It has been a couple of weeks of important announcements in the challenger banking space, with some interesting long-term trends emerging in the sector. Two new challenger banks have received their banking licences in the past week. Berlin-based Number26 renamed itself N26 and received its full banking licence from the European Central Bank and German […]
German digital bank Number26 becomes N26 and has received its banking licence, 1.5 years after launching. After applying for the licence nine months ago; Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the European Central Bank gave the bank regulatory approval to conduct operations across Europe. “This banking licence is an important additional step for us […]
OakNorth has become the first challenger bank to launch Facebook at Work as the platform prepares for its global launch later this year. Facebook at Work is the professional version of the social network, enabling individuals to set up an account that is separate from their personal Facebook but works in almost the exact same […]
Santander InnoVentures, the fintech venture capital fund of Santander Group, has secured a further $100 million in funding from the group’s balance sheet. Launched in 2014, Santander says the fund is now set to deploy a total of $200 million (up from the $100m originally allocated) in minority stakes in fintech start-ups. Santander says this […]
Lloyds Banking Group has launched a new mentoring scheme giving fintech start-ups access to its workforce’s expertise. The support offered includes refining concepts to strengthening business models within a flexible timeframe determined between the mentor and the start-up. The mentors will come from all areas of Lloyds and will be matched with start-ups according to […]
German mobile payments start-up Cringle is working with SolarisBank to launch a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments platform for the Eurozone. Berlin-based Cringle will use SolarisBank’s banking licence and Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) access API to roll out its wallet-less mobile payment solution. Cringle says the SEPA-based approach allows it (with SolarisBank’s help) to “move and […]
Brazilian online bank Neon has launched – offering accounts only accessed through a smartphone. The bank, founded by 24-year-old entrepreneur Pedro Conrade, is targeting the millennial crowd and its goal is to reach 100,000 active customers in its first year of operation. Neon says it will be the first bank in Brazil to use biometric […]
With news on blockchain and Bitcoin appearing thick and fast, here’s a round-up of key events to save you time. Bitcoin has got some love in Russia when the centre-right Party of Growth says it is open to accepting donations in the digital currency. Boris Titov, head of the party, who also acts as an […]
New challenger bank Starling has received its UK banking licence and adopted Faster Payments. Starling Bank says the licence comes with unspecified “restrictions” from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. The bank aims to launch to customers by January 2017. Anne Boden, CEO, Starling Bank, says: “For the past year, our team […]
UK-based start-up Thought Machine has emerged from two years in stealth mode with a new cloud-based core banking software, VaultOS. The company was founded by a core of ex-Googlers, and VaultOS was built from the ground up. The system was created with private blockchain-style technology and has cryptographic ledgers for “watertight” security. Paul Taylor, CEO […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Brexit: keep calm and carry on We assemble a panel of fintech and law specialists to discuss – with cool heads – the challenges and opportunities. Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up A round-up of key developments to save you […]
Finnish fintech start-up Holvi has launched a debit card, Holvi Business MasterCard. It is available to customers in Germany, Austria and Finland. This follows on from the launch of a mobile banking app for iOS and Android last summer. Holvi, which was founded in 2011, provides entrepreneurs and SMEs with a range of financial and […]
As first reported by Banking Technology in early May, Phoebus Software has gained a new customer – UK challenger bank Atom. The five-year deal will see Phoebus’ lending software supporting Atom’s secured business lending and account servicing for Atom’s residential lending. The new platform will be used by the bank’s team to originate loans for […]
Bitso, Quotanda and Destacame have won the first Innotribe Start-up Challenge for Latin America – and a handy prize of $10,000 each. The event was held in Mexico City in partnership with Swift’s Latin America Regional Conference (LARC). Based in Mexico, Bitso connects the nation’s “traditional” banking infrastructure to bitcoin and blockchain for international cross-border […]
The Dutch government is to open a new campus for the development of blockchain to attract banks and financial institutions. At a media briefing by Holland Fintech and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the first official “Fintech Ambassador of the Netherlands”, Willem Vermeend (also a professor in economics and former minister of social affairs and employment), […]
JP Morgan has launched In-Residence, a new programme for fintech start-ups to use its facilities, systems and expertise. The company says it is inviting start-ups to sit “side by side” with its businesses to develop innovations that could “revolutionise” the sector. Sanoke Viswanathan, chief administrative officer of JP Morgan’s Corporate & Investment Bank, says this […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Brexit threat to UK jobs at Visa Should I stay or should I go? Swift hackers steal $10m from Ukraine bank Massive attack. New challenger bank readies for launch in UK Atten-shun! UK military personnel, veterans and their […]
The Services Family bank will cater for the UK military personnel, veterans and their families. Sopra Steria’s technology will underpin its operations. The digital bank is being created by The Services Family Ltd (TSFL), a financial services firm set up two years ago by two military veterans. It is going through a process of obtaining […]
India’s third largest private sector bank, Axis Bank, has launched a new innovation lab, becoming the first domestic bank to do so in India. Dubbed “Thought Factory”, the lab is aimed at accelerating the development of innovative technology solutions for the banking sector and is expected to work closely with the start-up community. Thought Factory […]
CTO Mark Hipperson, who was also the bank’s co-founder, has recently left Starling. Prior to moving to Starling, Hipperson was a long-standing GM at a UK-based IT consultancy firm, BJSS. Earlier in his career, he was head of technology at Barclays’ corporate banking division (1992-2000). According to FT, this was his comment on his departure: […]
