Packages Packages Platinum Package 2,995 GBP- Limited Availability Suppor t ing front cover image & headl ine Two-page ar t icle Bespoke trophy Wal l plaque Personal ised digi tal logo Personal ised digi tal cer t i f icate 4-page digi tal e-magazine dedicated solely to your company Shipping included Longstanding Xero Director Launches Libeo In the UK • Libeo is a fully integrated and automated business-to-business invoice management and payments platform, bridging the gap between invoice management, payments, reconciliation and accounting • A European leader and specialist in B2B payments with a network of over 150,000 interconnected companies, Libeo has just launched in the UK • Libeo is off to a strong start with its UK launch accompanying technology and network approach offering the best payment experience • The expansion will be led by Glen Foster, Managing Director for the UK & Northern Europe, with vast experience in start-ups, accounting and growing businesses, having previously worked at Xero as Sales Director, UK & EMEA After several successful years of operation in France and across mainland Europe, business-to-business (B2B) payments specialist Libeo has officially launched in the UK market. Libeo is a firm European leader in digitised payments, and is now moving into a more mature market in the realm of digital transformation. With the leadership of newly appointed Glen Foster, Managing Director for the UK and Northern Europe, the move will be powered by Libeo’s competitive advantage and its innovative differentiating features. THE MARKET FOR B2B PAYMENT SOLUTIONS IN EUROPE AND THE UK Across Europe, there is still strong reliance on offline, pen-and-paper payment methods. While B2C payments have become mostly digitised in recent years, only around 25% of B2B invoices are filed electronically, according to Eurazeo. The UK is Europe’s most mature fintech market for consumers, both in terms of size and usage, according to the EY Global Fintech Adoption Index. However, the rate of adoption of fintech among SMEs in the UK is far lower, with 49% of UK businesses still using paper cheques to pay suppliers. Users of B2B payment solutions have heightened expectations regarding their payment experiences. This is because of their experience as retail consumers, making them aware of the possibilities for business payments processes. Technology must be used to add value to B2B payments, innovating the customer experience through automation and integrated processes. The UK has seen greater growth in payment solutions, with many new players constantly joining the market. The effect this growth has on stakeholders is twofold. On one hand, they are convinced that payments are a hot topic in the industry. On the other hand, they struggle to understand what the difference is between these different players in the industry, and what each one provides that is different. The large number of companies entering the B2B payment market reflects a shift taking place, where they attempt to fill the gap between consumer and business payment solutions. However, despite being surrounded by several competitors, Libeo is proud to offer their users the best payment experience. CURATING THE BEST PAYMENT EXPERIENCE Within the digital payments market, Libeo offers a unique and innovative user experience, with many flexible solutions. Firstly, Libeo has accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) capacities, while most of its competitors specialise in one or the other. By enabling users to both pay and get paid, Libeo offers greater convenience and possibilities to its clientele. By relying on all major payment rails, including Open Banking, BACS and Faster Payment, Libeo’s platform digests the complexity of payment rails, crafting the best experience for In addition, Libeo’s platform provides one click-payments with no limits on amount, and without the need to have money stored in a digital wallet or to log in to a bank account. Libeo payments work with all bank accounts, as well as foreign currencies. Further to this, Libeo is one of the only platforms to combine advanced workflows with the best payment experience. This gives Libeo a competitive edge against many other payment solutions platforms that offer generalist tools with simplified workflows, or fail to offer integrated services and systems, forcing accountants to spread their work across several apps created specifically for accounting, automation and payments. By integrating a comprehensive payment experience with advanced workflows, Libeo clearly sets itself apart from the competition. This enables Libeo’s users, whether business owners or accountants, to not only save more time with automated invoice management, but to reduce direct and indirect costs associated with manual invoice management, ultimately facilitating more efficient, data-driven businesses. A NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR TO SUPPORT THIS EXPANSION Libeo’s expansion into the UK is supported by the appointment of Glen Foster, a new Managing Director for the UK and Northern Europe. Glen has an extensive history of working with accounting software firms, and scaling up businesses. His focus is on driving world-class customer experiences powered by cutting-edge technology, while stimulating quality revenue and growth in SaaS companies. Glen is passionate about providing SME business owners with financial clarity, and giving them the tools needed to make their business succeed. He is a strong believer in the quality services and products Libeo provides their customers, and is equally passionate about Libeo’s values and mission to allow SME business