Top fintech stories this week – 19 May 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
PayTech
Payments round-up: 18 May 2017
Words cut. Time saved. A round-up of key events in the payments enclave. Featuring Australian Settlements Limited, IBM, Mastercard, UnionPay International, Visa and Wirecard. Financial services provider Australian Settlements Limited (ASL) has adopted IBM Cloud for its new payments platform (NPP) implementation. ASL provides members, including building societies, credit unions and mutual banks, with settlement […]
Payments Canada welcomes ten start-ups to its Dragons’ Den
Payments Canada has revealed the ten paytech, artificial intelligence (AI) and regtech start-ups who will compete at its “Dragons’ Den-style competition” in Toronto. Called the FinTech Cup, a collaboration between Payments Canada, 500 Startups, and the Digital Finance Institute, it wants to help innovation, find talent, and drive funding for the finalists. Money on offer […]
Trio triumph in Innotribe’s African start-up challenge
Innotribe, Swift’s innovation arm, has revealed the three winners of its third 2017 Startup Challenge for Africa in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Each start-up receives a €10,000 cash prize and will share their insights about innovation in Africa at Sibos in Toronto. The trio are: IroFit Technologies – offers small businesses processing for in-store mobile/card payments […]
Gaining More Value from Mobile Payments
The right technology—the systems that encourage consumer loyalty and spending—do much more than speed up checkout. An expert explains why.
Mobile Wallets to Boost Convenience for EBT Recipients
Move over prepaid cards. Mobile wallets might be be able to solve for fraud and instant delivery of benefits better than any piece of plastic.
Are Passwords Here to Stay?
Even as security experts lobby for tighter authentication, a study demonstrates that passwords still command the loyalty of consumers. A payments expert discusses why biometrics and other methods lag behind the warhorse of digital protection.
The View from Finovate
Payments compete for attention with “RegTech” while an overall lull in disruption suggests that fintech could be in the eye of a storm.
Paytm to launch payments bank next week
India’s Paytm has at last got final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and is set to unveil its Paytm Payments Bank on 23 May. The bank was set to launch in August 2016, and teamed with IT services integrator Wipro for its plan. No reasons were given for the delay. As reported […]
LeasePlan in enterprise-wide tech overhaul with SAP and HCL
LeasePlan, one of the world’s largest fleet management specialists, is undertaking an enterprise-wide technology overhaul with SAP.
Mobile money could make Africa the new boss
Samsung Pay has officially launched in the UK, continuing the evolution of the digital economy, but does this technology have the potential to disrupt the global pecking order?
Compliance Titans: Margo Hirsch Strahlberg, U.S. Bank
If Margo Hirsch Strahlberg, prepaid compliance risk management specialist at U.S. Bank, isn’t managing responsibilities at home or work, she tries to steal time away to hit the gym. “I’ve incorporated more weight lifting into my routine,” she says. “My goal is to dead-lift a few copies of the CFPB’s prepaid accounts rule.”
Vacation Savings Plan, Prepaid Card Help Employees Get Away
It’s vacation season, and employers have a new tool to encourage employees to take much-needed time off and come back more productive. 401Play is offering what it calls a vacation savings account program with a companion Capital Prepaid Services’ BlazePays Visa Prepaid Card to help employees save for vacation.
Sweet sixteen keen on CCRManager’s trade finance platform
Sixteen financial institutions (FIs) are onboard for CCRManager’s new electronic platform, developed for the distribution of trade finance, supply chain finance and working capital assets. Bank of China, DBS Bank, ICICI Bank, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and UniCredit have signed up as members of the platform to support their trade risk distribution businesses. In addition, […]
CFSI Sets the Table for Financial Health
Hoping to build on last year’s success, the Center for Financial Services Innovation is encouraging participants in next month’s FinHealthMatters Day to craft videos, write blogs and plan events that highlight the need for better financial health for U.S. consumers. FinHealthMatters Day is June 27.
Apple Pay launches in Italy
Apple Pay has landed in Italy with users able to add Mastercard, Maestro, Visa and V Pay credit and debit cards to the app. On the Italian Apple Pay website it says that the cards can be used with the banking services of Boon, Carrefour and UniCredit. It also states that more will be coming […]
People on the Move: Gulra Atak, Citi
Citi has appointed Gulra Atak to lead its innovation lab in Dublin.
Company on the Move: FinCEN, Law Enforcement Awards
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) held its third annual Law Enforcement Awards ceremony on May 9 at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
People on the Move: Bimal Patel, Financial Stability Oversight Council
President Trump has named former banking attorney Bimal Patel to lead the day-to-day operations of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).
People on the Move: Chris Gunnare, PSCU
Credit union service organization PSCU has hired Chris Gunnare as chief member experience officer.
People on the Move: Mark Butler, Qualys Inc.
Qualys Inc., a provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions, has appointed former Fiserv executive Mark Butler as chief information security officer.
SAP launches Blockchain-as-a-Service in the cloud
SAP has launched a blockchain platform – “ready-to-use blockchain technology” – in the SAP cloud.
