South African heavyweight Absa Bank has unveiled its own artificial intelligence (AI)-powered online investment platform, Virtual Investor. The self-service platform uses AI and computer algorithms to recommend a product for customers based on their financial attitudes to risk. Armien Tyer, head of Absa Investments, says: “Individuals can either invest a once-off lump sum amount or […]
Big data and text analytics firm Hello Soda has launched Fraud Web, a new software solution built to combat identity fraud committed through the untraceable internet. The company says Fraud Web identifies the risk of consumer data being available for sale on the dark web and issues high, medium and low risk alerts so that […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says it will establish a Payments Council with the plan to create an “e-payment society” for the city state. The new council will comprise 20 people from banks, payment service providers, businesses, and trade associations. Members are appointed for a two-year term. MAS says the setting up of the […]
The Regulatory Reporting Hub of Deutsche Börse has launched a partnership with Risk Focus and its software subsidiary, RegTek.Solutions, to use its key system components for the hub’s OTC trade reporting solution. The functionality of the components provided by Risk Focus and RegTek.Solutions includes the Validate.Trade product, and interpretation of instrument details of OTC derivatives […]
Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to dominate the worldwide cloud infrastructure services market with nearly $1.2 billion in revenue growth over the past four quarters, reports Light Reading (Banking Technology’s sister publication). Overall, hyperscale cloud providers are maintaining their lead position in the cloud market – which has steadily grown over 40% each year, according to […]
Banking and insurance provider USAA has opted for Clinc’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform to provide human-like conversations for its customers’ bank accounts. Available as a pilot programme at USAA Labs, its members, who consist of 12 million current and former members of the US military and their families, can use the “non-chatbot AI” to talk […]
In a round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Wing Venture Capital, mobile identity scoring specialist Juvo has raised $40 million in new funding, reports Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). The Series B, which featured participation from SignalFire and other existing investors, takes the company’s total funding to $54 million. Juvo will use the […]
Immediate payments is a key revenue driver for 66% of banks in markets with IP schemes, according to new benchmark data from processor ACI Worldwide and UK consultancy and Banking Technology’s sister company Ovum. Paybefore, Banking Technology’s sister publication, writes that the benchmark report, “2017 Global Payments Insight Survey: Retail Banking,” also found that although […]
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Kenya have signed a co-operation agreement for fintech innovation. The agreement provides a framework for information sharing; and keeping abreast of regulatory and relevant economic or commercial developments in the respective markets. They will also support fintech […]
Bitcoin has split in two as a breakaway group of Bitcoin miners and developers plan to create a new network that increases its transaction capacity. After two years of disagreements over network scalability issues, a user-initiated hard fork occurred, creating two versions. The one we know it as today still exists (BTC), and the new […]
Commerzbank is pushing hard on its mortgage lending business ambitions with the launch of a digital financing app. The app is free and users can carry out house and apartment purchases on their smartphones. Included in the app are a budget calculation tool and access to over 200,000 properties in Germany. “We are the first […]
The world of blockchain and Bitcoin rumbles on with patents, platforms and positives. Our latest round-up features Bank of America, Blackmoon Financial Group, and research from Cognizant. Bank of America (BofA) has filed three new patents using blockchain. On the US Patent & Trademark Office’s website it now reveals the details. Some of the patents […]
Samsung has launched its latest assault on the world of internet of things (IoT), launching a brokering service for hardware manufacturers and service providers on its Artik IoT platform, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). It’s a trend which we are likely to see more of as the digital economy takes hold, but Samsung has […]
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the outcome of its review into high-cost credit, which includes its assessment of the effectiveness of the payday loan price cap. With a generous amount of back-slapping, the review provides “clear evidence that FCA regulation of high-cost short-term credit (often known as ‘payday lending’) has delivered substantial […]
Toronto-based NextBlock Global, a new digital asset investment company, has got itself off to a good start with the closing of an “oversubscribed” $20 million financing round. Like many other start-ups, NextBlock says it’s “disruptive” – and is setting its targets on the new digital asset economy. It says these assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, […]
The Berlin-based duo of peer-to-peer lending provider Lendico and fintech firm SolarisBank are working together on a long-term collaboration for financing SME loans. To begin with, SolarisBank is providing an “eight-digit sum” for financing loans via Lendico – with unspecified plans to expand this commitment in the medium-term. Dr. Clemens Paschke, co-founder and managing director […]
Fujitsu Laboratories says it has accelerated transaction processing for Hyperledger Fabric, one of the Hyperledger blockchain frameworks hosted by the Linux Foundation. In its latest development, Fujitsu says the processing of communications between applications and the blockchain platform, which had been the source of bottlenecks, is now “more efficient”. In a trial where this technology […]
Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Soumik Roy, a digital marketing and technology specialist, brings us his perspective from within India – and all about the UI and […]
The Payments Strategy Forum, created by the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015, has launched a consultation on its blueprint for a new payments system for the UK. Calling it “the most radical change to the payments industry since the 1960s”, the Forum says the New Payments Architecture (NPA) is designed to “provide simpler […]
Several major payments companies have released Q2 earnings, including The Bancorp, Discover, Mastercard and PayPal. Overall, payments volume is on the rise and partnerships are proving particularly important for PayPal, which has been on tear with recent strategic announcements.
