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JACQUIE LAWSON ANNOUNCES NEW 2023 INTERACTIVE ADVENT CALENDAR

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The 14th Annual Edwardian Era-Inspired Advent Calendar Boasts Breathtaking Illustrations with New User-Requested Interactive Features and Designs

LURGASHALL, England, Nov. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Jacquie Lawson, one of the largest international ecard brands renowned for its quality art, animation and music, announces the launch of its 14th annual interactive Advent Calendar coming November 2023. This year’s “Edwardian” Advent Calendar is a virtual treasure trove of delightful surprises, such as a scavenger hunt, daily gifts, animated stories, music, books, games, creative activities, puzzles, and so much more. Featuring an exciting season of Christmas preparations on a fictional country estate, the interactive calendar embodies the warm feel of England around the holidays—making it the perfect way for the whole family to count down the days to Christmas.

“We’ve been producing a new Advent Calendar every December now for fourteen years, and it’s become a highly anticipated holiday tradition for millions of people around the world. In fact, according to a recent survey, 94% of respondents agreed that advent calendars increase the excitement of the holiday season,” said Maren Bean, Creative Director. “Each year, we spend months on the design and continuously look for new, unique ways to make each day in December extra special.”

This year, users will experience a main scene featuring the exterior of an English country estate, as well as opportunities for innovative play and exploration of the estate’s interior rooms. Each scene incorporates classic elements from the Edwardian era (1901-1914), such as domed corner rooftop pavilions, tower-like buildings, exaggerated keystones, period costumes, gorgeous colours and decorative patterns. The snowy, animal-filled English country estate landscape changes gradually with the clock—from sunrise and sunset, revealing captivating daily games and activities for adults and kids alike.

“Each year, we work to make the Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar better than the year before. We are delighted to share this year’s calendar which is filled with traditional favourites and new surprises, such as a reinvention of our popular scavenger hunt featuring animals hidden on the estate. It’s a unique digital experience that we know has created lasting memories for our users for more than a decade – and we feel that this year’s Edwardian Advent Calendar is the best yet!” added Bean.

The 2023 Jacquie Lawson Edwardian Advent Calendar is available for purchase online at jacquielawson.com or via mobile app for $7.99 for one calendar, with discounted rates for additional quantities. 

Once purchased, users can enjoy Jacquie Lawson’s Edwardian Advent Calendar for themselves or send it as a gift. Once activated, it can be downloaded to any compatible device — iPhones, iPads, and Android devices, as well as Windows 10 and Mac PCs.

ABOUT JACQUIE LAWSON
Jacquie Lawson is a renowned provider of digital greeting cards and online gifts. Since 2000, they have been creating high-quality, animated e-cards that bring joy, laughter, and heartfelt messages to people around the world. Their collection includes a wide variety of themes, from birthday and anniversary cards to holiday-themed animations and interactive puzzles. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, Jacquie Lawson continues to enhance the way people connect and celebrate special occasions. Follow Jacquie Lawson on Facebook @JacquieLawsonecards and learn more at jacquielawson.com.

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SOURCE Jacquie Lawson

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Simpaisa and Tencent Cloud Collaborate on Strategic Cloud Transformation to Accelerate Infrastructure Optimization and Innovation

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ISLAMABAD, Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, today announced a strategic collaboration with Simpaisa, a fintech and digital payments company, to explore a large-scale cloud transformation aimed at optimizing infrastructure efficiency while supporting the operational, security and regulatory requirements of financial services applications.

Through the collaboration, Simpaisa is working with Tencent Cloud to assess a future-ready cloud environment spanning its broader fintech technology ecosystem and supporting infrastructure. The initiative is designed to support the company’s long-term objective of improving infrastructure efficiency while maintaining the resilience, governance and reliability standards essential to its operations.

Driving Infrastructure Optimization and Cloud Transformation

As Simpaisa’s business and technology footprint continues to expand, optimizing cloud infrastructure costs while maintaining the performance, reliability and security required for mission-critical fintech operations has become an increasingly important strategic priority. At the same time, the company must continue to safeguard sensitive financial and transaction data while meeting evolving operational and regulatory obligations.

