PayTech


NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank hit by online banking issues

This is becoming a regular fixture in the UK, as yet again British banks are reporting online banking problems. In the latest glitch, customers of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Ulster Bank have been hampered by the outage. The trio say they are “aware of some issues” with their online banking services. Customers […]

Singapore regulator calls for more feedback on payments law

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched a second consultation on its proposed regulatory framework, known as the Payment Services Bill. According to MAS, the Bill will streamline the regulation of services under a single legislation, expand the scope of regulated activities to include virtual currency services and “calibrate regulation according to the risks […]

Q&A with Bob Raffo, FirstView Financial

Joining FirstView Financial in July 2017 as president and CEO, Bob Raffo has quickly become a proponent of developing the paytech segment, the opportunities it presents to serve larger consumer and B2B bases and accelerate payment processes.

Interview: Javier Santamaría, EPC – SCT Inst, catalyst for a new world?

It may not provide all the ticks on everyone’s wish list, but the new SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Scheme (SCT Inst) could well be the start of something even more seismic for the European payments sector and also pave the way for a different, more immediate way of conducting business.

European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme goes live

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme created by the European Payments Council (EPC) is now operational. As of today (21 November), the EPC says nearly 600 payment service providers (PSPs) from eight European countries are offering instant payment solutions based on SCT Inst. It was launched last year, with […]

What defines global customer success?

Payments are changing rapidly, and the industry is struggling to keep pace. Many banks and other card issuers — including the service providers they rely on — lack the agility to stay competitive and quickly deliver the new products, features, and payments experiences today’s customers want.

Payments round-up: 21 November

Here’s more action from the lively paytech place. Features Apple, Coinsilium Group, UMT United Mobility Technology, Visa and even the Olympic Winter Games.

Fujitsu and Sensory are the face of biometrics for Mizuho

Fujitsu has teamed with Silicon Valley-based Sensory to provide face biometric authentication for Mizuho’s mobile banking. Mizuho is the first customer of the Fujitsu and Sensory partnership and it will be using TrulySecure. This solution’s features include the option to fuse voice and face biometrics recognition together; and it works with Android, iOS, Linux and […]

Payments round-up: 20 November 2017

It pays to pay attention to the pacey payments precinct. Our latest round-up comprises Glint’s golden launch, BillPro’s licence and QR codes in Singapore. Glint, an electronic payment system that enables gold to be used as a currency, has launched its account and app based technology in the UK. Jason Cozens, CEO, Glint, says: “Everyone […]

European Association for Biometrics conference: easing the digital journey

Customers are impatient and friction leads to lost sales – a key takeaway from last week’s seminar on the use of “Biometrics in Banking and Payments” organised by the European Association for Biometrics. Researched flagged by Michael Sass, VP market product management, security solutions Europe at Mastercard, highlighted the potential impact on revenue; abandonment rates […]

Fintech funding round-up: 20 November 2017

Coming straight after Friday’s (17 November) fintech funding action, here’s another round-up. Features Xiaomi’s interest in India, Bamboo Capital Partners, First Access, Allied Irish Banks and TransferMate. Chinese phone and appliances maker Xiaomi plans to invest around $1 billion in 100 start-ups in India over the next five years, according to chief executive Lei Jun […]

Fiorano launches PSD2 solution for banks

Fiorano Software, a specialist in integration middleware and API management, has launched Fiorano PSD2, a solution enabling banks to comply with the European Union’s PSD2 regulations.

ABN Amro joins API rush with developer portal

ABN Amro has launched the first version of its Developer Portal, with a series of commercial application programming interfaces (APIs). The bank says working more closely with external developers will help it accelerate innovation and improve its services.

Q&A with Colleen Dorwart, RGCA board chair

As we reflect on 2017 and look ahead to 2018, we spoke with Colleen Dorwart, Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) board chair, about the most popular gifts in America.

What a Swell Sibos we had

One of the more entertaining aspects of this year’s Sibos in Toronto was the continuation of the rivalry between the event’s host, Swift, and distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm Ripple.

