Author: Julia Pignon

La Réserve Geneva is rolling out the Wecan Connect technology to secure communications with its clients, propose exclusive offers and increase efficiency. Didier Bru, General Manager mentioned:

“We are happy and proud to announce, that La Réserve Genève is now fully connected on Wecan connect. All our staff is able to exchange on this new tool, which allows us to communicate internally within our different circles, in a secured way about the needs and wishes of our valued clients.

It also assures to our guest a very high level of confidentiality from the first minute of their stay until their Check-out and even after their stay.

A very warm “Thank You” to all the team of Wecan connect for the successful installation and their kind help. A special Thanks goes to Vincent Pignon and Nathan Douet, who were true parties for this project.

Wecan Connect also opens to us the possibility to connect with all their users, who wish to join the Circle of La Réserve Genève allowing them to be informed about the lates News of the hotel.
Especially this year, as La Réserve Genève celebrates its 20th anniversary and proposes an exciting culinary and hospitality program in the next few months.

Do not miss our news, join the circle La Réserve Genève!”

Didier Bru General Manager

Le groupe WeCan a remporté le titre de « Meilleure Solution Blockchain » lors de la onzième édition des WealthBriefing European Awards 2023.

Avec ce nouveau prix, le groupe WeCan rejoint le cercle restreint des acteurs mondiaux qui se sont vus attribuer un total de 9 WealthBriefing Awards en seulement 3 ans. Ces prix, qui mettent en valeur l’excellence européenne, reconnaissent les organisations exceptionnelles regroupées par spécialisation et géographie, et qui, selon le prestigieux panel de juges indépendants, ont « démontré leur innovation et leur excellence au cours de l’année écoulée ».

 

Le WealthBriefing Award, un prix d’excellence

Le WealthBriefing Award est une reconnaissance prestigieuse décernée aux organisations et aux individus exceptionnels de l’industrie de la gestion de patrimoine. Le programme, qui en est à sa onzième édition, est organisé par WealthBriefing, une source d’information et de de confiance dans le secteur de la gestion de patrimoine. Les prix visent à reconnaître les réalisations, les performances et l’innovation sur le marché européen de la gestion de patrimoine.

Pour garantir l’intégrité et la confidentialité du processus, les prix font appel à trois panels de juges distincts. Chaque panel est chargé d’évaluer des catégories spécifiques afin d’assurer l’impartialité et d’éviter les conflits d’intérêts. Les juges comprennent des conseillers de confiance, des professionnels des family offices et de la banque, ainsi que des experts dédiés à l’évaluation de la technologie. Chaque juge signe un accord de confidentialité pour garantir la confidentialité des soumissions qu’ils examinent.

Le WealthBriefing Award est hautement respecté dans l’industrie de la gestion de patrimoine, offrant une reconnaissance bien méritée aux individus, aux équipes, aux produits et aux services exceptionnels. Son succès de longue date et son processus de sélection indépendant contribuent à sa crédibilité et à sa réputation. En célébrant les réalisations et en promouvant l’excellence, le WealthBriefing Award joue un rôle essentiel dans la stimulation de l’innovation et l’élévation des normes de l’industrie.

 

WeCan : Sécuriser les données et la vie privée avec la blockchain

WeCan, c’est avant tout une équipe passionnée et collaborative qui rend accessible la blockchain à plus de 100 clients institutionnels quotidiennement. Leur mission est claire : développer des solutions logicielles décentralisées qui préparent le terrain pour l’infrastructure de confiance numérique de demain.

WeCan se concentre sur la création de solutions pragmatiques et concrètes, conçues pour avoir un véritable impact dans le monde réel. L’équipe croit fermement au potentiel du Web 3.0 et vise à bâtir l’avenir en exploitant ses possibilités.

Au cœur des offres de WeCan se trouve le token Wecan. Basé sur une infrastructure blockchain, il est au centre de la gamme de produits conçus pour révolutionner la communication et la conformité. Wecan Comply simplifie les processus de conformité, tandis que Wecan Connect, un service de messagerie instantanée Web 3.0, offre des canaux de communication sécurisés et privés.

Ce qui distingue WeCan des autres players du secteur, c’est son engagement pour la confidentialité et la sécurité des données. Ils accordent la priorité à la confidentialité des données des clients et veillent à ce qu’elles restent sous le contrôle exclusif de leur propriétaire. En utilisant la technologie blockchain, ils créent un réseau décentralisé qui met la sécurité au premier plan.

