News


Google extends long arm of influence further into AI

Google has launched a new initiative, Gradient Ventures, its own VC arm to seek out artificial intelligence (AI) talent and invest in start-ups, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). The initiative itself is a simple one. Google will provide funds and access to experienced engineers to help the start-ups develop to the next level. AI […]

Fintech Funding Roundup: Revolut, Curve, Pixoneye, Gridspace

And the money keeps rolling in for fintech. U.K. challenger bank Revolut announced a $66 million investment it will use to introduce new features and expand globally, starting with Asia and North America. Meanwhile, Santander InnoVentures, the bank’s fintech venture capital fund, has added U.K.-based Pixoneye and Curve and U.S.-based Gridspace to its portfolio.

Mothership launches blockchain exchange for Estonia’s e-residency

Mothership, a digital asset exchange, has launched offering a cloud hosting platform and wallet for blockchain financial services around the Estonian e-residency programme. The start-up is the “first company of its kind” to integrate with e-residency. As reported in May, the Baltic state unveiled this programme to let anyone apply to join its new digital […]

R3 brings the Intel to Corda DLT platform

Enterprise software firm R3 is working with Intel to beef up its data privacy and security for Corda, its distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. R3, which used to call itself a blockchain consortium, says Corda only sends data to those who have a “need to know”. According to the company, this feature emerged from the […]

Tic:Toc tactic is 22 minutes for home loan approval

Australia-based start-up Tic:Toc has launched an online home loan platform, offering customers approval in 22 minutes, instead of 22 days. The firm is backed by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, as well as the State Government in South Australia, which approved a $900,000 grant to Tic:Toc through its Investment Attraction Agency’s (IASA) Economic Investment Fund. Tic:Toc’s […]

FitPay and Mastercard take prepaid to wearables and IoT

FitPay Inc, a US-based provider of payment, credential management and authentication platform services, is planning to offer prepaid capabilities on wearable and other devices connected to its FitPay Payment Platform.

Finicity and JP Morgan Chase pair for data share

Data aggregation provider Finicity has signed an agreement with JP Morgan Chase to let the bank’s customers choose data to share with apps. The companies will use a direct API to allow Chase customers to share information with the apps and services that Finicity supports. According to the firms, this tokenised access will eliminate the […]

Finxact unleashes Open Core API for sandbox playtime

Core banking software provider Finxact has made its Open Core API available through its sandbox for fun times in innovation. The firm says its API is transparent and granular, enabling banks to have full access to their customer data. Finxact adds that it is the first core banking provider to join the Open API Initiative. […]

Broadridge buys data and intelligence firm Spence Johnson

Broadridge Financial Solutions will acquire Spence Johnson, a provider of institutional data and intelligence, for its asset management market ambitions. With the purchase, Broadridge says its Global Market Intelligence, a platform for retail cross-border fund data and analytics, will be able to use Spence Johnson’s Money in Motion dataset that provides analytics on assets, flows […]

SocietyOne surpasses $300m in loans issued

Australian P2P lending platform SocietyOne reached a milestone this week. The company has surpassed $300 million in loans issued since it was founded in 2011, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). During a time when P2P lending in the US is under scrutiny, SocietyOne is reporting an increasing demand for P2P lending in Australia. In the […]

Thailand ties the fintech knot with Singapore

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have signed a fintech co-operation agreement and updated an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) on banking supervision. The agreement aims to help develop a “richer financial ecosystem” in Thailand and Singapore as well as in ASEAN. The pair will share information on emerging […]

Santander and Tradeshift partner for supply chain finance

Santander is partnering with business commerce platform Tradeshift, for a digital capital solution, the first of which will be supply chain finance (SCF). As reported last year, Tradeshift got an investment from Santander InnoVentures. At that time, Mariano Belinky, managing partner at Santander InnoVentures, said the company “is at the forefront of tackling a very […]

HSBC and Barclays pilot banking without borders

A consortium of European private and public sector organisations are testing out the use of a citizen’s national digital identity from France to open a bank account in the UK. The group comprises HSBC, Barclays, the UK Government Digital Service (GDS), Orange, OT-Morpho and the Open Identity Exchange (OIX UK). The project is co-financed by […]

People on the Move: Kim Sergent, InComm

Kim Sergent has joined InComm as vice president of marketing for its Financial Services division, where she will lead the marketing strategy of InComm’s consumer-facing Vanilla brand, which produces prepaid consumer products that include Vanilla Gift and MyVanilla.

