UK challenger bank Aldermore in acquisition talks with FirstRand
South Africa’s financial services group FirstRand is in takeover talks with Aldermore, a UK-based challenger bank focused on SMEs.
SME
Challenger bank BFC edges towards 2018 launch
BFC Bank, a subsidiary of the Bahrain Financing Company money transfer group, has completed its mobilisation process and is preparing for a launch in early 2018. As reported last year, BFC received authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). After an initial “soft launch” for selected companies (such as SMEs […]
Wave brings business services to RBC’s online banking platform
Wave – a business financial management (BFM) solutions provider from Toronto – has signed a deal that will integrate its invoicing, accounting, and business financial insights technology into Royal Bank of Canada’s online banking platform.
Ovamba and Microsoft team for first African language driven chatbot
Fintech firm Ovamba says it is working with Microsoft to create “the first African language driven chatbot designed to serve the millions of African SMEs who face exclusion from financial services due to the challenges of functional and business literacy”.
Bill.com discloses September investment round, doubles total funding
Business payments network Bill.com has updated the news regarding the $100 million in funding it landed last month. The round was lead by JP Morgan Chase and Temasek.
NAB gets down and under to overhaul SME business loans
National Australia Bank (NAB) has unveiled a complete overhaul of its existing business standard loan form contracts that will “benefit” over 130,000 Australian business owners.
Top fintech stories this week – 6 October 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
SaaS-y Mambu powers New10’s Dutch SME lending
New10, ABN Amro’s newly launched fintech firm, has selected Mambu’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) engine to power a range of SME lending products in the Netherlands. Like many start-ups, speed is part of the sales pitch, and New10 says it aims to provide credit decisions for SMEs within 15 minutes and offers a fully digital application process. […]
Credo Bank completes Temenos T24 core banking system upgrade
Credo Bank, a Georgia-based bank providing sustainable financial services for micro businesses and SMEs, has moved to the latest version of Temenos’ T24 core banking system.
Banking on a new competitive environment – marketplace banking
Marketplace banking has the potential to deliver an interconnected financial services industry where banks can get closer to their small business customers explains Five Degrees’ Peter-Jan Van de Venn.
Banking Technology October 2017 issue out now
Oh brave new world! Where transparency reigns. The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
UK insurtech start-up Nimbla seeks SME market shake-up
Nimbla, a London-based insurtech start-up, has launched a platform offering UK SMEs credit control and single invoice insurance using cloud accounting, as well as underwriting rules agreed upon by Munich Re’s new business unit Digital Partners. The firm says it is looking to tap into the UK’s SME market that has a reported £5.8 billion […]
Funding Societies interns introduce chatbot Miyu
Funding Societies, a Singapore-based crowdfunding platform, has launched its chatbot Miyu. A first for such a chatbot created by a crowdfunding company in Southeast Asia. Developed by two interns at Funding Societies using bot platforms meya.ai and api.ai, combined with machine learning and natural language processing, Miyu works round the clock to answer queries about […]
Italy’s first fintech hub comes to Milan
The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the City of Milan have opened the “Milan Fintech District”, the country’s first hub dedicated to businesses in the financial industry. The hub is for start-ups, entrepreneurs, financial institutions, investors and universities to foster development and growth. Pier Carlo Padoan, Minister of Economy and Finance, says the […]
HSBC and friends team up for integrated SME accounting
HSBC is expanding its existing bank feed services with the launch of a new online tool that enables SMEs to establish a data feed from their bank account to their accounting software. Its customers can now connect their bank accounts to their choice of accounting package – namely Xero, Sage and Intuit. Nadya Hijazi, global […]
Cashplus Expands with £30 Million Debt Facilities Led by RBS
Cashplus, a London-based alternative financial services provider—and Top 5 Best Challenger Bank—has announced two new, three-year funding arrangements totaling £30 million (US$40.52 million). The company will use the credit to expand its lending products for SMEs.
Innovators’ Spotlight: SPENT Money
Rather than being top of wallet, SPENT Money wants to help consumers manage and earn rewards from what’s already there—at least for now.
Fintech funding round-up: 21 September 2017
Following swiftly on from the fintech funding round-up on 19 September, here’s more concise, cash-coated action. Features CivilisedBank, HighRadius, Swirlds and Luno. UK challenger CivilisedBank, which got its banking licence in May, has agreed terms for a further round of funding from current investor Warwick Capital Partners. No more details on that but the bank […]
Bento for Business Names Jeff Pomeroy VP of Product
Blackhawk Network veteran Jeff Pomeroy has joined the Pay Award-winning Bento for Business, a provider of employee expense management solutions for small businesses, as vice president of product.
