BankingTech


Virtus Partners live with new lending platform from Misys

Texas-based asset administrator, Virtus Partners, has gone live with new back office lending system, FusionBanking LoanIQ, supplied by Misys. The new platform supports full-service agency administration and bank portfolio loan administration. It covers SME, commercial and syndicated lending. The contract was signed in November last year. The implementation work took around three months and came […]

Typo spells confusion in $101m cyber bank heist

A $101 million cyber heist has central bank officials from Bangladesh to New York quarrelling over what may be one of the biggest and boldest bank raids in history, according to CNBC. Hackers allegedly breached the Bangladesh central bank’s security system and then pretended to be Bangladeshi officials to send a series of requests for […]

Watch out EBA, Swift and Visa – here comes Masterlink!

MasterCard’s planned acquisition of VocaLink has the potential to create a new payments powerhouse in Europe and beyond. Tom Hay, head of payments, Icon Solutions, explores the possibilities. The news of the planned acquisition broke a few days after the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) recommendation that banks divest their ownership of the company. I’m sure […]

What will the future of money look like?

Cash payments are in decline – mobile payments are on the rise (thank you, Apple Pay, Google’s Android Pay and Samsung Pay). This nifty infographics sums up the ideas on what the future of money might look like. The infographics is courtesy of the MBNA credit card company (owned by Bank of America) and its […]

Aktia Bank signs for Accuity’s Global WatchList, perseveres with core system conversion

Finland-based Aktia Bank is implementing Accuity’s Global WatchList to provide regulatory sanctions and other compliance data. The solution covers politically exposed persons (PEPs), companies, vessels, goods, countries and payment information. Accuity says that Aktia’s decision to sign for the Global WatchList was driven by the compliance needs and the need to improve the efficiency of […]

Infrasoft’s core banking system scores with Indian co-operatives

Tamil Nadu State Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks (Tancubfed) has selected Infrasoft Technologies’ core banking system, OmniEnterprise. Tancubfed will implement OmniEnterprise and other e-banking services in 128 co-operative banks in Tamil Nadu, a southeast Indian state. Rajesh Mirjankar, new CEO and MD of Infrasoft, says OmniEnterprise will support the entire business operations of the bank […]

Labs’ labour lost: forget fin, forget tech, focus on the client

Not a day seems to go by without another innovation of fintech announcement from a bank. While most have now dabbled in an incubator, accelerator or a lab here, and a fintech investment there, they all have one thing in common, argues Leda Glyptis, director at Sapient Global Markets. And that is a lack of tangible […]

Half of retail banks say branches to disappear within five years

Almost 50% of retail banks worldwide believe the rise of digital will bring an end to branch-based banking, according to a study by Temenos. “Retail Banking: In Tech We Trust”, the third annual study of retail banks produced in association with the Economist Intelligence Unit, reveals that banks perceive the threat from tech companies operating […]

PSD2 reforms: innovation in payment predicted

The Payment Services Directive (PSD) legislation was adopted in 2007 with the objective of making cross-border payments across the EU as easy, efficient and secure as “national” payments within a member state. With the arrival of PSD2, the trend of digital innovation in payment will accelerate, states Antony Bream, UK managing director at Crealogix. The original Directive […]

Fiserv fine tunes Unified Wealth Platform

Fiserv has added new advisor portfolio management and trading technology to its Unified Wealth Platform. The single platform is used for portfolio management, trading, accounting and reporting for managed accounts. The company says over 5,000 advisors and users supporting rep as portfolio manager (RPM) or rep as advisor (RPA) programmes have migrated to the “enhanced” […]

Challenger banks must strike the right balance between mobile and card

NFC mobile payments continue to grab headlines, but to really drive uptake and ensure full market coverage, combining contactless cards with next-gen mobile banking apps is surely the right way to go for 2016’s challenger banks, says Paul Underwood, MD of Thames Card Technology. Much has already been said about the opportunity for challenger banks to […]

Marketing banking products with API: now a reality

Promoting financial products is a very challenging task. Konstantin Rabin, head of marketing at Kontomatik, suggests how a bank can improve its marketing efforts by leveraging API technologies. A financial services marketer needs to at least combine the benefits of the offer with a sense of security. Needless to say, the larger the offered benefits are, […]

Fundamental Review of the Trading Book: analysing the impact

Exactly who is affected as a result of the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB)? Xavier Dubois, senior risk and finance specialist for EMEA at Wolters Kluwer, explores the subject. Earlier year, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) set out the long awaited revised standards for minimum capital requirements for market risk. We […]

