FinTech


The Monday mindset: 10 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 discusses India’s Goods and Service Tax (GST) and whether it’s an opportunity for fintech firms. First discussed by a committee […]

ANZ, Westpac and IBM trial blockchain for bank guarantees

Australia and New Zealand-based banking group, ANZ, and Westpac have teamed with IBM and shopping centre operator Scentre Group to use blockchain to digitise the bank guarantee process for commercial property leasing. The trial used distributed ledger technology (DLT) to eliminate the need for current paper-based bank guarantee documents, resulting in a “single source of […]

Puzzle no more with BNI Europa’s prompt consumer credit platform

Challenger Banco BNI Europa (BNI) has unveiled “Puzzle”, a digital and real-time credit approval process for the Portuguese market. Don’t be confused by the name, the bank says Puzzle is “simple, and non-bureaucratic”; and it even cites the Lending Club in the US, or Zopa in the UK by way of comparison. Puzzle offers credit […]

Nordea looks to Feelingstream AI for quick customer service

Nordea has chosen Estonian start-up Feelingstream’s artificial intelligence (AI) software to speed up response times for customers. Feelingstream’s AI solution analyses and categorises messages sent by customers so they can be forwarded automatically to the right person or unit in Nordea for further processing. The software can analyse hundreds of messages per second. The solution […]

Mizuho trials Australia-Japan trade transaction on blockchain

Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho Bank, trading and investment firm Marubeni Corporation, and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance have completed a trade transaction between Australia and Japan using blockchain. The participants say all trade-related processes, from issuing the letter of credit to delivering documents, were completed entirely via a digital platform in this project. (See image below […]

Infosys plans 10,000 new US tech jobs

India-based Infosys plans to open its next technology and innovation hub in North Carolina and hire 2,000 “American” workers in the state by 2021 – which is a dream within a bigger dream. This investment is part of its ambitions, revealed in May, to open four US hubs in the US and hire 10,000 “American” […]

First Data acquires CardConnect for $750m

First Data has completed its acquisition of US payments processor firm CardConnect for about $750 million in cash including the repayment of debt. As Banking Technology reported earlier, the Fintech Acquisition Corp acquired FTS Holding Corporation in July 2016 and renamed it CardConnect. At that time, it traded shares of CardConnect on Nasdaq at approximately […]

Azerbaijan adopts Bloomberg auction platform for FX

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan has chosen to conduct its auctions for foreign exchange (FX) instruments and deposits through Bloomberg’s auction platform. The platform manages primary market operations, and has been recently extended to include FX instruments (spot and outright) and deposits, in addition to its pre-existing suite of fixed income and repo products. Ali […]

FCA calls on past glory for happy post-Brexit story

By calling on the spirit of the 19th century Corn Laws repeal, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) believes it can weather the post-Brexit era with a new age of free trade. In a long speech delivered today (6 July), “Why free trade and open markets in financial services matter”, Andrew Bailey, chief executive of […]

Japan to unveil fintech testing hub for start-ups

The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) is setting up a hub for fintech start-ups to test new services, according to Nikkei. The hub will help “identify legal complications and risks standing in the way of industry’s growth” and is seen as a precursor to a regulatory sandbox. Nikkei says the sandbox could be in […]

Nvidia jumps in at the deep end with Baidu AI partnership

If Nvidia is looking to make a splash in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) it’s going about it in the right way, announcing a partnership with Baidu, one of the world’s largest internet companies. Banking Technology‘s sister publication Telecoms.com reports that cracking the Chinese market is an ambition which almost every technology company around the […]

Quantum of solace with Atos simulator launch

Prepare for cybersecurity impact! IT services corporation Atos has launched the “world’s first commercially available” machine-system capable of simulating up to 40 quantum bits (Qubits). The simulator, named Atos Quantum Learning Machine (Atos QLM), is powered by an ultra-compact supercomputer and a universal programming language. Its uses naturally extend far beyond fintech, such as for […]

Card payments problems bring down the fintech house

A whole swathe of fintech firms and challenger banks have been hit by tech issues – with card payments failing. The names include mobile-only challenger bank Monzo, Revolut, Starling Bank, Curve and payments start-up Fire. The problem is understood to be due to provider Global Processing Services (GPS), which as usual offers no updates on […]

More banks nuzzle up to Swift’s nostro blockchain project

Swift has revealed that 22 additional banks have joined its blockchain proof of concept (PoC), designed to validate whether the technology can help banks reconcile their international nostro accounts in real time. The PoC is part of the Swift gpi (global payments innovation) service, its new standard for cross-border payments. As reported previously, gpi has […]

BNP Paribas and SmartAngels develop share register tool on blockchain

BNP Paribas Securities Services and SmartAngels have developed a share register management tool using blockchain. The platform enables unlisted companies to digitalise their financial securities and to manage their shareholder register using a decentralised, distributed ledger. It was developed as part of their partnership formed last year. During testing, BNP Paribas Securities Services and SmartAngels […]

Banking Technology July/August 2017 issue out now

Set sail for fintech! The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.

