Fintech
Mint Announces Delayed Filing of Annual Disclosure Documents
Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – April 14, 2020) – The Mint Corporation (TSXV: MIT) (“Mint” or the “Company“) today announced in accordance with Ontario Instrument 51-502 Temporary Exemption from Certain Corporate Finance Requirements of the Ontario Securities Commission (the “Blanket Exemption Order“), which was adopted for the purpose of providing certain filing and other relief to issuers in light of the challenges posted by the COVID-19 pandemic, that it will be delaying the filing and delivery of certain of its continuous disclosure documents.
The Company is relying on the Blanket Exemption Order in delaying (i) the filing of its annual financial statements and related management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 (collectively, the “Required Annual Filings“), and (ii) compliance with the delivery requirements of applicable securities laws relating to the Required Annual Filings. The officers and directors of the Company and certain other persons will remain subject to a trading black-out pursuant to which such persons are prohibited from trading in any securities of the Company until the end of the second full trading day following the day on which the Required Annual Filings are filed on SEDAR and a corresponding news release is issued by the Company.
The Company currently intends to make the Required Annual Filings by June 11, 2020.
Since the filing of the Company’s third quarter 2019 interim financial statements and related management discussion and analysis on November 27, 2019 and refiled December 23, 2019, the Company has disclosed by way of news release or filings on SEDAR, the following significant business developments:
- the appointment of Ms. Rebecca Ong as a director of the Company as of November 29, 2019;
- the appointment of Mr. Firas Al Fraih as a non-voting observer to the board of directors of the Company on January 6, 2020;
- the announcement on January 6, 2020 of the filing of an Early Warning Report regarding the acquisition of securities of the Company by Global Business Services for Multimedia (“GBS“) and Mobile Telecommunication Group LLC (“MTG” and together with GBS, the “Acquirors“) from Gravitas Financial Inc. (“Gravitas“) and the fiduciary acting on behalf of the beneficial holders of substantially all of Gravitas’ secured debt. Immediately following completion of the transaction, the Acquirors beneficially owned 109,670,736 Mint common shares representing about 56% of the issued and outstanding Mint common shares on an undiluted basis. The transaction represented a change of control of Mint;
- an amendment dated January 6, 2020 between GBS, MTG and Mint amending the trust indenture (the “Trust Indenture“) pertaining to the Company’s Series A debentures;
- on January 11, 2020 the appointment of Mr. Firas Al Fraih as a director of the Company and the resignation of Mr. Neil Gilday as a director;
- on February 4, 2020, the Company announced that is subsidiaries, Mint Middle East LLC and Mint Gateway for Electronic Payments LLC (collectively “Mint UAE“) entered into a binding asset purchase agreement (the “Asset Purchase Agreement“) dated January 16, 2020 to divest its direct payroll disbursement service business through its payroll card portfolio in the United Arab Emirates. Pursuant to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement, Mint UAE is entitled to receive aggregate net cash consideration of up to AED 102,750,000 (approximately C$36,600,000), comprised of an initial payment of AED 82,750,000 (approximately C$29,500,000) and a performance-based maximum additional cash payment of up to AED 20,000,000 (approximately C$7,100,000) based on the success of the migration of the card portfolio. The buyer has made the initial payment to Mint UAE. The Asset Purchase Agreement provides for a migration period of approximately nine months from the closing date and includes an obligation of Mint UAE to deliver a financial performance bank guarantee and customer representations, warranties, indemnities and covenants typical for a transaction of this nature. The transaction has received the consent of the holders of the Company’s Series A debentures and is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. Trading in the Company’s shares will remain halted until the TSX Venture Exchange requirements to allow trading to resume are met;
- a further amendment dated April 6, 2020, effective as of December 31, 2019, was made to the Trust Indenture which amended the Trust Indenture to, amongst other things, remove the definition of change of control, change the non-cash payment of interest from subscription receipts to common shares, and waive any interest payment breaches relating to the December 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020 interest payments. The Company is in the process of issuing Mint common shares to MTG, the holder of the Series A debentures, as payment for these interest amounts owing, subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Forward-looking Statements.
Certain statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking” statements. These statements relate to future events or our future performance and, in certain cases, can be identified by the use of words such as “estimated” “intends”, “plans”, “expects”, “anticipates”, or variations of such words and phrases as statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “can”, will”, “might”, “shall”, “would” occur, or the negative forms of any of these words and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include the timing of filing the Required Annual Filings, migration of the payroll card portfolio in the United Arab Emirates pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, payment of the performance-based additional cash payment under the Asset Purchase Agreement and the amount and timing thereof, approval of the TSX Venture Exchange for the transaction pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, the duration of the halt of the Company’s shares and resumption of trading. All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the severity, duration and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability of the Company and its advisors to complete the Required Annual Filings in a timely manner, the success of migrating the payroll card portfolio in the United Arab Emirates, approval of the TSX Venture Exchange of the transaction under the Asset Purchase Agreement, satisfaction of TSX Venture Exchange requirements to allow trading of Mint common shares to resume and approval by the TSX Venture Exchange to make outstanding interest payments under the Trust Indenture by issuing Mint common shares. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of Mint believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, Mint cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in Mint’s ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Mint disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities laws.
