Banking


Nordea fully automates processing of Swift MT798 messaging

Nordea has announced it now can handle the Swift MT798 messaging in a fully automated manner. MT798 facilitates corporate-to-bank (C2B) and bank-to-corporate (B2C) communication for the processing of documentary credits and guarantees.

Artificial intelligence is fact, not fantasy!

Parth Desai, CEO and founder of Pelican, discusses why artificial intelligence (AI) is already fact not a fantasy, but cautions that we need to be realistic about what can really be achieved on the journey to true AI adoption in transaction banking and payments.

Cinnober sets up real-time clearing subsidiary, looks for CEO

Swedish trading technology specialist Cinnober is spinning off its real-time clearing business into a separate subsidiary. Cinnober currently provides this service – known as “client clearing” – to large international banks and is keen to grow the business.

Mobile-only bank Pepper gears up for launch in Israel

Israel’s Bank Leumi is gearing up for the launch of its new digital banking subsidiary, Pepper. It is expected to open its virtual doors for business before the end of 2016. The tech is provided by Temenos.

New fintech firm, Soldo, comes to UK and Italy

Soldo, a London-based fintech start-up, is launching its flagship multi-user spending account. Soldo is not a bank, but a prepaid MasterCard. It holds an e-money licence from the UK’s regulator, FCA.

FCA to hold regtech themed TechSprint

The UK’s regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will focus on “unlocking regulatory reporting” in its second TechSprint event. Over 100 developers and 30 organisations are expected to participate and “experts from the Bank of England will be observing”, says the FCA.

Tesco Bank suspends online transactions due to cyberattack

UK-based Tesco Bank has revealed that 20,000 of its customers had up to £2,000 stolen from their accounts in a cyberattack. As a result, all online transactions have been frozen for 24 hours until the situation is bank “under full control”, according to Benny Higgins, Tesco Bank’s CEO.

Wipro launches open banking API platform

Wipro has unveiled its Open Banking API Platform as its “expects a large number of banks and financial institutions to adopt open banking initiatives to conform with evolving banking regulations, meet customers’ digital expectations, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive fintech industry”.

Kbank and IBM team up for blockchain in Thailand

Kasikornbank (Kbank), one of the largest banks in Thailand, is exploring blockchain with IBM, “to save costs and speed up transactions”, the two companies say. The services will be launched in H1 2017, to certify the letters of guarantee (LCs).

Blockchain is not just for banking… insurance wants it too

There has been a tremendous amount of excitement and discussion about the potential of blockchain technology to transform the financial services industry and beyond. But the only thing that is clear at the moment is that there is still a lot of work to be done to implement wide scale use cases, clear up any regulatory uncertainly or barriers and educate institutions and employees about the technology and its potential.

Testing environment for Bitcoin exchanges

Amidst tightening regulations, the latest hack of the Bitfinex Bitcoin exchange has highlighted ongoing difficulties for the sector. Bourn Collier, associate, and Oliver Yaros, senior associate at Mayer Brown International LLP, explore. A few years ago media reports in Britain drew attention to the unfortunate plight of James Howells, a Welsh IT worker who had […]

Tandem Bank calls for first customers

Digital banking start-up Tandem has started inviting its community of 10,000 “co-founders” to be its first customers. Tandem was formed in 2014 and is accessible online, via an app and through a UK call centre. It got its banking licence in November 2015 and says its focus is on helping people manage their money rather […]

Top fintech stories this week – 4 November 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Weatherbys Bank live with new core banking system EXCLUSIVE. Oracle FSS’s Flexcube flexes its muscles. Mobile payments and European millennials Vocalink reveals millennials’ habits and perceptions. Japan rises to blockchain challenge with new consortium Launches with 42 member […]

No dispute with Citi mobile app innovation

Citi has unveiled a new feature to let credit card members dispute certain posted charges directly within the Citi mobile app for iPhone in the US. It says it is the only major US credit card issuer to provide this feature on mobile, and the new feature is designed to provide “increased peace of mind” […]

UK challenger bank FGTB bites the dust

First Global Trust Bank (FGTB) had its licence cancelled by the UK regulators, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

Banks, stop thinking about branches as a place to transact

How would you respond if someone were to ask you: “What is the purpose of the bank branch?” For decades, the first answer may have been: “To allow customers to conveniently transact with the bank and manage their accounts”. This model has now changed drastically, and banks that still operate as they used to will very quickly yield to more forward-thinking competitors.

UK challenger Pockit reaches 100,000 customer mark

UK challenger “neo-bank” Pockit says it now has 100,000 customers, “nearly twice as many” as three of its rivals – Monzo, Atom and Tandem – “combined”. On its website, Pockit says it is a “prepaid MasterCard, not a bank”, so the term “neo-bank” may be worth scrapping or explaining. It’s been around for a while, […]

Four banks team up to standardise repackaging transactions

Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nomura International and Societe Generale have teamed up to produce documentation for use in listed and unlisted repackaging transactions. According to the banks, repackaged products provide the investor exposure to the underlying credit of an issuer and are specifically designed for the investor’s risk-return needs. In addition, cash flows can be […]

Poland’s banks power national “paper to digital” project

Poland’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and its banking sector have launched a project, “From paper to digital Poland”, to boost the digitalisation of the nation’s public administration. With the project, Poles can use their banking ID and password to log in to the social insurance board, contact public administration offices or a local government’s site […]