Tradeshift Acquires Cloud Integration Innovator Babelway

Tradeshift Acquires Cloud Integration Innovator Babelway
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Tradeshift

Business commerce platform Tradeshift has acquired cloud integration technology provider Babelway, reports Antony Peyton of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

Financial details were not disclosed but Tradeshift says Babelway’s technology will now be offered as Tradeshift Link.

According to the buyer, Tradeshift Link will help the integration of disconnected systems used for B2B buying, paying, and selling, which is a “significant” challenge for companies building digital supply chains.

“We believe that B2B commerce should be connected, digital, and flexible. We’ve been partnering with Babelway for over six years and in that time have seen the massive value their technology provides for our users,” said Christian Lanng, CEO and founder of Tradeshift.

Tradeshift Link allows banks and third-party app providers to connect to the Tradeshift network to offer financial solutions such as financing and early payment services.

Small and medium-sized sellers, who “traditionally have smaller ERP systems and smaller teams, will benefit from Tradeshift Link because it allows them to work more easily with large Fortune 500 buyers”.

According to the Tradeshift, more than 1.5 million companies across 190 countries use it to process over $500 billion in transaction value.

As reported last month, the California-based company was reportedly in talks to purchase Basware. Tradeshift made the unsolicited takeover bid in October in a deal backed by China-based Ping An Insurance Group.

FinTech Futures contacted Tradeshift today (18 December) to enquire about the state of this deal – the firm says “no comment”.

Basware just referred us to their site (thanks, I have seen it). That says: “Basware confirms that it is in discussions with Tradeshift regarding a possible cash tender offer. Such further media reports contain speculation regarding the potential offer price level and certain other matters, including the status of financing and timing. Basware has not, among other things, received any confirmation that the financing for the Indicative Proposal is appropriately secured, and an announcement of a possible tender offer is not imminent.”

According to site, Tradeshift intention is to launch a recommended public tender offer of €48 per share in cash for the entire issued share capital of Basware on a fully diluted basis.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Francisco, Tradeshift demonstrated its Instant Payments solution at FinovateEurope 2012. The company has raised $432 million in funding and includes Goldman Sachs, PSP Investments, H14, and American Express Ventures among its investors.

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Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Expensify, Finastra, ISARA, Onfido, Temenos, Tradeshift

On Finovate.com

  • Expensify Celebrates Profitability, Cash Flow Positivity at Year’s End.
  • Quantum-Safe Security Specialist ISARA Raises $10 Million.

Around the web

  • Tradeshift acquires cloud integration technology innovator, Babelway.
  • Myanmar’s biggest privately-owned bank, Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank picks Finastra’s treasury management solution, Fusion Treasury.
  • Temenos secures core banking deal with Israel’s largest credit card company, Isracard.
  • Onfido reports sales growth of 342% in 2018.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Finovate Alums Join MassChallenge’s 2019 FinTech Inaugural Program

Finovate Alums Join MassChallenge’s 2019 FinTech Inaugural Program
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Digital Onboarding, ForwardLane, SizeUp

Digital Onboarding, SizeUp, and ForwardLane are among 21 startups that will take part in the 2019 MassChallenge FinTech inaugural program. The program runs from January to June, and will support startups as they work with the accelerator’s partners to develop solutions in asset management, insurance, retail and commercial banking, e-commerce, and transportation. Specific challenge areas include developing AI-powered research assistance, big data for SMEs, and student financing.

“Our inaugural cohort represents trailblazing technologies that advance financial services, from AI-powered on boarding platforms to modern giving solutions,” Program Director of MassChallenge FinTech Devon Sherman explained. “We look forward to structuring and driving meaningful, outcome-driven partnerships between startups and enterprises that tackle some of the industry’s biggest pain points and opportunities.”

Participating startups will also have access to MassChallenge FinTech and FinTech Sandbox’s enterprise readiness program, as well as the FinTech Sandbox’s data and resources. MassChallenge FinTech will award a total of $250,000 in cash prizes at the conclusion of the six-month program, at zero cost and for zero equity.

Also participating in the 2019 cohort are:

  • AlphaSense
  • Cake
  • Catapult HQ
  • Coalesce.ai
  • Datavore
  • Diffeo
  • Edmit
  • eGiftify
  • Elsen
  • Fincura
  • GainLife
  • LifeSite
  • Pinkaloo Technologies
  • Posh
  • Surround Insurance
  • TellusLabs
  • WalletFi
  • Zylotech

MassChallenge FinTech is supported by a public-private partnership that features Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Putnam Investments, Fidelity Investments, Citizens Bank, John Hancock, and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP) among its founding partners. The program’s challenge partners include Eastern Bank, AARP, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Walmart, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). FinTech Sandbox, Wells Fargo Startup Accelerator, and Brandeis International Business School are community partners of the program.