Les valeurs de WeCan sont au cœur de leur état d’esprit entrepreneurial, remettant en question le statu quo et suscitant l’innovation. Ils s’efforcent de rendre les données standardisées et interopérables, favorisant l’accessibilité pour tous les utilisateurs. Leur engagement envers l’accessibilité est renforcé par leur approche centrée sur l’utilisateur, plaçant le focus sur les besoins des individus et des entreprises.

L’engagement de WeCan envers l’excellence se reflète dans leur conformité à la norme ISO 27001, témoignant de leur engagement à maintenir les normes les plus élevées en matière de sécurité de l’information. Les certificats reçus de l’IQNET et du SQS renforcent leur position en tant que leader en matière de conformité et de communications sécurisées basées sur la blockchain.

 

WeCan Connect : Une solution de messagerie sécurisée, privée et conforme

WeCan Connect est la plateforme de messagerie sécurisée du groupe, et, tout comme ce dernier, elle accorde une grande importance à la confidentialité, à la sécurité et à la conformité. Son application 100% suisse permet une communication gratuite tout en préservant la confidentialité grâce à la technologie blockchain. Pour les entreprises, WeCan Connect offre un environnement sécurisé pour la communication, la conformité et la protection de la réputation.

La caractéristique phare de la plateforme est la confidentialité des numéros de téléphone, qui sont utilisés pour créer des identités uniques sans être partagés ni stockés. Rejoindre des cercles permet aux utilisateurs de se connecter avec des personnes partageant les mêmes intérêts, tandis que les messages transférés et les historiques sont inviolables et auditables pour assurer l’intégrité de la communication.

Les entreprises bénéficient de verrouillages biométriques sur les messages, de capacités de communication interne et externe, ainsi que d’échanges auditables grâce à la blockchain privée Wecan Chain. Parmi les fonctionnalités supplémentaires, on retrouve une application web pour une communication efficace, des outils d’administration avancés et la possibilité de stocker les données localement pour un contrôle total.

WeCan Connect permet aux individus et aux organisations de communiquer en toute confidentialité, de protéger leurs données et de se conformer aux réglementations. WeCan Connect offre également toutes les opportunités du Web3, grâce à son Token Wecan. Message to earn, Share to earn, Connect to earn sont autant de possibilités qui sont accessibles grâce à ce Utility Token. Il s’agit d’une solution complète de messagerie sécurisée, permettant aux utilisateurs de se connecter en toute confiance, de gagner des Rewards en l’utilisant et d’avoir une infrastructure de stockage de données distribuée.

 

Conclusion

Alors que le monde embrasse le potentiel transformateur de la technologie blockchain, WeCan se positionne à l’avant-garde, ouvrant la voie à un avenir plus décentralisé et sécurisé. Avec leur esprit de collaboration et leurs solutions innovantes, ils façonnent la confiance numérique de demain. L’obtention de ce nouveau WealthBriefing Award ne fait que renforcer la confiance des utilisateurs, acquis ou potentiels, du groupe et asseoir leur leadership dans le domaine de la confiance numérique.

Wecan Group is proud to be recognized in Deloitte’s 2023 key RegTech companies report creating tangible value for businesses. Deloitte argues that Regtech has long passed the buzzword point, and is generating tangible value for regulatory reporting, risk management, identity management, compliance and transaction monitoring. Wecan Group is cited among 20 key solution providers in Regulatory Reporting.

Deloitte noted: “RegTech promises to disrupt the regulatory landscape by providing technologically advanced solutions to the ever increasing demands of compliance within the financial industry.“

Download Deloitte’s 2023 RegTech report

Dr Vincent Pignon, Founder and CEO of Wecan Group, discusses the compliance and privacy features around instant messaging applications that are necessary for financial services firms to operate efficiently and smoothly within the regulatory and legal requirements.

The unprecedented fine from the SEC, exacted on 16 Wall Street banking giants in 2022, caused ripples on both sides of the pond last year. Over $2bn in punishments doled out to a group consisting of names such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, was executed as staff were found to have discussed deals and trades on private messaging applications such as WhatsApp, that weren’t being suitably monitored. At the beginning of 2023, banks began to penalize employees as much as $1 million for WhatsApp breaches. At the beginning of 2023, banks began to penalize employees as much as $1 million for WhatsApp breaches for Morgan Stanley and after paying more than $200 million in fines, Deutsche Bank is docking the bonuses of employees who misuse WhatsApp. And this is only the beginning of a long series, Wells Fargo & Co having announced to be the next on the list. And while the U.S. regulator has been proactive, it is inevitable that all global regulators will follow suit.

