FinTech


Fintech funding round-up: 29 November 2016

We’ve summed up the latest funding efforts and results in the fintech space – so you don’t have to! Featuring Billon Group, Stripe, figo and Finimize.

Commercial Bank of Dubai to launch digital-only bank

Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), will launch ‘CBD NOW’ next year, which it claims to be the nation’s “first” digital-only bank targeting millennials and “digitally connected” customers. However, two other banks in the region have also said the same thing. As Banking Technology reported in June, Emirates NBD is planning to launch the UAE’s “first” […]

New UK challenger bank Masthaven opens digital doors

New UK retail challenger bank, Masthaven, has launched – offering savings and lending products. As Banking Technology reported in April, Masthaven got its UK banking licence and implemented a new core system. A domestic vendor, DPR Consulting, is providing its front-to-back office retail banking platform. The software itself is a new development, with Masthaven being […]

EY Switzerland first advisory firm to accept Bitcoin

EY Switzerland says it will become the first consulting firm to accept Bitcoin for its services. The company says from January 2017 it will be possible to pay invoices from EY Switzerland in Bitcoin. Employees will receive a digital wallet; and a Bitcoin ATM will be put into operation in its main building in Zurich […]

Eftpos Australia to unveil mobile tap and pay in 2017

Eftpos Australia, the nation’s most widely used debit card payments system, says users will be able to tap and pay via Eftpos with their smartphones next year. Paul Jennings, CTO of Eftpos Australia, says it is “now working with several members [banks] and successfully testing the token service in order to launch Eftpos as a […]

Barclays launches online investing service

Barclays has unveiled a new online direct investing service to let its customers view their investments, savings and current accounts in one place through a single log-in. The bank says it has introduced a new fee structure, which is “free from hidden charges”. There is one fee and one transaction charge – and common charges […]

It’s time to talk ATM 2.0

The ATM is one of the most recognised and trusted pieces of technology on the high-street, but as it too has come under pressure from the wave of digitalisation sweeping almost every aspect of our everyday lives. The humble ATM is no longer a single physical touch point…

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority calls for regulatory sandbox applicants

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is calling for the second group of applicants to its regulatory sandbox. As Banking Technology reported last year, the sandbox allows businesses to test out new products and services without “incurring the normal regulatory consequences”. The move is part of the FCA’s Project Innovate, which aims to boost competition […]

Objectway Conference: Do or die in wealth management’s digital drive

The wealth management industry needs to shake off its “cottage industry” mentality of the past and realise that it is “do or die” in the push to digital. This was one of the key messages from yesterday’s (24 November) Objectway International Customer Conference in Amsterdam – a one-day event of presentations and insight from the […]

British Business Bank pledges £400m to UK fintechs and other businesses

The UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a plan to invest £400 million of venture capital funds into the British Business Bank, a government vehicle to lend money to British businesses. The idea is to support the home-grown business sector – including fintech firms – and to prevent them from being snapped up by international companies.

APIs: open for business

No longer are the mid-tier banks doomed to be extinct! The arrival of open application programming interfaces (APIs) will enable them not just to survive but to prosper, states Chris Truce, director of platform development at Saxo Bank.

Infographics: the fintech landscape

It’s infographics time! A great compilation of fintech companies, showing how we’ve gone from graph paper to personal data algorithms – and everything in between.

Start-ups assemble for Startupbootcamp FinTech London demo day

Startupbootcamp FinTech London will host its Demo Day on 1 December for the third year with ten firms lined up for action. The ten companies taking the stage will showcase their fintech, ranging from SME banking, regtech, chatbots, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. Francisco Lorca, MD of Startupbootcamp FinTech London, says the variety of the […]

Klarna gets sweet on Cookies payments start-up

German start-up Cookies crumbled, but Swedish payments provider Klarna has rumbled into action to take on its tech assets and employees. As Banking Technology reported this month, Cookies ended its short life as a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app and applied for insolvency. At that time, Cookies co-founder Lamine Cheloufi said the other co-founder, Garry Krugljakow, […]

Streamlining payments industry in Africa

The economy of the future will need a vastly different platform for making payments. Consumers and corporations will need access to easier, faster and flexible platforms. I have entered the market with the bold objective of bringing to South Africa and Africa, the revolutions underway in global payments infrastructure – and the necessity of re-design to keep up with the “payments Joneses”.

