Bank of Korea embraces Calypso STP technology
The Bank of Korea has installed a new system from technology company Calypso that will help it better manage the country’s sovereign reserve.
FinTech
Next Level: the changing securities market
Cover story: the securities markets are changing rapidly, and none more so than fixed income. Also in this issue: Interview: Thomas Zeeb, chief executive of Six Securities Services, on the opportunities presented by Europe’s changing post-trade infrastructure Interview: Ruth Wandhöfer, global head, regulatory & market strategy at Citi Transaction Services, on the challenges still facing […]
Accounting for the value of (big) data
While the value of data has become increasingly clear to businesses in the wake of the financial crisis and subsequent regulatory and compliance initiatives across Europe, they are not yet reflecting data as a valued asset on their balance sheets.
GFT moves into Italian market with Sempla acquisition
GFT Technologies has taken an 80% stake in Italian IT consultancy Sempla for an undisclosed cash sum. It has the option to acquire the remainder of the company after five years.
Joining the dots: Thomas Zeeb, chief executive, Six Securities Services
The post-trade infrastructures behind the world’s securities markets face as much, if not more, regulatory driven change as the trading firms in the face of legislation such as the European Union’s European Market Infrastructure Regulation. While some of the effects will be negative, the regulators are showing a constructive approach and recognising that the infrastructure providers came out of the crisis well, says Thomas Zeeb, chief executive of Six Securities Services.
Temenos: moving beyond the core
The extent to which a targeted series of acquisitions over the past few years have moved Temenos from being simply a core banking system vendor to a fully-fledged financial technology specialist became clear at its recent annual user event, this year held in Abu Dhabi.
Pressure on financial innovation shown by drop in patent applications
Innovation in financial services is currently at a seven-year low, reflecting a period of cost-cutting and scaling back in the face of new financial regulation – but innovative new technologies such as mobile may provide a solution, according to law firm RPC.
SEPA: the long and winding road
As the first deadline for implementation of the Single Euro Payments Area approaches in February 2014, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is pretty much all over – or at least will be by October 2016, when the second deadline arrives. Don’t count on it, cautions Ruth Wandhöfer, global head, regulatory & market strategy, Citi Transaction Services.
UK mobile banking “at tipping point” says VocaLink
One in four customers in the UK is now using mobile banking services– and bank-driven systems are leading the way, according to new research by mobile payments specialist VocaLink.
Taking the pain out of paying in Spain
Spanish banks La Caixa and Santander have partnered with telecoms firm Telefónica to create a joint venture offering mobile payment services and a digital wallet designed to relegate conventional payment methods to the history books.
SBP selects Avaloq Banking System for French operations
SwissLife Banque Privée is to implement the Avaloq Banking System at its French operation, which was established last year.
Cinnober seeks students for trainee programme at new Swedish fintech centre
Trading and risk technology specialist Cinnober is investing in a financial IT cluster in northern Sweden, centred on the university town of Umeå and initiating a a one-year trainee programme stating in the autumn.
Celent study says banks should put outsourced payment infrastructures into the cloud
Banks need to cross a psychological barrier and embrace the concept of outsourcing their payments operations if they are to compete on product innovation and customer service rather than simply on cost.
Money via email: will Google bring the breakthrough?
The idea of sending money via email is not entirely new. This month, however, a new financial player entered this arena: Google announced that it will integrate Google Wallet into Gmail.
LSE hires SunGard man as MillenniumIT chief exec
Millennium Information Technologies, the IT subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange has appointed John Mackay “Mack” Gill, as its new chief executive office, taking over from company founder Tony Weeresinghe, who will become non-executive chairman with a global business development role.
Remittances: a window to the future?
The $400 billion global remittances market is moving from cash to account-based transfer, but costs, regulations and new competitors are still the key issues.
Tearing up the financial services value chain
Traditional finance is not as we once knew it. The internet has completely disrupted the financial services value chain. The banks are struggling to keep up with advancing technology. Understanding mobile, cloud computing, social media, big data and how to utilise each capability are key challenges for the banks to overcome.
Identity and mobile figure large at payments and cards event
The themes of security, identity and mobility ran strongly through the Cards and Payments Middle East conference in Dubai this week – and not just because the event itself is sandwiched between related and interlinked events focusing on Mobile and Identity.
Swift Innotribe names Singapore startup challenge finalists
Swift’s innovation-focused spin-off Innotribe has announced the five Singapore finalists for its global startup challenge, which aims to help innovative new companies in financial services to develop their ideas and transform them into working businesses.
Digital progression in retail banking: Europe’s banks are not fully prepared
Across Europe many banks feel unprepared for the next phase of the ‘digital revolution’, while factors such as expensive compliance regulations, poor data management and outdated systems are constraining them from implementing new solutions
Standard Bank South Africa targets ‘unbanked’ customers via mobile
South Africa’s Standard Bank has introduced a new mobile banking tool called AccessBanking, which aims to reach unbanked customers in the country.
