National Australia Bank (NAB) and telco firm Telstra have partnered for an SME digital marketplace called Proquo. Proquo will offer more than two million Australian small businesses an online platform to network, trade or swap services with each other. Leigh O’Neill, NAB executive general manager micro and small business, says: “Small business is the backbone […]
China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), the nation’s official inter-bank market trading platform and infrastructure provider, has chosen ICAP in a $65 million deal. The technology for fixed income and foreign exchange (FX) electronic execution services in mainland China will be delivered by EBS BrokerTec, ICAP’s electronic FX and fixed income business. The deal, valued […]
The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of Visa Europe by Visa Inc. This concludes all regulatory approvals required for this deal to go ahead, as the Jersey and the Turkish competition authorities have already given their stamps of approval. The transaction is expected to close in Visa Inc’s fiscal Q3 2016. The takeover […]
Italian payments firm SIA has teamed with Raphaels Bank to develop and launch payment solutions in the UK and across Europe. As part of the agreement, UK-based Raphaels and SIA will offer SEPA payments services to clients through the bank’s “indirect participation” in the SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Direct Debit schemes. Cristina Astore, head […]
You are the weakest link. Goodbye. Banks with inadequate cyber defences could find themselves booted off Swift’s payment network, warns Swift CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt. The threat from Leibbrandt follows a spate of hacks. Investigators are looking at more potential computer breaches following three attacks – a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh – the biggest […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! ECB goes to tender for new treasury management system After many years it’s time for a change. Microsoft unveils blockchain-based identity system Inspired by the United Nations’ ID2020 Summit on Identity. Student Loans Company puts IT contract with […]
Temenos is believed to be heading towards a new contract for its T24 core banking in the US, Banking Technology understands. Commerce Bank is going to renovate its core processing software – and the system selection is nearing completion. Two vendors are believed to be on the shortlist – Temenos with T24 and Fiserv, which […]
The Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN), a not-for-profit fintech industry body, has added three new members to its global network. These are Misys, First Horizon and Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic bank. The total count of BIAN members now stands at 64, comprising banks, software and service providers, and academic partners. Hans Tesselaar, […]
National Australia Bank (NAB) and technology consulting firm Lab49 are piloting the starXchange trading platform. The e-trading platform has been released to the market and offers automation for pre-trade, execution and post-trade activity. Clients can trade through the platform itself or through major multi-bank platforms. NAB partnered with Lab49, a “specialist in capital markets technology”, […]
Germany’s largest building society, Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall, is modernising its core banking operations with SAP. The building society is implementing SAP’s Deposits Management and Loans Management systems. The project has been underway since late 2015. Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall was established in the 1930s. Today, it has 7.5 million customers in Germany and over three million […]
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) says its all-share merger with Deutsche Börse could result in 1,250 job losses. In March, after speculation and a rival bid, both parties reached agreement to create a Europe-based global markets infrastructure group valued at about £21 billion. The merger is expected to be finalised by the end of this […]
Nucleus Software has released its mobile loan self-sourcing solution – mApply – for the Australian market. The firm says mApply helps banks digitise their loan origination lifecycle. Customers and mortgage brokers can view pre-approved loan offers from a bank, select the best offer and submit a paperless loan application “within minutes” and “without any need […]
UK-based regulatory reporting and risk management software vendor, AxiomSL, has signed the local operations of Union Bank of India for its flagship product, XBRL. XBRL will automate regulatory reporting to the UK’s regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), at Union Bank of India (UK). AxiomSL says the project comes as part of the bank’s compliance with […]
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Russian payment platform Qiwi is planning to create a blockchain consortium with the nation’s largest banks as its members. According to Russian publication Izvestia, Qiwi will develop standards for the application of blockchain and it has invited B&N Bank, Alfa Bank and Sberbank to join. Dmitry Kashtanov, head of digital business at B&N Bank, says […]
UK-based HPD Software has launched Aquarius Construction Finance aimed at lenders who fund construction sub-contractors. The company is targeting its module at finance providers who want to enter or expand into the construction sector, which it says is “traditionally a ‘no-go zone’ for commercial lenders”. Kevin Day, COO at HPD Software, says: “The construction sector […]
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS), striving to overcome inefficiencies and profitability that’s historically been much more often in the red than in the black, is exploring the use of blockchain technology to improve current services, provide new services and improve operations.
Consumer fraud concerns and the popularity of mobile messaging apps likely will secure prepaid a firm spot in future commerce, according to Martin Koderisch, a manager at Edgar, Dunn and Company (EDC) during a recent Webinar entitled “Prepaid Payments in the Digital Age.”
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten steadily has been expanding its presence in the U.S.—and the company’s recent filing for a money transmitter license in California could indicate ambitions for adding new financial services and P2P payments components to its U.S. platform.
