Worldwide


Banks look to immediate payments to drive revenue

Immediate payments is a key revenue driver for 66% of banks in markets with IP schemes, according to new benchmark data from processor ACI Worldwide and UK consultancy and Banking Technology’s sister company Ovum. Paybefore, Banking Technology’s sister publication, writes that the benchmark report, “2017 Global Payments Insight Survey: Retail Banking,” also found that although […]

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.

Ripple unveils expanded suite of offerings

What’s in a name? Blockchain solutions company Ripple is about to find out. The company has unveiled a new name for its existing global payments network, as well as a handful of new solutions.

Banks Look to Immediate Payments to Drive Revenue

Banks are investing in immediate payments to drive revenue, while focusing their IT investments on fraud prevention and operational efficiency, according to new benchmark data from ACI Worldwide and London-based consultancy Ovum.

Forkin’ hell! Bitcoin splits in two

Bitcoin has split in two as a breakaway group of Bitcoin miners and developers plan to create a new network that increases its transaction capacity. After two years of disagreements over network scalability issues, a user-initiated hard fork occurred, creating two versions. The one we know it as today still exists (BTC), and the new […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 1 August 2017

The world of blockchain and Bitcoin rumbles on with patents, platforms and positives. Our latest round-up features Bank of America, Blackmoon Financial Group, and research from Cognizant. Bank of America (BofA) has filed three new patents using blockchain. On the US Patent & Trademark Office’s website it now reveals the details. Some of the patents […]

Samsung shows how big its IoT aaS is

Samsung has launched its latest assault on the world of internet of things (IoT), launching a brokering service for hardware manufacturers and service providers on its Artik IoT platform, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). It’s a trend which we are likely to see more of as the digital economy takes hold, but Samsung has […]

Belize’s central bank selects Swift to combat financial crime

The Central Bank of Belize has chosen Swift’s Sanctions Screening solution to combat financial crime and put in compliance controls. The bank says: “Implementing the right compliance controls within an organisation is not only a regulatory responsibility, but also a priority for global security.” Juan Martínez, managing director Latin America and the Caribbean, Swift, says […]

New in regtech: digital ID verification

It’s no secret that increased regulations are a significant pain point for commercial and community banks. According to Thomson Reuters Global Cost of Compliance 2016 Survey, more than one-third of participating financial institutions reported spending at least an entire day each week keeping track of regulatory changes. The good news? Regtech, or regulatory technology, is […]

Facebook has a whoopsy as AI programme invents own language

Artificial intelligence (AI) detractors have just been given a bit more ammo after Facebook has had to shut down one of its programmes after it invented its own language, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). While it would not be considered realistic for AI to rise up and take-over the world in the near future, […]

paysafecard Enters UAE to Enable Online Payments with Cash

Prepaid pioneer paysafecard, part of Paysafe Group plc, announced its entrance into the United Arab Emirates. With its flagship prepaid solution, paysafecard will enable consumers to pay cash at vending machines and in retail stores for a prepaid PIN they can use to shop online.

IMA Honors Brian Dunne with Karen Renk Fellowship Award

The Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) honored industry leader Brian Dunne, CPIM, managing director, Giftcard Consulting, with the Karen Renk Fellowship Award, which the trade group presented at its annual IMA Summit last week.

Payments Strategy Forum drafts in public for future of UK payments

The Payments Strategy Forum, created by the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015, has launched a consultation on its blueprint for a new payments system for the UK. Calling it “the most radical change to the payments industry since the 1960s”, the Forum says the New Payments Architecture (NPA) is designed to “provide simpler […]

Fintech earnings round-up: 31 July 2017

Several major payments companies have released Q2 earnings, including The Bancorp, Discover, Mastercard and PayPal. Overall, payments volume is on the rise and partnerships are proving particularly important for PayPal, which has been on tear with recent strategic announcements.

Earnings: Q2 Results for The Bancorp, Discover, Mastercard, PayPal

Several major payments companies released second-quarter earnings this week, including The Bancorp, Discover, Mastercard and PayPal. Overall, payments volume is on the rise and partnerships are proving particularly important for PayPal, which has been on tear with recent strategic announcements.

