Q&A with Colleen Dorwart, RGCA board chair
As we reflect on 2017 and look ahead to 2018, we spoke with Colleen Dorwart, Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) board chair, about the most popular gifts in America.
Worldwide
Faure to fintech – what music can teach us about communicating the benefits of tech
On the surface Handel or Shostakovich seem a world away from the world of finance. Yet, strange as it may seem, the similarities are there. This is because both the mechanics behind music and the technology underpinning the digital transformation are – unless you’ve had first-hand experience of either – pretty abstract concepts to understand.
What a Swell Sibos we had
One of the more entertaining aspects of this year’s Sibos in Toronto was the continuation of the rivalry between the event’s host, Swift, and distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm Ripple.
Dell makes case for cloud “core”
Make another space on your buzzword bingo card, as Dell is talking about the cloud “core”, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication). “We decided instead of the edge and the cloud we need one more point – the core,” Jason Shepherd, Dell director of IoT strategy and partnerships tells Enterprise Cloud News. The […]
Multicloud can lead to management nightmare – survey
As enterprises move to a multicloud universe that combines different public and private clouds, the question now becomes how to manage all these competing platforms as the complexity builds? Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports that’s the question at the heart of a study released this week by research firm opinion.life and sponsored […]
Fintech funding round-up: 17 November 2017
Following on from yesterday’s (16 November) fintech funding fun, here’s another summary. Features Flender, Tipigo Ventures, India Accelerator, Kuants, Sumeru and a handy $2 billion in Singapore. Return to Flender. Address known. As reported in May, peer-to-peer lending start-up Flender was seeking to get €1 million in funding and is targeting a UK launch after […]
Payments round-up: 17 November 2017
More paytech action featuring PayPal, NCR, Samsung, Scotiabank, Mastercard and Eftpos.
BNP Paribas and Caple make European SME credit capable
BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has acquired a 10% stake in European credit provider Caple, allowing for a partnership to offer alternative credit to European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Fintech funding round-up: 16 November 2017
Say it isn’t so, another fintech funding round-up? Of course! It’s busy as always. Here’s the latest news action. Featuring DIFC and its investments, ASEAN seeing a boom with fintechs on the rise, and two firms; Active.ai and PayStand get individual funding too.
All aboard the Amex blockchain payments express
American Express has launched blockchain-enabled, business-to-business cross-border payments with Santander using Ripple’s network. The Amex FX International Payments (FXIP) business is working with Ripple to make blockchain payments commercially available, “reducing the time and cost of settlement”. Santander UK is the selected partner to initiate this new transaction channel. Marc Gordon, EVP and CIO at […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 16 November 2017
Coming straight after yesterday’s (15 November) action, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features Mastercard in a patent place, ING Bank opening up, and another warning from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Let’s start with yet another patent. Mastercard has jumped on the blockchain payments bandwagon by filing “Method and System for Instantaneous Payment […]
Give donations better with Betterment
Robo advisory platform Betterment says it is not only making it easier to give to charities, it is also giving consumers more reasons to do so, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Starting 28 November, on “Giving Tuesday”, Betterment investors will be able to donate shares of long-term investments from their taxable accounts directly to […]
EyeLock docks with ViaTouch for iris-powered payments
Iris-based biometric authentication specialist EyeLock has signed an agreement with ViaTouch Media that will integrate EyeLock’s technology within ViaTouch’s smart-shelf vending solution, Vicki. David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) reports that EyeLock CEO Jim Demitrieus says the agreement was the culmination of years of working with firms from a variety of industries to bring embedded […]
TransferTo and Fern Software get UN funding for payments push
Cross-border mobile payments network TransferTo and banking software provider Fern Software have both been awarded a grant as a part of the United Nations Capital Development’s Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation (Shift) Challenge Fund, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The goal of the fund is to use remittances to improve the economic power of women […]
Brief: Digitizing the Bank
Read this brief to get best practices and expert advice from SEFCU, one of the 50 largest credit unions in the U.S, on how they went from their first electronic signature to fully digital workflows using DocuSign.
Q&A with Joe Daly, Paysafe
Joe Daly, COO payments processing North America, Paysafe, talks to us about all things paytech.
Core banking: true digital banking requires innovation on all layers
By adopting a layered model that moves the focus from presentation to orchestration, banks can deliver an omni-access digital service that truly works for customers, says Peter-Jan Van de Venn, CCO of Dutch digital core banking platform provider Five Degrees.
Slow growth, new regulation and digitisation – driving innovation in the banking sector
Since the global financial crisis the banking industry has witnessed three mega-trends: slow growth, digitisation and new regulation. None of these trends look likely to abate any time soon and in fact, it appears that all of them are set to intensify in the short to medium term.