To support these objectives, Simpaisa is working with Tencent Cloud to validate a target cloud architecture that can support its evolving operational and technology requirements. Leveraging Tencent Cloud’s financial-grade infrastructure, integrated security capabilities, and technical expertise, the collaboration enables Simpaisa to assess a modern operating model designed to support future growth, operational resilience, and long-term innovation.

As part of the collaboration, Tencent Cloud is providing cloud infrastructure expertise, migration support, and architectural guidance to help validate the proposed target environment. The assessment spans compute workloads, Kubernetes-based applications, databases, messaging infrastructure, monitoring services, and security capabilities, including a proposed environment of more than 50 compute instances, over 50 Kubernetes pods, and multiple database technologies supporting Simpaisa’s broader fintech platform.

The initiative also evaluates cloud-native security controls, enabling Simpaisa to assess security, compliance, and operational requirements alongside technical and business objectives. This approach helps ensure infrastructure optimization goals can be pursued without compromising security posture or regulatory obligations.

Rachel Xie, General Manager of Tencent Cloud MENA, Operations, Channel Development and Marketing of Tencent Cloud International, said: “As digital payments and financial services continue to evolve, fintech companies are increasingly looking for technology platforms that can support growth, operational efficiency, security, and regulatory obligations simultaneously. We are pleased to collaborate with Simpaisa as it explores its cloud transformation journey. By leveraging Tencent Cloud’s infrastructure capabilities, financial-grade technology foundation and security expertise, we look forward to supporting Simpaisa in building a scalable and resilient technology environment that can support innovation and long-term growth in the digital financial services sector.”

Saqlain Raza, Chief Technology Officer of Simpaisa, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with Tencent Cloud on this strategic cloud transformation initiative. Tencent Cloud’s financial-grade technology foundation, cloud infrastructure capabilities and security expertise provide us with a strong platform to evaluate new opportunities for infrastructure optimization, modernization and innovation. Through this collaboration, we look forward to strengthening our technology foundation and supporting the continued growth of our fintech business.”

Beyond supporting Simpaisa’s cloud transformation journey, the collaboration reflects the growing importance of cloud modernization across the fintech sector as organizations seek to optimize infrastructure efficiency while maintaining high standards of security, reliability and compliance. Tencent Cloud remains committed to supporting fintech companies with cloud technologies, security capabilities, and industry expertise that enable digital transformation, operational excellence and sustainable growth.

Simpaisa Expands Market Presence in Saudi Arabia

The collaboration comes as Simpaisa continues to expand its market presence across key growth markets. Most recently, Simpaisa has expanded into Saudi Arabia through the incorporation of Simpaisa Arabia, a local entity established to offer the same suite of digital payment services to businesses and financial institutions in the Saudi market.

The Saudi Arabia expansion represents an important step in Simpaisa’s broader regional growth strategy, extending its market presence and enabling the company to bring its payment collection and payout capabilities to customers in another key market in the region.

About Tencent Cloud

Tencent Cloud, one of the world’s leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries. Through our extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and network security. It is our constant mission to meet the needs of industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, property, retail, travel, and transportation. 

About Simpaisa

At the crossroads of innovation and impact, Simpaisa pioneers secure, disruptive, and innovative technology infrastructure, amplifying financial inclusivity. They specialize in digital payments services, streamlining the collection of payments and distribution of payouts for our clients. By providing a seamless platform and single API integration, Simpaisa enables businesses to efficiently accept payments from their customers while ensuring secure and timely disbursement of funds to suppliers, partners, and stakeholders.

With customizable solutions tailored to the specific needs of each client, they optimize financial processes, enhance cash flow management, and foster growth for businesses across various industries. This seamless integration simplifies the payment process for merchants, eliminating the need for multiple bank accounts and disparate systems, while also enhancing the end-user experience with secure and streamlined transactions.

