Banking


Fidelity Bank completes latest acquisition; IT conversion to follow

US-based Fidelity Bank will move its latest acquisition, American Enterprise Bank of Florida, onto its core banking system, Fiserv’s DNA, from FIS’s Horizon. American Enterprise Bank added $209 million in assets, $147 million in loans and $182 million in deposits to Fidelity Bank. It also brought two branches in Florida. The bank’s Horizon core banking […]

Lloyds to cut 625 jobs

Lloyds Banking Group is to cut 625 jobs – as it continues another wave of its 9,000 job reductions announced a few years ago. Lloyds says there will be a net reduction of 430 roles once the 195 new jobs it will be creating are taken into account. News of the planned redundancies was greeted […]

Masthaven receives UK banking licence; implements new core system

Masthaven Finance, a UK-based specialist mortgage lender, has joined the “challenger banks” rush and secured a banking licence. It plans to open for business this summer. The new bank will offer mortgages and savings products to retail customers who struggle to get service from mainstream banks and lenders. These products will include specialist mortgages and […]

Corelation’s Keystone core system reaches 50 users

US-based software vendor, Corelation, has onboarded 50 credit unions for its flagship Keystone core system. Keystone is a much newer system than most of its rivals, having hit the market just seven years ago. Corelation has also recently moved to a new head office in San Diego, California, to an office space four times bigger […]

When banks leave the front door open

Cyber attacks against the banking industry have soared in the last few years. And financial institutions now face 300% more attacks than any other industry. Comparatively with other industries, the financial services industry isn’t shy where it comes to cyber security investment and generally has a superior level of protection. But this attracts a more […]

Infosys’ Finacle core banking system gains first taker in Myanmar

Asia Green Development (AGD) Bank, one of the first commercially owned banks in Myanmar, is automating its ops with Infosys’ Finacle core banking system. This is Infosys’ first core banking system client in Myanmar. The system will support all main operations of the bank, front-to-back office, including online and mobile banking. Finacle will oust a […]

Bermuda Commercial Bank goes live with new core banking system, Temenos’ T24

Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB) has gone live with Temenos’ T24 core banking system (R13). The bank has also implemented Temenos’ business intelligence and analytics tool, Insight, and an AML solution. Sofgen, a Switzerland-based specialist IT consultancy and integration firm (now part of Tech Mahindra), carried out the implementation. The project was 18 months in the […]

Swift Business Forum London 2016: Blockchain – a reconciliation revolution

Blockchain is a revolution in reconciliation but not in payments, is one of the messages coming out of the Swift Business Forum London 2016. For the sixth edition of the show, more than 1,300 delegates were rammed and jammed into Tobacco Dock, London. This morning’s (20 April) sessions were dominated by warm-up speeches that praised […]

Payments UK launches new support service, signs Faster Payments as the first taker

Payments UK’s new service – Standards Collaboration Framework – offers institutions support in the implementation of industry standards. The first taker has already been onboarded. This is Faster Payments Scheme Limited (FPSL). Payments UK says the customer “will use the central, well-maintained ‘library’ to simplify how its industry stakeholders access and receive notifications about updated […]

ISO 20022 message guidelines approved and published

ISO 20022 Registration Management Group, the senior global registration body, has approved the ISO 20022 message guidelines – they have now been published. The new guidelines were developed by the ISO Real-Time Payments Group (RTPG) and facilitated by Payments UK, the representative of the country’s payments industry. Payments UK describes this development as “an important […]

Jack Henry offloads Alogent product line to Battery Ventures

US-based banking software vendor, Jack Henry & Associates, is shedding its deposit automation business, Goldleaf Enterprise Payments (formerly Alogent Corporation). The buyer is Battery Ventures, a US/Israeli venture capital and private equity firm. The company is regaining is former name – Alogent. Alogent’s back office software focuses on electronically capturing, processing and analysing cheque data […]

Two blockchain start-ups become one as Digital Asset Holdings and Elevence merge

Distributed ledger specialist Digital Asset Holdings has acquired a small Swiss start-up, Elevence Digital Finance. Elevence’s niche is a modelling language for determining rights and obligations in blockchain collaboration agreements. Its takeover provides Digital Asset with a new, verifiable way for parties involved in a transaction to independently prove updates to a distributed ledger while […]

