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!
Mobile
Airtel Payments Bank launches in India
Airtel Payments Bank, India’s “first” payments bank, has started national operations with services now live across the country. As Banking Technology reported in July 2016, telecoms giant Airtel was planning its own bank. It says it is a “fully digital and paperless” bank, and from today (12 January), over 250,000 neighbourhood Airtel retail stores across […]
HSBC targets Hong Kong millennials with new social payment app
HSBC will unveil a new payment app in Hong Kong in early 2017 aimed at millennials and offering a social aspect in addition to just payments. Called PayMe, it is “available to everyone in Hong Kong”, regardless which local bank the customer uses. However, the small print says it is only eligible to users with […]
Fifth Third swings for the mobile wallet fences
Go big or go home: Fifth Third on Wednesday (11 January) said that its customers can now use five major mobile wallet providers, with debit and credit card purchases via the recently added Android Pay and Microsoft Wallet, along with previous partners Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Masterpass. The deal comes amid a heady time […]
PayPal Acceptance Deals Continue with Discover Pact
Discover and PayPal have reached a deal that will expand PayPal’s POS presence while making Discover a more visible payment option within the PayPal mobile wallet. Under terms of the pact, PayPal will gain access to Discover’s tokenization services, enabling U.S. PayPal customers to use their Discover cards within the PayPal wallet app to make contactless purchases at contactless-enabled merchants that accept Discover.
Fifth Third Swings for the Mobile Wallet Fences
Go big or go home: Fifth Third on Jan. 11 said that its customers can now use five major mobile wallet providers, with debit and credit card purchases via the recently added Android Pay and Microsoft Wallet, along with previous partners Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Masterpass.
Can you marry an app Monzo?
Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo has revealed some witty conversations between its banking customer support team and customers. In an amusing blog post, the bank says its customer support team of around 17 people manage hundreds of queries on a daily basis in as “close to real-time as possible”. Some of these conversations struck a chord […]
New digital bank, SunTrust, runs on ICS Banks core platform
SunTrust Bank in Nigeria has renewed the contract with banking software vendor ICS Financial Systems (ICSFS) for its ICS Banks core banking system.
Municipal Credit Union revamps digital payments with Payveris
Municipal Credit Union (MCU), a $2.5 billion credit union in New York, is implementing a new digital payments platform supplied by Payveris.
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, and yet another sign that more payments are moving beyond physical payment cards.
Democratic Senators Oppose OCC Fintech Proposal
A skirmish over the future of U.S. fintech is underway in the new U.S. Senate, with two Democratic senators this week saying a new federal charter governing the industry “could weaken consumer protections, limit competition and threaten financial stability.”
New App Aims to Provide ‘Clarity’ to Personal Finances
Data analytics and artificial intelligence are on nearly everyone’s 2017 trend-watch lists, but Clarity Money wants to put those same tools directly into consumers hands with an app it says will improve financial well-being and increase users’ financial literacy.
Virgin Money to launch digital bank, looks for customer experience leadership
Virgin Money plans to launch a digital bank – VMDB – and is now recruiting for a head of customer experience. As Banking Technology reported in November, 10x Future Technologies, the start-up founded by former Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins, is building a digital core banking platform for Virgin Money. The latter also signed a long-term […]
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.
Will Starbucks Make Bitcoin Mainstream?
Bitcoin, which has long nursed an outlaw persona, seems to be transforming into a yuppie. In the latest sign that the digital currency is moving into the mainstream, iPayYou, a U.S.-based bitcoin platform, said its technology now will enable coffee and food purchases at Starbucks, a chain typically associated with middle- and upper-class urban and suburban lifestyles.
Uncle Sam Wants You—Yes, You—to Help Secure the Internet of Things
The federal government wants the public’s help in securing the Internet of Things, an invitation backed by a $25,000 top prize and which comes amid concerns that 2017 will bring a large-scale breach in the emerging Web-connected infrastructure.
U.K. Competition Authority Raises a Concern about Mastercard/VocaLink Deal
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is worried that Mastercard’s billion-dollar deal to acquire VocaLink could hinder competition, and the CMA is giving the two companies until Jan. 11 to address a concern or face an “in-depth investigation,” according to the authority.
Volkswagen Ups its Mobile Payments and Parking Game
The financial services arm of car manufacturer Volkswagen Group has bought parking payments firm PayByPhone, a deal that underscores the appeal of mobile payments and bolsters the automotive company’s presence in the parking transactions space.
For India’s Paytm, Growing up Means Launching a Digital Bank
India-based Paytm is growing up fast. The online commerce platform, which launched its mobile wallet in 2014, has received permission from the Reserve Bank of India to operate a digital bank. The move comes as digital transaction rates in India—where the country’s popular 500 (US$7) and 1,000 (US$15) rupee notes were recently taken out of circulation—have increased as much as 1,000 percent since early November.
Are we heading for an identity crisis in fintech?
Establishing if someone is who they say they are in today’s virtual world is a major headache for banks and fintechs, thanks to the strict regulations they operate under and the difficulty in providing non-physical, verifiable forms of identity.
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.
China Serious about Fintech with $1.44 Billion Investment
China has made it loud and clear it intends to position itself as a global fintech leader. A group of state and privately held companies launched a $1.44 billion investment fund called the Asia FinTech Merger and Acquisition Fund of Funds (Asia FinTech FoF). The fund will focus on fintech mergers and acquisitions, and “nurture” initiatives in the fintech industry, according to a Dec. 28 announcement by Credit China FinTech Holdings Ltd., which led the investment.
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”.
Top ten payments projects in 2016
Look back at some of the major payments projects in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten.
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 digital channels projects in 2016
Look back at some of the major digital channels projects in 2016, with Banking Technology’s top ten.
Questions about Your Finances? Ask Varo Money’s Val
Varo Money announced it’s developing a chat bot for its mobile app. The San Francisco-based mobile-only banking startup, which is offering private-label banking services via The Bancorp, expects to launch “Val” early next year. “She” is part of a steady stream of chat bots that have been announced in 2016 by banks, merchants, tech companies and handset makers to improve customer loyalty, reduce costs and boost revenue, among other benefits.
Top five banking tech case studies in 2016
Our pick of banking tech and fintech case studies – published by Banking Technology in 2016.
The Future Looks Bright for Blockchain and B2B Payments
Tapping into two expanding markets, BNP Paribas said Dec. 21 it had completed its first cross-border B2B payments between corporate clients using blockchain, the technology that underlies bitcoin transactions. The move comes as other major financial institutions seek to invest in blockchain and there’s a rush of providers trying to displace checks in the corporate payments space, particularly for cross-border payments.
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”.
Wirecard takes boon from POS to online with prepaid
Wirecard is using prepaid as a bridge to online payments for its boon mobile app.
Vantiv Names Top Trends for Banks in 2017
Fraud and fintech partnerships; big data and blockchain—all are among the hottest topics in payments—and will continue to be major forces shaping the industry in 2017, according to a new report from Vantiv Inc. The first installment of the payment processor and technology solutions provider’s Trends to Watch in 2017—focused on financial institutions—tabbed those four areas as especially important points of emphasis for banks in the New Year.
Digital Payment Growth in India Brings Initial Headaches
While digital payments providers have enjoyed significant boosts in transaction volume—some as much as triple-digits—since the government banned two popular currency notes, the uptick in digital payments also has led to online traffic jams and fraud, according to several news outlets.
Credit card firm MBNA sold to Lloyds for £1.9bn
Credit card firm MBNA is to be taken over by Lloyds. The firm’s current owner, Bank of America, has agreed to sell it for £1.9 billion. The deal is expected to close in H1 2017.
