Digital


Monzo gently rolls out current account

Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo is taking it nice and easy with a steady roll-out of its current account. The bank, which received its full UK banking licence in April, says it’s been using the current account internally and today (17 July) is now inviting some of its customers to join and “help put it through […]

PayPal Teams with Samsung Pay

The partnerships keep coming for PayPal. Following recent news that the company is partnering with Apple for payments on iTunes and in the App Store, the company announced July 17 that it’s expanding its partnership with Samsung to enable PayPal as a payment method in any channel Samsung Pay is accepted.

Jenius digital bank gets clever with Finastra

Jenius digital bank, part of Indonesia’s Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN), has chosen Finastra’s (formerly Misys) FusionBanking Essence Digital platform. Peterjan van Nieuwenhuizen, head of digital banking at BTPN, says it has “built a system that enables our customers to complete basic banking processes without going to the branch”; and with an “expanding middle class […]

mVisa Takes on M-PESA with Free Domestic Mobile Money Transfers

Move over M-PESA, customers of a Visa-led bank partnership in Kenya will be able to send money to each other domestically without paying transaction fees using mVisa, and the payments network has added additional in-store merchant acceptance for the QR-code-based payment method.

Commerzbank preps for major job losses

As part of its massive job cutting spree, Commerzbank has agreed an outline reconciliation of interests and social plan with the employee representative committees in Germany. As reported last year, Commerzbank firmed up plans to lay off nearly 5,000 people. According to a letter by German labour union Verdi, the majority of these job cuts […]

New partnership turns PayPal into Apple App Store payment option

One small step for consumer choice in e-commerce. One giant leap in PayPal’s quest to be the payment option of choice for shoppers online, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). This week the company announced a partnership with Apple to allow shoppers pay for their purchases at the App Store using PayPal. The feature will be available for users […]

Apple Deal Puts PayPal One Step Closer to Ubiquity

One small step for consumer choice in e-commerce, one giant leap in PayPal’s quest for ubiquity. The company announced a partnership with Apple to enable shoppers to pay for their purchases in the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music and iBooks using PayPal.

Altice puts squeeze on Orange with bank move

In a copycat move that will come as a blow to Orange, rival Altice plans to launch its own online bank by early 2019 in the countries in its network footprint, according to a report from Reuters that cites a source close to the matter. Light Reading (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports that the launch of […]

Fintech Funding Roundup: Revolut, Curve, Pixoneye, Gridspace

And the money keeps rolling in for fintech. U.K. challenger bank Revolut announced a $66 million investment it will use to introduce new features and expand globally, starting with Asia and North America. Meanwhile, Santander InnoVentures, the bank’s fintech venture capital fund, has added U.K.-based Pixoneye and Curve and U.S.-based Gridspace to its portfolio.

FitPay and Mastercard take prepaid to wearables and IoT

FitPay Inc, a US-based provider of payment, credential management and authentication platform services, is planning to offer prepaid capabilities on wearable and other devices connected to its FitPay Payment Platform.

Bold statement three: statements from around the bleeding edge of innovation

Hello all and apologies it’s taken a little while to get to the third instalment of the series about “pet peeve statements”. For those who are new, I am talking about those bold, declaratory statements that puff up the chest and make people feel awfully progressive and far sighted – and as I have said before, all sound and fury, signifying stormy waters ahead!

Finicity and JP Morgan Chase pair for data share

Data aggregation provider Finicity has signed an agreement with JP Morgan Chase to let the bank’s customers choose data to share with apps. The companies will use a direct API to allow Chase customers to share information with the apps and services that Finicity supports. According to the firms, this tokenised access will eliminate the […]

HSBC and Barclays pilot banking without borders

A consortium of European private and public sector organisations are testing out the use of a citizen’s national digital identity from France to open a bank account in the UK. The group comprises HSBC, Barclays, the UK Government Digital Service (GDS), Orange, OT-Morpho and the Open Identity Exchange (OIX UK). The project is co-financed by […]

Wirecard opens European POS to Chinese travellers with Tencent deal

Wirecard and Tencent are working together to give European retailers access to more than 938 million active WeChat and Weixin users by enabling QR code payments at the POS, reports Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The mobile payment solution, WeChat Pay, has more than 600 million active users, which is equivalent to nearly 40% of […]

Oman Arab Bank upgrades core banking system with Finastra

Oman Arab Bank (OAB), a long-standing customer of Finastra (formerly Misys), is implementing the Fusionbanking Essence core banking system. It will replace Misys’ Equation platform, in operation at the bank for over three decades.

Indian Domestic Networks Report Positive Growth

The National Payments Corporation of India is reporting positive momentum for transactions across its domestic payment networks for the fiscal first quarter of 2018. Its goal is to hit 11 billion transactions by the end of the fiscal year. 

Puzzle no more with BNI Europa’s prompt consumer credit platform

Challenger Banco BNI Europa (BNI) has unveiled “Puzzle”, a digital and real-time credit approval process for the Portuguese market. Don’t be confused by the name, the bank says Puzzle is “simple, and non-bureaucratic”; and it even cites the Lending Club in the US, or Zopa in the UK by way of comparison. Puzzle offers credit […]

Quantum of solace with Atos simulator launch

Prepare for cybersecurity impact! IT services corporation Atos has launched the “world’s first commercially available” machine-system capable of simulating up to 40 quantum bits (Qubits). The simulator, named Atos Quantum Learning Machine (Atos QLM), is powered by an ultra-compact supercomputer and a universal programming language. Its uses naturally extend far beyond fintech, such as for […]

More money misery for Monzo with £6.7m loss

Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo has reported a loss after taxation of £6.7 million in its latest financial results. For the year ended 28 February 2017, the firm’s directors do not recommend a final dividend. In fact, it has got worse compared to the 2016 full year results. There was also no final dividend because the […]

Just in case you need a reason: why participate in Banking Technology Awards?

This year’s Banking Technology Awards are taking place on 13 December in London and there are plenty of reasons why you and your team should be a part of this prestigious event. Besides having a good chance at winning, entering the Awards also allows you to: Make global headlines in the industry if your entry […]

Fintech funding round-up: 4 July 2017

There’s no lacking of backing. Our latest fintech funding round-up features Tide, Instarem and IntellectEU. UK-based mobile banking firm Tide, which launched in January, has raised $14 million in its Series A investment round. The round has been led by specialist fintech investor Anthemis, alongside Creandum, the Scandinavian fund that has backed companies including Spotify […]

Barclays online and mobile banking down again

Barclays Bank has been hit yet again by online and mobile banking glitches. Today (3 July), the bank reported the problem on Twitter saying it’s “aware of an issue with our online banking”. Hi Mark, we’re aware of an issue with our online banking and we’re working as fast as we can to put a […]

P2P Is Gaining Steam, but Security Concerns Remain

Consumers prefer to use P2P payments for retail purchases, paying back relatives and friends, and settling bills—but not so much for contributing to group gifts or paying housing costs, according to a new report from NerdWallet. It also found that that while only 35 percent of U.S. consumers use such P2P products as Venmo, PayPal and Square Cash, 63 percent are interested in the payment technology.