Don’t expect silence or tumbleweeds blowing down the street in the world of blockchain and Bitcoin. Our latest round-up features Microsoft, LedgerX and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Microsoft is introducing enterprise smart contracts as it delves deeper into the blockchain arena. This announcement, in a long blog post, follows on from last year’s launch […]
Googlers are still swimming in cash as the latest quarter brought in $26.01 billion, and not even a $2.74 billion fine from the European Commission could dampen the mood at this party, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The uplift in revenue, accounting for a 21% year-on-year boost, should not really come as a huge […]
Nasdaq will acquire Sybenetix, a surveillance provider that uses behavioural analytics and cognitive computing. The addition of Sybenetix to Nasdaq’s risk and surveillance suite of solutions, including Smarts and TradeGuard, will allow Nasdaq to “bring deeper technology savviness and expertise to buy-side compliance officers across the global capital markets who require future-focused surveillance capabilities to […]
UK-based Private & Commercial Finance Group (PCFG) has had its banking licence restrictions lifted. It has gone live with a new core banking system, Temenos’ T24, a front-end digital platform from Sandstone Technology and the ICS lease and loan administration solution from Sopra Banking Software.
Photopay, the payment receipt scanning solution from Microblink, is now available in more countries including France, Norway, Spain and Sweden, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The news is the latest step in Microblink’s European expansion – begun four years ago – and brings the company’s data extraction technology to an even wider range of SME customers. […]
JP Morgan Chase is more than halfway through its five-year $30 million commitment to start-up innovation in its partnership with Centre for Financial Services Innovation’s (CFSI) FinLab, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Each of the past three years, fintech start-ups have been invited to apply to the accelerator which is focused on finding financial solutions for low- and […]
The UK is fighting back against cyberattacks with a new cybersecurity innovation centre in London and investment of up to £14.5 million to develop technology to help keep the nation safe. The investment will be made over the next three years to bolster the UK’s cybersecurity defences, and follows on from February, when the new […]
Germany-based National Bank has selected Atos for a five and a half year contract to revamp its IT infrastructure. The contract includes data centre, server, mainframe, database and storage services. Atos will deliver the operation and maintenance of the internet and application servers; and be responsible for creating customised security solutions. Thomas Stephan, head of […]
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, Claire Calmejane, director of innovation at Lloyds Banking Group, presents “Digital Zero to Hero: Myth Debunking”. (This is part of a series […]
Alternative credit scoring company, Aire, has raised $5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Sunstone Capital, with funds also coming from White Star Capital, which led the company’s 2016 seed round. Aire’s funding now totals $12 million, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The London-based company plans to use the funds […]
Robo advisor Betterment is now that much closer to achieving unicorn status – courtesy of a $70 million investment from Sweden’s Kinnevik. The investment takes Betterment’s total capital to $275 million, and gives the robo advisor a valuation estimated at $800 million, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Praising the “strong partnership” between his firm and Kinnevik, Betterment CEO […]
Financial wellness company DoubleNet Pay has closed $4 million in seed funding. The investment, which marks the Atlanta-based company’s first round of funding since it was founded in 2013, comes from TTV Capital and Fuqua Investments, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The 12-person company will use the funds to boost product development and bolster sales. […]
It’s been a busy time for second- and fiscal third-quarter earnings reports. Features Bank of America, Amex, Blackhawk Network and Visa. Banking Technology’s sister publication Paybefore reports. Bank of America (BofA) has beaten analyst expectations with earnings per share of 46 cents on revenue of $22.829 billion for the second quarter ended 30 June 2017. […]
Microsoft has put in another solid performance with quarterly revenues standing at $24.7 billion, a 9% boost year-on-year, and full-year revenues of $89.95 billion, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). While the More Personal Computing unit, which for devices and gaming etc declined once again, the success of the more potent business units more than […]
The Chinese government has set out its bold vision to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030. In a Cabinet statement, the government sees AI as integral to making China an “economic power” and is calling for the development of skills, research and educational resources to achieve “major breakthroughs” by 2025 and […]
Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) specialist LendKey raised $13 million in Series C funding this week, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The round consisted of both equity and debt financing ($8 million of the former, $5 million of the latter) and was led by Maine-based North Atlantic Capital. Also participating in the investment were existing investors DFJ, Gotham […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Data Pitch has unleashed its new accelerator in the search for start-ups and SMEs across Europe with fresh ideas for data products and services. The plan is to connect data providers “with nagging business problems” to firms with the right solutions. It’s not limited to fintech, but successful applicants will receive up to €100,000 equity […]
Singapore’s OCBC Bank has piloted two fintech solutions from a pair of start-ups as it looks to combat money laundering and terrorism financing via artificial intelligence (AI). The two firms involved – BlackSwan Technologies and Silent Eight – were part of OCBC’s second fintech accelerator programme, Open Vault, which was launched last year. Both companies […]
Inlaks, a banking software provider in Nigeria and West Africa, has built a core banking solution together with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the country’s microfinance sector.