Explaining his company’s decision to partner with MassChallenge FinTech, Head of Innovation and Advice for John Hancock Steve Dorval said, “To us, innovation means looking for new tools, new technologies and new ways of working that can enhance the businesses we’re already in or give us insights into creating new opportunities.” He added that MassChallenge FinTech enabled John Hancock to “engage with intelligent passionate people that are solving important problems.”

Digital Onboarding demonstrated its platform at FinovateFall 2018. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Digital Onboarding announced earlier this month that it was partnering with Hudson River Financial FCU. The company will help the $57 million member-owned financial cooperative improve access to account-related benefits.

Making its most recent appearance on the Finovate stage at FinovateEurope 2016, SizeUp helps banks empower their SME clients with business insights that can drive increased customer acquisition, retention, and engagement. Founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco, California, SizeUp was featured by Bplans earlier this year in its look at 85 of the Best Business Tools for Startups.

ForwardLane announced an expansion of its menu of AI tools this fall, a move the company believes will help bring the benefits of artificial intelligence to small and mid-sized financial advisors. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York City, ForwardLane demonstrated its cognitive productivity solution for wealth management at FinovateSpring 2016, leveraging machine learning to deliver personalized investment advice to mass affluent investors.

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CB Alerts Portal from Ethoca Helps Cartes Bancaires Merchants Fight Fraud

CB Alerts Portal from Ethoca Helps Cartes Bancaires Merchants Fight Fraud
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Ethoca

Ethoca has partnered with French payment system Cartes Bancaires to develop the CB Alerts portal that helps online merchants collaborate with card-issuing banks to lower chargebacks and reduce fraud. The solution, which works in near-real-time, gives merchants an early warning of cardholder-confirmed fraudulent transactions, enabling merchants to block an illegitimate sale, and/or prevent the shipment of goods, as well as the provision of services.

“Ethoca is honored to have been chosen to work with CB to help e-merchants and French banks reduce fraud and eliminate the need to raise chargebacks,” Ethoca EVP of Business Development Trevor Clarke said. “Merchants are now able to take immediate action in cases of confirmed fraud and are free [to grow] their businesses and [offer] their customers exceptional experiences.”

Merchant subscribers to CB Alerts get notification of fraudulent transaction activity as soon as piracy, loss, or theft of a payment card is reported to the bank by the cardholder. The solution can automate the notification process for larger merchants with higher volumes.

“We launched CB Alerts as part of our desire to enrich the services provided to merchants and banks,” Philippe Laulanie, CEO at Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB, said. “Security is in the DNA of CB, along with the implementation of the PSD2, RTS, and strong authentication, this portal will help to fight e-commerce fraud.”

Cartes Bancaires is the leading payment system in France. Last year, the firm boasted 68+ million cards in circulation and nearly 12 billion transactions totaling more than $640 billion (€564 billion). Cartes Bancaires was founded in 1984 to provide the country with interoperable universal card payment and cash withdrawal systems. As of 2017, CB has more than 100 banks and payment institution members globally.

Ethoca demonstrated its Ethoca Alerts solution at FinovateEurope 2016. This fall, the company announced a partnership with American Express, leveraging its Ethoca Eliminator solution to help AMEX card holders access the detailed transaction information they need to resolve customer service calls faster. This spring, the company launched its integrated solution suite, which features Ethoca Eliminator, Ethoca Alerts, as well as Enhanced Representments. This latter feature helps merchants better understand chargeback processing and evidence rules to make it easier for them to determine how and when to challenge transaction disputes.

With $45 million in funding courtesy of investors such as Spectrum Equity, Pivot Investment Partners, and Difference Capital, Ethoca is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was founded in 2005. More than 5,400 merchants in 40+ countries benefit from Ethoca’s services and solutions. The company’s customers include eight of the top 10 North American e-commerce brands, 14 of the top 20 North American card issuers, and six of the top ten U.K. card issuers.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Agreement Express, AlphaPoint, Averon, Coinbase, eMoney Advisor, Ethoca, Gusto, PayPal, Ripple, Sezzle

On Finovate.com

  • Finovate Alums Digital Onboarding, ForwardLane, and SizeUp Join MassChallenge’s 2019 FinTech Inaugural Program.
  • CB Alerts Portal from Ethoca Helps Carte Bancaires Merchants Fight Fraud.