More money misery for Monzo with £6.7m loss

Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo has reported a loss after taxation of £6.7 million in its latest financial results. For the year ended 28 February 2017, the firm’s directors do not recommend a final dividend. In fact, it has got worse compared to the 2016 full year results. There was also no final dividend because the […]

UK watchdog reveals rules to fuel open banking

Open Banking, the implementation entity set up by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has released its accounts and transaction information and payments initiation API specifications. The payments initiation API will enable third parties to set up secure payments on behalf of customers and, once authorised by the customer, submit the payment for processing. […]

Just in case you need a reason: why participate in Banking Technology Awards?

This year’s Banking Technology Awards are taking place on 13 December in London and there are plenty of reasons why you and your team should be a part of this prestigious event. Besides having a good chance at winning, entering the Awards also allows you to: Make global headlines in the industry if your entry […]

Fintech funding round-up: 5 July 2017

Aw shucks, even more firms are getting big bucks. Following on from yesterday (4 July), here is another fintech funding round-up. Features Ohpen, MarketInvoice and Huddle Capital. Cloud-based core banking provider Ohpen has secured a €15 million Series B investment round led by private equity firm Amerborgh. The current investment round values Ohpen at €100 […]

Nordea flies higher with open banking pilots

Nordea Bank has pressed the accelerator on its open banking ambitions with the launch of pilots. As reported in March, the bank released the first version of its open banking portal targeted towards external developers, as it gets ready for the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requirements. At the time, it invited developers to sign […]

Danske Bank launches open banking beta

Copenhagen-based Danske Bank has unveiled its beta open banking service as it joins the fray for API-powered innovation. The bank says open banking is set to be the “most seismic shift in financial services since online banking” and it wants to tap into this market. Danske is looking to push on from its own banking […]

Singapore regulator urges law change for sound financial system

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is calling for a second reading of a Bill that it says will ensure a sound and resilient financial system for the city-state. MAS is pushing for “The Monetary Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill 2017″ because it says it needs to update its laws and regulations that deal with […]

Commerzbank turns to blockchain for digital trade finance

Commerzbank and the Fraunhofer-Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund have teamed up to research and develop the digitisation of trade finance using blockchain. The bank says by using blockchain or distributed ledger technologies (DLT), it will build a decentralised database for internet of things (ioT) applications and smart contracts. This will offer […]

Fintech funding round-up: 4 July 2017

There’s no lacking of backing. Our latest fintech funding round-up features Tide, Instarem and IntellectEU. UK-based mobile banking firm Tide, which launched in January, has raised $14 million in its Series A investment round. The round has been led by specialist fintech investor Anthemis, alongside Creandum, the Scandinavian fund that has backed companies including Spotify […]

Scottish Building Society selects Whistlebrook’s treasury management system

Scottish Building Society has chosen Whistlebrook’s Treasury Management System (WTMS) to replace its existing solution, Parity Treasury Management Software from Manex Treasury Systems. As reported last year, Eurobase International acquired the Parity software from Manex, its flagship product. Parity clients and Manex staff moved to Eurobase as part of the deal. Scottish Building Society was […]

UK watchdog pushes hard on open banking plan

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is ramping up its efforts for open banking within the nation’s retail banking scene. As reported in February, the CMA published its 766-page final report on the retail banking market and its open banking goals. At that time, it said it will offer overdraft users the opportunity to […]

Barclays online and mobile banking down again

Barclays Bank has been hit yet again by online and mobile banking glitches. Today (3 July), the bank reported the problem on Twitter saying it’s “aware of an issue with our online banking”. Hi Mark, we’re aware of an issue with our online banking and we’re working as fast as we can to put a […]

The Monday mindset: 3 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, Banking Technology’s deputy editor Antony Peyton mulls briefly on the world of fintech events. Having attended what feels like every fintech event […]

Compliance Titans: Jeff Ross, Green Dot Corp.

Nearly a decade after jumping from the public to the private sector, Green Dot’s Jeff Ross remains as enthused as ever by the new challenges and complexities he faces every day as compliance head for one of the biggest players in an industry with a constantly shifting regulatory landscape and technology that’s advancing at a breakneck pace.

New trade body UK Finance launches

New trade association UK Finance – created as a result of the merger between six domestic associations in the banking and payments space – has officially launched. As reported in March, UK Finance brings together the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), British Bankers’ Association (BBA), Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA […]

Alfa-Bank buys Misys Equation source code

Alfa-Bank, a top ten bank in Russia by assets and profit, has purchased the source code of its core banking system, Misys Equation. The solution is provided by Finastra (formerly Misys).