intervention in the case of exceptions and provides peace of mind with updates each time the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) or Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) makes a change.

TymeBank is immediately benefitting from KYNETIX’s fully automated daily reporting capability to manage SARB’s foreign exchange compliance requirements and FIC’s goAML reporting requirements.

The first majority black-owned retail bank in South Africa to hit 1 million customers, TymeBank has a mission to help every South African access affordable banking and is investing in leading edge technology solutions to meet this objective.

Like all banks, TymeBank has complex compliance-reporting obligations which require automation to lower costs and increase efficiency. This includes Balance of Payments (BoP) reporting on international cross-border transactions to the SARB in a specified format, to comply with Financial Surveillance requirements and International Funds Transfer Reporting (IFTR) to the FIC on international trades above R5000.

To support the licence application to process international card payments, TymeBank required an automated system to meet stringent SARB rules. As a result, they partnered with IMX Software to install KYNETIX to manage risk and compliance across their business.

“Recognising that compliance is an evolving environment, we ensure customers get new releases of KYNETIX each time anything changes. The application takes care of the end-to-end reporting process,” says Dinisha Srikison, Business Lead, IMX KYNETIX.

After consultation with IMX to define project scope, TymeBank was able to comfortably meet the SARB inspection requirements. KYNETIX features straight-through processing, which requires no manual intervention, a must-have for SARB. The module takes care of reversals, replacements, cancellations, and corrections through an easy-to-use web interface.

IMX Software has over 15 years of cross-border reporting experience and has utilized this knowledge to develop a licensed software solution incorporating all future SARB and FIC changes and validation rule updates. The module provides an automated submission engine to SARB and FIC, compliant with FINSURV and goAML specifications.

Crown Currency Exchange, a well-established bureau de change operator operating on Australia’s Eastern seaboard, is implementing IMX Software’s GTS-Retail currency point of sale system across its Australian branch network. Crown selected the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) version of GTS Retail to support its recent business expansion from 13 to 30 branches.

IMX Software’s SaaS-based solution increases customer transaction performance whilst lowering operating costs and complying with Australia’s strict know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations.

The IMX solution will enable Crown to store client information centrally, enabling repeat customers across the business to be fulfilled rapidly without having to capture additional documents whilst managing limits on an individual’s transaction ‘velocity’ across its network.

The software-as-a-service contract was awarded to IMX due to user familiarity, scalability and flexibility of its new GTS-Retail system, which will be delivered as a managed service from a high-specification Australian hosting environment with support from IMX’s Melbourne office.

Jim Stewart-Koster, CEO at Crown Currency Exchange says: “GTS-Retail is an excellent platform for both selling and reporting, whether that is compliance or management related. We are very pleased with IMX’s expert support during our implementation.  In addition, GTS-Retail’s easy to use sales interface has led to rapid staff acceptance in the bureaus.”

Says Mars Miocic, IMX Software’s Product Director based in Melbourne: “We are delighted to take Crown live on IMX’s SaaS-based version of GTS-Retail which gives the business unprecedented visibility of its stock and cash position, allowing branch staff to easily manage important trading, stock and profitability metrics while focusing on delivering great service to the customer.”

Regulatory technology (Regtech) provider IMX Software has closed a new deal with Cape Town-based SFX Money Transfer, a division of Sikhona Forex (Pty) Ltd, to supply the company with its solution for automated, real time sanctions and PEP screening of customers and beneficiaries, as well as its regulatory reporting solution for automated daily central bank submissions.

SFX customers can register for the international remittance service via branches, the Mobile App SFX-RIA on both Apple and Android, a WhatsApp channel, the SFX call center, mobile USSD or its field agents.

As a licensed ADLA (Authorized Dealer with Limited Authority), SFX has strict customer screening and regulatory reporting obligations which need to be fulfilled with the highest possible level of automation in order to allow the business to meet its challenging growth and productivity targets.

IMX’s regulatory reporting solution suite includes FinSurv reporting to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) of cross-border foreign exchange transactions and reporting to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) of International Fund Transfers (IFTR) and Suspicious Transactions (STR). Both are performed on a daily basis and have complex exception management processes which are controlled via IMX’s GTS regtech administration platform.

IMX Software has partnered with ComplyAdvantage, the leading AI-based compliance vendor, for automated global sanctions and PEP screening.

