Fintech tour Hong Kong: Blueprint for start-up success
Hong Kong-based tech accelerator Blueprint is calling out to the region and the world for start-up applicants.
Banking
Top fintech stories this week – 20 January 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Fintech tour Hong Kong: Ayannah triumphs in start-up final
Philippines-based Ayannah, a provider of financial services to migrants and the unbanked, was the overall start-up winner in the Next Money Fintech Finals 2017 in Hong Kong.
Finra highlights possibilities of blockchain tech for the securities industry
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra), a non-governmental organisation that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets in the US, has published an extensive report, evaluating the implications of blockchain for the securities industry.
Blockchain can help investment banks save $8bn per year, Accenture says
Accenture and operations benchmarking consultancy firm McLagan evaluate the applications of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in investment banking operations in the “Banking on Blockchain” report.
Credit Suisse EMEA to outsource structured product business to Delta Capita
Delta Capita has been appointed as managed service provider to Credit Suisse EMEA Structured Products business. A number of existing Credit Suisse team will transfer to Delta Capita as part of the deal.
AxiomSL adds Raymond James to customer list
AxiomSL, a regulatory reporting and risk management software vendor, has added financial services firm Raymond James to its customer list.
Daimler Financial Services buys PayCash Europe
Daimler Financial Services is acquiring e-payments services provider PayCash Europe, based in Luxembourg. This will enable Daimler to launch its own e-payments service under the Mercedes Pay brand.
Rabobank to modernise payments ops with ACI Worldwide
Rabobank is implementing ACI Worldwide’s UP Immediate Payments solution to support SEPA instant payments.
Financial innovation – a lifeline for SME funding
Financial innovation is unlocking additional funding for small businesses that have been declined by their bank. Katrin Herrling, co-founder and CEO of Funding Xchange, explores.
Fintech tour Hong Kong: Park and ride
Park and ride? A visit to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and an opportunity for fintechs to ride the start-up wave.
Thesys awarded major tech contract to track all US stock and options orders
Thesys Technologies, trading technologies and analytics software specialist, has won the contract to build a new system for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to track and store all stock and options orders and transactions.
CMA comments on current account switching plans & VocaLink’s takeover by Mastercard
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK has accepted undertakings from the Bacs payment scheme that commit it to delivering the improvements required by the CMA retail banking market investigation within a year.
DSB upgrades core and digital banking tech with Fiserv
De Surinaamsche Bank (DSB), the largest commercial bank in Suriname, is implementing the latest version of Fiserv’s Signature core banking system and DigitalAccess for digital banking capabilities.
Single point of access to all real-time payments schemes worldwide from ACI
Payments software and services vendor ACI Worldwide says its latest version of UP Immediate Payments provides “single point of access to all immediate payments schemes globally”.
UBS extends agreement with EPAM Systems worth $300m
The world’s largest wealth manager UBS has extended its long-standing agreement with EPAM Systems, a provider of product development and software engineering solutions. The agreement – worth over $300 million – “supports the bank’s strategic cost reduction programme”, according to EPAM.
Validata and OneAston in strategic partnership for Temenos projects
Validata Group, a specialist in enterprise software testing and release automation, has teamed up with OneAston, a Singapore-based tech services provider to the wealth management industry, to jointly work on Temenos’ WealthSuite projects.
Aperio to revamp investment management ops with Linedata
Aperio Group, $16 billion investment manager in California, has selected investment management software from Linedata.
Schroders in digital drive with Capriza
Global asset manager Schroders has selected Capriza’s enterprise mobility platform “to power its drive to digitisation”, according to the vendor.
HSBC to capitalise on tech innovation with technology advisory board
HSBC has appointed a technology advisory board of top-level specialists from around the globe as the banking giant is keen to capitalise on opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI), biometrics, blockchain and data science, combat cybercrime and leverage its global infrastructure.
AnaCap to acquire German payments provider Heidelpay
Private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners is taking over a controlling stake in Heidelpay, an online payment service provider (PSP) in Germany. Heidelpay’s co-founders and existing management will retain a minority stake in the business.
