Insights

Sophia-Antipolis, France, 9 April 2021 -  In February 2021, Université Côte d'Azur-CNRS Electronics, Antennas and Telecommunications laboratory (LEAT) and TAS Group formed a partnership to test performance and explore prospects for a large-scale deployment of blockchain used to secure and authenticate data for the activation of smart contracts. These new technologies could, for example, revolutionize the way in which claims between connected vehicles are managed in the coming years. A blockchain use case studied at the LEAT laboratory of Université Côte d'Azur, part of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Today, in the event of a road accident, the insurer consolidates data resulting from a report filled in by hand by the protagonists. This data may be, intentionally or not, incomplete or even false. In the future, a device installed in the vehicle could send data automatically collected on the vehicle (identity and vital functions of the driver, speed, positioning of the vehicles, etc.) to a blockchain. A Smart Contract could then process this data in a completely decentralized, more objective, fairer and more secure manner. The claims for loss and follow-up provided by the insurance company could be triggered automatically based on this data. This use case is the one selected by LEAT for its Smart IoT for Mobility project led by Prof. Verdier, in partnership with Renault Software Labs and Symag (BNP Paribas subsidiary). Started in 2017, it can now count on TAS Group technology to move on to a larger-scale testing phase. Why TAS Group? Through the partnership, TAS Group provides LEAT with a cloud service platform for containerized applications and brings its expertise in application cloudification to the laboratory. LEAT's exploratory work will thus be brought to the Cloud while adapting and respecting the different types of process. This will allow researchers to benefit from a network test architecture to study the behaviour of models developed in their laboratory and very realistically simulate the deployment of their applications. The containerization of the blockchain will allow the use of micro-services to facilitate the deployment and orchestration of the architecture. The solution will also allow the adoption of agile methods based on "DevOps" principles. What is blockchain? A blockchain is like a database in which the information entered is neither editable nor deleted, and is publicly readable and cryptographically secure. Blockchain is based on the principle of collective trust. By entrusting the validation of a transaction to a multiplicity of computers rather than to a human, a fallible trusted third party, the risk of error, fraud or corruption is eliminated. What are Smart Contracts? Smart Contracts are the natural evolution of blockchain. These "smart contracts" are computer programs stored in a blockchain, designed to automatically execute a set of predefined instructions, based on data from the blockchain. They are automatically executed and self-enforcing contracts. They are governed, without possible dispute, by the explicit terms and conditions set out therein, without one or more people, often qualified as trusted third parties, having to intervene to establish their authenticity and trigger the execution. In the case of vehicle insurance contracts, this new generation of contracts could replace traditional contracts in the future. Download the press release

Today the Board of Directors of TAS approved the 2020 consolidated financial statements of the Group. All economic and financial indicators on the rise : total revenues and core revenues respectively at 61.7 million euros and 60.9 million euros. Consolidated net profit up to 8.8 million euros compared to 5.9 million in the previous year. Dario Pardi, chairman of TAS Group, expressed satisfaction and pride for the excellent results achieved in a particularly demanding and challenging year, in which TAS courageously invested in an increase in human resources, demonstrating the Group's consolidated financial capacity. The three main lines of development in 2020 were: the consolidation of strategic collaborations, the inorganic growth with the acquisition of Infraxis AG , a leading player in the world of digital payments in the Swiss and German markets and the important investments in the Group’s platforms and services. Talking about investments, CEO Valentino Bravi underlined the important share of more than 10% of revenues destined in 2020 for the innovation of solutions, which made it possible to progress in the development of the Global Payments Platform offered both on-premise or in PaaS (Platform as a Service) mode, in the completion of the  Aquarius platform for the ESMIG project for the new Target services of the European Central Bank, and in the strengthening of the PaaS delivery model related to the payment and e-money product suites. Read the full press release in the Investor section.  

The results of the interim management report at 30 September 2020, approved by the Board of Directors on 13 November, show an improvement across all indicators compared to the same period of the previous year.

Core revenues are up by 9.1% and the net result for the period is showing a sharp increase compared to a substantial break even in the first nine months of 2019.

Chairman Pardi and CEO Bravi expressed their satisfaction with this positive and consolidated trend, confirming the validity of the Group's business model, the innovation strategies and the alliances put in place with important players in the sector that have allowed growth despite the difficult situation that affected all sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

For several years, TAS Group has been a sponsor of the initiative of BNL, our primary customer, part of the BNP Paribas Group, "Relay race 8x20 BNL for Telethon" to support research on genetic diseases. This year the event will not be held in the usual Roman location of the Baths of Caracalla but will be experienced completely online. Everyone can participate in the place they prefer by running, walking or cycling, alone or in a team with friends and relatives, for 20 minutes or more, and post photos and / or videos on their Social profiles (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) by tagging Fondazione Telethon e 8x20 BNL per Telethon to be anyway together in this great commitment of solidarity.

Milan, October 13, 2020– TAS Group, (Italian Stock Exchange: TAS), a global provider of innovative solutions in card management, digital payments, financial messaging and capital markets, has announced that it has been ranked among the Top 100 in the 2020 IDC FinTech Rankings for the 12th consecutive year. The 17th annual vendor ranking represents the leading hardware, software and service providers to the financial services industry from around the world. Vendors are ranked based on 2019 calendar year revenues attributed to financial institutions. The full list for 2020 can be viewed HERE.