First of all, were these fines avoidable?

Inappropriate use of WhatsApp has been at the center of several banking scandals in 2022. In addition to being the motive for this latest round of fines, it was also widely reported as the reason for which several senior executives lost their jobs at Credit Suisse and other such major banks In reality though, the story didn’t start this year – it can be traced all the way back to 2016 when WhatsApp first came to prominence as the messaging platform of choice. Ever since, it has only grown in popularity and has become more and more interlinked with the communication ecosystem of most major global financial markets. The pandemic and subsequent shift to hybrid working certainly helped to amplify the extent to which market participants relied on WhatsApp to operate smoothly, but the real issue is that firms have not historically invested the appropriate levels of funding into technological solutions, which are instead regarded as back or middle office issues.

The Size Of These Fines Are Huge And Others Regulators Will Follow Suit

This is not an issue that is exclusive to US investment banks –this is something that is rife across the global financial services sector. However, from my perspective, it shouldn’t necessarily be viewed negatively. There are a lot of benefits to using applications such as Instant Messaging provided they comply with regulatory, legal and cyber security requirements. There are a lot of benefits to using applications such as Instant Messaging provided they comply with regulatory, legal and cyber security requirements. It gives a lot more flexibility to communicate with clients and counterparties, and in an increasingly competitive landscape, being able to communicate with clients in a way that makes life easier for them is now a commercial necessity. The focus should instead be on enacting strong risk management and using technology to liberate staff to operate in the way that they feel is most effective from a commercial perspective. Moreover, clients are more prone to installing and actively using a multi-purpose app compared to a closed one. The first to understand this trend will gain market share and improve their customer experience by systematizing the use of open instant messaging solutions and not unilateral or bilateral communication channels, as we have with E banking for example.

The Recordkeeping Requirements

In my opinion, the Swiss and European regulators would benefit from being more prescriptive and taking a lead from the US approach. The US is very clear through regulations such as the recordkeeping requirements. Their operating models are also extremely different. And as such, the way that they address the question of WhatsApp’s role in their business will differ. Whilst banks are geared towards a high volume of trading activity, wealth managers generally operate at a relatively slower pace. The volume of data that they deal with is vastly different. The problem is that communications, texts, audio and video from WhatsApp are not recorded. And even if recording all these exchanges, WhatsApp will never be a professional application. As with email, a customer expects a response, even if a wealth manager is not present. This is not possible with WhatsApp.

The Cybersecurity Risks

With the use of email and instant messaging solutions, all banks are subject to fraud. Customers who communicate with financial intermediaries have their emails or applications hacked every day. Banks are putting in place palliatives such as call backs that have high costs, penalize the customer relationship, and do not eliminate these risks. At every meeting with a bank, a family office, or a financial intermediary, I hear that there has been a 400k, 500k, 200k fraud due to the hacking of the client’s account, which is not made public due to reputation damage concerns. Hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and this trend will only grow. On the other hand, the uses of WhatsApp are not controlled by the banks at all. Hundreds of groups co-exist without the knowledge of the management. And employees leave the bank and still have access to sensitive data. For these reasons, keeping personal instant messaging applications is not sustainable, it will be necessary to find professional ones.

The Protection Of Privacy

If the fines are severe in the US while WhatsApp data is stored in the US, it is possible to imagine that the fines in Europe, Switzerland and the UK will be much larger as bankers and banks send customer data over Whatsapp to the US, which becomes subject to the Cloud Act. The 2 billion in fines we saw in 2022 is just the tip of the iceberg. What comes next is going to be much more painful for banks, financial intermediaries, and all regulated professions due to GDPR, nLPD or even local regulations. WhatsApp is a peer-to-peer messaging app that was designed primarily for personal communication between individuals. As such, the service does not offer the stringent compliance and privacy features that are necessary for financial services firms. Messages can be stored indefinitely on WhatsApp servers and may be freely shared with third parties. In addition, WhatsApp lacks the proper safeguards and compliance features that are expected from wealth managers providing investment advice, such as sensitive data storage compliance and authentication protocols. Without these protections in place, wealth managers cannot ensure that their clients’ and partners’ information will remain secure and compliant. It is most certainly, in my opinion, the main Technology Traps Wealth Managers Must Avoid in 2023.