ABOUT MINT
The Mint Corporation through its majority-owned subsidiaries (the “Mint Group“), is a globally certified payments company headquartered in Toronto, Canada with its primary business in Dubai, UAE. The Mint Group provides employers, employees and merchants with best-in-class financial services supported via payroll cards and the feature rich and linked Mint mobile application. Through its mobile enabled payments platform certified globally by Mastercard and UnionPay, Mint brings modern financial conveniences, at reasonable cost, to employers, merchants and consumers.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
The Mint Corporation
Vishy Karamadam, Chief Executive Officer
647-352-0666
www.themintcorp.com
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/54444
Fintech
How to identify authenticity in crypto influencer channels
![](https://thefintechbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/11.jpg)
Modern brands stake on influencer marketing, with 76% of users making a purchase after seeing a product on social media.The cryptocurrency industry is no exception to this trend. However, promoting crypto products through influencer marketing can be particularly challenging. Crypto influencers pose a significant risk to a brand’s reputation and ROI due to rampant scams. Approximately 80% of channels provide fake statistics, including followers counts and engagement metrics. Additionally, this niche is characterized by high CPMs, which can increase the risk of financial loss for brands.
In this article Nadia Bubennnikova, Head of agency Famesters, will explore the most important things to look for in crypto channels to find the perfect match for influencer marketing collaborations.
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Comments
There are several levels related to this point.
LEVEL 1
Analyze approximately 10 of the channel’s latest videos, looking through the comments to ensure they are not purchased from dubious sources. For example, such comments as “Yes sir, great video!”; “Thanks!”; “Love you man!”; “Quality content”, and others most certainly are bot-generated and should be avoided.
Just to compare:
LEVEL 2
Don’t rush to conclude that you’ve discovered the perfect crypto channel just because you’ve come across some logical comments that align with the video’s topic. This may seem controversial, but it’s important to dive deeper. When you encounter a channel with logical comments, ensure that they are unique and not duplicated under the description box. Some creators are smarter than just buying comments from the first link that Google shows you when you search “buy YouTube comments”. They generate topics, provide multiple examples, or upload lists of examples, all produced by AI. You can either manually review the comments or use a script to parse all the YouTube comments into an Excel file. Then, add a formula to highlight any duplicates.
LEVEL 3
It is also a must to check the names of the profiles that leave the comments: most of the bot-generated comments are easy to track: they will all have the usernames made of random symbols and numbers, random first and last name combinations, “Habibi”, etc. No profile pictures on all comments is also a red flag.
LEVEL 4
Another important factor to consider when assessing comment authenticity is the posting date. If all the comments were posted on the same day, it’s likely that the traffic was purchased.
2. Average views number per video
This is indeed one of the key metrics to consider when selecting an influencer for collaboration, regardless of the product type. What specific factors should we focus on?
First & foremost: the views dynamics on the channel. The most desirable type of YouTube channel in terms of views is one that maintains stable viewership across all of its videos. This stability serves as proof of an active and loyal audience genuinely interested in the creator’s content, unlike channels where views vary significantly from one video to another.
Many unauthentic crypto channels not only buy YouTube comments but also invest in increasing video views to create the impression of stability. So, what exactly should we look at in terms of views? Firstly, calculate the average number of views based on the ten latest videos. Then, compare this figure to the views of the most recent videos posted within the past week. If you notice that these new videos have nearly the same number of views as those posted a month or two ago, it’s a clear red flag. Typically, a YouTube channel experiences lower views on new videos, with the number increasing organically each day as the audience engages with the content. If you see a video posted just three days ago already garnering 30k views, matching the total views of older videos, it’s a sign of fraudulent traffic purchased to create the illusion of view stability.
3. Influencer’s channel statistics
The primary statistics of interest are region and demographic split, and sometimes the device types of the viewers.
LEVEL 1
When reviewing the shared statistics, the first step is to request a video screencast instead of a simple screenshot. This is because it takes more time to organically edit a video than a screenshot, making it harder to manipulate the statistics. If the creator refuses, step two (if only screenshots are provided) is to download them and check the file’s properties on your computer. Look for details such as whether it was created with Adobe Photoshop or the color profile, typically Adobe RGB, to determine if the screenshot has been edited.
LEVEL 2
After confirming the authenticity of the stats screenshot, it’s crucial to analyze the data. For instance, if you’re examining a channel conducted in Spanish with all videos filmed in the same language, it would raise concerns to find a significant audience from countries like India or Turkey. This discrepancy, where the audience doesn’t align with regions known for speaking the language, is a red flag.
