FinTech


Revolut launches multi-currency service across Europe

UK-based payments start-up Revolut has unveiled its new business service across Europe for multi-currency accounts, transferring money and corporate cards. Called Revolut for Business, it will enable companies to hold, exchange and transfer in 25 currencies with the interbank exchange rate, issue employees with corporate cards for “global fee-free spending” and manage their transactional activity […]

White paper: choosing the right in-memory computing solution

As in-memory computing (IMC) gains momentum across a wide range of applications, from fintech and ecommerce to telecommunications and internet of things (IoT), many companies are looking to IMC solutions to help them process and analyse large amounts of data in real time.

The Monday mindset: 12 June 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, Antony Peyton, Banking Technology’s deputy editor, with the help of many “expert comments” (bless you for those), briefly mulls over the aftermath […]

Yes, (financial inclusion) minister?

In today’s seemingly financially connected world, where we can send money to one another via our smartphones, and manage our spending habits via apps, it’s pretty hard to believe that financial exclusion is still a reality in the UK. Yet, a shocking 1.7 million adults in the UK still don’t have access to financial services.

Case study: Amsterdam Trade Bank – Amster-can

A bank-wide replacement of its main business applications is ambitious enough but it is just the starting point for Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB), as it seeks to harness new technologies, adopt a new culture and digitise its business.

New Zealand preps for new credit union law

A new law in New Zealand is being readied with plans to bring in more innovation and accountability to credit unions. Called the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions (Regulatory Improvements) Amendment Bill, the new legislation will update the law for credit unions and their associations. It has been read for the first time in Parliament. […]

Softbank continues spending spree, grabbing smart robotics firm from Google

Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank continued its drive to take centre stage in the evolution of the tech industry with the acquisition of Boston Dynamics from Google/Alphabet. Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that Boston Dynamics has been a fairly high profile robotics pioneer in recent years, specialising in humanoid and quadrupedal machines apparently designed to […]

Hands off! BBVA creates patent office

With its increase in innovation BBVA has created a Global Patent Office (GPO) to protect its intellectual property (IP) – particularly in biometrics and artificial intelligence (AI). The GPO will put the bank’s IP work in a single office and offer collaboration between departments, agents and training. Don Relyea, director of the BBVA global patent […]

The age of face-to-face conversation is pretty much over

It wouldn’t quite be June if we didn’t have rain or Cisco’s annual visual networking index (VNI) forecast. We’ve had plenty of rain, now it’s time to tuck into some stats! Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that you probably didn’t need us to tell you, but internet traffic is going to grow. The total […]

Europe has another go at getting more access to private data

An inevitable consequence of the recent spate of terrorist incidents has been calls for greater access to private data and now the European Commission has joined in, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). According to a Reuters report the European Union (EU) wants to make it easier for authorities to get hold of private data […]

Moroku’s Marrakash makes a splash with POS software deal

German payments company AEVI and Australian software firm Moroku have teamed up to offer POS software in AEVI’s B2B app store. Called Marrakash, Moroku’s software is for small retail and hospitality merchants that integrates their business, products, customers and payment systems into one platform. Moroku says it lets firms run their business “entirely from a […]

Moneythor at heart of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa’s fintech start-up

French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has chosen Moneythor’s analytical engine to be at the heart of “Max”, a personal finance assistant app for its new start-up Nouvelle Vague. Max is a mobile-only initiative of Nouvelle Vague, which operates in several cities in France (Paris, Bordeaux, Brest, Rennes etc). It will be available on 1 September […]

TradeIX unveils blockchain platform for trade finance

TradeIX has launched its TIX Platform, the “first open platform” for trade finance powered by blockchain. The platform provides banks, alternative funders, business-to-business (B2B) networks, technology providers and corporates with a way to finance trade-related assets. Like everyone else commenting on trade finance, Rob Barnes, CEO of TradeIX, says the market has “high-cost, high-maintenance, time-consuming […]

Build your own app with TCS Bancs kit

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has unveiled its Bancs app development kit (ADK) to let banks design and build their own apps. The firm says the ADK enables financial institutions to build their digital offerings without the need for mobile development skills. The ADK comes with its own array of widgets, controls and components; and the […]

Mizuho goes open banking on IBM cloud

Mizuho Bank has opted for a suite of IBM services to power its open banking ambitions in Japan. The bank will use IBM’s FinTech API solution, API Connect on the IBM Cloud and IBM DataPower Gateway. The shift to API banking is a common theme for many in fintech at present. According to IBM, the […]

Mastercard launches digital payment B2B hub for SMEs

Mastercard has unveiled its B2B Hub to help SMEs speed up invoice and payment processes with accounts payable and payment automation tools. According to the firm, a majority of all B2B payments in the US are still made via cheque with manual payment processes. The Mastercard B2B Hub, delivered through card issuers, is an automated […]

