Digital


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 […]

Top fintech stories this week – 22 April 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Corelation’s Keystone core system reaches 50 users All aboard for US-based credit unions. Citizens Bank plans core banking revamp with FIS Bank is also looking at a new mobile platform and middleware layer. Scotiabank invests millions of dollars […]

Moni goes into receivership

UK-based payments firm Moni has gone into receivership. Moni says its business and assets are being marketed for sale; and joint administrators have been appointed. If people have queries or are “owed money”, Moni is directing them to an advisory service. The firm did offer a mobile payment app for iOS and Android – similar […]

Swift Business Forum London 2016: Open banking touches a nerve

Financial institutions are still nervous about APIs and security when the word “open” is discussed, was one theme from the Swift Business Forum London 2016. More than 1,300 delegates were packed into Tobacco Dock, London for the sixth edition of the one-day event. Yesterday morning’s sessions (20 April) were a mixed bag – “blockchain is […]

Nets and JCB partner for mobile payments in Denmark

Denmark-based Nets and JCB have teamed up for Nets to use J/Speedy, JCB’s contactless technology, for Dankort payments with smartphones. Nets will launch Dankort on the mobile in autumn 2016, and JCB is also aiming to accelerate its mobile payment implementation globally using host card emulation (HCE) technology. Jeppe Juul-Andersen, SVP at Nets with the […]

MasterCard and Western Union boost Bangladesh’s mobile money transfers

MasterCard, Western Union, Bkash, a mobile financial service (MFS) provider, and BRAC Bank have launched a new, international remittance receiving service in Bangladesh. The service – via Western Union’s global network – enables Bkash’s registered customers to use their mobile phones to receive remittances from abroad directly into their accounts or collected from a Western […]

Reserve Bank of New Zealand chooses SIA for new RTGS system

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), the nation’s central bank, has chosen Italian payments company SIA to implement and support a new real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. The new system will replace the current exchange settlement account system (ESAS). It will be delivered by SIA’s subsidiary Perago, based in South Africa. Perago is a […]

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 […]

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 […]

Western Union launches digital B2B payments platform for SMEs worldwide, WU EDGE

Western Union Business Solutions has unveiled a brand new payments platform for SMEs, WU EDGE. The project has been 18 months in the making and is available to new and existing customers for free. WU EDGE is cloud-based, and is designed to be a single global payments tool for businesses worldwide. It will go live […]

Keeping up in a Faster Payments world

Faster payments is one of the more pervasive topics in almost any global payments conversation. And if you look at key countries like Singapore, the US, and Australia, it may seem to be more than just talking. Additionally, many countries are improving their infrastructure to clear payments in the same day or already have domestic […]

KeyCorp and First Niagara merger – software revamp on the cards?

As US-based KeyCorp prepares to take over its rival First Niagara to create the country’s 13th largest bank, Banking Technology muses what this might mean for the fintech market. A major system selection perhaps, as both banks are currently using dated systems? KeyCorp and its banking subsidiary, KeyBank, hope to finish acquiring First Niagara by […]

Old left cold by US mobile banking

Only 18% of consumers aged 60 or over in the US use mobile banking, according to a study from the US Federal Reserve. In its 86-page report “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2016”, the Federal Reserve reported its findings from a survey which focused on consumers’ use of mobile technology to “access financial services and […]

Swiss banks and SIX plan national mobile payments platform

Exchange group SIX and Switzerland’s five largest banks are in talks over a joint mobile payments platform for the country. SIX, retail chains Migros and Coop, and telecoms company Swisscom are planning to create a standardised digital payment system for consumers in Switzerland. A joint statement from the banks – UBS, Credit Suisse, Raiffeisen, PostFinance […]

Splitska Banka live with Comarch’s SB SmartNet banking system

Croatia’s Splitska Banka has gone live with SB SmartNet, a new internet and mobile banking system provided by Polish IT specialist Comarch. SB SmartNet, based on Comarch’s Smart Finance solution, will give Splitska’s retail customers access to account information as well as a multitude of transactional services. The mobile version is designed for iOS and […]

Samsung Pay launches in China

Samsung Electronics and China UnionPay (CUP) have launched the mobile payment service Samsung Pay in China. The South Korean firm joins Apple in entering the country, as the US giant launched its mobile payment system in China last month. That was also in partnership with state-owned bankcard association CUP. Samsung Pay currently supports credit and […]

Smartphones? Credit cards are the most mobile payment method!

The world has been talking about “mobile payments” for years, but the phrase means different things to different people. So what exactly are mobile payments? And how much more mobile than cash or cards can payments actually get, asks Philipp Nieland, co-founder and CTO of PPRO Group. Some people believe that mobile payments are those […]

Google to bring Android Pay to UK

Google is bringing Android Pay to the UK market – with Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society the first to support it. This latest move follows Android Pay’s launch in the US in September 2015, and it should be available in the UK “in the […]

Top fintech stories this week – 24 March 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! As it’s Easter holidays in the UK, this time it’s published on Thursday. Deutsche Bank reduces branch network in Germany Rise of digital banking drives change. Polymer notes pose £45m problem for UK cash machines Slippery when plastic. […]

Vibrant Community Credit Union completes core software overhaul

US-based Vibrant Community Credit Union (formerly DHCU) has completed its tech overhaul, with Fiserv’s DNA now supporting its core operations and Alkami’s ORB supporting digital banking activity at the front-end. The project was over a year in the making, and coincided with the brand overhaul at the credit union. It was formerly known as DHCU […]