All aboard the Amex blockchain payments express

American Express has launched blockchain-enabled, business-to-business cross-border payments with Santander using Ripple’s network. The Amex FX International Payments (FXIP) business is working with Ripple to make blockchain payments commercially available, “reducing the time and cost of settlement”. Santander UK is the selected partner to initiate this new transaction channel. Marc Gordon, EVP and CIO at […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 16 November 2017

Coming straight after yesterday’s (15 November) action, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features Mastercard in a patent place, ING Bank opening up, and another warning from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Let’s start with yet another patent. Mastercard has jumped on the blockchain payments bandwagon by filing “Method and System for Instantaneous Payment […]

Give donations better with Betterment

Robo advisory platform Betterment says it is not only making it easier to give to charities, it is also giving consumers more reasons to do so, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Starting 28 November, on “Giving Tuesday”, Betterment investors will be able to donate shares of long-term investments from their taxable accounts directly to […]

EyeLock docks with ViaTouch for iris-powered payments

Iris-based biometric authentication specialist EyeLock has signed an agreement with ViaTouch Media that will integrate EyeLock’s technology within ViaTouch’s smart-shelf vending solution, Vicki. David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) reports that EyeLock CEO Jim Demitrieus says the agreement was the culmination of years of working with firms from a variety of industries to bring embedded […]

TransferTo and Fern Software get UN funding for payments push

Cross-border mobile payments network TransferTo and banking software provider Fern Software have both been awarded a grant as a part of the United Nations Capital Development’s Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation (Shift) Challenge Fund, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The goal of the fund is to use remittances to improve the economic power of women […]

Q&A with Joe Daly, Paysafe

Joe Daly, COO payments processing North America, Paysafe, talks to us about all things paytech.

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 15 November 2017

Following on from yesterday’s (14 November) news, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Trustology, Accenture, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Association of Banks in Singapore, Square and London Block Exchange. Another day, another new firm. Trustology has emerged from stealth and revealed it is building a peer-to-peer network of smart contract compute services. Trusted […]

Boku to raise $60m ahead of London IPO

Carrier billing company Boku plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (AIM), an international market for smaller growing companies, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Ahead of next week’s public debut, the company announced it expects to raise $60 million on a post-money valuation of $164 million. Of the […]

E-book: How Digital Lenders Can Win the Fight Against Fraud

Ready for the truth about fighting fraud? It’s not as futile as you might think. Yes, fraud is hitting digital lenders of all sizes… Pretty sizably. But recent research shows that with the right approach, it is possible to stop the bad guys and stem the losses—without slowing opportunity.

Rambus partners with Eftpos for Android Pay in Australia

Eftpos, the Australian domestic debit network, is using Rambus’ token service provider (TSP) technology to digitise payment cards to support Android Pay. Rambus says TSP enables Eftpos to maintain consumer data securely through tokenisation, which allows the replacement of sensitive data with unique reference numbers so information is not compromised. In turn, Android Pay lets […]

The Clearing House makes history with new US payments system

The Clearing House (TCH) has launched its 24×7 real-time payments (RTP) system, the first new core payments infrastructure in the US in more than 40 years. RTP was designed and built through the “collaborative effort” of TCH’s 25 owner banks and meets the objectives of the Federal Reserve Faster Payments Task Force. RTP is open […]

Standard Chartered unveils chatty banking chatbot

Standard Chartered plans to deploy a chatbot on its online and mobile banking platforms powered by Kasisto’s conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform, KAI Banking. The chatbot will act as a virtual personal assistant to help clients manage money, make payments and analyse their spending, via conversations in English and other unnamed languages. The service will […]

Myanmar gets first corporate credit card

A trio of financial organisations have launched the AYA Universal Corporate MPU-JCB co-branded card in Myanmar – the nation’s first corporate credit card targeted for business payment use. Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA Bank), Myanmar Payment Union (MPU) and JCB International (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB, have teamed up for the new card which has […]

Why mobile wallet acceptance is key to retail growth

A young woman has made plans to join a friend for dinner at a restaurant across town, and with a few clicks on a mobile device she sets her night in motion. Her go-to ride-sharing service has sent a car, she’s ordered a cappuccino from her favorite coffee shop – this one is free because she’s a loyalty member –  and her social app pings her friend to let him know her ETA.

Token and Envestnet | Yodlee team up for open banking

Open banking platform provider Token has partnered with Envestnet | Yodlee, a data analytics platform, for payments and financial data aggregation. The partnership will use Token’s operating system, TokenOS, which offers PSD2 compliant payments and gives access to banks for third-party service providers, via an API. In addition, the deal will use Envestnet | Yodlee’s […]

Crime moves upmarket as fraud becomes UK’s number 1 offence

New research from Experian claims fraud is now the UK’s most common criminal offence, much to the dismay of thugs and hoodlums everywhere, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The company’s Annual Fraud Indicator 2017 estimates the annual cost of fraud in the UK is £190 billion, exceeding the total gross domestic product of 148 […]

ACI powers Malaysia’s real-time payments network plan

Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet), the national financial market infrastructure provider, will build Malaysia’s real-time retail payments platform (RPP) using ACI Worldwide’s UP Immediate Payments solution. RPP is an initiative to modernise the country’s infrastructure to all participants in the ecosystem, including banks, institutions, businesses, consumers and the government. PayNet resulted from the merger of Bank […]