Top fintech stories this week – 13 January 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Innovation
CSI Kick Start incubator calls for start-up applications
CSI Kick Start, a start-up incubator founded by Florida-based payments firm CSI GlobalVCard, has opened up its second annual application process for funding. The incubator is offering portfolio companies investments starting at $500,000, mentorship from an advisory board of industry experts, cross-selling opportunities and additional resources. It says its key areas of interest in B2B […]
Deloitte opens blockchain lab in New York
Deloitte has launched a blockchain lab in New York’s Wall Street. 2017 could be its “make-or-break year” for blockchain, says Eric Piscini, principal with Deloitte Consulting. Joe Guastella, another principal with Deloitte Consulting, says its “ecosystem for education, ideation [we missed you jargon], strategy, application prototyping and development is there to support Deloitte’s clients and […]
New name in the UK challenger bank space – ClearBank
The bustling UK challenger bank scene has grown by another addition, ClearBank. It is a brainchild of Nick Ogden, founder and former CEO of WorldPay.
Japanese start-ups head abroad for innovation programme
The Japanese government is sending 55 SMEs and start-ups abroad as part of its new innovation programme. Called the Hiyaku Next Enterprise programme, it is part of the Silicon Valley-Japan Bridge Project, set up by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). That project was announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in April 2015 […]
Belgium gets sweet on London fintech
Belgium is making overtures to London’s fintech scene as it looks a build a bridge between both communities. Innovate Finance, a UK-based fintech membership association, held talks today (11 January) in London with a delegation from Belgium’s digital finance community led by the Minister of Finance Johan Van Overtveldt. As part of this meeting, Overtveldt […]
Dubai gets first fintech accelerator
FinTech Hive, to be housed at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in Dubai’s Central Business District (CBD), is set to launch this quarter. Accenture runs fintech innovation labs in New York, London, and Hong Kong; and has been tasked with setting up and operating the accelerator. Aimed at providing better financial services technology to […]
“Humanoid” Ira to assist customers in HDFC Bank branches
India-based HDFC Bank is about to introduce its first “humanoid” branch assistant – Ira. The human-sized robot was built together with artificial intelligence (AI) company Asimov Robotics.
Payments paradise by the dashboard light: Visa, Honda test-drive in-car transactions
Honda and Visa are testing a system that enables a driver to pay for fuel and parking from inside Web-connected cars, the latest development in the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), and yet another sign that more payments are moving beyond physical payment cards, reports Paybefore. The announcement, made from the Consumer Electronics Show in […]
PSD2: Who wins?
I was recently asked who the biggest winner would be to emerge post-PSD2, the banks or the fintech firms. If we ignore for a moment that the biggest winners are clearly you and I, the end consumer of these services, it did reveal an interesting thought process and dynamic at play.
Axis first bank in India to use Ripple’s blockchain network
Axis Bank has become the first bank in India to use Ripple’s blockchain network for cross-border payments. The bank, the third largest in the private sector, will use the network for real-time settlement as it targets future growth. Amit Sethi, president and CIO at Axis Bank, says: “We will come out with solutions for our […]
Capital One joins forces with fintechs Gusto and Bill.com
Capital One Spark Business has announced “strategic partnerships” with two fintech companies, Bill.com and Gusto. The aim is “to build and deliver better financial management, HR and cash flow tools designed for small businesses”, Capital One says.
Microsoft and Qualcomm invest in Israeli cybersecurity firm Team8
Microsoft and Qualcomm have invested in Team8, an Israel-based cybersecurity company. Team8 also revealed a strategic partnership with Citi to assist with developing its products, and says this latest investment brings the total raised to more than $92 million. Team8 was founded by Nadav Zafrir, Israel Grimberg and Liran Grinberg, all former members of the […]
DTCC selects IBM, Axoni and R3 to develop blockchain for derivatives
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has chosen IBM, in partnership with Axoni and R3, to provide a blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) framework to drive improvements in derivatives post-trade lifecycle events. The firms will work on DTCC’s Trade Information Warehouse (TIW), building a derivatives distributed ledger solution for post-trade processing. The TIW service currently […]
Digital officers of India, unite!
A group of senior executives in India’s digital sector are looking to create a group of chief digital officers (CDOs) or equivalent in the country.
Putting trust in chatbots
Artificial intelligence (AI) interfaces and chatbots could be revolutionary for financial institutions – but only if they strike the right balance between human and machine interaction.
Country spotlight: Lithuania – the young ones
Banking Technology explores a less known – but a noteworthy – destination for fintech in Europe, Lithuania, and its capital Vilnius. Whilst it is realistic that it cannot compete with the European Goliaths such as London or Paris, it wants to carve its own niche in the fintech space, and has quite a lot to offer.