Hong Kong regulator unveils private wealth management charter

Fair play is on its way as Hong Kong’s Private Wealth Management Association (PWMA) has adopted the “Treat Customers Fairly Charter for Private Wealth Management Industry”. Developed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the PWMA, the charter has five “high-level principles” and examples of measures to guide PWMA members in their implementation. These […]

How do you stop AI from taking over the world? Make it neurotic of course

For those worried about artificial intelligence (AI) taking over the world, the University of California has got your back with an idea to make robots neurotic to stop them getting too cocky, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). One of the concerns which has been raised through the implementation of AI, and also the advancement […]

Concardis brings Alipay to Austria and Switzerland

German payment service provider Concardis is bringing Chinese mobile payment solution Alipay to Austria and Switzerland. Clothing brand Gössl will be the first merchant in Austria to let Chinese citizens pay via smartphone and the Alipay app. The roll-out in the Swiss market is planned for October this year. In Germany, Concardis says it has […]

Is the UK going to be ready for EU GDPR?

With just under 12 months to go until the European Union (EU) imposes new data protection regulations, there seems to be a growing sense of unpreparedness throughout the industry, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Perhaps it’s because of the timeframes which were involved for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or a misunderstanding of […]

Fintech funding round-up: 8 June 2017

It felt like only yesterday (7 June) that we published a fintech funding round-up. In fact, we did. But this latest version features Kasikornbank, Lmrkts, International Finance Corporation and Entersekt. Kasikornbank (Kbank), one of the largest banks in Thailand, has launched its “Beacon Venture Capital” investment unit with $30 million on hand to support start-ups […]

Four Australian banks sign up for Swift’s global payments innovation

Four Australian banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac are now live or planning to implement Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi) initiative. According to Swift, these Australian banks represent over 80% of cross-border payments flow for Australia. The banks all say the same stuff – so […]

RBS joins forces with RocketSpace UK for new tech campus

San-Francisco based RocketSpace, with the support of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest, has opened its campus in London for fintech and tech start-ups. Housed in NatWest’s (a subsidiary of RBS) Regents House in London, the campus is the “first of its kind” in the capital and RocketSpace’s only international location. The campus occupies […]

Singapore regulator gives and takes advice on robo-advice

The humans at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have laid down some guidelines and want opinions on providing robo-advisory services. In a consultation paper released today (7 June), MAS says it seeks to support innovation in financial services by recognising the unique characteristics of digital platforms. MAS states that financial institutions (FIs) regulated under […]

UK challenger Bank of Lambeth preps for launch

London-based Bank of Lambeth is getting ready to enter the UK’s highly competitive challenger bank arena. The community bank is the brainchild of Duncan Law at Transition Town Brixton. The latter is an initiative that looks to new ways of dealing with climate change, and energy and financial issues. In a report in the Brixton […]

SunTec system fits the bill for Amex business travel

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has opted for SunTec’s Xelerate billing system for its corporate clients. According to SunTec, its platform can onboard new geographic regions and “weaves data locked in various legacy and modern billing systems” to create relevant offers for American Express GBT’s corporate clients. Michael Konstas, VP of billing strategy at […]

Maybank launches fintech sandbox

Malaysia’s largest bank, Maybank, has unveiled its fintech sandbox to let ASEAN start-ups develop and test new ideas. As the “first in ASEAN”, the Maybank FinTech Sandbox offers a place “free of charge” to help developers throughout the region. The bank is keen to tap into ideas around cloud, the internet of things (IoT) and […]

Fintech funding round-up: 7 June 2017

Fintech funding can be an intense blur of money, jargon and unerringly similar expansion plans. Here’s a round-up that gets to the heart of the matter. Features Plynk, IHS Markit, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Wahed. Ireland’s Plynk, a money messaging app, has revealed a Series A raise of €25 million. Led by […]

Local banking for global trading – an impossible goal?

Anders la Cour, CEO of ground-breaking payments utility Saxo Payments Banking Circle, which is underpinning the service propositions of a growing number of payments businesses, reports on the payment pain points currently faced by merchants who have ambitions to trade globally.

Turkey’s Garanti Bank wins BBVA fintech ideas challenge

Turkey-based Garanti Bank’s new mobile app has won BBVA’s “Open Talent Ideas” fintech competition. BBVA launched the competition in February, and yesterday (5 June) the ten finalists presented their idea to experts from BBVA’s senior management. The winning idea was GarantiStore, a mobile app able to identify products automatically. Through image recognition techniques or by […]

FinLeap in its Element with digital insurance partnership

German fintech incubator FinLeap’s digital insurance platform Element is partnering with financial services group Signal Iduna for new products and services. Element is currently in the process of applying for a life insurance licence under Germany’s Insurance Supervision Act, and plans to offer services in property, accident and liability, and cybersecurity. It will provide “Insurance-as-a-Platform” […]