Off the back of its involvement in Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP), Swift has entered the instant payments market in Europe, with plans to launch a gateway solution in November 2018. The solution will enable instant payments to be made over the Swift network using a single gateway to connect to multiple instant payments systems across Europe.
BNG Bank, a public sector bank in the Netherlands, is implementing BearingPoint’s Abacus regtech solution for MiFID II/MiFIR, EMIR II, MMSR and SFTR reporting.
Chinese online and mobile payment platform Alipay is looking to grow its presence significantly in Russia with the help of VTB Group.
Jiffy – the instant mobile payments service developed by SIA – is now available in over 150 outlets in Milan, Rome and Turin. As reported last year, the person-to-business (P2B) project was piloted in Milan and Bergamo, allowing customers to pay via app at participating retail outlets authorised by UBI Banca. SIA said at the […]
Commerzbank has processed the first bank payment obligation (BPO) transactions in Austria, covering the import of bus components from Germany and Italy. The buyer, a customer of Commerzbank Austria, is TAM-Europe, located in Slovenia. The suppliers are MAN Truck & Bus, headquartered in Munich, and ISAF Bus Components, an Italy-based supplier and customer of UniCredit. […]
UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd has taken another dim-witted swipe at end-to-end encryption claiming that terrorists are the only ones who care about it, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). It’s the latest chapter in one of the most short-sighted and ill-informed books available today, as Rudd has continued her moronic quest to make the […]
The Regulatory Reporting Hub of Deutsche Börse has launched a partnership with Risk Focus and its software subsidiary, RegTek.Solutions, to use its key system components for the hub’s OTC trade reporting solution. The functionality of the components provided by Risk Focus and RegTek.Solutions includes the Validate.Trade product, and interpretation of instrument details of OTC derivatives […]
Klarna has unveiled Wavy, a new, free P2P payments service. Available in iOS and Android as well as online, the free app enables users in more than 30 European markets to transfer euros between friends and family.
Commerzbank is pushing hard on its mortgage lending business ambitions with the launch of a digital financing app. The app is free and users can carry out house and apartment purchases on their smartphones. Included in the app are a budget calculation tool and access to over 200,000 properties in Germany. “We are the first […]
German fintech firm figo’s technology is the backbone for the launch of Consorsbank’s open-minded MultiBanking service. The bank, which is part of BNP Paribas Germany, says its customers can now use accounts and deposits they have with other banks after logging into their online banking. Figo says it brings the technical foundation via its business […]
Berlin-based mobile bank N26 has teamed up with credit marketplace Auxmoney to offer loans in Germany. The deal builds on N26’s current range of consumer loans – and with this new partnership, N26 says it will soon be able to offer loans to those such as students, the self-employed or freelancers. The bank already offers […]
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the outcome of its review into high-cost credit, which includes its assessment of the effectiveness of the payday loan price cap. With a generous amount of back-slapping, the review provides “clear evidence that FCA regulation of high-cost short-term credit (often known as ‘payday lending’) has delivered substantial […]
The Berlin-based duo of peer-to-peer lending provider Lendico and fintech firm SolarisBank are working together on a long-term collaboration for financing SME loans. To begin with, SolarisBank is providing an “eight-digit sum” for financing loans via Lendico – with unspecified plans to expand this commitment in the medium-term. Dr. Clemens Paschke, co-founder and managing director […]
Everyday Loans, a UK-based provider of “loans for bad credit”, has signed for Jaywing’s Horizon solution for IFRS 9 modelling and provision calculation.
In the beating business heart of London, Banking Technology met Ben Brabyn, head of tech hub Level39, for an exclusive interview on Brexit, rivalry and how success isn’t a zero-sum game.
UK-based DueCourse, a cloud-based invoice financing start-up, has run its course with the revelation that it has gone into administration. The bad news comes less than a year after it received £6.25 million in funding from investors, including the founders of TransferWise, and non-fintech firms such as LinkedIn, Zoopla and Lovefilm. According to online publication […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Mobile financial services company Vipera is acquiring SoftTelecom. The deal is expected to close for $1.5 million (€1.3 million).