IBM has opened a new Bluemix Garage in New York, to offer the city’s developers, entrepreneurs, and fintech firms the use of blockchain on the cloud. The garage will be located at Galvanize’s (a network of campuses) newly launched New York campus. IBM says this location in “this tech learning community for students, start-ups and […]
Challenger banks have turned their attention to artificial intelligence (AI) as they seek to provide a more personalised approach to banking. German digital bank Number26 has launched Pulse26, a new app that uses AI to provide updates based on the customer’s personal banking history. Number26 says the more a customer uses their account, the “more […]
Banco CTT, a new bank recently launched by CTT Correios de Portugal, the Portuguese post office, has developed a new customer onboarding platform. The platform promises to complete the opening of a new account at Banco CTT in just 20 minutes online. It has been developed together with a local software specialist, Novabase. It is […]
During the two-day MoneyConf event in Madrid, there was an exclusive Banking Technology interview with Matteo Cassina, member of the global executive committee at Saxo Bank. Deputy editor Antony Peyton spoke to him about his opinions on the show and the industry. In terms of MoneyConf 2016, Cassina says: “I do believe there are a […]
Data science and data mining provider, Grace Systems, won MoneyConf’s best start-up in the Pitch competition in Madrid. Around 1,850 people enjoyed the two-day event at the elegant venue of La Nave. Part one of our review of the show looked at wealth management, part two examined biometrics and Santander’s plans, part three was a […]
Love for London’s fintech and awry Brexit predictions – were two of the discussion points from MoneyConf 2016 in Madrid. More than 1,800 people attended the two-day event at the cool venue of La Nave. Part one of our review of the show looked at wealth management, part two perused biometrics and Santander’s plans, while […]
Start-ups should first be focused on domestic markets over global ambitions, was one of the messages amidst the hurly-burly of Madrid-based MoneyConf 2016. More than 1,800 people were on hand for the two-day event held at the pleasant venue of La Nave. Part one of our review of the show was on wealth management, while […]
DB1 Ventures is Deutche Börse’s new dedicated corporate venture capital platform, set up as part of the group’s “Accelerate” growth strategy. The DB1 Ventures team will be primarily based in Frankfurt and will undertake new investments and also manage Deutsche Börse’s existing minority shareholdings. “DB1 Ventures will invest only in areas that are strategic to Deutsche […]
US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and MasterCard are calling on US start-ups to apply for their Commerce.Innovated accelerator programme. The application process closes on 10th July, and the programme will run September to December. Commerce.Innovated is a four-month, bi-annual virtual accelerator, and this will be the fifth time it is held. Its organisers say it […]
Crestone, a wealth management business created out of UBS Wealth Management Australia, is now open for business, underpinned by Avaloq’s flagship core banking system. Avaloq Banking Suite supports front-to-back office operations of Crestone, multi-asset and multi-currency. Peter Scott, the vendor’s GM for Asia Pacific, says that Crestone was among the first users to apply Avaloq Banking […]
Berlin-based fintech incubator FinLeap and solarisBank have created the first global banking platform, called Solaris – a Banking-as-a-Platform (BaaP) service. What is it all about and how is it going to make its mark on the fintech industry? Devie Mohan interviews FinLeap’s co-founder, Ramin Niroumand. The solarisBank launch has been in the press quite a […]
Banking software vendor Mambu has joined forces with a number of accelerators and incubators to launch a new fintech start-up programme. Partners comprise Startupbootcamp FinTech, 500 Startups, Ynext Incubator by Envestnet/Yodlee, Techstars and Citi Accelerator – and those start-ups that are part of these accelerators and incubators are invited to participate in Mambu’s new venture and […]
UniCredit and Open Bank Project, an open source API and app store for banks, invite fintech developers and start-ups to take part in its Appathon competition. The 2016 Appathon is driven by the Open Bank Project API, developed by the Berlin-based Tesobe Ltd/Open Bank Project. Ten companies will be selected to demo their products in […]
Since 2015 the fintech market has changed dramatically but even bigger changes are yet to come in 2016 affecting financial services big time, believes Francisco Lorca, MD of a London-based fintech accelerator programme, Startupbootcamp. Tech is coming for banking as more fintech start-ups are springing up. There still huge gap between the collaboration of these two but […]
Penta Bank is a new digital banking player in Germany working towards a spring 2017 launch. Penta’s initial target market will be German and French SMEs. “Our target businesses are funded start-ups and SMEs that are cashless,” says Luka Ivicev, Penta’s head of product. Penta has been in the making since February this year. Usability […]
US-based Swirlds has launched its hashgraph distributed consensus platform, an alternative to blockchain, and free for public download and use by developers. Swirlds says it has “emerged from stealth” with the launch and says its hashgraph “goes beyond blockchain”. Dr. Leemon Baird, founder and CEO of Swirlds, says: “Current stock markets are fair in matching […]
A new digital bank for UK businesses and consumers, CivilisedBank, has submitted its banking licence to the regulators, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA). It expects to receive the licence later this year and to open for business in early 2017. Set-up and technology CivilisedBank will not have any branches. It will […]
Former Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins has set up a fintech firm called 10X Future Technologies. Jenkins, who was sacked by Barclays in summer 2015 for failing to transform the bank quickly enough, has appointed himself as the sole director of 10X Future Technologies. He has refused to comment on what he plans to do with […]
National Australia Bank (NAB) and telco firm Telstra have partnered for an SME digital marketplace called Proquo. Proquo will offer more than two million Australian small businesses an online platform to network, trade or swap services with each other. Leigh O’Neill, NAB executive general manager micro and small business, says: “Small business is the backbone […]
ING Belgium has acquired the rights to rebrand Finnish fintech start-up Zervant’s invoicing software across Europe. The software will be marketed as ING invoice solutions and will be sold via its own channels to SMEs and entrepreneurs. During the first phase, ING Belgium will have the rights to sell the tool in Belgium, with a […]