Fintech tour Hong Kong: Spirit levels and start-ups
Hong Kong is telling its citizens and the world that fintech start-ups are welcome to do business and capitalise on the nation’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Smooth Commerce and Visa first in Canada for Visa Developer Programme
Smooth Commerce and Visa have completed the first integration of Visa’s Developer Programme in Canada and brought to market “a first of its kind innovation” in the mobile commerce space.
BNP Paribas Securities Services and Calypso team for post-trade services outsourcing
BNP Paribas Securities Services has teamed up with Calypso Technology to bring to market “a full, end-to-end post-trade services offering across asset classes” for investment banks.
Money rolls
Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!
First Oklahoma FCU in core banking and digital software revamp with Fiserv
First Oklahoma Federal Credit Union, the oldest credit union in the state, has embarked on a major tech overhaul. It will implement Fiserv’s Portico core processing system and a suite of digital solutions.
Automic Software now on Temenos Marketplace
Business automation software vendor Automic Software has inked a deal with Temenos to make its Automic Workload Automation available on the Temenos MarketPlace store.
Fintech funding round-up: 17 January 2017
They said it. We read it. We edited. A round-up of the latest funding efforts in the fintech and payments space. Featuring Kasisto, BillGO, Gumption Labs and Fraugster.
Video: Banking Technology Awards 2016
Our dazzling event gathered together over 260 banking and financial technology specialists from all over the world – recognising the excellence and innovation in the use of IT in financial services, and of course the people that make it happen! Join us at the 2017 awards, which will be held at a 5-star venue in London in Q4 this year.
RosEvroBank builds blockchain platform for remote customer identification
RosEvroBank, a top-50 bank in Russia, has created a prototype of a blockchain-based system that enables remote verification of customers for other financial institutions. The decentralised system is built on the Microsoft’s Ethereum Consortium Blockchain infrastructure.
Five Degrees and SEI provide tech to new digital investment service, Munnypot
Munnypot, a new robo-advice and investment service in the UK, has fully launched with tech support from a number of partners.
RBI investigates blockchain for financial applications in India
The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has recently issued a whitepaper, “Applications of Blockchain Technology to Banking and Financial Sector in India”. We summarise the report and highlight the key findings.
Private equity firms to buy German payments provider Concardis from local banks
Advent International and Bain Capital Private Equity have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Concardis, a German payment services provider currently owned by local banks. It is understood the price tag is around €700 million.
The White House unveils fintech framework for US
The National Economic Council (NEC) of the US, part of the Office of White House Policy, has published a whitepaper, “A Framework for Fintech”.
One in four UK card payments now contactless
According to the UK Cards Association, a trade body for the country’s card payments industry, a quarter of all card transactions are now made via contactless in the UK. 325 million purchases, altogether worth £2.9 billion, were made using contactless debit and credit cards in November 2016.
Seven European banks join forces for blockchain platform for SMEs
Seven European banks – Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Natixis, KBC, Rabobank, Société Générale and UniCredit – have agreed in principle to develop a blockchain-based shared platform for domestic and international commerce for SMEs.
BNP Paribas Wealth Management goes for digital client experience and “pizza” teams
BNP Paribas Wealth Management has unveiled its new Client Experience venture co-created with customers and fintech firms. The initiative focuses on digital solutions as the bank is keen to “create a new wealth management experience”.
Deutsche Bank bans texting and messaging apps on work phones
No more texting or using messaging apps such as WhatsApp on company issued phones, Deutsche Bank tells its employees. According to a memo issued by COO Kim Hammonds and chief regulatory officer Sylvie Matherat, the functionality will be switched off this quarter.
Yes Bank opens fintech accelerator programme for start-ups
India’s Yes Bank is inviting fintech start-ups to take part in its Yes Fintech Accelerator Programme. The application process is open until 2nd February 2017.
Fintechs making strides in PSD2
In November last year, German fintech firm figo completed a financing round that totalled €6.8 million. Figo has developed a banking application programming interface (API) and various products and services related to the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2). It is just one of the many fintech firms that are poised to grab the considerable opportunities that PSD2 opens.
