News


US Senator questions big banks on CFPB arbitration

As expected, US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) is not going to let the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) final rule on arbitration agreements go down without a fight. The ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protections wants big banks – not just their lobbyists – to address the […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 16 August 2017

Blockchain and Bitcoin are flying high – literally in one case – as we now have satellites in space. Our latest round-up features Bitcoin Cash, Blockstream, Falcon Private Bank and Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin’s value doesn’t need to be discussed every day, but today (16 August) on the US-based Bitfinex exchange, it has been holding at […]

BBVA warns of “dangerous bubble” for blockchain ICOs

BBVA reckons the fever for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in blockchain must be cooled as the industry is facing a “dangerous bubble” driven by speculation. ICOs are a common story in fintech at present and they allow small businesses to reach a large audience via blockchain and cryptocurrencies. (And BBVA has its own interest in […]

eMerchantPay Gets E-Money License, Joins PIF

Global payments service provider eMerchantPay has received authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority as an e-money institution, which means it can issue products including payouts, e-wallets and prepaid cards, and has joined the Prepaid International Forum.

Samsung to power biometric authentication pilot for Bank of America

Samsung will launch a pilot programme that enables Bank of America (BofA) customers to log into their mobile banking app by taking a picture of their eye, reports Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). According to a report from American Banker’s Penny Crosman, half of BofA’s customers are using fingerprint authentication to log into their app, […]

U.S. Sen. Warren Questions Big Banks on Arbitration

As expected, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is not going to let the CFPB’s final rule on arbitration agreements go down without a fight. The ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protections wants big banks—not just their lobbyists—to address the issue.

White paper: digital trust is transforming online and mobile banking

Banks are beginning to re-align their internal processes and external-facing products to take advantage of, and more fully realize, the potential of digital transformation. One of the biggest challenges they come up against in this pursuit is how to balance customer experience and security. In other words, implementing a framework that accounts for all the […]

India Payments Roundup: Paytm, Amazon and Flipkart

The battle for e-commerce and payments domination is on in India. Paytm, an e-payment/e-commerce brand and payments bank, is bringing the QR code scanning habit to the Indian masses, while rival Flipkart has raised $2.5 billion from Japan’s SoftBank and Amazon has launched its digital wallet.

Alipay Taps Yelp to Enrich Chinese Travel Experience

Alipay has inked a slew of partnerships lately. The latest deal for the Chinese app is with Yelp and connects local businesses with Chinese travelers, a move that’s likely to boost loyalty and transaction volume in one fell swoop.

Is Prosper prospering?

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Prosper released its second quarter earnings recently, just days after the company shuttered its consumer-facing bill management system.

AWS beefs up security with new bouncer named Macie

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched a new machine learning-based security service, which it claims will help customers identify anomalies inside their network, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The launch comes only a month after its S3 storage hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as Verizon customer data was left on an […]

Industry bullish on promise of fintech – Opimas research

Market players are bullish on the near- and longer-term promise of fintech, according to new research by Opimas, “Fintech Spending and Innovation in Capital Markets”. In 2017, it estimates fintech spending across all capital markets participants to exceed $127 billion.

“Jihadi capital” Belgium most lenient country on money laundering

Belgium – the “Jihadi capital of Europe” – is the European Union’s (EU) most lenient country on money laundering despite its role in terrorist financing, according to anti-money laundering (AML) firm Fortytwo Data. With refreshing frankness in the usually jargon-soaked and platitude-drenched world of fintech, Fortytwo Data says the EU’s disjointed approach to the fight […]

But what about the human cost of automation?

New research from recruitment agency Robert Half has outlined the jobs which are under threat from automation, but when are we actually going to talk seriously about the dark side of artificial intelligence (AI)?

Where top US banks are investing in fintech – CB Insights

Since 2012, the top ten US banks (by assets under management) have participated in 72 rounds totaling $3.6 billion to 56 fintech companies, according to CB Insights. While investment activity dropped on a quarterly basis in Q1 2017, four of the last five quarters have seen over $1 billion invested into fintech start-ups in the US backed by venture capital firms.

Skye Bank revamps omnichannel banking with Oracle FSS

Nigeria-based Skye Bank has launched a new digital banking platform, SkyeXperience, built on the Oracle FSS tech. The bank plans to enrol over two million clients on the new solution by the end of next year.

Infographic: creating millennium-friendly financial advising

People often need financial advice that’s best suited to meet their needs, which differ from one generation to another. You cannot expect millennials to consume the same financial advice as baby boomers. Times have changed, so financial institutions and experts also need to change their approaches to cater for the needs of a much younger clientele that’s distrustful of not only the government, but also financial institutions.

The Monday mindset: 14 August 2017

Fintech zeitgeist! This week, Banking Technology’s editor Tanya Andreasyan muses about the growing trend of celebrity endorsement in the fintech world.

PayPal launches two innovation labs in India

PayPal has set up two innovation labs in India – based out of the company’s tech centres in Chennai and Bangalore – to help the country’s fintech start-ups grow.

Trustly teams up with Qliro

Business-to-business (B2B) payment solutions company Trustly has partnered with e-commerce payment provider Qliro.

HoneyDue tackles major PFM challenge: collaborative spending

Managing a relationship is stressful enough without introducing unnecessary miscommunications about day-to-day spending. This is one reason why many couples maintain separate spending accounts with pre-defined responsibilities (e.g. you pay the rent, I’ll pay the utilities, etc).

Russia’s CSD develops blockchain platform with Waves

National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository (CSD), and Waves, a decentralised platform for launching crowdfunding campaigns and issuing digital assets, have embarked on a blockchain project.