ING Belgium has acquired the rights to rebrand Finnish fintech start-up Zervant’s invoicing software across Europe. The software will be marketed as ING invoice solutions and will be sold via its own channels to SMEs and entrepreneurs. During the first phase, ING Belgium will have the rights to sell the tool in Belgium, with a […]
Microsoft is collaborating with Blockstack Labs and ConsenSys, and developers across the globe on an open source, self-sovereign, blockchain-based identity system. The announcement by Microsoft follows its participation at the United Nations’ ID2020 Summit on Identity. Yorke Rhodes, blockchain business strategist, Microsoft, says: “Without legal identification, children and people are invisible to society which makes […]
The European Central Bank (ECB) has officially launched a procurement tender for a new treasury management system (TMS). The ECB’s current TMS platform is Wallstreet Suite, supplied by Wall Street Systems (now part of Ion Trading). The bank has been using it for many years, Banking Technology understands. According to the ECB, its TMS supports […]
PayPal has filed a US patent application for a modular payment module that accepts Bitcoin and other digital currencies. The application names Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin; and sets out the physical characteristics of the module. It says: “The module includes a chassis which has a modular device connector. A payment database in the chassis stores […]
Intel has teamed with The Floor, a fintech hub located at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, to create its own fintech innovation centre in Israel. This is Intel’s first move into the fintech sector as it looks to capitalise on the demand for bitcoin and blockchain solutions in banking and finance. It may also be […]
US-based Friess Associates, which manages around $1 billion for institutional and private investors, is automating its ops with Linedata Longview. The new investment management platform will support portfolio management, trading and compliance at Friess Associates. Linedata highlights asset-specific workflows of its offering, an interface that can be tailored to the various roles of disparate users, […]
Experian, the information services company, has launched its CrossCore platform for fraud and identity services. CrossCore has “plug-and-play” capability and lets companies connect any new or existing tools and systems in one place, whether they are Experian, internal or third-party partner solutions. Steve Platt, global EVP, fraud and identity, Experian, says: “New fraud threats, updates […]
SETL, the institutional payment and settlement infrastructure based on blockchain, has launched its OpenCSD platform. The blockchain-powered platform, SETL’s first commercial offering, enables any market participant to commission and run a permissioned registry service for payments, settlement and clearing of cash and other “financial instruments”. It has been benchmarked to “settle billions of transactions a […]
PayPal is suspending business in Turkey from 6 June as it has failed to get a new licence for its services. The US company says the decision will affect “tens of thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of consumers”. PayPal did issue two separate statements to TechCrunch. The first was very similar to the […]
India-based IT heavyweight Tech Mahindra is spending £112 million on Target Group, a UK-based business process outsourcing (BPO) and software vendor. Target focuses on the lending, investment and insurance sectors, claiming around 50 financial institutions in the UK as customers. Among them are Yorkshire Building Society, Shawbrook Bank, Central Trust and Masthaven. It also works […]
Building on a partnership that began three years ago, UnionPay announced that U.S. travelers headed to China have a new payment option—UnionPay Gift Cards.
Wirecard’s flurry of activity continues as the German payment services and technology firm joins with Norway-based program manager Paygoo to launch a reloadable prepaid MasterCard, to be distributed through one of Europe’s largest convenience store chains, Reitan Convenience.
Student Loans Company (SLC), a large government-owned lender in the UK, is believed to have halted its IT renovation project as it puts the contract with the supplier under review. SLC embarked on this massive project in early 2014 – awarding the contract to HCL. HCL bid jointly with Deloitte and Misys. HCL would be […]
PayPal will shut down its business in Turkey on June 6 after regulators there denied the online payment processing service a new license.
Software code used in recent attacks on banks—including a high-profile Bangladesh attack that resulted in the theft of approximately $81 million—comes from the North Korean government, according to security experts.
Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has selected BPC Banking Technologies’ SmartVista suite for its payment business. SmartVista will replace the existing legacy platform, ACI Worldwide’s Open2. BPC says following a review and bid process, OAB selected its suite over ACI Worldwide and HPS. Fahd Amjad, GM retail banking at Oman Arab Bank, says the partnership with […]
Israel’s largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, is believed to be in system selection mode. The bank is looking for a new core banking system, Banking Technology understands. It is believed that Temenos with its T24 offering, SAP with SAP for Banking and TCS Financial Solution with Bancs are among the contenders. TCS has recently made inroads […]
Swedish bitcoin firm KnCMiner has filed for bankruptcy due to impending taxes and market uncertainty. Sam Cole, CEO at KnCMiner, says 44% of its income goes to energy taxes and there have been doubts about the future of the bitcoin mining market. In an interview with Swedish website Breakit.se, Cole says: “We knew there were […]
CIMB Bank, in partnership with MasterCard, has launched its Corporate Card Solutions in Malaysia, a new addition to its suite of cash management products. The solutions include the corporate card and purchasing card which offer automated processes and real-time reporting; and a new virtual card solution for supply chain requirements. Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, […]
Standard Chartered is bringing its mobile and online banking platform to eight countries in Africa. After the roll-out to Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the first half of 2016, the bank will launch fingerprint recognition technology in these markets later in the year. Karen Fawcett, Standard Chartered’s CEO for retail […]
Swedbank has restructured its management team and launched a digital banking group. The new “Group Function Digital Banking” will be responsible for digital sales support, development and innovation. The bank is looking for a permanent head of digital banking. Birgitte Bonnesen, president and CEO of Swedbank, says the changes are a “natural step” and meet […]