owners to focus on the things that matter. Managing Director for the UK and Northern Europe, Glen Foster, said: “I’ve always been passionate about SMEs and accountants and bookkeepers, and Libeo gives me the opportunity to continue to support both, with great technology. I know all too well the challenges with paying and getting paid, and the impact that can have on a business owner. Equally, I’ve seen over the last 15 years how accountants specifically have widened their services to incorporate things such as supplier payments for clients, giving clients the time back to focus on running successful businesses.” Co-founder and CEO of Libeo, Pierre Dutaret said: “Our success in France is a strong indicator of the needs of the sector. The issues faced by our French customers are similar to those we identified in the UK - particularly within the SME segment - and we are confident that we can respond to them in a very relevant way. Our expansion into the UK, supports our ambition in becoming the European leader in business-to-business payments.” It is estimated that there are more than 250 neobanks worldwide. Incumbent banks should focus on faster time to market for new products and service plus new ways to add value and increase loyalty with their customers, says Abdul Naushad, CEO of Buckzy Payments. www.wealthandfinance-news.com Retirement & Planning Awards 2023 How Can Incumbent Banks Meet the Neobank Challenge? Editor’s Choice Package 4,995 GBP- Only One Available Main front cover image & headl ine 4-page ar t icle 2 bespoke trophies Wal l plaque Personal ised digi tal logo Personal ised digi tal cer t i f icate 8-page digi tal e-magazine wi th 100 pr ints dedicated solely to your company Double page spread in a future issue of Weal th and Finance Internat ional Shipping included www.wealthandfinance-news.com Retirement & Planning Awards 2023 How Can Incumbent Banks Meet the Neobank Challenge? In this issue: No one knows what the future will be, but with the right team at your side, it is possible to prepare for it. McCrea Financial Services Ltd has built a reputation for excellence in this field, providing much needed support for their clients. In the Retirement Planning Awards 2022, the team were named Best Pension Income Planning Specialists – Scotland. We look at the reasons behind their success to uncover more. Going Above And Beyond For Success cheqd is a new revolutionary company that is striving for the betterment of the future.Creating a world in which individuals have total control over their personal data – that is becoming increasingly prevalent thanks to the rise of technology. Javed Khattak is the company’s devoted CFO, named CFO of the Year in 2018, reclaims his title as CFO of the Year in 2022. cheqd is building a better future – one where consumers and organisations can establish trustworthy relationships, control their personal data, and maintain a sense of security. cheqd firmly believes that companies should not make money off people’s data without their consent. This means their informed and clear consent, not just pressing ‘I agree’ when the convoluted terms and conditions are displayed. To make this a reality, cheqd provides solutions that enable verifiable credentials to be transferred between stakeholders in a trustworthy, secure, and efficient manner. By extension, cheqd endeavours to support and enhance the current data economy business models and establish the flexibility and incentive to create new ones. As such, it achieves this by offering bespoke commercial models and governance structures, which have all been built upon cheqd’s own public permissionless blockchain network. This network features cheqd’s dedicated crypto-token (CHEQ) which is used as a form of payment within the ecosystem. In addition, the company supplies a suite of mobile and backend software tools that self-sovereign identity (SSI) vendors can embed in their own client-facing software. Consequently, the company, through great passion and devotion, has acquired numerous achievements. For example, CHEQ has been listed on Osmosis, the largest decentralised exchange in the Cosmos ecosystem. In addition, the Company has also successfully bridged its token onto the Ethereum blockchain allowing access to CHEQ in the Ethereum ecosystem as well. It is already listed on two centralised crypto exchanges; Gate.io and Bitmart, with more exciting news in the pipeline. Over 60 validators were welcomed on board once the cheqd network was launched, including 20 self-sovereign identity application vendors, digital identity start-ups, investors, and Cosmos-native or cross-chain network validators. The network has been an enormous success, and already millions of CHEQ tokens have been traded. cheqd’s clients are expected to include governments, public organisations, multinational companies, banks, financial services companies, Web3 projects, and consultancies that handle personal documents and identification. “But it Apr22173 won’t stop there,” explains Javed Khattak, CFO, “we will be able to serve any client that needs to identify a unique person or object, real or virtual.” There are numerous examples as to how this could work – for example, in the event that a self-driving car fuels up at a charging station, both objects would be able to identify each other’s identity with the aim to pay for the transaction using the same ecosystem. “The SSI industry and market is mostly untapped and continuously growing; we seek to introduce a plethora of benefits to the market, helping save billions worth of money while improving ‘security’ of personal credentials for individuals. cheqd aims to become the market leader