If we’re considering an English-language crypto channel, it typically suggests an international audience, as English’s global use for quality educational content on niche topics like crypto. However, certain considerations apply. For instance, if an English-speaking channel shows a significant percentage of Polish viewers (15% to 30%) without any mention of the Polish language, it could indicate fake followers and views. However, if the channel’s creator is Polish, occasionally posts videos in Polish alongside English, and receives Polish comments, it’s important not to rush to conclusions.
Example of statistics
Wrapping up
These are the main factors to consider when selecting an influencer to promote your crypto product. Once you’ve launched the campaign, there are also some markers to show which creators did bring the authentic traffic and which used some tools to create the illusion of an active and engaged audience. While this may seem obvious, it’s still worth mentioning. After the video is posted, allow 5-7 days for it to accumulate a basic number of views, then check performance metrics such as views, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), signups, and conversion rate (CR) from clicks to signups.
If you overlooked some red flags when selecting crypto channels for your launch, you might find the following outcomes: channels with high views numbers and high CTRs, demonstrating the real interest of the audience, yet with remarkably low conversion rates. In the worst-case scenario, you might witness thousands of clicks resulting in zero to just a few signups. While this might suggest technical issues in other industries, in crypto campaigns it indicates that the creator engaged in the campaign not only bought fake views and comments but also link clicks. And this happens more often than you may realize.
Summing up, choosing the right crypto creator to promote your product is indeed a tricky job that requires a lot of resources to be put into the search process.
Author
Nadia Bubennikova, Head of agency at Famesters
Fintech
Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space
![central-banks-and-the-fintech-sector-unite-to-change-global-payments-space](https://thefintechbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/51859-central-banks-and-the-fintech-sector-unite-to-change-global-payments-space.jpg)
The BIS, along with seven leading central banks and a cohort of private financial firms, has embarked on an ambitious venture known as Project Agorá.
Named after the Greek word for “marketplace,” this initiative stands at the forefront of exploring the potential of tokenisation to significantly enhance the operational efficiency of the monetary system worldwide.
Central to this pioneering project are the Bank of France (on behalf of the Eurosystem), the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Bank of Mexico, the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. These institutions have joined forces under the banner of Project Agorá, in partnership with an extensive assembly of private financial entities convened by the Institute of International Finance (IIF).
At the heart of Project Agorá is the pursuit of integrating tokenised commercial bank deposits with tokenised wholesale central bank money within a unified, public-private programmable financial platform. By harnessing the advanced capabilities of smart contracts and programmability, the project aspires to unlock new transactional possibilities that were previously infeasible or impractical, thereby fostering novel opportunities that could benefit businesses and consumers alike.
The collaborative effort seeks to address and surmount a variety of structural inefficiencies that currently plague cross-border payments. These challenges include disparate legal, regulatory, and technical standards; varying operating hours and time zones; and the heightened complexity associated with conducting financial integrity checks (such as anti-money laundering and customer verification procedures), which are often redundantly executed across multiple stages of a single transaction due to the involvement of several intermediaries.
As a beacon of experimental and exploratory projects, the BIS Innovation Hub is committed to delivering public goods to the global central banking community through initiatives like Project Agorá. In line with this mission, the BIS will soon issue a call for expressions of interest from private financial institutions eager to contribute to this ground-breaking project. The IIF will facilitate the involvement of private sector participants, extending an invitation to regulated financial institutions representing each of the seven aforementioned currencies to partake in this transformative endeavour.
Source: fintech.globa
The post Central banks and the FinTech sector unite to change global payments space appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
Fintech
TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud
![td-bank-inks-multi-year-strategic-partnership-with-google-cloud](https://thefintechbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/51861-td-bank-inks-multi-year-strategic-partnership-with-google-cloud.jpg)
TD Bank has inked a multi-year deal with Google Cloud as it looks to streamline the development and deployment of new products and services.
The deal will see the Canadian banking group integrate the vendor’s cloud services into a wider portion of its technology solutions portfolio, a move which TD expects will enable it “to respond quickly to changing customer expectations by rolling out new features, updates, or entirely new financial products at an accelerated pace”.
This marks an expansion of the already established relationship between TD Bank and Google Cloud after the group previously adopted the vendor’s Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) for TD Securities Automated Trading (TDSAT), the Chicago-based subsidiary of its investment banking unit, TD Securities.
TDSAT uses GKE for process automation and quantitative modelling across fixed income markets, resulting in the development of a “data-driven research platform” capable of processing large research workloads in trading.
Dan Bosman, SVP and CIO of TD Securities, claims the infrastructure has so far supported TDSAT with “compute-intensive quantitative analysis” while expanding the subsidiary’s “trading volumes and portfolio size”.
TD’s new partnership with Google Cloud will see the group attempt to replicate the same level of success across its entire portfolio.
Source: fintechfutures.com
The post TD Bank inks multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud appeared first on HIPTHER Alerts.
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