FinTech


Mobile identity firm Juvo scores with $40m in new funding

In a round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Wing Venture Capital, mobile identity scoring specialist Juvo has raised $40 million in new funding, reports Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). The Series B, which featured participation from SignalFire and other existing investors, takes the company’s total funding to $54 million. Juvo will use the […]

xPressTap wants to eliminate payment card readers

With the launch of its Tap2App merchant payment solution and pilot programme, xPressTap is enabling micro-retailers and small business owners to use their smartphones to accept card payments without a dongle or a portable card reader, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology’s sister publication. The California-based start-up says its patented technology turns any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet […]

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 […]

Abu Dhabi and Kenya form fintech bridge

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Kenya have signed a co-operation agreement for fintech innovation. The agreement provides a framework for information sharing; and keeping abreast of regulatory and relevant economic or commercial developments in the respective markets. They will also support fintech […]

Klarna unveils free P2P payment service, Wavy

Klarna has unveiled Wavy, a new, free P2P payments service. Available in iOS and Android as well as online, the free app enables users in more than 30 European markets to transfer euros between friends and family.

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.

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 […]

Commerzbank launches digital mortgage financing app

Commerzbank is pushing hard on its mortgage lending business ambitions with the launch of a digital financing app. The app is free and users can carry out house and apartment purchases on their smartphones. Included in the app are a budget calculation tool and access to over 200,000 properties in Germany. “We are the first […]

LogMeIn buys AI and chatbot provider Nanorep for $45m

Massachusetts-based software provider LogMeIn has acquired Nanorep, a chatbot and virtual assistant company, for $45 million to boost its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered ambitions in customer engagement. Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, Nanorep uses AI and patented natural language processing technologies for self-service solutions. A number of companies, such as financial software firm Intuit, Vodafone, and non-fintech […]

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 […]

Figo fuels Consorsbank multi-banking launch

German fintech firm figo’s technology is the backbone for the launch of Consorsbank’s open-minded MultiBanking service. The bank, which is part of BNP Paribas Germany, says its customers can now use accounts and deposits they have with other banks after logging into their online banking. Figo says it brings the technical foundation via its business […]

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 […]

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, […]

Mobile bank N26 launches loans with credit marketplace Auxmoney

Berlin-based mobile bank N26 has teamed up with credit marketplace Auxmoney to offer loans in Germany. The deal builds on N26’s current range of consumer loans – and with this new partnership, N26 says it will soon be able to offer loans to those such as students, the self-employed or freelancers. The bank already offers […]

UK regulator keeps payday loan price cap in place

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the outcome of its review into high-cost credit, which includes its assessment of the effectiveness of the payday loan price cap. With a generous amount of back-slapping, the review provides “clear evidence that FCA regulation of high-cost short-term credit (often known as ‘payday lending’) has delivered substantial […]

Prospera CU is Open Anywhere to omnichannel onboarding

Prospera CU, a 63,000-member credit union in British Columbia, Canada, has launched Open Anywhere, a real-time application processing across all of its digital and physical channels. The solution is provided by Central 1 Credit Union in partnership with Canadian tech heavyweight CGI.

Digital asset start-up NextBlock out of the blocks with $20m funding

Toronto-based NextBlock Global, a new digital asset investment company, has got itself off to a good start with the closing of an “oversubscribed” $20 million financing round. Like many other start-ups, NextBlock says it’s “disruptive” – and is setting its targets on the new digital asset economy. It says these assets, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, […]

Lendico and SolarisBank team up for SME lending

The Berlin-based duo of peer-to-peer lending provider Lendico and fintech firm SolarisBank are working together on a long-term collaboration for financing SME loans. To begin with, SolarisBank is providing an “eight-digit sum” for financing loans via Lendico – with unspecified plans to expand this commitment in the medium-term. Dr. Clemens Paschke, co-founder and managing director […]

Reserve Bank of India unleashes account number portability

Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank and regulator, has asked banks in the country to work towards implementing a system that allows users to port their account from one bank to another, without changing the account number.

Fujitsu in blockchain-powered payments breakthrough

Fujitsu Laboratories says it has accelerated transaction processing for Hyperledger Fabric, one of the Hyperledger blockchain frameworks hosted by the Linux Foundation. In its latest development, Fujitsu says the processing of communications between applications and the blockchain platform, which had been the source of bottlenecks, is now “more efficient”. In a trial where this technology […]

The Monday mindset: 31 July 2017

Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Soumik Roy, a digital marketing and technology specialist, brings us his perspective from within India – and all about the UI and […]

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 […]

Interview: Ben Brabyn, Level39 – high rise

In the beating business heart of London, Banking Technology met Ben Brabyn, head of tech hub Level39, for an exclusive interview on Brexit, rivalry and how success isn’t a zero-sum game.

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.

Three more Chinese banks join Swift’s global payments innovation

Three local Chinese commercial banks have joined Swift’s global payments innovation initiative (gpi), bringing the number of Chinese banks involved to 16, the most in the world, according to Xinhua. The new trio are Yinzhou Bank and Bank of Ningbo in eastern China’s Zhejiang province; and the Bank of Jiangsu, in the eastern Jiangsu province […]

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, […]

UK fintech start-up DueCourse goes into administration

UK-based DueCourse, a cloud-based invoice financing start-up, has run its course with the revelation that it has gone into administration. The bad news comes less than a year after it received £6.25 million in funding from investors, including the founders of TransferWise, and non-fintech firms such as LinkedIn, Zoopla and Lovefilm. According to online publication […]

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, […]

Abu Dhabi and Malaysia make friends for fintech fantasia

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre of Abu Dhabi, Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) and Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) have partnered to boost their financial ecosystems in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. Labuan is a federal territory of Malaysia – and its capital, Victoria, is used as an […]

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 […]

Hong Kong kicks off fintech career accelerator scheme

Fintech is coming on strong in Hong Kong with the unleashing of a career accelerator scheme to tap into the juicy veins of young blood. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) have launched their Fintech Career Accelerator Scheme (FCAS) induction day today (27 July), […]