Francisco Lorca, MD of Startupbootcamp FinTech London, a UK-based accelerator, highlights the pitfalls of starting a fintech firm, drawing on his extensive 17-year experience in finance and entrepreneurship.
Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB) has signed for CargoDocs DocPrep+ from specialist trade finance solutions provider essDOCS.
Wipro has acquired InfoServer, a provider of custom application development and software deployment services to banks, financial institutions and insurance companies in Brazil. India’s IT giant paid BRL 27.6 million ($8.7 million) for the deal.
UK-based Advanced Payment Solutions (trading as APS Financial) has launched a new mobile platform as it looks to compete with “neo” mobile banks. New services include the ability to set up a new account via the Cashplus app. Customers can also manage payments and transfers, get “instant access” to their money or arrange overdrafts using […]
Turkey’s largest bank Isbank has unveiled its new app, IsCep, to allow “for the first time” banking and stock exchange transactions through one application with real-time data. The bank says IsCep has been integrated into its Mobil Borsa (mobile stock market) and is also available for all foreign customers in Turkey. Isbank deputy chief executive […]
There was an interesting discussion at the recent Finance Disrupted event in London, organised by The Economist, that highlighted the opportunity for regtech to support financial inclusion.
Canada’s Scotiabank has opened its new 70,000 square-feet “digital factory” in Toronto for fintech innovation. It is designed to be an innovation hub and incubator for the 23 million Scotiabank customers across the world, and is one among five centres in a network of such fintech-focused innovation centres. Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia will be […]
Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Financial is splashing out $880 million for money transfer operator MoneyGram International. This is Ant Financial’s first acquisition of a US-listed company.
Pan-African banking conglomerate Ecobank has launched a fintech challenge for start-ups. The event, open to Africa’s entrepreneurs, innovators and developers, provides an opportunity to win $500,000 in funding as well as partner with Ecobank and roll out services across 36 countries.
While many traditional tech giants have been struggling to come to terms with the connected economy, SAP’s latest earnings indicate it is adapting well to the world of cloud computing.
Citi’s global perspectives and solutions team has issued a 100-page report on digital disruption in the fintech industry. It has analysed venture capital (VC) investments in the fintech industry between 2010 and 2016, as well as the emerging technologies across the globe.
As with any revolution, open banking will have winners and losers. How to stay competitive in the digital era?
Luxembourg-based Rakuten Europe Bank, a subsidiary of Japan’s e-commerce and internet company, Rakuten, has gone live with Temenos’ T24 core banking system and Temenos Connect for digital channels.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has issued a cryptobond for Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) using its capital markets blockchain platform. CBA says it is “the first blockchain bond issuance by a government entity both in Australia and in the world”.
Fintech start-up Railsbank has signed its first partner, Arkéa Banking Services (Credit Mutuel Arkéa’s subsidiary), to use its platform to deliver SEPA payment services and IBANs across Europe.
Austria’s Erste Bank und Sparkassen can now verify new customers’ IDs via video. The functionality has been developed with specialist provider IDnow and introduced just a few weeks following the approval by the country’s Financial Market Authority (FMA).
The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) wants to serve the fintech firms in the state better.
Mexico-based CIBanco has signed for a compliance services suite from Swift, which comprises compliance analytics and sanctions screening tools and KYC Registry.
HSBC plans the closure of 62 of its UK branches in 2017, with the loss of up to 180 jobs. This will bring the number of branches it has in the country to 625 by the end of 2017. It says it has no intention to close any further branches in 2017 and this marks […]
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) intends to invest about THB 40 billion ($1.1 billion) in creating, acquiring and developing its technology infrastructure over the next three years. The Thailand-based bank says this investment will help it provide products and services that are better suited to serving its younger and more affluent clients. SCB’s innovation-focused subsidiary, Digital […]
Hellenic Bank, the second largest bank in Cyprus, has chosen the Backbase Omnichannel Banking Platform for its banking systems upgrade. The revamp will start with the public domain landing pages and web content projects, followed by mobile banking. In fact, its mobile banking app was “highly commended” in the Banking Technology Awards 2016. Natasha Kyprianides, […]
Want to save some time but be in the know of the latest funding initiatives in the fintech space? Then read on. Featuring Habito, Dwolla and H2 Ventures.
UK-based Starling Bank has become the “first of the digital-only challengers” to join Faster Payments this week. It is the 13th direct participant of the Faster Payments Scheme, and Starling says its customers will be able to see where their money is flowing and when in real-time, 24/7. Joining the board of Faster Payments, Julian […]
Artificial intelligence (AI) on its own isn’t enough to compete – companies need industry-specific solutions to business problems. So said Martin Schroeter, IBM’s senior vice-president and chief financial officer, on the company’s quarterly earnings call.
Customers of Lloyds, Halifax and TSB are unable to access their online accounts after a major outage. Based on Twitter feeds and the website monitoring service, Down Detector, there are problems across the UK. Many Twitter users, no strangers to tedious whinging at the best of times, are saying they can’t access accounts online or […]
Pakistan-based Samba Bank has signed for BenchMatrix’s retail loan origination system, RiskNucleus LOS. The solution will automate the bank’s consumer lending processes across its entire network of 37 branches and facilitate “moving towards a fully paperless environment”, BenchMatrix says.
POSB, one of Singapore’s oldest banks and part of the DBS Banking Group, has launched an online virtual assistant. It is powered by the KAI conversational bot/AI platform from a New York-based fintech start-up, Kasisto.
Financial adviser firm DeVere Group has unveiled its own private bank, DeVere Group Bank St Lucia. The company says the launch “has been facilitated” by the acquisition of St Lucia-based Arton Bank for an undisclosed sum. Arton Bank was set up and licensed in 2014 under the Offshore Banking Act 1996. Founder and CEO of […]
Malta-based Bank of Valletta (BOV) is modernising its core banking software with Flexcube from Oracle FSS. Flexcube will replace Intrasoft International’s Profits core banking system.
New venture Motive Partners plans to invest in fintech firms in the UK and US. It looks to raise $150 million.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into full effect in the UK in May 2018. Even if the UK triggers Article 50 of the Treaty of Rome in March 2017, it has to give two years’ notice to leave the European Union (EU), and therefore cannot escape the new data privacy provisions.
Russia-based Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (VEB), a state-owned development bank, has issued a tender for new core banking software.
FairFX, a London-based multicurrency payments service, has acquired Q Money and its e-money licence.
The Fintech Acquisition Corp I team that raised $100 million through an IPO in February 2015, has returned a new blank check company – Fintech Acquisition Corp II. It seeks to raise $153 million.
Western Union has admitted turning a blind eye as criminals used its money transfer services to launder money and commit fraud. It has agreed to pay a $586 million fine to the US authorities.
Financial services and fintech firms in the US come together to form a new industry group – Consumer Financial Data Rights (CFDR) – “to defend consumers’ access to their data and fuel innovation in fintech”.
London-based Persia International Bank, a joint venture of two Iranian financial services groups, Bank Mellat and Bank Tejarat, is undergoing a tech revamp.
Airdrie Savings Bank (ASB), the only remaining independent savings bank in the UK, is closing down for good.
Hong Kong-based tech accelerator Blueprint is calling out to the region and the world for start-up applicants.
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