Finastra Universe London 2017: open banking and the rise of AI
Finastra has revealed its focus on the open innovation of smart technologies in banking, alongside artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning/deep learning.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 15 November 2017
Following on from yesterday’s (14 November) news, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Trustology, Accenture, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Association of Banks in Singapore, Square and London Block Exchange. Another day, another new firm. Trustology has emerged from stealth and revealed it is building a peer-to-peer network of smart contract compute services. Trusted […]
Investec Bank to use iMeta for client data management
Investec Bank has selected iMeta’s client lifecycle management (CLM) platform to help with the automation and streamlining of data management processes. The platform consists of know your customer (KYC) support; credit and legal help (such as with MiFID II); and standing settlement instruction (SSI) for data management processes to provide a centralised hub of reference […]
Boku to raise $60m ahead of London IPO
Carrier billing company Boku plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (AIM), an international market for smaller growing companies, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Ahead of next week’s public debut, the company announced it expects to raise $60 million on a post-money valuation of $164 million. Of the […]
E-book: How Digital Lenders Can Win the Fight Against Fraud
Ready for the truth about fighting fraud? It’s not as futile as you might think. Yes, fraud is hitting digital lenders of all sizes… Pretty sizably. But recent research shows that with the right approach, it is possible to stop the bad guys and stem the losses—without slowing opportunity.
When are we going to look at the human cost of AI?
Another week has passed, and another piece of research has emerged about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), but the human cost is starting to become a very big elephant, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The research itself is from SAS and highlights businesses are becoming normalised to the idea of AI. The concept […]
Cisco creates $1bn financing programme for smart cities
Cisco is looking to expand its presence in the smart city and internet of things (IoT) markets with a $1 billion financing program that will allow communities to make investments in their infrastructure with the vendor’s financial backing, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication). The City Infrastructure Financing Acceleration Programme also has backing […]
Aegon opts for Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for operational risk
Pension, insurance and investment management firm Aegon is replacing its local risk systems with Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for operational risk management. Charles Garthwaite, global head of operational and conduct risk at Aegon, says his company needed “a global solution” that could “comprehensively manage Aegon’s requirements”. Following local implementations in the UK and within its asset […]
Why mobile wallet acceptance is key to retail growth
A young woman has made plans to join a friend for dinner at a restaurant across town, and with a few clicks on a mobile device she sets her night in motion. Her go-to ride-sharing service has sent a car, she’s ordered a cappuccino from her favorite coffee shop – this one is free because she’s a loyalty member – and her social app pings her friend to let him know her ETA.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 14 November 2017
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s (13 November) action, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Bitcoin Gold, OTC Exchange Network, Deloitte and Github. Bitcoin Gold (BTG), the newest fork of the Bitcoin blockchain, has officially gone live. It’s not the first to breakaway from Bitcoin, as previously in August, Bitcoin Cash (BCC) launched. […]
Rackspace and HPE offering OpenStack as private cloud service
With most of the chatter in the cloud computing market focused on the big public cloud providers, it’s easy to forget that private cloud is a viable option for many larger enterprises. Now, Rackspace and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) are looking to change that, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication). The two companies […]
Token and Envestnet | Yodlee team up for open banking
Open banking platform provider Token has partnered with Envestnet | Yodlee, a data analytics platform, for payments and financial data aggregation. The partnership will use Token’s operating system, TokenOS, which offers PSD2 compliant payments and gives access to banks for third-party service providers, via an API. In addition, the deal will use Envestnet | Yodlee’s […]
Reality Clash looks to make cash splash with cryptocurrency trading
While the fintech industry is no stranger to initial coin offerings (ICO) as a method of sourcing capital for start-ups, a firm is offering a novel way to make money via cryptocurrency trading.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 13 November 2017
Following Friday’s (10 November) feisty blockchain and Bitcoin action, here’s another round-up. Features CryptoCoinBits, European Commission, R3 and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. With increasing fears about Bitcoin ICOs and bubbles bursting, it was inevitable someone would see a gap in the market. Enter CryptoCoinBits, which has unleashed a Bitcoin trading platform and asks: “So how can […]
Crime moves upmarket as fraud becomes UK’s number 1 offence
New research from Experian claims fraud is now the UK’s most common criminal offence, much to the dismay of thugs and hoodlums everywhere, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The company’s Annual Fraud Indicator 2017 estimates the annual cost of fraud in the UK is £190 billion, exceeding the total gross domestic product of 148 […]
Case study: Towergate Insurance – achieving “good enough” IT in the cloud
If you’ve worked in information technology long enough, you’ve fallen prey to the urge to pursue technology on the cutting edge or even the bleeding edge.
Mastercard, Bank Asia and a2i team for financial inclusion in Bangladesh
Access to Information (a2i, an innovation lab supported by the Bangladeshi government), Bank Asia and Mastercard have signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate financial inclusion in Bangladesh by making digital payment services accessible countrywide through the Union Digital Centres (UDCs).
It’s time to pull the brake on Bitcoin
With ten years in fintech under my belt, I have seen the creation of the word itself. I have also seen the rise of various hypes, adoption of buzzwords, sky-high funding rounds, epic failures and a surprising knowledge gap in what is the world’s biggest industry.
Talend acquires API design and test specialist Restlet
Talend, which specialises in big data and cloud integration, is acquiring the outstanding shares of Restlet SAS, a France-based company that specialises in API design and testing, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Although no financial details were released, all 16 members of the Restlet staff along with the company’s founder will join […]
Fintech funding round-up: 10 November 2017
Just when you thought there couldn’t be more following yesterday’s (9 November), Wednesday’s (8 November) and Tuesday’s (7 November) fintech funding round-ups, here’s more news action. Featuring Crux, Accern and Blume Ventures.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 10 November 2017
Three more stories from across the world of blockchain and Bitcoin. This latest round-up features Chia Network, Crypto20, and a lesson to learn from recent Bitcoin scams in Canada.
Banking Technology November 2017 issue out now
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