Around the web

  • Agreement Express and TD Ameritrade Institutional deliver straight-through account opening to Veo Platform.
  • Gusto’s Flexible Pay is now available to employees directly in Texas through a newly created subsidiary Gusto Capital LLC.
  • AlphaPoint announces support for Stellar Lumens.
  • Lincoln Financial Group unveils new partnership with eMoney Advisor.
  • Sezzle hires former Target, TD Bank executive Jamie Kirkpatrick as its new Chief Risk Officer.
  • Averon co-founder and COO Lea Tarnowski earns finalist spot in Banking Technology Awards’ Women in Technology Leadership category.
  • Coinbase introduces instant PayPal withdrawals for U.S. customers.
  • Ripple and UAE Exchange team up to launch blockchain-powered cross-border remittance payment services in Asia in early 2019.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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FI.SPAN Raises $4 Million for U.K. and Australia Expansion

FI.SPAN Raises $4 Million for U.K. and Australia Expansion
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: FI.SPAN, Funding

Financial services management platform FI.SPAN has some extra holiday spending cash, thanks to a new round of funding led by BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Venture Fund. The round also features participation from FinTop Capital, VFF, Panache Ventures and others. The $4 million investment brings FI.SPAN’s total funding to $6 million.

The Canada-based company will use the funds to expand its operations to the U.K. and Australia, as well as grow its Vancouver, B.C.-based team. FI.SPAN currently employs 20 people in its New York and Vancouver offices, and it hopes to double its Vancouver workforce within the next year-and-a-half.

FI.SPAN CEO Lisa Shields told BIV.com that she’s not worried about Brexit impacting the company’s U.K. expansion. “Brexit, to be honest, for my particular business doesn’t affect us that much and the market is massive in the U.K.,” Shields said. “Because we sell to banks, we’re less impacted by Brexit.”

Above: Shields and with co-founder Clayton Weir demo at FinovateFall 2018

Shields co-founded FI.SPAN in 2016 and recently demoed the company’s ERP Connectivity Suite at FinovateFall 2018 in New York.  The company’s white-labeled service designs, builds, and maintains live connections to online and cloud-based accounting systems. The company’s API services suite helps banks build out their APIs to offer clients third-party connectivity. Similarly, FI.SPAN’s Fintegration suite helps banks integrate with fintechs and securely manage data exchange between the two parties.

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Best of Show Winner Voleo to Help Drive Social Trading in Europe

Best of Show Winner Voleo to Help Drive Social Trading in Europe
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Voleo

OP Financial Group has chosen Finovate Best of Show winner Voleo as its partner to build and launch a new social trading platform for the European market. The company will join the Helsinki, Finland-based firm’s Wealthtech Partnership Program, having bested nine other fintechs that competed for the opportunity during OP Financial’s four-day Co-alignment Week.

Voleo offers a white-label, social trading app that enables investors to leverage their collective knowledge to invest together and pursue higher market returns. Users can build and manage investment clubs with the app, democratically managing portfolios by discussing and debating trades which are executed automatically by majority vote.

To help guide decision-making, Voleo provides a Definitive Return On Investment Decisions (DROID) score that helps users spot and follow along with the best performing investment clubs and individual investors on the platform. Designed to both lower the costs of and barriers to entry for less experienced investors, the app is available on both iOS and Android, as well as via the web.

The OP Wealthtech Partnership Program consists of a four-month intensive collaboration period, with three “co-creation phases” featuring workshops, advisor meetings, and networking. OP Financial Group is the largest financial services group in Finland, and its partnership program is one way to help companies access the Nordic market.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to collaborate with OP and its program partners, Accenture, CGI, and Siili, to deliver our seamless and secure solution that empowers people to invest together in a way that’s never been possible,” Voleo CEO Thomas Beattie said. “There is a robust future demand for mobile investing technology and Voleo is already capitalizing on the massive generational wealth transfer in North America.”

Voleo demonstrated its platform at FinovateFall 2017, winning Best of Show honors. Featured last month in Retail Banker, Voleo began the year with a business combination with Logan Resources, and reports that it has experienced consistent user growth of 20% per month since the company’s “soft launch” in 2017. That year, Voleo partnered with Nasdaq to launch an equity trading competition which offered $10,000 in real cash portfolios to winning investors and teams. The company was founded in 2015, and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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EVRY Wins $75 Million Contract

EVRY Wins $75 Million Contract
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: EVRY

Less than a month after landing a deal worth almost $77 million, Nordic IT company EVRY announced it has inked a $75 million contract with Handelsbanken in Finland.