Several major payments companies released second-quarter earnings this week, including The Bancorp, Discover, Mastercard and PayPal. Overall, payments volume is on the rise and partnerships are proving particularly important for PayPal, which has been on tear with recent strategic announcements.
The partnership between central securities depositary Euroclear and Paxos for a blockchain-powered gold settlement service is over, according to Reuters. As Banking Technology reported last year, the pair completed their first pilot for the service for London bullion – with a go-live planned for this year. Over 600 OTC test bullion trades were settled on […]
Following a successful quarter, Intel has raised revenue outlook across the full-year owing to solid performance in artificial intelligence (AI) and driverless tech, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Quarterly figures were looking pretty impressive too. Total revenue was reported at $14.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%, while net income stood at $2.8 billion, […]
UK-based DueCourse, a cloud-based invoice financing start-up, has run its course with the revelation that it has gone into administration. The bad news comes less than a year after it received £6.25 million in funding from investors, including the founders of TransferWise, and non-fintech firms such as LinkedIn, Zoopla and Lovefilm. According to online publication […]
The riches rounded up. Following on from the brief report on 26 July, here’s our latest fintech funding round-up. Features Brolly, Callsign and Aquiline Capital Partners. Insurtech start-up Brolly has got itself some lolly – with the closing of a £1 million seed round. The round, led by Valar Ventures, Pi Labs and Entrepreneur First, […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre of Abu Dhabi, Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) and Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) have partnered to boost their financial ecosystems in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. Labuan is a federal territory of Malaysia – and its capital, Victoria, is used as an […]
The Bancorp Inc. has created a new senior-level team, it says, will strengthen its operations and risk management functions by developing a more productive and efficient operating environment.
Fintech is coming on strong in Hong Kong with the unleashing of a career accelerator scheme to tap into the juicy veins of young blood. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) have launched their Fintech Career Accelerator Scheme (FCAS) induction day today (27 July), […]
Legal & General Insurance (LGI) has created a new business to build and buy into a range of fintech companies. LGI says its fintech subsidiary Investments Discounts Online (IDOL), which was established in 1999, will form a key part of the new fintech business area. Nick Frankland, who’s been with LGI since 2010, will take […]
Blockchain technology investor Medici Ventures has teamed up with Symbiont, providing investment to the company and announcing a collaboration involving both Medici and its parent company Overstock, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The partnership will enable Medici Ventures to become the first company to register corporate ownership shares using the blockchain. The news follows on […]
The Risk Management Association of Australia (RMA) has partnered with KPMG and match-making firm Matchi to offer three fintech companies the opportunity to pitch their solutions to forty chief risk officers (CROs) from various Australian banks. KPMG is arranging this year’s CRO roundtable event for the RMA members with the theme “Generation Next”. Matchi says […]
Italy’s largest bank UniCredit has been the victim of a security breach due to unauthorised access through an Italian third-party provider to customer data – with up to 400,000 customers potentially affected. The incident is confined to Italy and relates to personal loans only. The bank says a first breach seems to have occurred in […]
The delightful duo of big data and cybersecurity have fuelled the revenue rise for IT services corporation Atos. In its first half 2017 results, Atos’ “strongest H1 ever”, the firm revealed a revenue in big data and cybersecurity of €357 million – a rise of 13.8% organically. Thierry Breton, chairman and CEO, says: “Either on […]
The Abu Dhabi Global Market’s (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have signed a co-operation agreement for financial innovation. This agreement, which follows on from recent deals with Hong Kong and Japan, expands ASIC’s network to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – which are “currently […]
Varo Money is looking to become a true challenger bank, complete with a national bank charter.
France’s Worldline is buying 100% of the share capital of First Data’s fully owned subsidiaries in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia (aka First Data Baltics or FDB) for around €73 million, financed by available cash. This latest deal follows on from earlier this month, when Worldline announced a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital […]
FinovateSpring 2017 alumnus Layer has released a new customer engagement-enabling solution as the latest reminder of a trend toward more and better engagement options for businesses, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The San Francisco-based company has launched its Conversation Design System, giving enterprises new tools to build and customise conversational experiences for their customers “in […]
IBM’s security arm is launching testing services for the internet of things (IoT) – with Watson IoT offering configuration and management capabilities for IoT environments, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). IoT technologies are on the rise – in fact, Gartner predicts that connected things will reach 20.4 billion by 2020. This flood of new capabilities comes with the […]
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched proposals to help people compare the service levels for personal and business current accounts. The FCA proposes that firms offer information on how long it takes to open an account; how long it takes to replace a lost, stolen or stopped debit card; and the number and […]