Duel in The Sun …
Temenos execs were surprised when a group of attractive young women started approaching delegates outside its annual user conference in Abu Dhabi this week. The delegates – existing and potential bank customers – were being tempted by the offer of cocktails in the adjacent hotel, and the prospect of helicopter rides.
Brazil brings mobile payments home
Brazil is to gain its first ever mobile payment service this month, with the launch of a joint service provided by Spanish and South American telecom firm Telefónica and MasterCard.
The next big revolution in retail banking is sitting in the palm of your hand
Retail banking is changing through many external forces. The on-going global financial crisis has impacted the regulation surrounding the banking industry, but there are other factors changing the environment banks find themselves operating in.
Making more of mobile
Mobile banking can be more secure than online banking – but the real challenge is to move from closed circuit payments to a world in which customers of any bank can use any mobile app to send funds to any recipient, according to Hannes van Rensberg, founder and chief executive at mobile payments specialist Fundamo.
Italy’s SIA set to connect to New York as recovery plan bears fruit
Milan-based financial technology firm SIA is expanding its reach to New York later this year in a move that caps the latest-phase of a three-year recovery plan for the firm. The extension of SIA’s Financial Ring to New York follows that activation of a hub in Frankfurt is the third cornerstone, after Milan and London, […]
Java start-up Waratek inks deal with Intralink for Asia push
Java virtualisation specialist Waratek, one of the finalists in the Swift-backed Innotribe Challenge at this year’s Sibos in Dubai, has formed a partnership with Asia market access specialist Intralink to expand into Asia Pacific. As well as the Innotribe final, the Waratek CloudVM for Java offering has been selected for the Fintech Innovation Lab, based […]
Banks should prepare for NFC says Celent
NFC is gradually beginning to overcome the obstacles that have held back development. Banks should prepare for the coming upswing in usage, according to a new report by financial research firm Celent.
Say goodbye to the IT crowd
The whole concept of internal software development within banks and other financial institutions could soon be replaced by small ad hoc teams constructing applications using off-the-shelf apps or downloadable modules, according to Michael Harte, chief information officer at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Rabobank’s Inneke Bussemaker at IPS 2013
Rabobank’s Inneke Bussemaker talks about The Brave New World of Payments session she chaired at IPS 2013, taking a critical look at the future of how payments work in a world where corporates will have to adapt to a consumer-driven agenda.
Mobile is there for the taking …
Financial institutions have owned the commercial payment space for centuries, but are now seeing a threat to their incumbency from new technologies that have opened up the industry to other business sectors. Mobile transactions in particular are shaking-up banking.
Swift sees expanding role as facilitator for industry collaboration
As delegates gather for the third Business Forum organised by Swift in London this week, issues on the global impact of regulation and the banking industry’s response to it are more pressing than ever Perhaps equally pertinent to the conference – the largest event Swift organises aside from the annual Sibos conference and exhibition, with […]
Otkritie to roll out Calypso in London and Moscow
Russian broker Otkritie has gone live with the first phase of a new project to bolster its London and Moscow front and back office operations, including collateral management, replacing in-house systems with Calypso platforms.
Brett King, Moven, at International Payments Summit 2013
Brett King, founder of Moven, speaks to Banking Technology editor David Bannister about how banks have to cope with the move to a virtual world and the emergence of what he calls “smarter payments”.
Mobile account takeover: when device ID isn’t enough
Protect your transactions! Protect your login! Protect your mobile channel! Protect your end users! A layered security architecture is now standard for most organisations. The problem, however, with many of today’s layered security solutions is that they do not correlate information between the various layers (security risks, suspicious events, fraud indicators etc.) and thus fail to see the big picture.
Immediate mobile payments come to Europe, M-Pesa to India
Payment processing firm Visa Europe has introduced a service allowing consumers to make mobile payments across the region immediately and using any European currency. Meanwhile in India, popular money transfer and payment service M-Pesa has now been fully launched. Visa Europe’s Personal Payments service enables Visa credit, debit or prepaid card users to accept payments […]
Mobile money to transform Turkish transport and US retail
Turkish operator Turkcell and SIM card and mobile security solutions provider Gemalto have each found themselves at the hearts of two mobile payment projects that promise to transform the transport and retail sectors in Turkey and the USA respectively.
Spain: the next generation of payment technology?
The world is embracing digital technology in every area of economic and social activity, including those that appeared impossible to convert to a digital format completely, such as payments.
Banks opt for hosted mobile services says Celent
As Banking 3.0 continues its inexorable rise, banks are increasingly turning to hosted mobile services developed with vendors – but there is still more work to be done before mobile banking becomes mainstream, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
IPS 2013 Round-up: market changing faster than players or regulators
By the standards of the rest of the financial services sector, the payments industry has always progressed at a glacial pace. For the past 10 years, the key topic at the long-running International Payments Summit has been the Single Euro Payments Area.