Standard Chartered brings “Bank on an iPad” to new markets

Standard Chartered has launched its “Bank on an iPad” sales and service tool in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Called Retail Workbench, it is a digital tablet-based sales-and-service tool that “brings the bank” to clients. It is integrated with the bank’s back-end infrastructure, and will allow sales staff to open an account for a […]

Digital banking can be fun

Less than one in three customers now trust their bank or insurer, according to a 2014 research by PwC Financial. Banks are not only suffering from deep consumer mistrust, but they are also seen as stuffy, slow-moving relics of the pre-digital era. Antony Bream, UK managing director at Crealogix, argues that all that can be changed […]

US to move to shorter T+2 settlement cycle by September 2017

Make a note, 5th September 2017 has been unveiled as the industry target for the US to move from a T+3 to a T+2 settlement cycle. The decision on this has been reached by the US T+2 Industry Steering Committee (T+2 ISC), organised by The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and co-chaired by the […]

Infographics: the state of fintech industry as we know it

Who, what, where, when of the fintech industry today – this excellent infographics pulls together plenty of useful data, from top specialists, unicorns and start-ups to geographies and M&As.   Created by Savvy Beaver and Call Levels.

AnaCap buys more NPLs in Italy; plans digital bank in the UK

AnaCap Financial Partners, a private equity firm based in the UK, has acquired non-performing loans (NPLs) of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and GE Capital Real Estate in Italy. It is also understood to be crystallising a strategy to launch a new digital bank in the UK. The acquisitive PE firm has gained over €2 […]

Big data analytics and its many uses

There are many uses of big data analytics by financial organisations to meet evolving regulatory and compliance requirements, Swift Institute reveals in its recent paper, “The Role of Big Data in Governance: a regulatory and legal perspective of analytics in global financial services”. The paper cites two case studies as examples of how these analytical […]

Swift India goes live

Swift India Domestic Services (Swift India) has gone live as the nation seeks to improve its digital economy. Swift India is a joint venture created by Swift, the global banking co-operative, and nine partner banks to “address domestic market needs” of the Indian financial services industry. After receiving formal approval from the Reserve Bank of […]

Mine that data to keep that customer

What does the future of loyalty hold and what is the role of big data in it? Christopher Evans, director at Collinson Group, shares some key insights. The fervour for big data analytics sweeping through retail bank boardrooms at a global scale is intensifying as corporate strategy prioritises a shift towards true real-time intelligence. This […]

Turning financial messaging data into business profit

Long considered an impenetrable space dominated by a few, the financial services industry is currently riding a giant wave of entrepreneurial disruption, disintermediation, and digital innovation. Recent industry developments such as the regulatory pressure as well as the criticality of business intelligence (BI) and customer experience are impacting banks more than ever before. Financial institutions […]

Jyske Bank live with new reporting system from Vermilion Software

Vermilion Software, a UK-based supplier of client reporting and communications software, has completed a project at Jyske Bank in Denmark. Jyske Bank, which holds the third largest market share in Denmark and specialises in private banking, embarked on the IT revamp last summer. On the way out was the in-house built system. Jacob Jensen, head […]

Nasdaq to support ASX in post-trade technology overhaul

Nasdaq will replace Australian Securities Exchange’s (ASX) existing equities and equity options clearing technology platforms. ASX says it wants to consolidate its number of post-trade platforms and this latest deal forms a “significant element” of its tech revamp programme outlined in February 2015. Tim Thurman, CIO at ASX, says: “While we have announced that ASX […]

Baymarkets takes over SIX x-clear’s Clara clearing solution

Sweden’s Baymarkets has taken over the support, maintenance and development of SIX x-clear’s Clara clearing system. Baymarkets says the addition of Clara to its product set will “complement” its integrated Edge platform, and creates a complete end-to-end solution. The Swedish company adds that the current team, who were developing and maintaining Clara to date, will […]

Securities Financing Transactions Regulation: danger signs

The aims of the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) may be laudable – but how much difference will some of the changes really make, other than create another operational burden? As Tracy Dilks, senior consultant, and Akber Datoo, founder and managing partner, D2 Legal Technology, suggest, the regulator might as well put a sign in […]

Payments in 2016: a pivotal year

With challenges across the board, banks will have their work cut out to keep up with the changing world of payments in 2016. It is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the payments industry as regulation, new technology, major infrastructure overhaul projects and security issues combine to reshape the landscape. According to a […]

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait selects Infosys’ Finacle for tech revamp

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) has picked Infosys’ Finacle suite to replace Misys’ products as part of its technology revamp. The bank will deploy the complete suite of Finacle solutions, including core banking, trade finance, wealth management, CRM, e-banking, payments, treasury, alerts, SMS banking, liquidity management, retail and corporate loan origination. Abdulla Alsumait, deputy […]

Client lifecycle management solutions: build or buy?