Santander “first” UK bank to launch voice banking technology

Santander says it has become the “first” bank in the UK to launch voice banking technology. The solution is provided by Nuance Communications. However, last month HSBC announced it was launching voice recognition and touch security services in the UK, which will be available to 15 million banking customers. This project is also being carried […]

Digital drives DNB to cut branches and staff numbers

DNB will close more than half its branch offices and lay off 600 employees as the rise of digital banking takes its toll on the physical world. The Norwegian bank says “almost all” of its customers have become digital and points to the success of its Vipps app – the number one downloaded app in […]

Neat trick as Hong Kong start-up uses selfies to verify payments

Hong Kong start-up Neat is setting its sights on the millennials’ market and will let customers open a payment account with a selfie. Neat founder David Rosa, a former MD at Citi, says the app and payment card will use facial recognition technology to confirm the holder’s Hong Kong identification card is correct. It’s not […]

Digital banking software vendor QTS goes bust

QTS, a UK-based digital banking systems provider, has gone bust. Based on Companies House data (the UK’s registrar of companies), QTS’s accounts are long overdue and it has entered liquidation. Yesterday (21 March), Companies House announced an “extraordinary resolution to wind up on 26 February 2016” and the appointment of a voluntary liquidator. Calls and […]

Storming the banks

Traditional banking has taken quite a beating in recent years as more and more customers prefer to handle their banking needs digitally rather than be bogged down by paperwork or wait in lines at a physical bank. In a bid to meet developing customer expectations, many banks have begun offering web-related services such as e-deposits, […]

Dear banks, social media doesn’t have to be scary

Dear Banks, how’s it going? If you’re reading this, you must be on social media, or you’re at least checking the internet. That’s great. I’ve been meaning to write this letter for a long time. The first thing you should know is that I think you’re really important. Sure, I might like to joke about […]

DNB’s P2P mobile payments app is Norway’s No 1

DNB’s “first” peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment solution in Norway has become the number one downloaded app in the country. Dubbed “Vipps”, and launched six months ago with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), it is now used by 25% of Norway’s population. The app is available for use on all mobile devices and it allows short chat […]

Efma and SAP partner for SME AppsBank Portal

Efma, an association of 3,300 retail financial services companies in more than 130 countries, and SAP have launched a new online portal to help banks’ SME-related business. The portal – (unsurprisingly) hailed as “innovative” and “disruptive” by its creators – supports banks in developing new apps for their SME clients and also holds competitions to […]

Mondo signs with Thames Card Technology for debit cards; has problems with mobile app

A UK-based challenger bank, Mondo, has partnered with Thames Card Technology for debit card production and personalisation. Beta test cards will be issued to consumers this year. Mondo, which positions itself as a “mobile first” bank, will be offering a contactless debit card paired with a mobile banking app to its customers. The mobile app’s […]

Cash is still king but “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown!”

Even as I am prepping for my next industry event, observations from the last conference I attended continue to permeate my thoughts. The ATMIA US Conference that was held in New Orleans only recently and yet, three items continue to have me thinking about the durability, indeed longevity, of some of the points raised. In […]

“Intelligent software” to answer customer queries at Atom Bank

A UK-based challenger bank, Atom Bank, has added another system to its bulging IT set-up. This is WDS Virtual Agent, which will answer customer queries from an AI bot within the bank’s mobile app. The solution is supplied by WDS, a subsidiary of Xerox. The vendor says it will “give the customers the power to […]

FinLeap and SolarisBank launch “Banking as a Platform”

Berlin-based fintech incubator FinLeap and SolarisBank have created the “first” global banking platform, called Solaris – a Banking as a Platform (BaaP) service. FinLeap says it brought the team of entrepreneurs together, provided seed funding and support during the development phase for SolarisBank. Jan Beckers, chairman of FinLeap and chairman of the supervisory board at […]

Half of retail banks say branches to disappear within five years

Almost 50% of retail banks worldwide believe the rise of digital will bring an end to branch-based banking, according to a study by Temenos. “Retail Banking: In Tech We Trust”, the third annual study of retail banks produced in association with the Economist Intelligence Unit, reveals that banks perceive the threat from tech companies operating […]

Big US banks to fight for instant payments market

Some of the major US banks are planning to tap into the instant payments market via their digital network, according to Reuters. Banks including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and US Bancorp will use their jointly-owned network, clearXchange, to let their customers transfer money. “What we are doing now is delivering payments […]

Standard Chartered brings “Bank on an iPad” to new markets

Standard Chartered has launched its “Bank on an iPad” sales and service tool in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Called Retail Workbench, it is a digital tablet-based sales-and-service tool that “brings the bank” to clients. It is integrated with the bank’s back-end infrastructure, and will allow sales staff to open an account for a […]

Tuxedo launches world’s first “live load” payments platform

UK payments provider Tuxedo has launched a “live load” payments technology platform, which removes the need to prepay. The vendor says it is the world’s first. The platform is based upon a single, partner-issued Visa or MasterCard, which is linked to customers’ existing payment sources via Tuxedo’s own platform. The platform is PCIDSS (Payment Card […]

Digital banking can be fun

Less than one in three customers now trust their bank or insurer, according to a 2014 research by PwC Financial. Banks are not only suffering from deep consumer mistrust, but they are also seen as stuffy, slow-moving relics of the pre-digital era. Antony Bream, UK managing director at Crealogix, argues that all that can be changed […]

Infographics: the state of fintech industry as we know it

Who, what, where, when of the fintech industry today – this excellent infographics pulls together plenty of useful data, from top specialists, unicorns and start-ups to geographies and M&As.   Created by Savvy Beaver and Call Levels.