News


DNB’s P2P mobile payments app is Norway’s No 1

DNB’s “first” peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment solution in Norway has become the number one downloaded app in the country. Dubbed “Vipps”, and launched six months ago with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), it is now used by 25% of Norway’s population. The app is available for use on all mobile devices and it allows short chat […]

ICAP caps blockchain proof of tech test for post trade ops

ICAP, a UK-based financial services firm, says its post trade risk and information (PTRI) division has completed a proof of technology test case for blockchain. Jenny Knott, CEO of ICAP’s PTRI division, says it has demonstrated one of the “first real world applications of distributed ledger technology that has the ability to significantly transform the […]

Top fintech stories this week – 18 March 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Deutsche Börse and LSE to merge Two hearts beat as one. D+H Corporation joins US real-time payments rush Catches up with rivals FIS and Jack Henry. Deutsche Bank and Bank of China partner for cash management Becomes first […]

D+H Corporation joins US real-time payments rush

US-based banking and payments software vendor D+H has joined its rivals FIS and Jack Henry in partnering with The Clearing House (TCH) for real-time payments. D+H will provide US banks and financial institutions with access to TCH’s domestic instant payments system. The system is currently being built, with the “plumbing” provided by VocaLink. The vendor’s […]

Efma and SAP partner for SME AppsBank Portal

Efma, an association of 3,300 retail financial services companies in more than 130 countries, and SAP have launched a new online portal to help banks’ SME-related business. The portal – (unsurprisingly) hailed as “innovative” and “disruptive” by its creators – supports banks in developing new apps for their SME clients and also holds competitions to […]

Mondo signs with Thames Card Technology for debit cards; has problems with mobile app

A UK-based challenger bank, Mondo, has partnered with Thames Card Technology for debit card production and personalisation. Beta test cards will be issued to consumers this year. Mondo, which positions itself as a “mobile first” bank, will be offering a contactless debit card paired with a mobile banking app to its customers. The mobile app’s […]

LLB Group launches investment advisory solution with Avaloq

Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) and its subsidiary LLB Invest have launched an investment advisory solution underpinned by the Avaloq and the swissQuant Group software. LLB Invest uses the Avaloq Banking Suite for its software needs – the solution has been running at LLB since 2008 as its main core banking system. SwissQuant Group provides risk analysis […]

The United Bank of Egypt upgrades core software with Misys

A long-standing user of a host of Misys’ products, The United Bank of Egypt has committed to upgrade to the latest version of software. The project is penned for completion later this year. The bank will upgrade to FusionBanking Equation (core system), FusionBanking Trade Innovation (trade finance) and FusionCapital Opics (treasury and capital markets). It […]

Deutsche Börse and LSE to merge

Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange (LSE) have reached agreement on the terms of an all-share merger of “equals”. The deal follows recent speculation about the merger, and New York Stock Exchange owner, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), saying it may make a rival bid for LSE. The merger will create a Europe-based global markets infrastructure group […]

Wolters Kluwer signs new client in Poland, Bank Pocztowy

Poland-based Bank Pocztowy is implementing a new risk management system, OneSumX, supplied by Wolters Kluwer. The solution will support the following areas: asset and liability management (ALM), market risk, liquidity risk, and credit risk (for the Basel III capital charges calculation). The bank will also use Wolters Kluwer to provide funds transfer pricing (FTP) analysis […]

Industry: Report on Tax Refund Delays Misses Mark

A recent report claiming that heightened anti-tax fraud efforts have led to taxpayers suffering delays in receiving refunds via prepaid cards mischaracterizes the situation, industry observers say.

Survey: Banks Fear Fintech Effect

Banking executives worry the rise of fintech could spell trouble for their institutions, a new report reveals. Conducted by PwC, the survey of 544 CEOs, CIOs and other top managers at financial services providers in 46 countries found that 83 percent of respondents from traditional firms feared disruption caused by new standalone fintech companies could result in the loss of business.