Mark Bands, head of product & regulatory intelligence, iMeta Technologies: When speaking with prospective financial institution customers of our client lifecycle management (CLM) platform I am surprised at how often an “in-house” build solution has either already been chosen or is being seriously considered as an option. Surprised, that is, that firms’ in-house technology functions are confident […]

Digitising risk data architecture reporting

Can applying semantics make BCBS 239 reporting consistent and comparable across all regulatory bodies? Rupert Brown explores the options when best practice isn’t good enough… Regulatory vagaries and the punitive fines make these tense times for bank risk officers. On the one hand, regulators are asking for a whole lot of architectural work to be […]

D+H Corporation bullish on payments software business

North American software provider, D+H Corporation, has made optimistic noises over its Global Transaction Banking Solution (GTBS) unit in its latest financial results. The vendor claims to have “won a majority of payment hub RFPs” as well as “surpassed the Fundtech [now GTBS] backlog record” in generating revenue from the existing projects. Gerrard Schmid, CEO […]

Japan Exchange Group overhauls clearing platform with Cinnober

Japan Exchange Group (JPX) is building a real-time clearing solution for its listed derivatives market with the help of specialist provider Cinnober. Sweden-based Cinnober is providing JPX with its flagship Tradexpress clearing platform. JPX’s listed derivatives market is operated by the Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE) and cleared by the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC). JPX […]

The force awakens: data science in banking

A quiet revolution powered by the force of data science has begun to deliver significant improvements in many areas including national security, business intelligence, law enforcement, financial analysis, healthcare and disaster preparedness. But are we ready to use the force in banking? Standard Chartered’s global chief innovation officer, Anju Patwardhan, explores the topic. Digital data […]

Fintech 2.0: creating new opportunities through strategic alliance

Banks and fintechs should collaborate rather than compete, leveraging their respective strengths to revolutionise the B2B payments space and create sustainable business models in today’s digital era. As the next stages of digital structural change continue to transform financial services, the focus of technological developments will shift. Most recent developments in business models have been […]

Out of Africa for Barclays as profit falls

Barclays is leaving Africa as it looks to consolidate the group and increase shareholder returns after a 2% drop in full-year profit. The bank will sell its 62% stake in Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL) over the coming few years and then focus on two divisions – Barclays UK and Barclays Corporate and International. BAGL […]

A whistle-stop tour of the regulatory calendar

As financial institutions across the board gear up for 2016, the year ahead poses some notably regulatory challenges. Not least among these is the impending Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) from the European Commission; there will also be further progress on MiFID II. On 3 July this year, an event will take place which will mark […]

MiFID II date confirmed – but why are financial institutions doing more and achieving less?

As the European Commission finally confirms an implementation date for MiFID II, Volker Lainer of GoldenSource explains why now is the time for financial institutions adopting a quick fix approach to regulation to reconsider. After waiting and wondering, financial institutions finally have a firm date of January 3rd 2018 for MiFID II compliance. Whether this […]

Number26 and TransferWise partner for international money transfers

German digital bank Number26 and TransferWise, a UK-based international money transfer platform, have teamed up to provide Number26 customers with direct “in­-app” access to TransferWise’s service. Number26 co-­founder and CEO Valentin Stalf says the company wants banking products to be “accessible to customers with one tap, creating a fintech hub inside the Number26 app”. The […]

Misys gains new live site for FusionCapital in Vietnam, at Techcombank

Vietnam-based Techcombank has gone live with Misys’ FusionCapital software. The new platform – based on Misys’ FusionCapital Kondor product – supports treasury and capital markets (TCM) operations at the bank. The deal was inked in November 2014. Techcombank opted to work with Misys as it has offered “a configurable, fast and cost-effective analytics platform”, explains […]

Crealogix’s Elaxy to roll out consulting platform for Bankhaus August Lenz

Crealogix’s subsidiary Elaxy Financial Software & Solutions will roll out a hybrid consulting platform at Bankhaus August Lenz in Germany. The solution, developed in nine months, is ready for MiFID II (markets in financial instruments directive) and PRIIP (packaged retail and insurance-based investment products) regulations. It is also integrated into the bank’s online banking system […]