IBM closes Promontory acquisition

IBM has completed the acquisition of Promontory Financial Group, a risk management and regulatory compliance consulting firm. As Banking Technology reported in September, IBM planned the purchase to boost IBM Watson’s cognitive technology. IBM adds that the acquisition complements its industry platforms business. These platforms will integrate IBM Cloud, Watson and capabilities from across “digital […]

Apple gets Siri-ous with patent payment plans

Apple could be adding Siri’s functionality into its iMessage service for P2P payment transactions, according to a recent patent published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent says that “one or more of the participant users can select to utilise a virtual assistant to assist the participant users with tasks during the communication […]

Barclays UK launches first contactless cash service

Barclays is launching the UK’s “first” contactless mobile cash service. Customers can withdraw up to £100 in-branch, with a tap of their Android smartphone or contactless debit card. Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays UK, says its customers “now expect to be able to use their smartphone to make their everyday purchases” and “we want taking […]

Leumi Card behaves with biometric mobile app

Israel-based Bank Leumi’s credit card subsidiary, Leumi Card, will launch a “first-of-its-kind” integration of a mobile security product based on behavioural biometrics. Using Israeli start-up SecuredTouch’s solution embedded in the Leumi Card app, it will eliminate the need for passwords. SecuredTouch’s technology allows user identification based on a “unique” personal usage profile within the mobile […]

LSE to acquire financial data provider Mergent

London Stock Exchange (LSE) is to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of business and financial data provider Mergent. The Mergent business will form part of LSE’s information services division, which includes FTSE Russell, a provider of indexes, and real-time and reference data products. Mark Makepeace, group director of information services and CEO of […]

HSBC gives the finger to UK account access

HSBC business customers in the UK can now use Touch ID fingerprint technology to access their account and balance information through the HSBCnet mobile app. The feature uses a recognised fingerprint instead of passwords. It is now available for UK businesses using the app, before the service is expanded to include business internet banking mobile […]

Goldman Sachs leaves R3 blockchain consortium

Goldman Sachs has dropped out of the R3 blockchain consortium, according to the Wall Street Journal. The bank was one of nine original members of R3, but let its membership lapse. A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs told the Wall Street Journal that it will continue to work with blockchain. No other details were forthcoming. As […]

Bank of China launches new UnionPay Europe Card

SIX Payment Services, Bank of China and UnionPay International have joined forces for a new credit card, targeting Chinese travellers in Europe. The “Europe Card” card is aimed at Chinese consumers traveling to Europe for business or leisure purposes. SIX says as an incentive during the launch phase, cardholders are eligible for up to 5% […]

ICCREA Banca goes on the record about Misys project

Italy’s ICCREA Banca has gone public on its project to modernise its trading business ops with Misys. Misys is providing its FusionCapital Kondor and Summit treasury and capital markets (TCM) solutions to the bank. The Summit system has been running at ICCREA for over a decade. Kondor was selected by the bank in 2013, Banking […]

ME Bank unveils new internet banking service

Australia’s ME Bank has launched a new internet banking service in a joint project with Sandstone Technology. The new service builds on Sandstone’s digital BankFast platform and includes “enhanced” security and a new Liferay portal based dashboard; supporting customisation and inclusion of superannuation account details along with bank account details. ME Bank’s brand and digital […]

Vancity CU goes live on Temenos T24 core banking system

Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity), the largest credit union in Canada, has gone live on Temenos’ T24 core banking system. Vancity chose Temenos back in 2010. Consultancy firm VenuxSoft, which provides support for Temenos T24 in North America, assisted with the implementation. This included requirements analysis, software development, quality assurance, support and training. Vancity […]