SAP fires up Leonardo platform for digital innovation
SAP has made a raft of announcements (and promises) at its annual Sapphire conference in Orlando, Florida. Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP, says the company continues to be committed to its “empathy” strategy unveiled last year and the time is now for “the urgency of action”. The vendor has unveiled its new SAP Leonardo platform […]
European banks call for EC support on screen scraping ban
The European Banking Federation (EBF) is asking the European Commission (EC) for its help on a screen scraping ban due to concerns over the privacy of client data, cybersecurity and innovation. The EBF wants the EC not to dismiss a key recommendation made by the European Banking Authority (EBA) on future electronic payments in the […]
Samsung Pay makes its UK debut
Samsung Pay has arrived in the UK with Visa keen to reveal that its account holders can use their compatible Samsung smartphones for purchases worldwide. In terms of Visa, the service is available to its cardholders who bank with MBNA, Nationwide and Santander. Samsung adds that its app can be used with HSBC (Mastercard and […]
Amex Study: ‘Gen Z’ Open to Brands, But Demands Seamless, Fast Experience
Consumers age 16 through 22 are open to communication from brands but have high expectations of those brands, demanding high levels of customer service and the latest in omnichannel functionality, according to a new study from American Express.
UBank’s Chatbot Helps Customers with Home Loan Applications
Bank has found another way to use the artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistants. The online-only Australian bank launched RoboChat May 15 to help home buyers—and homeowners who want to refinance—complete UBank’s online home loan application more easily.
French Retailer, Bank Tag Team on Mobile Wallet
France-based retail giant Carrefour and French bank BNP Paribas have joined forces to launch Lyf Pay, a new mobile wallet that supports in-store and P2P transactions as well as loyalty cards, coupons and offers.
Vodafone Sells M-PESA Interest to South African Affiliate
Vodafone has transferred most of its ownership stake in Safaricom—the provider of Kenya’s mega-popular M-PESA mobile money transfer service—to Vodacom, Vodafone’s South African affiliate.
First National Bank of Pandora opens up to tech revamp with Fiserv
Ohio-based First National Bank of Pandora has selected Fiserv’s Premier core account processing platform for a front-to-back office technology overhaul. The bank has also chosen Retail Online and Business Online from Fiserv for consumer and business online banking, Mobiliti for mobile banking, CheckFree RXP for electronic bill payment, and Web Hosting and Design Services. Todd […]
WorldRemit targets migrant market with US mobile money move
Digital money transfer service WorldRemit is now available in the US and it is targeting the nation’s migrant market with its mobile money services. The firm wants to tap into the $135 billion US remittance market (the global market is $600 billion) – and says mobile money lets people in emerging market economies send and […]
China’s central bank sets up fintech committee
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has set up a fintech committee, aimed at strengthening financial research, planning and co-ordination. On its website, the nation’s central bank doesn’t offer specifics about the new committee, but says fintech has “injected new vitality”, but also “brought new challenges” for financial security. PBOC will study the impact of […]
White paper: value of commercial cards for banks and their clients
This free white paper provides a structured framework for measuring performance of commercial card programmes across multiple industry sectors, suggests a range of norms for card penetration and usage, and describes the key data points for measurement. It also describes the actions that card issuers could take to maximise value from the programmes they have running: retaining business that is already fruitful, and nurturing business which could be more abundantly fruitful.
CFPB Prepaid Rule Survives Congressional Repeal Deadline
The CFPB’s final rule on prepaid accounts has survived a bid to repeal it via the Congressional Review Act (CRA), with lawmakers failing to bring the matter up for vote by the May 11 deadline. But despite the CRA efforts having fizzled, reforming the rule is still on the table.
P2P rising: new study points to a market on the verge of major growth
P2P payments are proving a big hit with younger consumers.
Fintech outside London – part 2
We look at UK fintech firms working outside of the London “bubble”, examining where they are based and why; their history; target markets; clients; tech specialisations, concerns and future plans.
Moneycorp buys Commonwealth Foreign Exchange for US boost
Moneycorp in the UK has signed an agreement to acquire US-based payments firm Commonwealth Foreign Exchange (Commonwealth FX). The acquisition, subject to regulatory licensing approvals, will allow Moneycorp to “extend the geographical reach of its payments platform”. Nick Haslehurst, chief financial and operating officer at Moneycorp, says it sees “huge potential in the US among […]
British judge calls contactless cards “quite ludicrous”
A UK judge has taken a swipe at contactless card payments because they make life too easy for criminals. According to the BBC, Exeter Crown Court recorder David Bartlett says it is “quite ludicrous that the banks have allowed this to happen”, after hearing how a card was used by a thief to buy goods […]
Top fintech stories this week – 12 May 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Apple Creek Bank in front-to-back office tech revamp with Fiserv
Apple Creek Bank, a $140 million financial institution with six branches in the US state of Ohio, is modernising its technology with Fiserv. The bank will implement the Precision core processing platform, delivered on a hosted basis, plus a host of auxiliary solutions from Fiserv.
