Finance: Scotia is Tops in Digital

The Banker magazine has named Scotia bank Top Digital bank for Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada for this year.

This announcement comes at a time when the bank will be receiving an award for Best Digital Strategy of the year by Retail Banker International.

“We are very proud to have been recognized by Global Finance for the digital solutions we offer to our customers across the Caribbean, Latin America and Canada,” said Ignacio Deschamps, Group Head, International Banking and Digital Transformation.

“At Scotiabank, one of our top priorities is to make it easier for customers to do business with us by becoming the leading digital bank in the markets where we operate,” Deschamps added.
Scotiabank is undergoing a digital transformation to meet the changing expectations of customers, according to a release issued by the bank.
Some of the plans that are in the pipeline include the launching of a new online and mobile banking platform across Latin America and Caribbean countries to make it easier for customers to do business.
Secondly, the introduction of new digital branches in Mexico City and Canada and creating the Scotiabank Digital Factory, a stand-alone organization focused exclusively on delivering digital customer solutions.
The appointment of an Executive Vice President of Digital Banking is also in the making.
The financial institute will be creating a Banking Lab at Western University’s Ivey Business School, and the Scotiabank Centre for Customer Analytics at Queen’s University Smith School of Business.
And, the institute will be partnering with Kabbage, a leading financial technology and data company in the online lending business, to provide small business customers in Canada and Mexico with a new, streamlined digital lending experience.
Scotiabank was recognized as 2016 World’s Best Consumer Digital Bank in 23 countries including Guyana, Canada, and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The bank won in two international regional subcategories, Best Integrated Consumer Bank Site and Best Mobile Banking App.
Scotiabank also won in six regional subcategories in Canada, Best Integrated Consumer Bank Site, Best Mobile Banking App, Best Online Deposits, Credit and Investment Product Offerings, Best Bill Payment and Presentment, and Best Website Design. Winning banks were selected based on a number of criteria.
Scotiabank is Canada’s international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific.

Business:Final Hurdles for Biz Model hopefuls

The finish line - and boarding passes for a prize trip to Provo, Utah, are in sight for the participants in this year's National Business Model Competition, presented by the Development Bank of Jamaica with  a host of corporate sponsors (NCB, GK Capital, Pan-Jam and others).

The hopefuls gathered at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, to hear  and make presentations, and for the critical announcements of the finalists which include Vitae, Digital Farms, Genius, and JarGro.

They return to the waterfront site of the Conference Centre today, where only one will be left standing as far as the competition is concerned, but all see long-term futures for their businesses and products.

Watches: Swiss time and Silicon Valley tech go all the way

Peter Stas of Frederique Constant

Coming this May, the promise of full integration between conventional Swiss form and mechanical function, with cutting edge info-delivery will be realized in a single watch (or range) when watchmaker Frederique Constant/Alpina unveils its Swiss Horological Smartwatches, now in production.

Powered by MotionX, the new Swiss Horological Smartwatches are capable of bi-directional communication with iPhone and Android apps. Discoverwatches by clicking on “read more”…

“Frédérique Constant and Alpina, the Swiss Horological Smartwatches, retain their natural classic beauty and can deliver the benefits of the quantified self, all without ever having to recharge a battery”, said Peter Stas, the co-founder and CEO of the Frédérique Constant group and continued his introduction by saying: “The Swiss Horological Smartwatch is the synthesis of high-tech innovation and traditional Swiss watch craftsmanship; it is the link (no pun intended) between modern and classic, and the bridge between Silicon Valley and Switzerland. There is no digital screen on our Swiss Horological Smartwatch. Instead, the beautiful laser cut hands on the watch dial display information in analog form.”

The MotionX patented sensor-fusion engine tracks activity and sleep patterns with high accuracy. Activity and sleep information is presented in real-time on the Swiss Horological Smartwatch using traditional analog dials. The Swiss Horological Smartwatch synchronizes automatically with applications on Apple and Androidsmartphones. On the iOS and Android apps, simple and easy-to-understand graphics highlight how much one has moved and slept during the day, week, or month.

Will UMC be the "New Black" [Netflix]?

Robert L Johnson, founder of BET and RLJ Entertainment, has been planning his entry into digital technology since his days at BET.

In an interview last week, Johnson explained that it had long been his vision to provide African American audiences in particular with targeted programming and entertainment. It was the formation of the cable industry in the 70s and 80s, which not only ushered in a new way we received content (through satellite and cable), but helped to loosen the monopoly both the studios and networks had on its content distribution. This transformation also paved the way for BET to serve a niche audience (I.e Black people) that both the networks and studio ignored or didn’t even believe existed.

Johnson said that this shift is happening again. “And so because I had the knowledge and experience of seeing what happened when cable satellite came about, I recognize that digital was going to transform the media landscape in much of the same way,” he said.

And just like BET, Johnson is hoping his latest venture, the Urban Movie Channel, will again be at the forefront of this new technological transformation of how we receive cultural-centered content. The UMC, which is available at www.urbanmoviechannel.com, is digital subscription video-on-demand (VOD) channel that caters to a largely urban and African American audience.

“You can call it the targeted version of Netflix and I think that is a fair analysis but beyond that, there is both a cultural model and a business model to consider,” he said.

As the name suggests UMC has feature length films including sentimental dramas like All Things Fall Apart and blaxploitation classic like Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. But there are also live concert music and comedy films like Kevin Hart’s I’m A Grown Little Man, and Welcome To Death Row. And there are also documentaries like Dark Girls and stage play productions like David E. Talbert presents: What Goes Around Comes Around.

Currently, the Urban Movie Channel is up and operational, and as Johnson touts, it can be seen from Newark to Nigeria. In an effort to attract audience, the VOD site is offering free service with membership subscription through February 2015. After that, the plans will start at $4.99 a month, which Johnson notes is significantly lower than what many people pay for subscription to HBO or Showtime on their cable packages.

He also notes that is a solid price for content that Black households have longed pined for. “Basically, this is universal distribution without any gatekeeping,” he said.

In addition to providing on-demand and live streaming market for Black and urban audiences, which rivals the like Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime, Johnson said that the UMC provides a great opportunity for Black and urban content creators to not only have access to a platform but tell stories without limitations.

As Johnson points out: Hollywood makes the decisions of the kinds of films that get made and cable channels make decisions about the kind of channels it wants to distribute. Likewise, advertisers, who hold the most control in the current content creation distribution structure, only advertise on programs with compatible values with its brand.

“Using digital platforms or digital media, is a direct way to do it without having to go through lots of gatekeepers, who would either control your access to the consumers, or your audience, or in some way censor or filter it in a way that may not be consistent information you want to give to your consumer,” said Johnson.

The Urban Movie Channel is not RLJ Entertainment’s first foray into digital content distribution. Two years ago, Johnson purchased two companies: Image Entertainment and Acorn Media Group to formed RLJ Entertainment. Through the acquisition, RLJ Entertainment became the holder of licenses to over 160 urban or African American oriented movie titles.

Last year, RLJ Entertainment announced the creation of two other VOD digital channels: OnCueNetwork, which also showed movies, documentaries and other programming targeted to African American and Acorn TV, which exclusively shows British dramas and mysteries.

After a successful test run and partnership with YouTube, OnCue is being phased out to make way for UMC, which will be hosted on its own digital platform. However Acorn TV will still operate separately. Unlike Netflix, which still offers DVD rentals, UMC will be strictly be video-on-demand. However Johnson said that he is looking to distribute some of UMC’s content on both DVD and Blu-Ray to other distribution networks like Red Box, Target and Wal-Mart.