Japanese Bitcoin Case Will Remain in U.S.

A proposed class-action lawsuit regarding the alleged mishandling of bitcoin accounts in Japan will remain in the U.S., according to a federal court ruling in Chicago this week.

TSAM 2016: Tsunami of regulation and immature data handling are major pains

It was a sense of déjà vu at TSAM (The Summit for Asset Management) 2016 in London yesterday (15 March), as the industry still says it is facing a “tsunami of regulation”. The event brought around 300 delegates, vendors and speakers to London’s Lancaster Hotel. All there to network, and discuss trends and issues in […]

UBS Securities automates risk and surveillance with Eventus

Eventus Systems, a US-based provider of data processing and analysis solutions, has signed UBS Securities for its flagship Validus risk and surveillance platform. Mark Holder, global co-head of electronic trading at UBS, says Eventus and Validus offered “impressive capabilities that strengthen our current platform”. The implementation has just begun. “Validus is going to bring a […]

Path Solutions gains two new takers of iMAL core banking system

Path Solutions is implementing its flagship core banking offering, iMAL, at Summit Bank in Pakistan and Wifack International Bank in Tunisia. The contracts were signed in December and the roll-out is underway. Summit Bank Pakistan-based Summit Bank is implementing iMAL as it looks to grow its Islamic banking presence. Summit Bank was searching for a […]

M&A Update: Payoneer Buys Armor; FinTech Studios Acquires iUbble

M&A activity continues apace with cross-border B2B payments firm Payoneer completing its acquisition of escrow services provider Armor Payments. Meanwhile, FinTech Studios, which sells fintech software, has bought iUbble, a 2-year-old company whose own software includes a browser for Web and mobile apps.

CFPB Supervisory Highlights Focus on Remittances, Restitution

The CFPB’s latest Supervisory Highlights report is the first to detail the bureau’s examinations of remittance providers since the agency’s rules governing international money transfers went into effect more than two years ago. Next up, Director Richard Cordray’s semi-annual report to Congress.

Payoneer acquires Armor Payments to create global alternative to LCs

US-based Payoneer has acquired Armor Payments as it looks to create a “global alternative” to letters of credit (LCs). Armor Payments, co-founded by former PayPal Director, Scott Reynolds, is the “only licensed B2B payments provider offering Escrow-as-a-Service (EaaS)”. Through the acquisition, the new integrated Armor Payments Payoneer Escrow solution will allow B2B buyers and suppliers […]

Bank Treasury Optimisation Survey – brief, insightful & could get you a free iPad mini

Banking Technology is conducting a survey – short and sweet – to find out the banks’ priorities when it comes to treasury software and solutions. How can technology help treasurers cope with the multitude of regulation, business transformation and industry demands? The treasury function plays a pivotal role within a bank, and with great power […]

“Intelligent software” to answer customer queries at Atom Bank

A UK-based challenger bank, Atom Bank, has added another system to its bulging IT set-up. This is WDS Virtual Agent, which will answer customer queries from an AI bot within the bank’s mobile app. The solution is supplied by WDS, a subsidiary of Xerox. The vendor says it will “give the customers the power to […]

Banka Kovanica in core banking system revamp with ABBA

Croatia-based banking software developer, ABBA, has gained a new taker of its flagship core banking system, NovaDoba. This is a local bank, Banka Kovanica d.d. Varaždin. The agreement was signed in early March, “following months of negotiations”, says the vendor. The work on data migration and the implementation of the new solution has already begun. […]

Deutsche Bank and Bank of China partner for cash management

Deutsche Bank has become the first foreign bank in China to establish host-to-host connectivity with Bank of China, as part of the project to deliver international cash management (ICM) services to corporate clients. The two banks have implemented an interbank host-to-host platform, with the first customer – Bosch China – already on-board. The project commenced […]