Euroclear ends blockchain gold settlement deal with Paxos

The partnership between central securities depositary Euroclear and Paxos for a blockchain-powered gold settlement service is over, according to Reuters. As Banking Technology reported last year, the pair completed their first pilot for the service for London bullion – with a go-live planned for this year. Over 600 OTC test bullion trades were settled on […]

Confident Intel raises full-year revenue outlook by $1.3bn

Following a successful quarter, Intel has raised revenue outlook across the full-year owing to solid performance in artificial intelligence (AI) and driverless tech, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Quarterly figures were looking pretty impressive too. Total revenue was reported at $14.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%, while net income stood at $2.8 billion, […]

Fintech funding round-up: 28 July 2017

The riches rounded up. Following on from the brief report on 26 July, here’s our latest fintech funding round-up. Features Brolly, Callsign and Aquiline Capital Partners. Insurtech start-up Brolly has got itself some lolly – with the closing of a £1 million seed round. The round, led by Valar Ventures, Pi Labs and Entrepreneur First, […]

Visa invests in payment card issuing platform Marqeta

Visa and Marqeta, the open API payment card issuing platform, have formed a multiyear, global partnership to “drive further innovations in commercial and consumer payments”. What’s more, Visa has made a strategic investment in Marqeta to support the company’s domestic and international growth. Initially, the partnership will involve expanding opportunities for virtual, physical and tokenised […]

Facebook looks to Messenger for future growth… but not yet

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has cast his sights on monetising his OTT platforms Messenger and WhatsApp, but don’t expect miracles any time soon, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The financial performance of the company is exactly what you would expect; another quarter of monstrous growth. Total revenues hit $9.164 billion, a year-on-year increase of […]

Blockchain firm Symbiont gets investment from Medici Ventures

Blockchain technology investor Medici Ventures has teamed up with Symbiont, providing investment to the company and announcing a collaboration involving both Medici and its parent company Overstock, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The partnership will enable Medici Ventures to become the first company to register corporate ownership shares using the blockchain. The news follows on […]

SIX Buys girocard Network

Swiss company SIX Payment Services is establishing a larger presence in the German market with its acquisition of the Frankfurt-based girocard network operations.

Digital currency: the future or the biggest flop?

From Bitcoins to even newer (and lesser known, but rising) forms of currency, will this level the playing field for people in the future, or is this all just a sham that will die down? As things get digitised, what do we need to know about digital currencies, and does this mark the demise of traditional forms of currencies?

Big data and cybersecurity fuel Atos revenue rise

The delightful duo of big data and cybersecurity have fuelled the revenue rise for IT services corporation Atos. In its first half 2017 results, Atos’ “strongest H1 ever”, the firm revealed a revenue in big data and cybersecurity of €357 million – a rise of 13.8% organically. Thierry Breton, chairman and CEO, says: “Either on […]

Fintech funding round-up: 26 July 2017

Bread but with the bluster removed. Following on from yesterday’s concise report, our latest fintech funding round-up keeps it brief. Features Cleo, Skype, ItzCash, Ebix and research from Innovate Finance. The “Siri of personal finance,” Cleo, a virtual money assistant, has received £2 million in funding from Skype’s co-founder Niklas Zennström and venture capital (VC) […]

House Passes CRA Repeal of Arbitration Rule

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on July 25 in favor of HJR 111 to repeal the CFPB’s final rule on arbitration agreements. The vote was 231-190, but the companion resolution in the Senate may be on the back burner for a while as the Senate focuses on budget and health care battles.

Open letter to EU decision makers on PSD2 RTS – figo

This open letter from German fintech figo is not about the usual pros and cons of this debate, but intends to provide the European Council with actual solutions, i.e. smart trade-off ideas that could mean an end to the everlasting screen scraping debate and eventually the RTS process.

Layer’s new messaging design system gets conversational

FinovateSpring 2017 alumnus Layer has released a new customer engagement-enabling solution as the latest reminder of a trend toward more and better engagement options for businesses, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The San Francisco-based company has launched its Conversation Design System, giving enterprises new tools to build and customise conversational experiences for their customers “in […]

IBM launches security testing services for IoT developers

IBM’s security arm is launching testing services for the internet of things (IoT) – with Watson IoT offering configuration and management capabilities for IoT environments, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). IoT technologies are on the rise – in fact, Gartner predicts that connected things will reach 20.4 billion by 2020. This flood of new capabilities comes with the […]

Payably and CardConnect want to simplify mobile payments for small businesses

Payably, which offers a platform that integrates mobile payments with QuickBooks Online data in real time, is working with CardConnect to “simplify and speed up” mobile payments for merchants, including initial onboarding and processing and receiving payments, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology‘s sister publication. The strategic partnership also gives Payably the ability to offer “competitive” card […]