Under the agreement, which is set to last eight years with an optional two-year extension, EVRY will provide Handelsbanken its complete suite of SaaS core banking and payment solutions, reaching both corporate and private banking customers. This includes internet banking for personal and corporate customers, loan management and back office solutions for Handelsbanken’s employees, and selected card services.

“EVRY’s solution will give us a modern and configurable banking platform with extensive product development capabilities. Modernising our core banking system in this way will enable us to develop more efficient processes and thereby to provide better customer service,” said Nina Arkilahti, CEO of Handelsbanken in Finland.

EVRY has partnered with the Handelsbanken Group in the past. Earlier this year, the company teamed up with Handelsbanken in Norway to launch a wrist-based contactless payments solution. Describing today’s deal, Wiljar Nesse, EVP of financial services at EVRY, named it an “important milestone” for EVRY as it advances the company’s presence in Finland.

EVRY demonstrated its PFM solution, Spendific, at FinovateEurope 2015. With more than 10,000 customers across the private and public sectors and 8,800 employees across nine countries, EVRY is headquartered in Fornebu just outside Oslo. The company is listed on the Oslo stock exchange under the ticker “EVRY AS” and has a market capitalization of $11 billion. Terje Mjøs is CEO.

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Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Backbase, BankBazaar, Experian, Fenergo, FICO, Finastra, Finovate Global, Hydrogen, InfoCorp, iProov, James Finance, Juvo, Nubank, Ocrolus, PaySend, Ripple, Sberbank, Temenos, Token, UNPay

As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Brazil’s Nubank announces debit options for its digital savings account.
  • Infocorp spinoff Bankingly raises $5.25 million in Series A funding in round led by Elevar Equity.
  • Vocalink to modernize Peru’s electronic payments infrastructure courtesy of new deal with the company’s automated clearinghouse, Cámara de Compensación Electrónica (CCE).

Asia-Pacific

  • UNPay expands QR code payments.
  • Indonesian lending and payments firm, Pohon Dana, picks up investment from Mayapada Group.
  • PaySend launches transfers to bank accounts and Napas cards in Vietnam.
  • Fenergo wins Fintech Exporter of the Year award from Asia Matters.
  • Juvo expands across Asia with regional headquarters in Singapore.

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Experian purchases South African credit information and analytics firm Compuscan for $263 million.
  • Ecobank partners with MFS Africa to offer cross-platform digital payments to customers.
  • Emergent Technology acquires Ghana-based Interpay Africa.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Sberbank offers clients new strategies for investment life insurance.
  • Finastra opens new offices in Romania.
  • Backbase powers omni-channel digital services for Poland’s BGŻ BNP Paribas bank.
  • International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) to deploy technology from FICO to fight money laundering.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • UAE and Saudi Arabia launch blockchain-powered, cross-border payments proof of concept.
  • Temenos announces partnership with Tunisia’s Banque de l’Habitat.
  • Token brings open banking to MENA region.

Central and South Asia

  • James Finance, Ocrolus, Hydrogen, and iProov shortlisted for India FinTech Awards 2018.
  • Currencies Direct taps Ripple’s xCurrent for real-time remittances to India.
  • Fintech News Singapore features BankBazaar in its round up of 10 Hot Fintech Startups from India to Watch Closely.

Top image designed by Freepik

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Brazil’s Nubank Announces Debit Options for its Digital Savings Account

Brazil’s Nubank Announces Debit Options for its Digital Savings Account
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Nubank

A jigsaw is being filled as Brazil-based challenger Nubank has unveiled debit and withdrawal options for its digital savings account, NuConta, reports Antony Peyton of FinTech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

According to the bank, these functions were most requested by its customers. This news may not be a big deal to some, but it’s another sign that Nubank is moving along fairly well and trying to shake up the old order.

In October, Tencent invested $180 million in the bank – taking the challenger’s valuation to a healthy $4 billion. While in June, Nubank said it got 1.5 million customers signed up for NuConta.

NuConta is the challenger bank’s bid to reach the nation’s sizable underbanked population, estimated at around 60 million Brazilians.

In this debit/withdrawal matter, it explains that it has started testing Nubank Debit. With it, it has also launched a new withdrawal option so customers can use the debit function to withdraw money directly from their NuConta at ATMs.