FinLeap and SolarisBank launch “Banking as a Platform”

Berlin-based fintech incubator FinLeap and SolarisBank have created the “first” global banking platform, called Solaris – a Banking as a Platform (BaaP) service. FinLeap says it brought the team of entrepreneurs together, provided seed funding and support during the development phase for SolarisBank. Jan Beckers, chairman of FinLeap and chairman of the supervisory board at […]

AribaPay launches in Canada

SAP Ariba and Discover Financial Services have rolled out their B2B payments service, AribaPay, in Canada. Last month AribaPay was launched in the US (also with the help of Discover). And earlier this year, SAP partnered with First Data for a rollout across Europe and Latin America. SAP Ariba says Canadian businesses and consumers pass […]

Virtus Partners live with new lending platform from Misys

Texas-based asset administrator, Virtus Partners, has gone live with new back office lending system, FusionBanking LoanIQ, supplied by Misys. The new platform supports full-service agency administration and bank portfolio loan administration. It covers SME, commercial and syndicated lending. The contract was signed in November last year. The implementation work took around three months and came […]

Typo spells confusion in $101m cyber bank heist

A $101 million cyber heist has central bank officials from Bangladesh to New York quarrelling over what may be one of the biggest and boldest bank raids in history, according to CNBC. Hackers allegedly breached the Bangladesh central bank’s security system and then pretended to be Bangladeshi officials to send a series of requests for […]

LzLabs unveils world’s “first” software defined mainframe

Swiss software start-up LzLabs has unveiled the world’s “first” software defined mainframe, designed to move legacy mainframe applications and data to open Linux server and cloud platforms. Announced at CeBIT 2016, LzLabs says it is still undergoing clinical trials with ten companies, but it will be offered to customers both for use within their own […]

PSR’s payments push for more indirect access

The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is pushing for more competition in the supply of indirect access to payment systems. In its interim report “Market review into the supply of indirect access to payment systems”, the PSR says work to open up access is “generating increasingly positive results” but wants more. It adds: “Although there […]

What will the future of money look like?

Cash payments are in decline – mobile payments are on the rise (thank you, Apple Pay, Google’s Android Pay and Samsung Pay). This nifty infographics sums up the ideas on what the future of money might look like. The infographics is courtesy of the MBNA credit card company (owned by Bank of America) and its […]

BBVA brings cash recycling to Spanish market

BBVA is upgrading its ATM network with Wincor Nixdorf’s CINEO cash recycling systems to enable banknotes deposited by customers to be reused for cash withdrawals. The Spanish bank says that until now, ATMs had two different slots for cash deposits and cash withdrawals although cash from the deposits slot could not be used for cash […]

Aktia Bank signs for Accuity’s Global WatchList, perseveres with core system conversion

Finland-based Aktia Bank is implementing Accuity’s Global WatchList to provide regulatory sanctions and other compliance data. The solution covers politically exposed persons (PEPs), companies, vessels, goods, countries and payment information. Accuity says that Aktia’s decision to sign for the Global WatchList was driven by the compliance needs and the need to improve the efficiency of […]

Infrasoft’s core banking system scores with Indian co-operatives

Tamil Nadu State Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks (Tancubfed) has selected Infrasoft Technologies’ core banking system, OmniEnterprise. Tancubfed will implement OmniEnterprise and other e-banking services in 128 co-operative banks in Tamil Nadu, a southeast Indian state. Rajesh Mirjankar, new CEO and MD of Infrasoft, says OmniEnterprise will support the entire business operations of the bank […]

Microsoft selects Capitalise for latest tech accelerator

Microsoft has chosen Capitalise to join its latest accelerator, the fifth cohort of its 16-week programme for “high growth” technology companies. Capitalise officially launched at Finovate last month and is the “first” online marketplace using behavioural analytics to match lenders with SMEs seeking finance. The start-up says it features more than 50 institutional lenders, enabling […]