Coffee Briefing November 29, 2022 – Toronto mortgage fintech company announces partnership; BMO and FISPAN partner; The demonstration zone is seeking applications; and more
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What’s new this week
Toronto-based mortgage fintech Perch and Onlia Insurance announce partnership
A new partnership between Perch and Onlia Insurance aims to help Ontario residents applying for a mortgage and home insurance save time and money.
Perch customers who buy Onlia’s home and car insurance through the platform will save a further five percent on the prices.
Toronto-based proptech company, Perch, is looking to change how Ontarians shop and apply for mortgages online, and with this new partnership with Onlia, they can now offer a more streamlined process for consumers to select mortgages and home insurance in a single checkout.
“Our services will go hand in hand, helping home buyers and owners find the best home insurance and also get a better mortgage deal,” said Alex Leduc, CEO of Perch. “Perch and Onlia both strive to make the housing journey as convenient and seamless as possible with an excellent digital experience, so we saw collaboration as a natural fit.”
The demonstration zone looks for applications
In partnership with the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), which focuses on creating more efficient transportation, is seeking applications from interested parties to form its new demonstration zone.
The Demonstration Zone will be a central hub for commercial activities, highlighting start-ups and SMEs that may not otherwise have the resources to demonstrate or promote their technologies. It will provide Ontario SMEs with a platform, both technological and promotional, to showcase their advanced automotive technologies and smart mobility solutions to customers.
The hub will highlight made-in-Ontario technologies in an operational environment, offer customer-facing marketing events, as well as in-depth business development conversations with industry decision makers for participating companies.
The applicant must be one or more providers of publicly funded organisation(s), for example established regional innovation centres, economic development companies, accredited academic institutions or industry associations. Applicants must operate in Ontario with a successful track record supporting advanced automotive technologies and the smart mobility innovation economy.
Applications are sent on 20 December. For more information, click here.
BMO and FISPAN are working together to simplify business banking for customers
BMO and FISPAN have partnered to offer BMO Online Banking for Business customers direct access to their day-to-day banking services from their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or accounting system.
Customers can now find a more efficient way to manage their business transactions integrate payments, reporting and reconciliation with these systems. Without leaving the ERP system, BMO’s business customers will be able to view real-time account and balance information, send electronic and domestic e-payments and automatically reconcile their transactions
This is one of several Open Banking collaborations for BMO, giving business owners a simplified experience and more time to focus on making progress and growing their business.
The bank has already partnered with Xero, allowing business customers to connect and manage their online banking and Xero accounts. In addition, BMO’s developer portal makes banking APIs available to customers who want to build custom integrations between their business systems and BMO accounts.
“We recognize that our customers have competing demands, and as their banking partner, we’re focused on helping them progress by delivering seamless and simple solutions,” said Sean Ellery, head, digital and innovation, commercial banking at BMO. “This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to deliver leading digital experiences to our customers, giving them more time to focus on what matters most – growing their business.”
Mastercard launches its holiday spending forecast report
Mastercard has released its holiday forecast, which measures retail sales in store and online across all forms of payment.
Sales in Canada are expected to increase 5.7 percent year-over-year (YOY) and just over 20 percent since pre-pandemic (2019). Retail sales for e-commerce are expected to grow by around 3.8 per cent on an annual basis.
Key spending trends for the holiday season include an increase of about seven percent for sales on Boxing Day. While electronics are typically a popular purchase for consumers during this time of year, they are estimated to drop 8.2 percent year-on-year on Boxing Day as consumer behavior changes.
The days leading up to Christmas are set to be the busiest of the season: a major boost to this season’s retail growth is expected from in-store trade, as customers have more flexibility to shop in-store again. Total retail sales are estimated to be up 24 percent YOY on December 23, and 17.5 percent YOY on Christmas Eve.
More to explore
TCS partners with AWS in new quantum computing initiative
Tata Consultancy Services today launched the TCS Quantum Computing Lab on AWS, a new service designed to give enterprise clients insight into what it described as “one of the most promising technologies of the decade”.
Analytics unleashed: Tell your digital story
On Analytics unleashedEmma Warrillow, senior vice president of research and data insights at Shift Paradigm, highlighted the importance of effectively telling your digital story.
Cisco identifies vulnerabilities in the Identity Services Engine
Cisco Systems’ network access control solution has five vulnerabilities rated High that could allow an authenticated remote attacker to inject arbitrary operating system commands, bypass security protections, and execute cross-site scripting attacks.
Can we have it go? Incompetence as a defense. And gets an “F” in quick notification. This Week In Ransomware for the week ending November 27, 2022
A new and somewhat creative ransomware group called “Donut” has reportedly carried out “double extortion” attacks. For anyone unfamiliar with the term, double extortion refers to both encryption and theft of data, and normally involves a threat to release the stolen data if the ransom is not paid.
High-performance computing and quantum technology are at the forefront of sustainable energy solutions
EDF, Exaion Inc, PASQAL and the Quantum Innovation Zone join forces to open the first center of competence to develop sustainable energy solutions using the combined capabilities of high performance computing (HPC) and quantum computing.
Intel and Xero work together as part of Intel’s Software Advantage Program
Accounting software provider Xero has announced a partnership with Intel to help small business owners better manage their finances.
Cisco reports record revenue and loses 4,000 jobs in the same day
Despite posting its biggest quarterly earnings in company history, California-based digital communications company Cisco announced on the same day that it is cutting 4,000 jobs as part of its $600 million restructuring plans.
Channel Bytes November 25, 2022 – HP Announces Layoffs; Charli AI Launches Generative AI Platform; Key Toronto data centers may be for sale; and more
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There is so much to do, and so little time. But we’ve got you covered. Grab a coffee and high five while you nibble on these treats.
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Facebook’s Meta fined 265 million euros, a new study finds that smartphone addiction is linked to low self-esteem and other negative cognitive outcomes, and the FCC bans the sale and import of certain Chinese technology.
Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today
This episode reports on the latest Twitter hack numbers, a US college hit with ransomware, survey numbers from Dell and OpenText and more
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances (Hosted by Direction Informatique)
If you live in Quebec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them further Twitter also.