At first, it will test this only with some customers who already own the Nubank and NuConta card and, from 2019, it will be expanded for all.

David Vélez, CEO of Nubank, said: “The release of the debit function is another piece of the jigsaw that was missing to help people find a way out of the current banking system and its revolving doors of complexity and bureaucracy.”

The “revolving doors” bit was his word play on the official launch at the Pinacoteca Museum in São Paulo.

The bank turned a revolving door into a museum piece to cleverly show how it was the “first barrier that Brazilians had to face in order to gain access to a banking service”.

Founded in 2013, Nubank also has funding support from DST Global Investment Partners, Founders Fund, QED, and Goldman Sachs. The company is an alum of our developers conference, FinDEVr, having presented Our Money, Our Rulebook at FinDEVr New York 2016.

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Finovate Alumni News

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Anorak, DataSine, Envestnet, EVRY, FI.SPAN, Golden, Hydrogen, Intuit, iProov, Jack Henry, James Finance, Ocrolus, PaySend, Sberbank, Voleo, WePay, Yodlee

On Finovate.com

  • EVRY Wins $75 Million Contract.
  • Best of Show Winner Voleo to Help Drive Social Trading in Europe.
  • FI.SPAN Raises $4 Million for U.K. and Australia Expansion.

Around the web

  • Sberbank offers clients new strategies for investment life insurance.
  • PaySend launches transfers to bank accounts and Napas cards in Vietnam.
  • Anorak earns a spot in FinSMEs’ Top 10 U.K. Insurtech Startups to Watch in 2019 roster.
  • Intuit relaunches its redesigned ProAdvisor program in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
  • DataSine and FinovateFall Best of Show winner Golden join the Envestnet | Yodlee Incubator’s latest cohort.
  • API platform provider for banking and insurance NDGIT announces strategic partnership with Synpulse.
  • James Finance, Ocrolus, Hydrogen, and iProov shortlisted for India FinTech Awards 2018.
  • PYMNTS highlights WePay Co-founder Rich Aberman in its latest podcast.
  • Jack Henry & Associates introduces a voice-driven consumer billpay solution.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

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Accenture Acquires Select Assets from Banking Software Platform Zafin

Accenture Acquires Select Assets from Banking Software Platform Zafin
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Accenture, Mergers & Acquisitions, Zafin

Digital banking platform provider Zafin and global professional services company Accenture have forged a new relationship that is both a strategic alliance and an acquisition. The companies have announced a “joint go-to-market strategy” that will make Accenture the preferred integrator of Zafin’s financial platform. And by bringing on “select employees” from Zafin’s professional services business, Accenture also gains the technical integration and development capabilities it needs to enhance its own financial services offerings.

For Zafin, the alliance and acquisition gives the company the opportunity to “focus squarely on product innovation and technology” said CEO and founder Al Karim Somji. He added that the partnership also provides the Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based firm with “rapid scalability.”

“We are particularly proud of the work we’ve done with our clients globally,” Somji said, “and expect our expanded relationship with Accenture to enable us to accelerate our momentum in the market.”

Zafin offers financial institutions around the world technology that drives relationship pricing, bundling, and rates management strategies. The company’s platform enables financial institutions to boost revenue and efficiency by upgrading legacy infrastructure which, among other benefits, helps them improve client engagement via solutions and services that deliver greater customization for consumers and greater profitability for banks.

Head of Accenture’s global banking practice Alan McIntyre blamed legacy IT systems for the inability of many FIs to modernize the customer experience, and pointed to Zafin’s technology as a solution. “Zafin’s software enables financial institutions to improve their pricing, personalization and product configuration without having to replace their legacy systems,” the senior managing director said.

Zafin demonstrated its miRevenue enterprise banking platform at FinovateFall 2017. In May of this year, the company announced a partnership with Celero, an IT solution provider for credit unions. In April, Zafin inked a strategic partnership with the Empire Startups, a  global community of fintech entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators.

Named one of Canada’s 50 fastest growing companies in 2016 by Deloitte, Zafin has more than 40 global banking customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and India. The company was founded in 2002, and raised $30 million in funding previous to the alliance and acquisition by Accenture.

With clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture offers a wide variety of strategy, consulting, technology, and operations services and solutions. The company partnered with mBank at FinovateFall 2013 to demonstrate the Polish bank’s next generation online banking platform. Accenture was founded in 1989, and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. With a market capitalization of $106 billion, Accenture trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “ACN.”

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