What are the next steps?

There will be no turning back on the uses of instant messaging applications. Customers are used to it and will want this type of interaction. Regulators will gradually sanction all banks and financial intermediaries for using non-compliant applications such as WhatsApp. This is inevitable. And if all banks ban the use of WhatsApp, they will start sanctioning their employees one after another. However, this is a stopgap measure, not a solution. The solution is to offer wealth managers and financial intermediaries and customers a compliant, secure solution that has the same functionality as WhatsApp but for dedicated high-net-worth customers or for regulatory and legal requirements.

Les fintechs romandes participent au succès de la place financière romande, elles méritent une rubrique dans Point de Mire. Voici, pour ce numéro, le portrait de la société genevoise Wecan, en partenariat avec Fintech Fair.

Pour les prestataires suisses de services financiers, la conformité représente un défi plus important que jamais. Les coûts toujours plus élevés et la complexité croissante des processus réglementaires propres à chaque marché posent un défi de taille aux banques, alors qu’elles sont déjà soumises à des pressions constantes en matière de coûts et d’innovation. «Les prestataires de services financiers investissent donc davantage dans des solutions intelligentes offertes par les technologies modernes, lesquelles permettent de réduire les coûts en matière de conformité réglementaire ou de les répartir entre plusieurs acteurs du secteur», constate Deloitte dans une étude récente. Ces solutions sont connues sous le nom de «regtechs» et la société genevoise Wecan en fait partie.

 

«Ce sont plus de 100 sociétés financières parmi les plus innovantes qui utilisent quotidiennement les solutions de Wecan»

Wecan Group est une regtech fondée en 2015 à Genève qui a comme clients les leaders des banques privées dont Julius Baer, Pictet, Lombard Odier, Edmond de Rothschild, Mirabaud, Gonet, Reyl, Hyposwiss, BIL, Syz et des intermédiaires financiers tels que Fransad, Bedrock, OLZ, Capitalium, Prime Partners, Swiss Partners ou Pleion. «Ce sont plus de 100 sociétés financières parmi les plus innovantes qui utilisent quotidiennement les solutions de Wecan basées sur la blockchain pour stocker et partager de façon sécurisée et «compliant» leurs données et documents dont les cartons de signature», nous explique Vincent Pignon, fondateur et CEO de Wecan Group qui emploie une quinzaine de collaborateurs. Innovante et performante, la société a gagné neuf WealthBriefing Awards en seulement trois ans en tant que Best Data Provider, Best Compliance Solution et Best Blockchain Solution. Preuve de la constante volonté d’anticiper les besoins de sa clientèle, en 2022, l’entrepreneur Michel Reybier a rejoint les actionnaires de Wecan afin notamment de créer le WhatsApp des clients fortunés. Cette application d’instant messaging appelée Wecan Connect est en cours de déploiement dans des palaces, chez des intermédiaires financiers, des notaires, des trustees, des avocats et des banques privées. L’ambition est d’avoir une alternative professionnelle à WhatsApp qui soit conforme aux réglementations, hautement sécurisée pour lutter contre les cyberattaques avec de la biométrie, de l’encryption de bout en bout et un stockage des données distribué. «Wecan construit ainsi une suite de produits qui sont disponibles depuis une plateforme pour sécuriser les communications des clients privés et de tous leurs partenaires à l’international», conclut Vincent Pignon.

Information security is at the heart of Wecan’s DNA. We co-create solutions to secure data exchange, namely Comply (structured data) and Connect (unstructured data), and safeguard also the data storage.

In the pursuit of data security excellence, Wecan has aligned its processes with the most stringent requirements of the Information Security Management certification by ISO.

Since December 2022, Wecan has been bestowed the ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification by SQS. This certification demonstrates that the Group is committed to developing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system (ISMS) to provide the highest level of information security to its customers, partners, shareholders and employees.

Wecan’s ISMS preserves the data Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability, and ensures that authorized users have access to the systems and the resources they need when requested. To achieve this, Wecan performs information security risks assessments at planned intervals and conducts internal audits on no less than 114 controls points (organizational, people, physical and technological). You can access the certificates received from IQNET and SQS.

Your data is safe with Wecan!

 

The 3rd Annual WealthBriefing Swiss EAM Awards 2023 took place on Thursday at Zurich’s Park Hyatt Hotel, Switzerland. Wecan Group are thrilled to have received yet a new award during this prestigious event as Best Data Provider.

