Berlin-based fintech SolarisBank has raised €26.3 million from Japanese financial group SBI Holdings, German media company Bertelsmann, Italian banking group Unicredit, plus other investors.
“Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” These were the first words ever spoken over a telephone line and said by the man fondly described as the father of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, who would have turned 170 on 3 March this year.
Another bell has tolled for the mobile payment service operated by the nearly 3-year-old MCX, a consortium of large retailers. JPMorgan Chase, whose own Chase Pay mobile wallet has been making serious strides, has acquired the technology that underpins CurrentC, the MCX mobile payment product that never went beyond pilot stage.
Canada’s banking software firm DH Corporation (D+H) is to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners and merged with Misys. The deal is reported to be worth CA$ 2.5 billion ($1.9 billion).
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 we welcome the views of our editor, Tanya Andreasyan, as she gives us the lowdown on going digital.
Capital One is introducing virtual assistant Eno, a chatbot that communicates with the bank’s customers via text messages.
SEB is among the first banks in Sweden to offer Samsung Pay functionality to its customers.
The technology behind CurrentC, the QR-based mobile payment service created by MCX, a consortium of the largest merchants in the US, has been acquired by JPMorgan Chase. The bank says it will help expand Chase Pay, the mobile and digital wallet for Chase customers.
DSK Bank, Bulgaria’s largest bank and a member of the OTP banking group, has completed the migration of its banking operations to IBM’s data centres.
Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has invested a “significant” sum into a new Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm, Dymon Asia Ventures.
Two Berlin-based fintech firms, Penta and SolarisBank, have joined forces to provide German businesses with “fast access to bank accounts”.
India-based IDFC Bank has launched an e-payment app, IDFC Aadhaar Pay, developed in association with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Vizag, the commercial capital of Andhra Pradesh, India, continues to build relationships and develop as a fintech centre.
India’s HDFC Bank has partnered with Senseforth to launch an electronic virtual assistant – Eva – to answer customer queries. Powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) based engine, the chatbot is said to be able to “assimilate knowledge from thousands of sources and provide answers in simple language in less than 0.4 seconds”.
Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has issued a new consultation paper to find the ways to avoid creating a standalone regime to facilitate fintech companies. Instead, keeping in line with practices followed in the UK and Australia, DFSA will review innovative fintech business propositions and match them with applicable rules already prevailing in the region.
Canadian banking tech vendor Smartsolution has gained a new taker for its Universa core banking suite, DirectCash Bank (DCBank).
Nordea has launched the beta version of Samsung Pay in Sweden. The bank’s customers can use this new payment service to make in-store payments with their mobile phones.
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
When time is tight, the reading can be light. A round-up of key events in fintech funding. Featuring Dimebox, NAB Ventures, Currencycloud and more. Amsterdam-based start-up Dimebox has raised €5 million in a series A round from payment processor Billpro Group. Dimebox says its modular, white label Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution includes risk management, artificial intelligence […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is partnering with R3, and a consortium of financial institutions on a proof-of-concept project to conduct inter-bank payments using blockchain. This project, which is seen as a rival to Swift’s network, will potentially create a payment system for participants to transact in different global markets round-the-clock. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief […]
The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have exchanged letters on a co-operation framework to support fintech companies. This deal will provide a regulatory referral system for “innovator businesses” from Japan and the UK seeking to enter the other’s market. The authority that receives such a referral will […]
Dutch wealth management firm Van Lanschot has chosen Fidor’s digital banking solution for an upgrade of its payments software and infrastructure. As part of the agreement, Fidor will manage user and account data and will process Van Lanschot’s payments flows within its fidorOS (fOS) platform, which is built using open APIs. It will also modernise […]
The International Standards Organisation (ISO) Financial Services Committee (TC/68) has unveiled its new global committee, the Fintech Technical Advisory Group (TAG), to act as a sounding board for data and technology standards. The group’s goal is to establish a “proactive dialogue” with financial institutions, their regulators, and supply chain and fintech firm. TAG’s objectives are […]
A deep dive into a packed panel discussion on disruption at the annual conference shows how payments providers are mapping the future with new technology, and how traditional players can endure.
Swift has cut off three North Korean banks from its messaging system under United Nations (UN) sanctions, after Belgium says it would no longer give authorisation for such transactions. According to Reuters, North Korea’s “intensifying provocations”, such as missile launches, led to the Belgian foreign ministry’s decision. Let’s face it – the nation behaves like […]
Who’s buying who? Featuring Broadridge, Message Automation, Numerix and TFG Financial Systems.
Digital-only banking start-up, bunq, has expanded beyond its native Dutch market to Austria and Germany with the launch of its open API.
Florida-based Flagship Community Bank has bought mobile-only BankMobile from Customers Bancorp for $175 million. As Banking Technology reported last month, BankMobile, which was launched by Customers Bancorp two years ago, was expected to be sold this quarter, according to Customers’ president and CEO, Jay Sidhu. Customers Bancorp says after accounting for all expenses, the deal […]
Misys is introducing gamification capabilities into its FusionBanking Essence Digital platform with Moroku’s GameSystem (also known as Gameo).
Android Pay is now available in Belgium – becoming the tenth country in the world to get it. It can be used at more than 85,000 retail locations throughout Belgium that accept contactless payments. Its purchase button can also be seen in apps like Deliveroo, TransferWise and Vueling, with other unspecified apps on the way. […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have signed an agreement to assist fintech entrepreneurs and support financial services innovation in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, according to Paybefore sister publication Banking Technology.
Accenture has opened a “liquid studio” in Riga, Latvia to help its clients with innovation and software development cycles. At the studio, its clients don’t get wet or drunk but work alongside Accenture engineers to turn concepts into products, “taking days to achieve what used to take months”. Maksims Jegorovs, Accenture Latvia lead, says clients […]
Five Austrian Raiffeisen regional banks and Raiffeisen Bank International will implement Intellect Design Arena’s digital trade finance platform as the group looks to standardise its operations. Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, Raiffeisen-Landesbank Tirol and Raiffeisenlandesbank Vorarlberg Waren- und Revisionsverband regristrierte Genossenschaft mit beschränkter Haftung and Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI, a large banking group in […]
Fintech is developing a distinctly British accent and the US is in danger of losing out, according to remarks made by Congressman Patrick McHenry, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, at the LendIt USA conference in New York.
Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo has been hit by tech issues for the second time this week. As Banking Technology reported on 6 March, payment outages caused major problems to cardholders and fintech services provides in the UK and internationally – and Monzo was one of the affected firms reporting issues with their payment processor. Today […]
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have signed a co-operation agreement to help fintech entrepreneurs and support innovation in financial services in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The agreement establishes a framework for both regulators to assist start-ups and innovators to understand the regulatory regime in each jurisdiction and provide […]
Payments pundits for years have been saying consumers need incentives to use mobile wallets, and a new survey report from Auriemma Consulting Group has numbers to back up the claim. Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that a survey of 1,505 consumers found that 25% of those who have an eligible smartphone use mobile pay services.Those […]
Pakistan-based Mobilink Microfinance Bank (MMBL, formerly Waseela Microfinance Bank) is implementing a new loan origination system, supplied by Path Solutions.
2016 has been a big year for user experience (UX). The web, as a whole, became easier to use, apps became more intuitive, and services became a lot more engaging and purposeful. But could the same be said for financial services? Perhaps…
Payments pundits for years have been saying consumers need incentives to use mobile wallets, and a new survey report from Auriemma Consulting Group has numbers to back up the claim.