Swift to launch new cloud-based learning platform, SwiftSmart

The new e-learning platform will administrate, document, track, report and deliver a broad catalogue of digital courses and social learning. It is an interactive, cloud-based service. To start with, SwiftSmart will support a subset of Swift’s existing training portfolio, which consists of 100+ courses. The full portfolio will be available by 2017. The initiative is […]

PCFG makes core and digital banking systems selection; still awaits banking licence

UK-based specialist financing company, Private & Commercial Finance Group (PCFG), has concluded its software selection, Banking Technology understands. The company applied for a banking licence in 2013/14 and was known to be in system selection mode in mid-2014. The selection process was run by consultancy firm Sofgen. Banking Technology understands that it has now finalised […]

ERI and Capgemini partner for shared services centre

The new partnership between private banking software vendor ERI and tech consultancy firm Capgemini will see the launch of a shared services centre for private banks and wealth managers in Europe. ERI will provide its flagship core banking system, Olympic, whilst Capgemini will bring to the table its expertise in infrastructure and application management services […]

Testing times: solving the cost conundrum in a disrupted market

Doing more with less is an important goal for any business. In the world of banking, an increasingly complex market is driving firms to uncover new ways to deliver cost efficiencies, writes Peter Gould, associate partner at Orbium. Growing competition from specialist providers continues to disrupt the traditional banking model. These firms are using new […]

Scotiabank invests millions of dollars in digitalisation; simplifies operating models

Canada’s Scotiabank named key components of its technology and operations strategy at the recent annual meeting of shareholders. These (unsurprisingly) focus on digital transformation, technology investment and the simplification of its organisational and operating models, as the nature of work and roles change. Brian Porter, president and CEO of Scotiabank, said that “a comprehensive change […]

CIMB Group unifies core banking operations on One Platform

CIMB Group is celebrating the completion of a major core banking project – to unify its regional operation on a single platform, One Platform (1P). The project spans four countries: Malaysia (where the group’s headquarters are based), Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Silverlake Axis, Accenture, IDS Scheer and IBM were the main technology partners. Silverlake’s core […]

Robotic automation software vendor OpenSpan acquired by Pegasystems

US-based developer of CRM and BPM software, Pegasystems, has acquired OpenSpan. The acquisition, says Pegasystems, “brings robotics, analytics and case management together to enable more productive employees and better customer experience”. OpenSpan, based in the US state of Georgia, specialises in robotics process automation and workforce analytics software. The company says it is currently running […]

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand opts for Numerix risk analytics software

New Zealand’s central bank, Reserve Bank, is implementing Numerix’s Oneview for trade valuation and risk management analytics. The system will support risk pricing and risk analytics, market standard trade valuation, and position and collateral management. “We are improving our technology and analytics capability in our domestic and foreign market operations,” says the bank’s deputy governor, […]

Nomura Bank extends relationship with software provider Simcorp

Luxembourg-based Nomura Bank has singed a “large additional licence agreement” with investment software specialist Simcorp, according to the vendor. The bank went to market looking for a new software provider but concluded that staying with Simcorp would be the best option. The two companies have been working together since 2009. Simcorp’s CEO, Klaus Holse, comments […]

Backbase’s omnichannel platform gains new live site in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s Halyk Bank has launched a new digital banking subsidiary, Altyn-i, underpinned by the Backbase omnichannel solution. Backbase interfaces to Altyn-i’s core banking system, CBS, from Colvir Software Solutions. The new bank aims to offer a full range of financial services. At present, it offers account opening, debit cards and payment services. Consumer loans, mortgages […]

Xceed and Reach Credit Unions to unite on Fiserv’s DNA core platform

California-based credit union, Xceed Financial, is merging with fellow Reach Federal Credit Union. The two entities will use Fiserv’s DNA core processing system as their centralised platform. It will be provided on a hosted basis. Xceed is already on the DNA platform, but has been using it in an in-house environment rather than outsourced. Reach […]

Top fintech stories this week – 15 April 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! EPC launches public consultation on SEPA instant payments scheme You’ve got until 10th July to submit your views. What do corporates want from their banks? Simplicity, standardisaion and automation. New core banking system selection in the Netherlands Amsterdam Trade […]

RBS to cut 600 jobs in UK

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is cutting almost 600 jobs in its UK retail bank. British and Irish trade union Unite has reacted to the news. RBS will axe about 200 positions across London and the south east of England, with 400 jobs to go in the Midlands, east and the north of the country, […]

Will regulation be a blessing or a blow for Bitcoin?