Executive Chairman of TAS Group, Dario Pardi, remarked, "We are proud to have been recognized once again among the top fintech players in these prestigiousrankings. Such a result confirms our domain expertise and reinforces our commitment to invest in and deliver innovation and agility to financial operators in today’s dynamic payments ecosystem. We will continue to strive to be the best and to serve the Financial Industry, offering both incumbents and digital challengers alike best-of-breed, leading-edge solutions solutions that are real game changers in today’s highly competitive market place. By empowering our customers to adopt new enabling technologies, they can make digital transformation a reality and overcome legacy challenges.”

The Fortune 500-style ranking categorizes and evaluates the top global providers of financial technology based on calendar year revenues from financial institutions for hardware, software and/or services. These providers supply the technological backbone of the financial services industry, an industry in which IDC Financial Insights forecasts worldwide spending on IT across the globe to exceed $577 billion (USD) by 2024. 

To thrive in a digital economy, financial services organizations must embrace innovative and integrate cutting-edge technology effectively to enhance the customer experience and achieve operational excellence. TAS Group and the vendors featured in the IDC FinTech Rankings, represent those providers committed to helping financial institutions successfully execute their digital transformation initiatives for the betterment of their customers around the world. IDC Financial Insights publishes a comprehensive report about the year's findings that is available to view or download HERE.

TAS has played a key role in supporting Europe’s financial community following the recent regularity and compliance changes mandated, with projects such as the T2/T2S Consolidation and the wider changes to Eurosystem’s TARGET services, the upcoming introduction of ESMIG and a general migration towards ISO20022. As a trusted and experienced partner during past Eurosystem migrations and with its payments solutions running at the heart of the ECB, TAS has been well positioned to offer both technological and advisory support to its customers in light of such challenges. 

In the Issuing and Acquiring domain, TAS continues to lead the way as a provider of innovative digital payments and financial software solutions to banks, PSPs and Fintech throughout Europe and the Americas. Most recently it further enriched its offering by adding a new cloud-native, API-based full microservices proposal that manages all types of payments including a fleet/fuel card solution.   

This innovation-driven strategy and investment in product development have contributed to the Group’s strong financial results this year, seeing a double-digit increase in EBITDA. TAS management is optimistic about the future where digital payments, boosted by the pandemic and the new norm, are expected to continue to grow.

For more information about the rankings, visit HERE and follow on Twitter @IDC and look for #IDCFinTechRankings.

Read the Press Release

The consolidated half-year report of TAS Group, approved yesterday by the Board of Directors, highlights a growth in all financial indicators compared to the same period of the previous year, with double-digit increase (13.9%) in the Gross Operating Margin (EBITDA).

Dario Pardi, President of TAS Group, commented: "We are undoubtedly satisfied with the results obtained in the first half of 2020 which see an increase in all indices, in particular in margins, despite the period being characterized by an unprecedented pandemic and which led to containment world-wide, with important repercussions on the economy. These have been important months for us, marked by the conclusion of the corporate reorganization of Global Payments Spa and TAS International S.A., which led to an optimization of skills and an enhancement of assets for the domestic and international market. In addition, we have completed important transactions that will allow us to grow further in the future, particularly internationally. In fact, in June we completed the acquisition of Infraxis AG, a reference reality in the digital payments sector, in the Swiss and German markets, laying the foundations for consolidating our presence in the European market ".

"TAS Group - added Valentino Bravi, CEO of the Group - will continue focusing on technological innovation as the foundation of its business strategy, after an absolutely satisfactory first half. Although the future global economic outlook is uncertain, given the current crisis generated by the pandemic, we can look to the coming months with optimism, also thanks to the boost that digital payments are having, particularly in our home market. We therefore continue our commitment to complete software development projects with the usual determination, focusing investments on innovation and working to confirm our leadership as a company of Italian excellence recognized abroad ".

TAS recently contributed to ESMA’s (European Securities and Markets Authority) regulator consultations on Outsourcing to Cloud Service Providers, offering valuable recommendations on key requirements for financial market participants. The contributions were made as part of ESMA’s three-month public consultation phase on their June publication and will shortly be made available on the Regulator’s website. At TAS we continuously monitor regulatory guidelines and industry best practices to improve our solution delivery capabilities, both for SaaS and Cloud delivery models. We are therefore proud to state that we fully comply with ESMA’s guidelines in all our outsourcing offerings. Below are just a few of our most popular outsourcing solutions for the financial market community: PAG€ - the most convenient way to connect to ESMIG TAS SWIFT Service Bureau – beyond pure network access TAS 3DS Access Control Server (ACS) – secure buyer authentication for e- & m-commerce Hosting/Housing/Cloud @ TAS France (learn more) With more than 35 years of experience in software solutions for e-money, payments and financial markets and playing an active role in the Eurosystem Consolidation Project, we believe we have a responsibility to share our expertise and views with the European Financial Community and are always happy to do so. Working with TAS as your outsourcer means being guaranteed that we have the right focus on the business, as well as the full knowledge and control on the underlining application developed by TAS digital sw factory experts inhouse.