Sikhona is migrating from IMX Software’s legacy software, which has powered its business for over 8 years.

Sean Maloney, Chief Executive at SFX Money Transfer commented that: “IMX Software is providing best-in-class regulator-compliant solutions to the foreign currency and remittance industry, allowing SFX to focus its time and effort on product innovation to drive our growth in the highly competitive South African remittance market.”

IMX Software has successfully upgraded eight bank and bureau clients in Namibia to its GTS-Retail software, in line with new reporting requirements from the Bank of Namibia which came into effect this quarter.

The clients include five authorized dealers with limited authority (ADLAs) who are also using GTS-Retail as the point-of-sale solution in their FX bureau branches, and three bank clients using GTS-Retail as their cross-border transaction reporting system.

The IMX solution has been updated to the new Bank of Namibia standards and includes powerful features that streamline regulatory reporting for financial institutions in southern Africa dealing in foreign exchange.

The updated compliance software enables banks, licensed retail forex bureaus and remittance providers in the Common Monetary Area (CMA) to easily comply with the reporting requirements of their countries’ Financial Intelligence Units and central banks.

Says Hennie Pretorius, General Manager at IMX Software South Africa: “We are pleased to announce that through our proactive work with the regulatory authorities over the past 12 months we were able to update our solution in good time to assist our Namibian clients to meet their evolving KYC and anti-money laundering obligations under this new reporting standard for financial institutions in Namibia.”

IMX Software announced today that Travelex Africa Foreign Exchange has successfully completed its second month of trading on the new GTS-Retail trading system after a rapid, 2-month implementation.

Following its purchase of Travelex Africa Foreign Exchange in January 2019, Tourvest Financial Services needed urgently to migrate all Travelex branches to GTS-Retail to improve operational and compliance processes and to enable synergies between the two businesses. A combined Tourvest and IMX project team completed what would normally be a 6-month project in 2 months.

Marlize van der Schyff, Finance and IT Director at Tourvest Financial Services says: “By adopting the same GTS-Retail configuration we have in Tourvest, we were able to fast-track the implementation without facing the risks an accelerated project usually entails.  We are already seeing the benefits of the GTS system in the areas of operations, finance and compliance in Travelex as well as in synergies across the combined Tourvest/Travelex businesses. ”

GTS-Retail is a modern, easy-to-use, multi-language point of sale system enabling forex providers and banknote traders to serve customers quickly, while efficiently managing their business and inventory. Centralized administration and reporting provide a clear view of performance and ensure that trading, AML, KYC and other business-specific rules are enforced.

GTS-Retail is tailored to the highly specific needs of the South African market, with compliance modules for South African Reserve Bank FinSurv reporting as well as integration with the Financial Intelligence Centre’s goAML software for reporting of larger cash transactions, suspicious transactions and international fund transfers.

IMX Software announced today that it has concluded an agreement with Travelex Africa Foreign Exchange to replace its existing foreign exchange trading system with GTS-Retail.

Travelex Africa has signed a five-year agreement to implement IMX Software’s market-leading point-of-sale trading and regulatory compliance solution, GTS-Retail, together with the leading real-time sanctions and PEP checking service from ComplyAdvantage. IMX Software is the global leader in currency trading and travel money technology.

Travelex operates 38 branches across South Africa including OR Tambo International airport. In January, the South African assets of Travelex were purchased by Tourvest Financial Services – an existing GTS-Retail client – increasing Tourvest’s branch estate to 87. Tourvest has prioritised the rollout of GTS-Retail in Travelex to gain the operational and compliance advantages the GTS platform provides. The project is being fast-tracked to achieve go-live across all Travelex branches by 1 April this year.

Says Andrew McDonic CEO at Tourvest Financial Services: “GTS-Retail is key to our operational effectiveness and we look forward to achieving the same benefits in the Travelex branches. Also, the common technology platform will facilitate the transition of branches from the American Express brand to Travelex prior to the expiry of Tourvest’s franchise agreement with American Express in June.”

GTS-Retail is a modern, easy-to-use, multi-language point of sale system enabling forex providers and banknote traders to serve customers quickly, while efficiently managing their business and inventory. Centralized administration and reporting provide a clear view of performance and ensure that trading, AML, KYC and other business-specific rules are enforced.

