The Record - Issue 18: Autumn 2020

124 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om services aligns closely with Microsoft’s ambi- tions, and I believe that together we can help accelerate this digital shift.” This move marks a commitment and builds on the 3,000 banks and financial institutions already supported by both companies across payments, lending, treasury and retail banking on Azure. The agreement will reimagine the way banks and credit unions use technology and how we all think about sustainable, open finance. Using Microsoft platforms has already enabled Finastra to accelerate its product road maps to bring even more of its mission-critical solutions to the cloud for its 8,500 customers, alongside advancements in data, AI and open banking. ACI Worldwide, meanwhile, has extended the reach of its Universal Payments portfolio through the Microsoft Azure cloud. Through this relationship, ACI on-premises customers will benefit from enhanced security, as well as a reduction in long-term capital expend- iture, adopting a scalable model for cloud-based infrastructure. “As global trends, changing business models and innovation create a new set of challenges for the world of payments, this collaboration will allow banks and other organisations com- mitted to innovating and moving to the cloud to become more agile, deploying new payment services more quickly,” said Craig Saks, chief operating officer, ACI Worldwide in a press release. “In addition, they can develop proof of concepts, and launch and test them in the mar- ketplace at a low cost – this is already gaining traction among our customers.” And Volante Technologies’ U.S. Wire Payments as a Service solution, which also runs on the Microsoft Azure cloud, provides end-to-end processing of wires from corporate initiation through to clearing and settlement, with direct connectivity to the Fed. US bank First American Trust FSB has recently selected this solution to replace its legacy infrastructure. By automat- ing wire processing with Volante’s U.S. Wire Payments as a Service in the cloud, the bank will benefit from resilient, reliable, and scalable pay- ments technology. They will be able to smoothly handle increasing wire volumes, and ensure that their customers’ wires are never missed, dupli- cated, or delayed. These examples show that progress is already being made right across the world – and Hazou is keen for the momentum to continue. “Satya Nadella recently said that we have seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months – and that has certainly been the case in financial services,” he explains. “I’m certain that we will now start to see a permanent shift to digital commerce – and, in turn, much lower run-the-bank costs and agility to meet client needs. Since the new business environment is going to be much more cost-conscious than ever, this is incredibly important in order to safeguard the future of our industry.” F E ATUR E “By working with the best partners in the industry…we are enabling banks to reap the many benefits of the Microsoft Azure cloud” P E T E R HA ZOU , M I C ROSOF T