Bank of Baroda teams with Amazon for SME lending
India’s second largest bank, Bank of Baroda, has got itself an “exclusive” micro lending partnership with Amazon. The bank says through this partnership it is running a process for underwriting Amazon sellers “who would traditionally not be able to procure a line at formal financial institutions”. The deal is part of the bank’s ambitions to […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 14 September 2017
Arguments, exchanges and something getting launched. It’s our blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features JP Morgan Chase, the Financial Services Agency of Japan and Wish Finance. There will be blood. Sort of. JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon got plenty of attention with his scepticism and criticism of Bitcoin – calling it a “fraud”. Using the […]
Swift’s gpi powers DBS cross-border payments tracking debut
Corporates and SMEs in Singapore and Hong Kong can now track their cross-border payments via DBS, using Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi). DBS says it is the first bank in the two countries to execute cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking, “helping corporates and SMEs become more efficient in their cash management”. In the past, DBS […]
UK banks simplify accounting for SMEs
We have a double delight as Sage and Lloyds, and Xero and Santander are making accounting simpler for UK SMEs. Sage, a cloud accounting, payroll and payments solutions software provider, says Lloyds Bank is the latest in a line of banks to go live with its Bank Feeds service. The service helps businesses by enabling […]
Square wants to be a bank, sort of
Mobile point-of-sale pioneer Square Inc. is applying for an Industrial Loan Company (ILC) charter to support the expansion of its lending business, the volume of which grew 68 percent year-over-year in Q2 to $318 million.
Lloyds Bank’s new bookkeeping service is a keeper
Lloyds Bank has launched a new service to help businesses manage their bookkeeping without manual intervention. Called Lloyds Bank Direct Bank Feed it allows clients to receive their statement information directly into their accounting software – “eliminating the need for businesses to manually input their bank statements and reduce the time spent reconciling accounts”. Steve […]
Perseus start-up seeks to shield German SMEs from cyber threats
Berlin-based cybersecurity start-up Perseus is seeking to become a legend for the country’s SME market with a “one-stop solution”. According to fintech incubator FinLeap, which is behind the venture, more than 70% of German companies were affected by cybercrime activities within the last two years, but only one out of ten SMEs holds an insurance […]
Challenger bank Redwood takes tech to the cloud
EXCLUSIVE: Redwood Bank, a new SME-focused bank in the UK, has opted for a cloud-based banking platform. The front-to-back office solution is supplied by a local fintech firm, DPR Consulting, Banking Technology understands. It is hosted in a private cloud.
Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Cashplus
Meet our No. 1 on the Top 5 Best Challenger Banks list and find out why CEO Rich Wagner says the company belongs there.
UK challenger Redwood Bank launches
Redwood Bank, a new UK-based SME challenger, has launched four months after securing its banking licence. The bank is now offering secured SME mortgages for business owners, as well as for “experienced” commercial and residential property investors. It has also launched a business deposit account. As reported in April, Redwood entered its mobilisation phase and […]
Square Opens Manhattan Store
Mobile POS pioneer Square is venturing into new territory with its own brick-and-mortar store in Manhattan.
Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Capital on Tap
Get to know the SME lending specialist that’s challenging U.K. high street banks by providing zero percent interest when balances are paid in full within 37 days.
Behalf and FinWise Bank team to boost SME lending options
Utah-based FinWise Bank, a subsidiary of All West Bancorp, has partnered with alternative small business lender Behalf.
Shoeboxed launches Fetch to remove blood, sweat and tears from expense reporting
For anyone who spends hours completing their expense reports, the news that receipt and business card digitisation company Shoeboxed is ushering a travel and expense reporting system out of beta is welcome news.
Is Prosper prospering?
Peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Prosper released its second quarter earnings recently, just days after the company shuttered its consumer-facing bill management system.
PayPal to buy Swift Financial to boost SMB lending
After a spate of recent partnership announcements to expand its acceptance network and P2P reach, PayPal is buying Swift Financial to boost its small business lending division.
Sharing Funds across Families, Groups and Small Business with Prepaid and Mobile
Prepaid is having a renaissance thanks to real-time mobile and web account access that’s enabling a number of disruptors to offer prepaid solutions for a new set of customers.
SME lender Kabbage collects $250m investment from Softbank
Online small business lender Kabbage has raised $250 million in funding from Japan’s SoftBank Group. The capital, which takes Kabbage’s total funding to more than $488 million, will be used to support new lending products for small businesses, as well as “exploring non-lending products and services” for its customers, the company says.
Bank Islam plans digital Islamic banking roll-out
Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad is working with consulting firm Cognizant to lay the foundation for its digital banking platform roll-out across its entire network. Encik Khairul Kamarudin, CEO of Bank Islam, says the move will bring “greater accessibility to our customers as well as simplifying and improving their banking experience with us”. According to the […]
xPressTap wants to eliminate payment card readers
With the launch of its Tap2App merchant payment solution and pilot programme, xPressTap is enabling micro-retailers and small business owners to use their smartphones to accept card payments without a dongle or a portable card reader, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology’s sister publication. The California-based start-up says its patented technology turns any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet […]
xPressTap Wants to Eliminate Payment Card Readers, Reduce Fees
With the Aug. 1 launch of its Tap2App merchant payment solution and pilot program, xPressTap Inc. is enabling micro-retailers and small business owners to use their smartphones to accept card payments without a dongle or a portable card reader.