GTS-Retail is tailored to the highly specific needs of the South African market, with compliance modules for South African Reserve Bank FinSurv reporting as well as integration with the Financial Intelligence Centre’s goAML software for reporting of larger cash transactions, suspicious transactions and international fund transfers.

In addition, Western Union and MasterCard integrations eliminate dual capture of transactions, and the embedded International Reference Systems’ banknote verification service allows tellers to verify banknote security features for all currencies.

Phoenix Forex, a new bureau de change operator based in Central London, has selected and implemented IMX Software’s GTS-Retail currency point of sale system to launch its new business. Phoenix selected the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) version of GTS Retail which allowed the branch to be up & running just a few days after securing new premises.

GTS-Retail will support Phoenix’s strategic positioning as a provider of competitive pricing and excellent service, and provide a base for planned expansion of operations.

IMX Software’s SaaS-based solution significantly boosts transaction performance whilst lowering operating costs and complying with know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. The solution will enable Phoenix to store client information centrally, enabling repeat customers across the business to be fulfilled rapidly without having to capture additional documents.

The software-as-a-service contract was awarded to IMX due to the superior modernity, scalability and flexibility of its new GTS-Retail system, which will be delivered as a managed service from a high-specification UK hosting environment.

Matt Richardson, Director at Phoenix says: “GTS has been rapidly accepted by the bureau staff as the interface must be the easiest to use on the market. Phoenix has a consistent view of its stock and cash position, allowing key staff to easily manage important trading, stock and profitability metrics while focusing on delivering great service to the customer.”

Says Bill Tickner, CCO of IMX Software: “We are delighted to take Phoenix Forex live on IMX’s SaaS-based version of GTS-Retail and look forward to supporting its ambitious plan for operational expansion.”

Al Baraka Bank, the pioneer of Islamic banking in South Africa and a subsidiary of the international Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C, has deployed IMX Software’s new generation foreign currency point-of-sale and trading compliance solution in all its branches across South Africa. A key requirement for Al Baraka was to efficiently manage foreign banknote availability across its national network in order to service its customer needs whilst optimising cash holdings.

Al Baraka has experienced strong growth in foreign banknote sales and needed to replace its existing system to enable faster transaction times and significantly improved inventory management and back-office reporting. Furthermore, the Bank plans to launch a remittance product in the future – a strategy GTS supports through out-of-the-box integration with the major remittance operators: Western Union, MoneyGram and Xpress Money.

Says Mohammed Kaka, Chief Operating Officer of Al Baraka Bank: “We are pleased to have been granted SARB approval to commence trading on GTS in time for our busy December/January trading period. The SARB mandates the maintenance of a single customer database in our core banking system and straight-through integration with our financial systems. The IMX team collaborated with our developers to successfully achieve this.”

GTS-Retail is a modern, easy-to-use, multi-language point of sale system enabling forex providers to serve customers quickly, while efficiently managing their compliance obligations and inventory. Centralized administration and reporting provide a clear view of business performance and ensure that trading, AML, KYC and other business-specific rules are enforced.

GTS-Retail is highly tailored to the specialist needs of the South African market, with compliance modules for South African Reserve Bank FinSurv reporting as well as integration with the Financial Intelligence Centre’s goAML software for reporting of larger cash transactions, suspicious transactions and international fund transfers.

Says Rob Stansell, Managing Director of IMX Software SA: “We are delighted to have Al Baraka as the first South African bank to use the GTS trading platform. We look forward to assisting Al Baraka to launch new products on the GTS platform in the future”.

P&O Ferries, the leading cross channel ferry operator with the largest UK fleet of ships, has on-boarded IMX Software’s new generation foreign currency point-of-sale and trading compliance solution under a five-year managed services agreement. A key consideration for P&O was to be able to trade ‘offline’ while sailing and to reliably synchronise trading and reference data upon reconnection in port.

The project has seen IMX Software’s GTS-Retail software solution implemented on board the entire P&O fleet of 15 ships; servicing routes across the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the English Channel. The implementation of GTS is expected to drive growth in retail foreign exchange sales to customers through faster transaction times with significantly improved back-office reporting and inventory management. The ferry operator selected IMX’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering to minimise internal IT impact, whilst integrating with P&O’s current IMX Reserve&Collect service which enables customers to pre-book currency through its website for on-board collection.