in doing so and I believe, is already leading the pack,” Javed states. Behind the company is a team that Javed describes as a ‘family’. He believes that prior to hiring, it’s important to ensure that the individual shares the same values and that they’ll be compatible with the existing internal culture. In addition, each team member should be both exceptional and passionate about their area of expertise. cheqd’s team meets the aforementioned criteria – the team share the collective goal to be a force for good in the world, and they are inspired to leave a positive legacy. Despite its global reach, there is a great effort to remain in contact and support each other. The close-knit family feel comes as no surprise – with a team of empathetic, creative, and fun people, cheqd has cultivated an environment where individuals can thrive. Fraser Edwards, co-Founder and CEO, and Ankur Banerjee, co-Founder and CTO of cheqd both agree that the company wouldn’t be the same without Javed. Ankur shares, “Javed has absolutely been critical to the success of a young and ambitious startup like cheqd. From the very first conversation that we had, I saw that unlike everyone else we spoke to about coming onboard as CFO, Javed had a real passion for the blockchain space. Instead of just being interested in the numbers and finances, I’ve always appreciated that he takes the time to understand the technology and product aspects and contributes meaningfully to building out our product roadmap.” Fraser tells us, “I still consider ourselves at cheqd extremely lucky to have Javed as part of the team and still remember myself and my co-Founder, Ankur, being shocked by the quality of his application for a company so young as ours. Javed brings a unique and priceless combination of deep experience, endless imagination and focused pragmatism that mean we have achieved far, far more than we would have without him.” With regards to the acceleration of the firm, Fraser adds, “The speed we have been able to execute with, $3.3m raised, product launch, over 60 partners, inside a year is a huge advert for his skillet. On a personal level, I already see Javed as someone who will be a lifelong friend, one of the many benefits I’ve had from cheqd.” Not only does Javed know how to improve the workplace – for the sake of people’s freedom and positivity – but he knows how to elevate a business, in line with goals, values, and ever-evolving dreams. Therefore, cheqd is not simply about numbers and finances, it is about friendship and exploration of goals for employers, employees, and clients. Internally improving each service it offers, Javed guarantees cheqd’s technical strategies reach every layer of its clients business. Fraser shares, “It’s genuinely refreshing in this deeply complex space at the intersection of Web 3.0, digital identity, and privacy technology to see someone like him who also is keen on the ethical aspects of what freely-accessible digital identity can do in terms of improving financial inclusion.” A balance between financial security and growth, alongside human connection, is where businesses need to be. And Javed achieves this for his team with his expert knowledge and guiding hand. All of these comments reflect the entire company overall, as Javed has led it to accomplishment time and time again. A significant portion of the company’s success can be attributed to Javed, who serves as cheqd’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to his position at cheqd, Javed led businesses in a variety of capacities, including as a Founder, a CEO, CFO, and CTO. Throughout his career, he has established and still leads multiple successful businesses, such as Seerbytes, Zisk Properties, Zisk Investments, and Javed Khattak Consulting. His success in business has led Javed to sit as a Board Member and Advisor to several other companies, including regulated funds. Moreover, Javed is a highly-skilled mathematician, who is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK. He writes, “I truly believe maths is the mother of all sciences. In addition, I don’t like being confined to a particular role or a subject. And at times I have found the modern day world to be puzzled by it. But there are countless examples of polymaths throughout history who have helped change the world. While I don’t consider myself a genius, I certainly believe that polymaths make for better professionals and their cross-disciplinary exposure sparks creativity as well as offers them the ability to view a problem from several lenses.” Within the business, Javed revels in his involvement in the different areas, as this allows him to gain a 360-degree view. As a result, he maintains a deep understanding of the challenges and problems and is equipped to use them to drive results-based outcomes. This is, in part, one of the reasons why Javed enjoys working with cheqd and its team. Both Fraser and Ankur welcome Javed’s drive and passion to be more than just a CFO for the project. In essence, he has done it all – but his success over the years has come with many challenges. Throughout both his professional and personal life, Javed has used challenges to bolster his learning. “I don’t believe in shortcuts,” he says, “I have found that, often, doing the right thing is the most difficult of options available in a given situation. The higher the stakes, the more difficult it is. But over the long term, if you have the patience to persevere, it pays off in a big way!” His approach to his role as CFO has made him a hit amongst his colleagues – Eduardo Hotta, the Head of Marketing and Community, testifies that Javed has contributed a great amount to