Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group will start a venture next month to create new fintech businesses and catch up with its rivals, according to Reuters. As Banking Technology reported last month, Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho Bank and IBM Japan teamed up to build a blockchain-based trade financing platform – and so edged commercialisation ever forward. So […]
A lack of understanding and trust in technology is stalling mainstream adoption of innovative new fintech services, according to HSBC’s research. The bank’s report, “Trust in Technology”, shows that technologies such as fingerprint recognition, voice recognition and robo-advice “hold enormous potential” for uses from bank security to mobile payments and investment advice. John Flint, global […]
Researchers at Worldpay are investigating how shoppers can pay using a credit or debit card while remaining within a virtual environment. As part of its real ambitions, the payments firm has created a proof of concept (PoC), with the aim to provide the “same levels of convenience, and security” that shoppers have in-store and online, […]
IBM are not doing “cognitive computing” no matter how many times they say they are.
The EU Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has joined forces with the semiconductor industry in a bid to improve the continent’s cybersecurity, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). As ever region-wide initiatives such as this tend to be glacial affairs, but this announcement comes at a time when both cyber and physical security are […]
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) will allow firms to apply for a financial services licence as it seeks to boost innovation in the region. As reported in March, DFSA issued a new consultation paper and proposed its licence plans. The licence, known as an Innovation Testing Licence (ITL), will allow qualifying firms to develop […]
Supercard, a new card and mobile product launched by Travelex and Wirecard last June, is now being sunsetted.
Cut to the chase with this brief blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features Waves Platform, Everex and Bitcoin’s price surge. Moscow-based Waves has launched its Euro gateway, which will allow users of the platform to deposit and withdraw Euros directly from within the lite client, holding and trading them directly from their Waves accounts as WEUR […]
BBVA has unveiled its open banking programme and is making eight of its APIs commercially available for the first time. The launch of BBVA API Market comes after the Spanish bank says it spent more than a year working with developers and businesses to prepare the way the open API service would be delivered. With […]
International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) are working together to establish and develop their ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN). IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and MAS have signed a memorandum of co-operation. Through AFIN, they plan to establish a regional network to help financial institutions, fintech firms […]
Blockchain consortium R3 has completed the first two of three tranches in its Series A fundraising round, securing $107 million in the “world’s largest distributed ledger technology (DLT) investment to date”. The consortia contest is heating up as this handy cash injection follows on from yesterday’s (22 May) announcement from the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) […]
TransferWise has unveiled its “Borderless” account with the promise that it works like a local bank account in different countries. The account is its plan to replace “old-fashioned” money transfers. TransferWise says local bank details in the UK, Eurozone and US are available, and other unspecified countries are on the way at some point in […]
SoftBank has announced its first major close with $93 billion of committed capital, and the promise to hit $100 billion within six months, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). While it has been circulating in the news for some time now, it should be worth noting this is the largest private equity fund ever raised, […]
Corporate treasurers have a moment to treasure as Swift has unveiled its new cross-border payments “Tracker” for real-time tracing. Swift says Tracker is the “cornerstone” of its global payments innovation (gpi) initiative – which went live in February – with the aim to deliver greater speed, transparency and end to end tracking. Tracker provides a […]
Denmark’s Saxo Bank has released its new developer portal as it looks to strengthen its involvement in open banking. The portal provides technical documentation, reference guides, sample code and interactive tools. With the release, Saxo has made its trading infrastructure available to third-party developers, fintechs, vendors and partners, enabling them to connect to its trading […]
The vanishing branch offices… Could more coffee save them? Richard Buckle, founder and CEO of Pyalla Technologies, muses.