The European Commission (EC) wants to update the fourth Anti-Money Laundering directive so that it also covers virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin. In the UK, the Treasury has followed suit by announcing plans to subject virtual currency exchanges to the same regulations as banks. This isn’t surprising. Gunnar Nordseth, CEO and co-founder of Signicat, muses over the possible […]

Infographics: Video banking – it’s on

Video banking has finally reached inflection point, according to Efma and Vidyo Inc. The two companies have carried out the research, “which uncovered massive support for video banking among financial organisations worldwide”. Nearly 80% of all banks surveyed plan to offer video-enabled banking services. Check out this nifty infographics (courtesy of Efma and Vidyo) on all […]

Building consumer trust – a major challenge for newcomer banks

The challengers aiming to take on the traditional high street banks are themselves facing an enormous obstacle if they are to disrupt the banking market significantly, observes Zehra Chudry, organiser of the “Challengers versus Legacy Banks” debate at PayExpo Europe 2016. This hurdle is building consumer trust. Not only must they offer powerfully attractive alternatives and improvements, they must also convince consumers […]

Volante Technologies makes inroads into Turkey via tie-up with Payfessional

Financial messaging and payment specialist Volante Technologies has inked a partnership agreement with Payfessional, a Turkey-based IT firm. The tie-up will see Payfessional offering Volante’s VolPay suite of payment integration and processing solutions to the Turkish banking market. Payfessional, which focuses on e-payment processing solutions for the financial services industry, will also market the solution […]

Bigbank overhauls credit processing with Provenir

Estonia-based Bigbank is modernising its credit decisioning and loan origination processes with Provenir. Provenir’s cloud-based solution will reduce time to market, improve efficiency and customer centricity at the bank, says the vendor. Agur Jõgi, chief technology officer at Bigbank, comments that investment in technology will help the bank to achieve the goals of “delighting customers” […]

Allied Irish Banks to modernise payments software with Dovetail

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) is set to modernise its payments platform. The bank has recently concluded a system selection to that effect. The new supplier is Dovetail, Banking Technology understands. The new payments hub will support high-value, low-volume payments as well as high-volume, low-value ones. Dovetail’s solution will replace the Global PayPlus (GPP) legacy platform […]

New core banking system selection in the Netherlands

Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB), a European subsidiary of Russia’s Alfa Group, is looking for a new core banking system, Banking Technology understands. The bank is a long-standing user of Misys’ software, including Equation for core processing, Trade Innovation (TI) for trade finance, and Opics for treasury and capital markets. In 2010, Misys announced ATB’s successful […]

Earthport and Ria Money Transfer join forces for remittances

Earthport, a UK-based cross-border payment network, and Ria Money Transfer, the world’s third largest money transfer company, have teamed up. Earthport will provide Ria with access to a global payment network. “Through a single, managed relationship with Earthport, Ria will gain access to over 60 domestic clearing schemes,” Earthport states. The solution “enables complete transparency”, […]

Monex implements new processing solution from Broadridge

Monex, one of Japan’s largest online trading brokers, is deploying a new platform for its domestic equity and investment trust processing business. The supplier is Broadridge Financial Solutions. Broadridge’s offering is JASDEC (Japan Securities Depository Centre, Inc) Processing Solution. Oki Matsumoto, CEO of Monex, says the new platform “will enable us to further improve our […]

M&A in investment management tech space: Linedata acquires Derivation

France-based Linedata has taken over fellow investment management software provider, Derivation. Derivation specialises in risk, analytics, and portfolio management solutions to institutional and hedge fund managers. It is based in the UK, employs 20 people and its pro-forma revenue for 2015 is £2 million (€2.5 million). The acquisition has now been completed. Derivation’s products will […]

Insights EMEA: what corporates want from their banks

The recent D+H conference in London has provided a platform to corporates to share their experiences of dealing with banks, vent their frustration, highlight the improvements and discuss the latest developments and the way forward. Unsurprisingly, the main themes were standardisation, automation and the reduction of complexity. The panellists – representatives of Hilton Worldwide, Ingersoll […]

Top fintech stories this week – 8 April

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Money 20/20 Europe: Biometric identity, SMEs and final day’s sessions round-up Key highlights, what went well and what could be improved. Money 20/20 Europe: KYC/ID, commerce disruption and femtech round-up Valid points raised, key issues discussed. A must […]