structuring cheqd’s finances and navigating the company through unexplored blockchain regulatory waters. Eduardo continues, “through his impressive skills, he managed to decrease our burn rate and therefore increase our company’s runaway. Another important thing to mention is his contribution in shaping cheqd’s amazing work culture.” It appears that for Javed that the work never ends – but this is the way he likes it. He is entirely devoted to his work and is excited about the future of cheqd, along with the ways in which he can contribute to its success. In 2022, cheqd is developing core identity functionalities, and helping its partners in bringing to life successful use cases within their industries. cheqd is in the process of adding a deeper integration for its network and token into the Cosmos and other blockchain ecosystems, which will help the company to further engage with the market. Furthermore, the company is exploring the emerging Web3 use cases, such as DEX ecosystems, DAOs, NFTs, Gaming, and DeFi applications, which it will leverage for its Contact: Javed Khattak Company: cheqd Web Address: http://www.cheqd.io Personal: http://www.javedkhattak.com 4. Q1 Wealth & Finance Going Above And Beyond For Success cheqd is a new revolutionary company that is striving for the betterment of the future.Creating a world in which individuals have total control over their personal data – that is becoming increasingly prevalent thanks to the rise of technology. Javed Khattak is the company’s devoted CFO, named CFO of the Year in 2018, reclaims his title as CFO of the Year in 2022. cheqd is building a better future – one where consumers and organisations can establish trustworthy relationships, control their personal data, and maintain a sense of security. cheqd firmly believes that companies should ot make mo ey off people’s d ta without their consent. This means their inform d a d clear consent, ot just pres ing ‘I agree’ when the convoluted terms and conditions are displayed. To make this reality, cheqd pr vides solutions that enable verifiabl c edentials to be transferred betw n stake olders in a trustworthy, secure, a d efficient manner. By extension, cheqd endeavours to support and enhance the current data economy business models and establish the flexibility nd incentive to create new ones. As such, it achie s th s by offering be p ke commercial mod ls and govern nce structure , which have all been built upon cheqd’s own public permissionless bl ckchain network. T s n twork features heqd’s d dicated crypto-token (CHEQ) which is used as a form of payment within the ecosystem. In addition, the company supplies a suite of mobile and backend software tools that self-sovereign identity (SSI) vendors can mbed in their own client-faci g software. Consequen ly, th company, through great pas ion and d votion, has acquired numerous achievements. For example, CHEQ has been listed on Osmosis, the largest decentr lised x hange in t e Cosmos ecosystem. In dd tion, the Comp ny has also successfully bridg d its token onto the Ethereum blockchain allowi g acc ss to CHEQ in he Ethereum ecosystem as well. It is already listed on tw centralised crypto exchange ; Gate.io an Bitmart, with mor exciting news in the pipeline. Over 60 validators were w lcomed on board once t cheqd ne work was lau ched, in luding 20 self-sov - eign identity applica ion vendors, digital identity start-ups, investors, and Cosmos-native or cross-chain network validators. The network has be n a enormous uccess, and already millions of CHEQ token have been raded. cheqd’s clients ar expected to includ government , public organisations, mul inational companies, banks, financial service companies, Web3 projects, and consultancies t t handle personal documents and identification. “But it Apr22173 won’t stop there,” explains Javed Khattak, CFO, “we will be able to serve any client that needs to identify a unique person or object, real or virtual.” There are numerous examples as to how this could work – for example, in the event that a self-drivi g c r fu ls up at a ch rging station, both j s would be able to identify each other’s identity with the aim t pay for the t ansaction using the same ecosystem. “The SSI industry and market is mostly ntapped and continuously growing; w seek t introduce a plethora of benefits to the market, helping save billions worth of money while improving ‘security’ of pers nal credentials for individuals cheqd aims to b come the market leader in doing so and I b liev , is already leading the pack,” Javed states. Behind the company is a team that Javed d scribes as a ‘family’. He believes that prior to hiring, it’s important to ensure that the individual shares the same values and that they’ll be compatible wi the existing internal culture. In addition, each team member should be both exceptional and passionate about their area of exp rtise. c eqd’s team meets the forem ntion d criteria – the team share the collective go l to be a force for good in the world, and they are inspired o leav positive legacy. Despite its global reach, there is a great effort to r main in contact and support each other. The close-knit family feel comes as no surpri e – wit a t am of emp hetic, creative, and fun people, cheqd has cultivated an environment where individuals can thrive. Fraser Edwards, co-Founder and CEO, and Ankur Ban rjee, co-Founder and CTO of cheqd both agree that the company wouldn’t be the same without Javed. Ankur shares, “Javed has absolutely been critical to the succ s of a young and ambitious tartup like cheqd. From the very first conver ation that we had, I saw that unlike everyone else we spoke to ab ut coming