GTS-Retail is a modern, easy-to-use, multi-language point of sale system enabling forex providers to serve customers quickly, while efficiently managing their compliance obligations and inventory. Centralized administration and reporting provide a clear view of performance and ensure that trading, AML, KYC and other business-specific rules are enforced. IMX Software is the global leader in currency trading and travel money technology.

P&O Ferries, voted Best Ferry Company and Favourite Ferry Company by consumers at the Globe Travel Awards 2016, 2017 & 2018, already has a strong on-board Foreign Exchange business but needed to upgrade the technology platform to the latest standards of security, AML/KYC processes and reporting.

IMX Software’s SaaS-based solution will help P&O Ferries boost transaction turnover and lower internal operating costs, allowing better management control and optimisation of stock levels. The solution will enable P&O to improve accuracy and speed up transaction times at the point of sale.

Says Ian Goodall, CEO of IMX Software: “We’re always working with our clients to identify investment opportunities that offer our customers a better travel money experience. This successful project supports that goal through delivering an improved retail foreign exchange service whilst increasing operating controls and compliance reporting.”

Bill Tickner, Chief Commercial Officer of IMX Software’s new parent company Infinea, commented: “P&O has been an important customer of IMX for over 10 years and our team is pleased to continue supporting its growth plans with our newest software-as-a-service solution for on-board sales, whilst improving transaction times and data management via GTS-Retail’s unique offline technology.  In addition, the enhanced automation of compliance and risk processes will allow P&O’s on-board sales team to focus on engaging with the customer and maximizing the transaction value.”

London, 16-10-18

Infinea Group, a diverse global technology and FinTech services group, today announced that it has completed the 100% acquisition of UK-based IMX Software Group in a deal that adds fintech and regtech products, and a list of long term, blue-chip banking and money service clients to its portfolio as well as adding established London, UK and Melbourne, Australia locations.

IMX solutions are deployed globally in major banking and money service organisations including Thomas Cook, American Express, ANZ Bank, Bidvest, Credit Suisse, Commerzbank, RBS Group, Moneycorp, Change Group, Rand Merchant Bank, FOREX Bank, Travel Money Group and the Central Bank of Zambia.

Following the transaction, the head office of Infinea Group will move from Johannesburg to London in order to facilitate growth in overseas markets including Europe and the USA.

Infinea maintains several brands in technology, services, and payments including:

• Nacelle: a joint venture with Comair Ltd, one of Africa’s leading airline and aviation services groups, and owner of the regional British Airways franchise as well as low cost carrier Kulula.com, and regional aviation support companies. Nacelle operates all of the technology services, digital development, ground-side and air-side technology operations for Comair and its brands, and owns all airline and payments IP developed by one of Africa’s most successful airlines.
• InfineaPay: a modern payments provider created to allow every member of society to participate in digital commerce, with technologies to power issuance, acquiring of e-commerce, as well as multi-tiered payments models.
• InfineaLabs: provides all engineering and dev-ops services for all brands in the Infinea Group, and also makes its services available to outside customers at competitive rates, delivering modern, customer oriented, technology solutions from a wealth of talent and proven technology to a broad range of industry sectors.

As a result of this transaction, the IMX Software brand will be expanded upon, with the current executive management team remaining in senior roles within the new Infinea Group structure. As part of Infinea, the IMX Software team will be able to access new investment, incremental technical resources, new global markets and an advanced 24/7 software and services support organisation.

Fred Baumhardt, Infinea CEO commented that “Infinea is committed to building on IMX’s market leading specialisations and we will expand its financial services offerings, as well as consolidate other FinTech solutions under the IMX Software brand to bring all of Infinea’s financial technology innovations under one organisation with a proven track record of service delivery to customers in over 25 countries.”

Bill Tickner, IMX Software CEO said “the acquisition by Infinea represents an exciting new phase for IMX and the team is already contributing to the creation of a larger fintech solutions and service delivery organisation. Existing customers will be unaffected by this change as the IMX companies in the UK, Australia and South Africa will remain and become part of the Infinea Group. Ian Goodall, IMX’s COO, will provide continuity and maintain overall responsibility for the IMX portfolio, whilst ensuring IMX’s engineering and project excellence are maintained and expanded upon.”