The UK’s House of Lords wants you to come clean on the rise of the machines – with a call for feedback on the economic, ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence (AI). The House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence is asking for contributions to its inquiry and is looking for pragmatic solutions […]
The fintech world has been left breathless and bewitched by the stunning revelation that UK-based challenger Jargon Bank has appointed a sales director. As reported last year, the “game changer” bank launched offering “compelling and innovative” products. This was followed in February with a payments app update; an office move in March; and a cat […]
EquityZen, a secondary marketplace for trading pre-IPO shares, has taken in $3 million in funding this week, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). This Series A round brings the company’s total funding to $6.5 million. Draper Associates led the round, with WorldQuant Ventures also participating. The EquityZen marketplace connects shareholders of private companies with its current pool of […]
Following on from yesterday’s fintech funding fun, here’s our latest round-up. Features Finstar Financial Group, Adjoint, Karmic and Trupay. Finstar Financial Group will invest $150 million into new start-ups over the next five years, Oleg Boyko, the chairman of Finstar, has confirmed. The money will also be used for research and development (R&D) within the […]
The Bank of England (BoE) is opening up access to settlement accounts in its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system with the goal to promote fintech innovation and competition. The bank says it’s extending access to non-bank payment service providers (PSPs), offering direct access to the UK’s sterling payment systems. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), […]
Here’s a twist on the usual cybersecurity stuff. Advisory firm Willis Towers Watson has launched a new diagnostic tool designed to assess people’s cyber readiness. The firm says its tool can be used to “recruit, lead and engage a more cyber-savvy workforce”. It reckons that roles in cybersecurity are “some of the most in-demand across […]
Artificial intelligence (AI) will be baked into nearly every new software product and service by 2020, but the rush to claim AI integration today is causing confusion, according to a new report from analyst firm Gartner. Light Reading (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports that while virtually every company across industry verticals is busy today figuring out […]
UK-based innovation foundation Nesta has revealed the 20 fintech firms who will participate in its Open Up Challenge as it looks for services, apps and tools for SMEs – with a £5 million prize fund on offer. As reported in March, Nesta launched its challenge – open to entries from anywhere in the world that […]
Swiss financial services provider SIX has selected Synechron as the systems integrator for the Calypso v15 solution as an update to its post-trade services. The deal is part of the SFR (securities finance renewal) programme, with the objective to revamp SIX’s post-trade services where it acts as a contractual triparty agent for its clients to […]
Italy’s only stock exchange Borsa Italiana, part of London Stock Exchange Group, and IBM are building a blockchain solution to digitise the issuance of securities for unlisted small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. The aim is to simplify the tracking and management of shareholding information, and create a distributed shared registry containing a record […]
Consumer data contextualisation company Flybits pulled in $6.5 million this week, bringing the Toronto-based firm’s total funds to $14 million, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The Series B funding was led by Information Venture Partners. New investor Portag3 Ventures LP also participated along with existing investors Robert Bosch Venture and Trellis Capital. As a part […]
It’s been a busy week for mobile wallet partnerships. Several companies announced deals to offer mobile wallets to their customers in the U.K., Australia and Europe. Challenger bank Starling says it’s the first in the U.K. to offer in-app provisioning.
The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) has implemented Deutsche Börse’s new T7 trading platform for the Irish equity market. According to Deutsche Börse, this new platform reduces cost for international trading firms to connect and trade equities on the ISE, due to lower development and maintenance costs for firms, which are active on T7 across multiple […]
Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays Africa, has partnered with multilingual text analytics and big data firm, Hello Soda, as it looks to tap into the millennial market. The bank says it wants to make sense of unstructured social data to better understand its consumer base. According to Absa, Hello Soda provides new ways for […]
You’ve come to the right section for cash injection. Today’s fintech funding round-up features Contego, Privitar, Form3 and Barclays. Maven Capital Partners, a UK private equity house, has led the £3.5 million investment in Contego Fraud Solutions to support its growth plans. Maven is putting in £1.8 million, NVM Private Equity is investing £1.5 million, […]
BNP Paribas has been hit with a $246 million fine by the US Federal Reserve System relating to past misconduct in its foreign exchange (FX) business. The Paris-based bank says it will pay the fine and has settled Federal Reserve allegations that it failed to keep its FX traders from using electronic chatrooms to manipulate […]
Blend, a start-up that helps lenders make mortgage lending decisions, has unveiled a native mobile app, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The San Francisco-based company’s launch of Blend Mobile aims to let loan officers manage borrower requests and applications on their mobile device in order to facilitate communication between the two parties. Founded in 2012, […]
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, David Siegel, CEO of Twenty Thirty, a Swiss-based blockchain company, offers up “Ten Simple Rules for Crypto-Investing”. 1. Put a small amount […]
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 […]
The Australian Government is developing its own anti-encryption legislation, modelled on the UK’s Snoopers Charter, a set of rules deemed unfit by the European Court of Justice, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). The move, which was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, has been built on anti-terrorism messages, as yet another government uses the element […]