State Bank of India to launch digital bank, SBI Digi Bank
State Bank of India (SBI) is working on its own digital bank – SBI Digi Bank – which it plans to launch in the next three to six months.
Top fintech stories this week – 6 January 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! The first weekly news round-up of 2017. Happy 2017! Let it be a year of discovery and success.
Idea Bank launches “pay as you drive” car loan in Poland
Idea Bank in Poland has launched “the world’s first pay-as-you-drive” car loan model – Happy Miles – with the payments calculated according to the travelled distance. A GPS device installed in the vehicle automatically sends the information about the distance covered to the lender.
Top five jargon winners in 2016
For some people in the world of fintech, they find comfort in the language of jargon. Pity these poor souls! Lost, confused and unable to communicate clearly and normally. Here are our top five jargon winners of 2016. You can avoid being on this list next year – just use English! CIBC ends phase one […]
Top ten fintech features in 2016
Look back at some of the top-read feature articles on all matters fintech published by Banking Technology in 2016.
Digital bank for migrants and expats, Monese, raises $10m
Monese, a mobile-only bank founded by Norris Koppel, an Estonian expat in London, has raised $10 million in Series A funding round as it looks to go pan-European.
ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank embrace social media
ICICI Bank goes for Twitter, while HDFC Bank banks on Facebook Messenger.
New digital bank coming to Middle East, Bank Clearly
Bank Clearly, a new digital banking service, is being set up in the UAE. Clearly will offer account opening “in seconds, completely online”.
Alpari Bank and Attic Lab embark on blockchain-based e-money project
A Ukrainian fintech start-up, Attic Lab, has signed a deal with a local bank, Alpari Bank, to implement blockchain-based banking system SmartMoney.
Top ten payments projects in 2016
Look back at some of the major payments projects in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten.
E-magazine: Compensation management automation
Managing incentive compensation can be a challenge. Typical management systems are done manually – taking too much time and effort. They also fail to provide precise tracking for compensation-related regulations. This e-magazine introduces IBM Incentive Compensation Management, a unified solution that integrates data, calculations, workflow management and reporting. The solution automates complex tasks – reducing […]
Top ten digital bank initiatives in 2016
Look back at some of the major digital bank initiatives across the globe in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten.
UK retailer House of Fraser to invest up to £35m in challenger bank Tandem
A UK-based challenger bank, Tandem, will start offering financial solutions to customers of retailer House of Fraser in 2017. As part of the collaboration agreement between the two companies, House of Fraser will invest up to £35 million in Tandem.
Top ten fintech opinion pieces in 2016
Look back at some of the most interesting and thought-provoking opinion pieces on all matters fintech published by Banking Technology in 2016.
Top ten blockchain stories in 2016
It felt like there was a blockchain story every day in 2016, but we look back at some of the bigger stories with Banking Technology’s top ten! Microsoft and AMIS launch Asia’s first blockchain consortium Microsoft says it is also in “collaboration” with banks such as Ubon Financial, Cathay Financial Holdings and MegaBank to further […]
Top fintech stories this week – 23 December 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! The last weekly news round-up of 2016. Happy holidays from everyone at Banking Technology!
Top ten digital channels projects in 2016
Look back at some of the major digital channels projects in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten.
State Street tests blockchain for securities lending
State Street is concluding its testing of a blockchain system from securities lending and is pondering its roll-out in 2017.
Top five banking tech case studies in 2016
Our pick of banking tech and fintech case studies – published by Banking Technology in 2016.
FCA green lights cloud technologies
We are constantly connected to the cloud (iPhone, DropBox, Google Drive just to name a few) and yet, in financial services, the adoption has been tremendously slow. In part, this is due to a lack of guidance from regulators, especially where cloud-based regulation technology is concerned. But finally there is forward progress.
Hungary’s central bank endorses instant payment infrastructure plans
Hungary’s central bank and regulator, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), is bringing a new instant payments system to the country. It will require “state-of-the-art IT and communication solutions in payments”.
Varo Money to launch bot and money coach, Val
Mobile banking app Varo Money is brining to market a chatbot and “money coach”, Val. Val is powered by Kasisto’s KAI Banking bot and “delivers insights into spending, savings, borrowing and helps people set goals as well as offer updates and encouragement about their progress”.
BNP Paribas trials blockchain payments for two corporate clients
BNP Paribas has processed “several live payments” using blockchain technology for two of its corporate clients, Amcor and Panini Group.