Registered in Singapore, Simpaisa leverages its expertise in the frontier markets of South Asia and North Africa. Through their cutting-edge payment solutions, they empower businesses and financial institutions to improve lives and support countless families, forging pathways to achieve seamless accessibility and economic prosperity. Simpaisa has also recently expanded its market presence into Saudi Arabia through its newly incorporated entity, Simpaisa Arabia, which offers the same suite of digital payment services to businesses and financial institutions in the Saudi market.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/simpaisa-and-tencent-cloud-collaborate-on-strategic-cloud-transformation-to-accelerate-infrastructure-optimization-and-innovation-302868438.html

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XTransfer Secures In-Principle Approval for Retail Payment Services Licence from UAE Central Bank

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Strengthens Trade Connectivity Across the Middle East and Africa

DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XTransfer, World’s Leading B2B Cross-Border Trade Payment Platform, is pleased to announce that it has secured in-principle approval for a Retail Payment Services Licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, marking another important milestone in the company’s global regulatory expansion and growing presence in the Middle East.

Upon completing the pre-issuance conditions, the licence will enable XTransfer to serve mainland UAE clients and further expand its regulated B2B payment services in the country. Through this licence, XTransfer aims to support businesses engaged in international trade with compliant, secure and efficient payment solutions tailored to cross-border transactions.

The UAE is a key market in XTransfer’s Middle East and Africa strategy. As a major regional trade and re-export hub, the UAE plays an important role in connecting Chinese trade with Africa and wider emerging markets. XTransfer’s presence in the UAE will further strengthen its ability to support trade flows between China, the Middle East, and Africa, providing businesses with more accessible and reliable cross-border payment services.

“Receiving conditional approval from the Central Bank of the UAE is a key milestone for XTransfer’s global regulatory expansion,” said Bill Deng, Founder and CEO of XTransfer. “The UAE is one of the world’s most important trade hubs and an essential gateway between Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This approval reinforces our confidence in the UAE market and its long-term growth potential across the region.”

Following successful licensing across major trade hubs in Asia and Europe, the UAE licence marks another important milestone in XTransfer’s international regulatory roadmap and reflects the company’s growing presence in the Middle East. XTransfer will continue to invest in regulated markets and strengthen its payment infrastructure to support SMEs and trading businesses participating in cross-border commerce.

– End –

About XTransfer

XTransfer is the world’s largest B2B cross-border trade payment platform with over US$60 billion TPV in 2025, according to CIC. Founded in 2017 as one of the first payment platforms worldwide dedicated to B2B cross-border trade, we serve the largest customer base of over 1,000,000 registered SMEs globally.

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EnergyVision accelerates growth in its home market in H1 2026

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GHENT, Belgium, Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EnergyVision (ENRGY:BB), a renewable energy and electric charging company, delivered strong growth in the first half of 2026, driven by the continued expansion of its activities in Belgium.

Revenue increased 57.0% to €98.1 million, while underlying EBITDA rose 45.2% to €22.8 million and net profit grew 53.3% to €6.9 million. Growth was supported by the expansion of EnergyVision’s residential customer base, renewable energy portfolio and electric-vehicle charging infrastructure.

The solar portfolio reached 154.9 MWp and the wind portfolio 37.4 MW. The number of charging points increased by 60.4% year-on-year to 4,120. Customer satisfaction remained strong, with a Net Promoter Score of 43 and a Trustpilot rating of 4.7 out of 5.

Based on its strong first-half performance, EnergyVision raised its 2026 underlying EBITDA growth target from at least 30% to 35%. The company expects underlying EBITDA to grow by at least 40% in 2027, with more than 90% of expected 2027 underlying EBITDA already secured through existing contracts, volumes and production assets.

The unaudited interim financial statements and full press release are available at: https://investors.energyvision.be/en/reports-presentations 

Bloomberg – Euronext Brussels: ENRGY:BB

ISIN: BE0974499312

Yahoo Finance – Euronext Brussels: ENRGY.BR 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/energyvision-accelerates-growth-in-its-home-market-in-h1-2026-302868005.html

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