Intesa Sanpaolo teams with iwoca for SME lending

SME lender iwoca and Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo are partnering to provide Intesa’s SME clients with credit products. The partnership coincides with an investment in iwoca by Neva Finventures, Intesa Sanpaolo’s fintech venture capital arm. Maurizio Montagnese, chief innovation officer at Intesa Sanpaolo, adds that the “industrial synergies” between the firms “could be significant in the […]

Bank of England fintech accelerator goes into third gear

The Bank of England’s (BoE) fintech accelerator has kept good speed and completed the third round of various proofs of concept (PoCs). As reported last year, BoE launched its own accelerator to harness innovation for central banking. The latest PoCs covered four areas of the bank’s work: analysing large-scale supervisory data sets; executing high-value payments […]

Profile Software to acquire treasury provider Login

Banking tech provider Profile Software will acquire 100% of Paris-based Login, a specialised treasury software provider. Founded in 1988, Login offers its AcumenNet platform, which is used for front office, trading, risk management, middle and back office requirements. It covers a range of asset classes that include forex and money market instruments, exchanged traded and […]

Wirecard opens European POS to Chinese travellers with Tencent deal

Wirecard and Tencent are working together to give European retailers access to more than 938 million active WeChat and Weixin users by enabling QR code payments at the POS, reports Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The mobile payment solution, WeChat Pay, has more than 600 million active users, which is equivalent to nearly 40% of […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 10 July 2017

Reading doesn’t have to be a trial. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up keeps it ultra-brief. Featuring Mt. Gox, less than smooth criminals, the Council of the European Union and Coinsource. Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, will go on trial in Tokyo next week on charges stemming from the […]

CFPB Issues Final Arbitration Rule

It’s difficult to say just yet who the ultimate victors will be in the battle over arbitration—trial lawyers, consumers, the financial services industry, Congressional Republicans or the CFPB—but the bureau fired the latest salvo by issuing its final rule on arbitration agreements on July 10. The move comes despite warnings from House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) that doing so could result in contempt proceedings.

UAE gives all clear for unified clearing house

A unified clearing house could be on its way to the UAE, with a trio of organisations making noise that they’re working together to make it happen. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), and its parent company, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre […]

People on the Move: W2 Global Data

U.K.-based W2 Global Data, a provider of regulatory, KYC/AML and fraud prevention solutions, has welcomed three new hires, including Alex Lafferty, Richard Evans and Kerry Cleary.

UK competition watchdog tells ICE to sell Trayport

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has finally decided that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) should sell Trayport to preserve competition in wholesale energy trading. As Banking Technology reported in August, the CMA “provisionally” found ICE’s acquisition of Trayport may give rise to competition concerns. After lengthy investigation, CMA says: “As a result, ICE will now […]

Deutsche Börse invests $10m in fintech firm Trumid

Deutsche Börse will invest $10 million in New York-based Trumid Financial – a fintech firm offering an electronic trading network for corporate bonds. The $10 million gives Deutsche Börse a minority stake as an add-on to Trumid’s previously disclosed $28 million financing made earlier this year, and which included Chinese financial firm CreditEase. Hauke Stars, […]

Saudi British Bank selects Bolero electronic trade document solutions

The Saudi British Bank (SABB) has chosen Bolero International’s electronic trade document solutions for its corporate clients. According to Bolero, SABB is the first bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to let its clients initiate transactions electronically – and so “eradicate time-consuming inefficiencies associated with paper documents”. David Dew, managing director, SABB, says the […]

Dentist unveils payments start-up for millennials

It’s not enough for the fintech world to be sick to the back teeth of the “millennials would rather visit their dentist than listen to their bank” quote – but we now have yet another UK payments start-up – this time launched by an actual dentist. On the dirt-encrusted and pothole-festooned streets of the UK, […]

The Monday mindset: 10 July 2017

Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Soumik Roy discusses India’s Goods and Service Tax (GST) and whether it’s an opportunity for fintech firms. First discussed by a committee […]

Oman Arab Bank upgrades core banking system with Finastra

Oman Arab Bank (OAB), a long-standing customer of Finastra (formerly Misys), is implementing the Fusionbanking Essence core banking system. It will replace Misys’ Equation platform, in operation at the bank for over three decades.

Indian Domestic Networks Report Positive Growth

The National Payments Corporation of India is reporting positive momentum for transactions across its domestic payment networks for the fiscal first quarter of 2018. Its goal is to hit 11 billion transactions by the end of the fiscal year. 

ANZ, Westpac and IBM trial blockchain for bank guarantees

Australia and New Zealand-based banking group, ANZ, and Westpac have teamed with IBM and shopping centre operator Scentre Group to use blockchain to digitise the bank guarantee process for commercial property leasing. The trial used distributed ledger technology (DLT) to eliminate the need for current paper-based bank guarantee documents, resulting in a “single source of […]