Upon receiving the distinction, Alex Zarrabi, Chief Growth Officer, Wecan Group commented: “This 8th award underlines the continuous dedication of Wecan Group to securing our customers’ data, be it for their compliance or messaging. Our mission is to provide trusted data infrastructure and the Wecan team couldn’t be prouder and more grateful to receive this acknowledgement from esteemed finance industry players”.

Wecan’s flagship digital compliance solution Wecan Comply simplifies the KYEAM and signature cards cumbersome processes. Since its market launch less than 2 years ago, over 100 external asset managers (EAM) and banks have adopted it. Wecan Comply has enabled EAMs and Banks to revolutionize their secure document exchange for compliance purposes, and to comply with FINMA requirements. It is therefore gradually being standardised by the Blockchain Association for Finance.

WealthBriefing rewards the financial actors who have something special to offer, rewarding achievements and showcasing top class performance and innovation. Read the full press release.

Discover here the list of all the winners of the WealthBriefing Swiss Awards 2023.

 

Discover how swisspartners simplified its compliance through digitalisation.

 

Due diligence burden

With almost CHF 3 Billion assets under management, the swisspartners wealth management division is among the top leading External Asset Managers (EAMs) of Switzerland. They faced a massive number of due diligence reviews due to their large number of custodian banks and cooperations with providers of financial instruments and other financial intermediaries. While these due diligence requests differed only marginally, the time and effort involved was similarly high each time. The repeat task was extremely time-consuming and annoying at times.

 

Comply digitalisation solution

In 2021, swisspartners decided to join the Blockchain Association for Finance and address the issue with the Wecan Comply platform. Setting up the login only takes a few minutes and has been very easy. Compliance and risk management data are since then stored in a highly secured shared platform, and swisspartners can grant access to parties of their choice. The custodian banks authorised by the EAM receive change alerts automatically, avoiding the need for individual notifications. In addition, the data can be extracted from the platform so that it can also be made available to third parties who are not yet on Wecan.

 

Readiness, accuracy and time saving

By keeping their data up to date on the Wecan Comply platform every time a change is made, swisspartners are always ready for requests and have the certainty that every counterparty receives the same accurate information. This is particularly significant in the preparation of signature lists. By slashing duplication, Wecan Comply has significantly reduced redundant «know-your-EAM» requests. In addition, the platform demonstrates a simple and secure approach to the blockchain technology. Furthermore, swisspartners has the guarantee that all counterparties receive the same information at all times and that no one forgets to be informed in case of changes.

 

High recommendation

Asked if he would recommend the Comply platform, Pascal Schmohl, Chief Compliance Officer of swisspartners said: “Absolutely. The usage is simple, fast, the platform is clear, well structured, the handling is extremely easy and WeCan is always available very quickly in case of questions. In addition, many of our custodian banks are already on the platform and more of them are joining the list constantly, which increases the benefits even more.”

 

Create a free account on Wecan Comply.

 

The 10th Annual WealthBriefing Swiss Awards 2023 took place yesterday at the Fairmont Grand Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. Wecan Group are honored to have received their 7th such award during this prestigious event as Best Data Provider.

Commenting on the firm’s triumph, Alex Zarrabi, Chief Growth Officer, Wecan Group said: “We are delighted by this award. Our mission is to build secure infrastructure for a future of Trust. This is a recognition of our convenient, secure and compliant data delivery solutions for banks, EAMs and their customers, for both their compliance and messaging. It rewards our vision, and also the dedication and the outstanding work of our great Team.”

ClearView Financial Media’s CEO, Stephen Harris, extend his congratulations and added: “These awards recognise the very best operators in Swiss wealth management, with ‘independence’, ‘integrity’ and ‘genuine insight’ the watchwords of the judging process – such that the awards truly reflect excellence in Swiss wealth management.”

Wecan’s flagship digital compliance solution Wecan Comply simplifies the KYEAM and signature cards cumbersome processes. Since its market launch less than 2 years ago, over 100 external asset managers (EAM) and banks have adopted it. Wecan Comply has enabled EAMs and Banks to revolutionize their secure document exchange for compliance purposes, and to comply with FINMA requirements.

WealthBriefing rewards the financial actors who have something special to offer, rewarding achievements and showcasing top class performance and innovation. Read the full press release.

Discover here the list of all the winners of the WealthBriefing Swiss Awards 2023.