News


BPC’s SmartVista powers Afghanistan’s national payment system

BPC Banking Technologies has teamed with Da Afghanistan Bank to launch a SmartVista-powered national payment system in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Payments Systems (APS), a consortium of financial institutions funded by Da Afghanistan Bank (the nation’s central bank) through the World Bank, aims to develop the retail banking market in the troubled nation by providing electronic and […]

Company on the Move: Accuity, New Miami Office

Global risk and compliance and payments solutions provider Accuity has opened a new office in Miami to serve new and existing clients in Miami, Central America, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and the Caribbean.

People on the Move: Hyperledger Project, Board Leadership, New Corporate Members

The Hyperledger Project—a collaborative effort, led by the nonprofit Linux Foundation, with the goal of establishing an open blockchain distributed ledger platform that will satisfy a variety of use cases across multiple industries—has announced newly elected leaders of its governing board and technical steering committee, along with new corporate members.

FIS and Vocalink first to supply access to Faster Payments

FIS and Vocalink’s PayPort have become the first to gain accreditation to supply access to Faster Payments through its New Access Model. Both have been awarded the new certificate of technical accreditation “trust mark”, after passing all the required technical tests covering the origination and receipt of payments by a direct participant of Faster Payments. […]

Splitska Banka live with Comarch’s SB SmartNet banking system

Croatia’s Splitska Banka has gone live with SB SmartNet, a new internet and mobile banking system provided by Polish IT specialist Comarch. SB SmartNet, based on Comarch’s Smart Finance solution, will give Splitska’s retail customers access to account information as well as a multitude of transactional services. The mobile version is designed for iOS and […]

IRS Issues Advice on Deferring Gift Card Income

The IRS has concluded that a company can defer the recognition of advance payment income received from the sale of unredeemed gift cards that are redeemable for goods or services for up to two years.

Samsung Pay launches in China

Samsung Electronics and China UnionPay (CUP) have launched the mobile payment service Samsung Pay in China. The South Korean firm joins Apple in entering the country, as the US giant launched its mobile payment system in China last month. That was also in partnership with state-owned bankcard association CUP. Samsung Pay currently supports credit and […]

Blackrock testing Symphony’s new financial messaging app

Asset management firm Blackrock is trialling Symphony’s new financial messaging app. The app is being tested by part of Blackrock’s workforce and it is “looking to roll it out more widely in the coming months”. Blackrock is a major name to come onboard and the firm has 13,000 employees. However, Symphony has had success before […]

Starbucks Adding Chase Prepaid Card to Loyalty Program

Starbucks plans to add another prepaid card to its popular loyalty program, enabling members to earn points for purchases made at other retailers. The Starbucks Reward Prepaid Card is issued by Chase and runs on Visa’s payment network, meaning cardholders can use the card anywhere Visa is accepted and earn loyalty points for Starbucks.

EBay and IDology Boost Authentication Efforts

New approaches to authentication are kicking into high gear as eBay joins the FIDO Alliance, which promotes biometrics, while IDology launches a mobile authentication product.

DOJ Drops Case against Apple over iPhone Access

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its legal claim against Apple Inc. over the FBI’s request that the tech company help unlock the iPhone of one of the shooters in last year’s attacks in San Bernardino, Calif. According to a court filing, the FBI was able to access the device without Apple’s assistance.

Dutch central bank mulls new blockchain currency

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, is looking to develop an internal blockchain prototype called “DNBCoin”. In its recently published annual report for 2015, DNB says this year it will aim to use blockchain to improve its business and mentions DNBCoin as an experiment with its own digital currency. The bank doesn’t go […]

Infographics: global fintech landscape

Want to see the global fintech landscape summed up in an easy on the eye and effortless to digest infographics? You have come to the right place – this excellent infographics has it all, from the hottest start-ups today and those to watch in 2016 to the most supportive countries and governments as well as top investors. […]

Judge Rules that Radio Shack Gift Card Holder Won’t Get Legal Fees Paid

A Radio Shack gift card holder’s motion to get his legal fees and expenses paid first in the electronics retailer’s Chapter 11 case has been denied. Consumers with Radio Shack gift cards may file a claim by Dec. 2, 2016and if the claim is judged to be valid, claimants will receive 100 percent of the card balance, according to the Website.