onboard as CFO, Javed h d a real passion f r the blockchain space. Instead of just being in erested in the umbers and fina c s, I’ve always appreciated that h takes the time to underst nd the technology and product aspects and contributes meaningfully to building out our product roadmap.” Fraser tells us, “I still consider ourselves at cheqd extremely lucky to have Javed as part of the team and still remember myself and my co-Founder, Ankur, being shocked by the quality of his application for a company so young as ours. J d brings a unique and priceless combination of de p experience, endless imaginatio and focused pragm t sm that mean we have achieved far, far more than we would have without him.” With re ard to e acceleration of the firm, Fr ser adds, “The speed we have been able to execute with, $3.3m raised, product launch, over 60 partners, inside a year is a huge advert for his skillet. On a p rsonal level, I already see Jav d as someone who will be a lifelong friend, one of the many benefits I’ve had from cheqd.” Not only does J ved know how to improve the workplace – for the sake of p ople’s freedom and p sitivity – but he knows how to elevate a bus ness, in line with goals, values, and ever-evolving drea s. Therefore, cheqd is not simply about numbe s and finances, it is about friendship and exploration of goals for employers, employees, and clients. Intern lly improving each service it offers, Javed guar ntees cheqd’s technical strategies reach every layer of its clients business. Fraser shares, “It’s genuinely refreshing in this deeply complex space at the ntersection of Web 3.0, digital identity, and p ivacy technology to see someone lik him who al o is k en on the ethical aspects of what freely-accessible digital identity can do in terms of improving financial inclusion.” A balan e between financial security and growth, alongside human connection, is where busin es need to b . And J ved achieves this for his team with his expert knowledge and guiding ha d. All of thes comm nt reflect the entire company overall, as Jave has led it to accomplishment time and time again. A significant portion of the company’s success can be attributed to Javed, who serv s as cheqd’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to his position at cheqd, Javed led businesses in a varie y f capacities, including as a Founder, a CEO, CFO, and CTO. Throughout his career, e has estab ished and still lead multiple successful businesses, such as Seerbytes, Zisk Properties, Zisk Investments, and Javed Khattak Consulting. His success in business has led Javed to sit as a Board Member and Advisor to several other companies, including regulated funds. Mor over, Javed is highly-skilled mathematician, who is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK. He writes, “I truly believe maths is the mother of all sciences. In addition, I don’t like be ng confin d to a particular role or a subject. And at times I have found the modern day world to be puzzled by it. But there are countles examples of polymaths throughout history wh have helped change the world. While I don’t c nsider myself a genius, I certainly believe tha polymaths make for better professionals and their cross-disciplinary exposure sparks cre tivity as ell as offers them the ability to view a problem from several lenses.” Within the business, Javed revels in his involvement in the different areas, as this allows him to gain a 360-degr e vi w. A a result, he maintains a deep understanding of the challenges and problems and is equipped to use them to drive r sults-ba ed utcomes. This is, in part, one of the reasons why Javed enjoys working with cheqd and its team. Both Fraser and Ankur welcome Javed’s drive and passion to be more than just a CFO for the roject. In essence, he has done it all – but his success over the ye r has come with many challenges. Through ut both his professional and personal life, Javed has used challenges to bolster his learning. “I don’t believe in shortcuts,” he says, “I have found that, often, doing the right thing is t e m st difficu t of o tions vailable in a given situation. The higher he stakes, the more difficult it is. But over the long term, if you have the patience t pers vere, i pays off in a big way!” His appro ch to is role as CFO has made him a it amongst h s c lle gues – Eduardo Hotta, th Head of Marketing and Community, testifies that Javed has contributed a great amount to structuring cheqd’s finances and navigating the mp ny through unexplored blockchain regula ory waters. Ed ardo continues, “through his impressive skills, he ma aged to decrease our burn rate and therefore increase our company’s r away. Another important thing to mention is his trib tion in shaping cheqd’s amazing work culture.” It a pears that for Jav d that the work never e d – but this is the w y he likes it. He is entirely devoted to his work and is excited about the future of cheqd, along with the ways in which he can contribut to its success. In 2022, c qd is d velop ng core identity functionalities, and helping its partners in ringing to life successful use cases within their industries. cheqd is n the process of adding a deeper integration for its network and toke in o the Cosmos and o h blockchai ecosystems, which will help the company to further engage with the market. Furthermore, the company s exploring the emergi g Web3 use cases, such as DEX ecosyst m , DAO , NFTs, Gaming, and DeFi applications, which it ill lev rage for its Cont ct: Javed Khattak Compa y: cheqd W b Address: http://www.cheqd.io Personal: http://www.javedkhattak.com 4. Q1 Wealth & Finance
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