The European Banking Federation’s (EBF) call for the European Commission (EC) to help on a screen scraping ban is not going well. As reported last week, the EBF wants the ban due to concerns over the privacy of client data, cybersecurity and innovation. It wants the EC not to dismiss a key recommendation made by […]
Nasdaq and Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) have unveiled a new payment solution for automating reconciliation using Chain’s blockchain infrastructure platform. The solution enables straight through payment processing by using a distributed ledger to record and transmit payment instructions. A number of payment transactions have been done including Citi’s automated processing of cross-border payments […]
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has seen a surge of interest in its plans to drive Ethereum blockchain technology best practices with the arrival of 86 new members. New faces include Broadridge, DTCC, Deloitte, Infosys, MUFG, National Bank of Canada, Rabobank and Samsung SDS. As Banking Technology reported in March, Banco Santander, BNY Mellon, Intel, […]
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, Antony Peyton, Banking Technology’s deputy editor, briefly discusses artificial intelligence (AI) and job security. It seems humans’ jobs in fintech are safe […]
A UK bank has been left with its tail between its legs after its “state-of-the-art and highly secure” voice biometric system was bypassed by a cat. “Game changer” Jargon Bank, which launched last year (and updated its app and moved office), is reeling from the feline fraudster and the media wants answers. And boy does […]
Citi has revealed the three winners from its Tech for Integrity Challenge (T4I) Demo Day in Dublin – all part of its plan to promote integrity, accountability and transparency in the public sector and beyond. Fintech developers from eight countries presented their working prototypes; and the “award recipients” from the Demo Day included: T4I Award […]
Android Pay users on Google Chrome mobile web can now pay online using their PayPal account and their fingerprint – without needing to enter in their username or password. As reported last month, Google inked several deals with PayPal (and banks) to advance its Android Pay, and this latest partnership expands it even more. Bill […]
It was only two days ago since the last blockchain and Bitcoin round-up, but here’s more news to keep you in the loop. Features Ripple, BitGo, Abu Dhabi Global Market, R3 and Corion. Ripple has enjoyed a good start to the year with ten more financial institutions recently jumping onboard its blockchain network; and deals […]
HSBC has been left red-faced after a BBC reporter and his non-identical twin tricked its voice ID authentication service. The BBC says its “Click” (a weekly TV show) reporter Dan Simmons created an HSBC account and signed up to the bank’s service. HSBC states that the system is secure because each person’s voice is “unique”. […]
IBM has launched its Blockchain Founder Accelerator to help enterprises and enterprise developers power up their blockchain networks. The programme provides one-on-one mentorship and support by network founders and technologists for business case development, network membership incentives, technical development, governance and legal issues. In addition, members of the Founder Accelerator will receive early access to […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
This is a series of posts on a subject that plays on my mind a little – the application of disruption, and innovation, when it is related through the filter of our use of language, and our desire to seem advanced. This instalment is about social media efforts.
This free webinar provides a discussion around how to utilise e-signatures to unlock the full potential of mobile banking applications.
Payments Canada has revealed the ten paytech, artificial intelligence (AI) and regtech start-ups who will compete at its “Dragons’ Den-style competition” in Toronto. Called the FinTech Cup, a collaboration between Payments Canada, 500 Startups, and the Digital Finance Institute, it wants to help innovation, find talent, and drive funding for the finalists. Money on offer […]
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and its partners have unveiled an automated chat service using artificial intelligence (AI) to offer guidance to customers in Japan. SMFG is working with SMBC Nikko Securities, NTT Communications, with support from Accenture Japan, and their service will become available on 25 May at SMBC’s contact centre to improve its […]
Innotribe, Swift’s innovation arm, has revealed the three winners of its third 2017 Startup Challenge for Africa in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Each start-up receives a €10,000 cash prize and will share their insights about innovation in Africa at Sibos in Toronto. The trio are: IroFit Technologies – offers small businesses processing for in-store mobile/card payments […]
With its shrinking population and its growing interest in fintech, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has turned to Accenture to support recruiting companies find the right stuff from abroad. According to Japan’s health ministry, the nation’s population is expected to fall from 127 million to 88 million in 2065, dropping further to 51 million by […]
LeasePlan, one of the world’s largest fleet management specialists, is undertaking an enterprise-wide technology overhaul with SAP.
Wells Fargo has selected two new companies – ProxToMe and Uniken – to join its Wells Fargo Start-up Accelerator.
Internet giant Google has launched Cloud IoT Core, a new service in its Google Cloud Platform designed to extend its capabilities to distributed devices.
Samsung Pay has officially launched in the UK, continuing the evolution of the digital economy, but does this technology have the potential to disrupt the global pecking order?
Once upon a time, not so long ago, companies tried to generate new business by sending marketing messages to prospective clients by post. Direct or “junk” mail – sending a leaflet or letter to anyone for whom the firm had a job title, street address or postcode – was pretty unsophisticated, often derided as a “scattergun” approach.
Equifax, credit information provider Castlight and Oakbrook Finance, the owners of consumer loan brand Likely Loans, have teamed up to develop new products for the 2018 open banking initiative. Under open banking, Equifax says bank transaction data will play a crucial role in lending decisions. Lenders will have access to real-time and historic account and […]
Fintech innovation could be getting a push as IBM has built and tested its most powerful universal quantum computing processors. IBM says this development opens up a range of possibilities within the fintech world. Namely, solutions to optimisation problems found in supply chains, modelling financial data, and risk analysis; making facets of artificial intelligence (AI) […]