Swift and China’s CIPS partner for cross-border payments

Swift has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China International Payment Service (CIPS Co.) to develop China’s cross-border payments infrastructure. The agreement sets out plans to use Swift to connect China’s Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) with its global user community. Alain Raes, Swift chief executive of Asia Pacific and EMEA, says there are […]

Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf merger on track, creates world’s largest ATM maker

ATM maker Diebold says it has met the tender condition for Wincor Nixdorf shares as part of a $1.8-billion acquisition. Last year, US-based Diebold agreed to buy out its German rival. The deal will see the creation of an ATM titan worth about $5 billion in sales and give Diebold a stronger presence in Europe. […]

UK credit unions busy with tech modernisation

There is a lot of activity going on in the UK’s credit union space, as the participants realise they have no choice but to modernise. So who is doing what? Which technology providers are set to gain and who might be a loser? London Mutual Credit Union and TCS Financial Solutions London Mutual credit union […]

Trade Groups Blast Lack of Consumer Gains under Durbin Amendment

The National Retail Federation and the Electronic Payments Coalition don’t agree on much when it comes to interchange, but the two groups each have reached out to the Fed arguing that consumers aren’t benefiting enough from the cap on debit card interchange.

FTC Investigates PCI Audits

Legal experts suggest that the investigation could provide insight on how the FTC might seek to influence the audit process going forward.

Home Depot Reaches $19.5 Million Deal in Breach Suit

The settlement calls for Home Depot to establish a fund of $13 million to reimburse customers who suffered out-of-pocket financial losses due to the breach, and spend at least $6.5 million to fund identity protection services for affected shoppers.

What is your view on real-time payments? Take our survey and win an iPad!

Banking Technology is conducting a brief survey to find out the industry view on real-time payments and their implications for all parties involved. How ready are you? What are the key drivers for your organisation to embrace real-time payments? Will they displace the existing types of payments? And what are your main concerns when it […]

APEX: Attracting Consumers amid Payment Solution Overload

On the final day of the All Payments Expo in New Orleans on March 23, Sam Maule, emerging payments practice lead at Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group, challenged the audience to change the way they think about providing payments solutions. “You all care [about new payment options], but consumers don’t. They have solution overload,” he said.

APEX Panel: Designing for Success in Digital Gifting

For retailers and brands setting their sights on digital gifting, it’s important to maintain a strong focus on card design and delivery to ensure the best possible customer experience, according to a group of retail and gifting experts this week at the All Payments Expo in New Orleans.

AuthenticID Survives APEX Shark Tank

The sharks were circling at the All Payments Expo in New Orleans this week. To close out the day on Tuesday, a group of eight startups and early stage payment companies pitched their idea or product to a group of three payments industry expert “sharks.” When the waters had calmed, AuthenticID, an Atlanta-based provider of identity verification products, had emerged as the winner.

APEX: Dreaming of the Internet of Things

B2B represents the most promising growth area for Web-connected devices and cars that can order products. And prepaid could be how users pay for such transactions.

Marstone teams with IBM Watson for cognitive computing-powered advice

Marstone, a New York-based financial services firm, has teamed up with IBM Watson for Wealth Management to offer digital advice assisted by cognitive computing. The plan is for Marstone’s platform, powered by Watson, to use data, patterns and natural language to provide cognitive advice and learn from experience. Margaret Hartigan, chief executive of Marstone, says […]

Google to bring Android Pay to UK

Google is bringing Android Pay to the UK market – with Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society the first to support it. This latest move follows Android Pay’s launch in the US in September 2015, and it should be available in the UK “in the […]

Sberbank Kazakhstan opens way to cardless cash withdrawals

Sberbank Kazakhstan and OpenWay have launched a cardless cash withdrawal service on the Way4 platform. The bank’s customers can now get cash at more than 900 ATMs without a card. Instead, a “secret” code is entered at the ATM. The new “cash by code” functionality was developed by OpenWay together with an unnamed third party […]

Top fintech stories this week – 24 March 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! As it’s Easter holidays in the UK, this time it’s published on Thursday. Deutsche Bank reduces branch network in Germany Rise of digital banking drives change. Polymer notes pose £45m problem for UK cash machines Slippery when plastic. […]

Commerzbank live on SAP HANA for finance and risk management

Commerzbank is now live with an integrated set of finance and risk solutions powered by the SAP HANA platform. SAP says the bank has more than 70% of its balance sheet running on SAP Bank Analyzer and SAP Accounting for Financial Instruments. It adds that Commerzbank is able to close its monthly books “significantly faster”, […]

APEX Panel Offers Insights on ‘Expanding the Tent’ of Prepaid

While prepaid cards long have been positioned as transactional tools to help the underbanked make electronic purchases, the future of the sector lies in expanding the definition of prepaid to serve multiple money management needs for a variety of customers—including those who also have a traditional bank account.

Bank of Cyprus UK chooses Lombard Risk for regulatory reporting

Bank of Cyprus UK has selected Lombard Risk’s new AgileReporter for automated regulatory reporting to replace Hitec Labs’ PolicyHub. The bank says it wanted to “improve” on its existing solution which required a number of supplementary manual processes to deliver its reports. Andrew Michaelides, CFO of Bank of Cyprus UK, says: “As complex regulatory requirements […]