SIX Payment Services is buying the Frankfurt-based girocard network operations business from VÖB-ZVD Processing, a subsidiary of Deutsche Postbank, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology‘s sister publication. The agreement provides for the customer relationships, employees and assets of the network operations business being transferred in full to SIX Payment Services as part of the acquisition. The terms of […]
Paytech firm Viva Payments is bringing Alipay to Greece. A strategic partnership between the two companies will see Alipay users “access the service for the first time” while visiting the country.
Bank of Cyprus has selected IBM as its “strategic partner” for its digital transformation plan.
Legal & General Insurance (LGI) has created a new business to build and buy into a range of fintech companies. LGI says its fintech subsidiary Investments Discounts Online (IDOL), which was established in 1999, will form a key part of the new fintech business area. Nick Frankland, who’s been with LGI since 2010, will take […]
Visa is expanding its transaction-processing capabilities with two data centres in Singapore and the UK, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology‘s sister publication. The new global processing hubs will “increase the speed, resilience and geo-diversity of Visa’s infrastructure, while strengthening the company’s ability to deliver new and more sophisticated ways to pay in today’s hyper-connected global economy,” […]
Italy’s largest bank UniCredit has been the victim of a security breach due to unauthorised access through an Italian third-party provider to customer data – with up to 400,000 customers potentially affected. The incident is confined to Italy and relates to personal loans only. The bank says a first breach seems to have occurred in […]
UK-based banking software specialist Cennox has completed the acquisition of 3SI Security System’s European division.
France’s Worldline is buying 100% of the share capital of First Data’s fully owned subsidiaries in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia (aka First Data Baltics or FDB) for around €73 million, financed by available cash. This latest deal follows on from earlier this month, when Worldline announced a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital […]
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched proposals to help people compare the service levels for personal and business current accounts. The FCA proposes that firms offer information on how long it takes to open an account; how long it takes to replace a lost, stolen or stopped debit card; and the number and […]
UK-based Private & Commercial Finance Group (PCFG) has had its banking licence restrictions lifted. It has gone live with a new core banking system, Temenos’ T24, a front-end digital platform from Sandstone Technology and the ICS lease and loan administration solution from Sopra Banking Software.
The UK is fighting back against cyberattacks with a new cybersecurity innovation centre in London and investment of up to £14.5 million to develop technology to help keep the nation safe. The investment will be made over the next three years to bolster the UK’s cybersecurity defences, and follows on from February, when the new […]
Germany-based National Bank has selected Atos for a five and a half year contract to revamp its IT infrastructure. The contract includes data centre, server, mainframe, database and storage services. Atos will deliver the operation and maintenance of the internet and application servers; and be responsible for creating customised security solutions. Thomas Stephan, head of […]
Alternative credit scoring company, Aire, has raised $5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Sunstone Capital, with funds also coming from White Star Capital, which led the company’s 2016 seed round. Aire’s funding now totals $12 million, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The London-based company plans to use the funds […]
Berner Kantonalbank (Banque Cantonale de Berne or BEKB/BCBE), one of the last users of the IBIS3G core banking system, is pondering the system’s future as the contract with system provider is terminated.
Mastercard can breathe a sigh of relief as the £14 billion lawsuit – a collective action over card charges that were passed on to shoppers – has been stopped by the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal. As reported last year, Mastercard faced the massive lawsuit. The claim was headed by ex-financial services ombudsman Walter Merricks, who […]
Investment firm Permira will acquire a 10% equity stake in Swedish payments and banking firm Klarna. As part of the deal, Permira will buy shares from existing shareholders General Atlantic, DST Global and Niklas Adalberth, upon receipt of approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen). Once the transfer is complete, General Atlantic and DST […]
Data Pitch has unleashed its new accelerator in the search for start-ups and SMEs across Europe with fresh ideas for data products and services. The plan is to connect data providers “with nagging business problems” to firms with the right solutions. It’s not limited to fintech, but successful applicants will receive up to €100,000 equity […]
The UK’s House of Lords wants you to come clean on the rise of the machines – with a call for feedback on the economic, ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence (AI). The House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence is asking for contributions to its inquiry and is looking for pragmatic solutions […]
The fintech world has been left breathless and bewitched by the stunning revelation that UK-based challenger Jargon Bank has appointed a sales director. As reported last year, the “game changer” bank launched offering “compelling and innovative” products. This was followed in February with a payments app update; an office move in March; and a cat […]
The buzz for biometrics gets bigger with TSB now eyeing up the launch of iris scanning tech to let users login into bank accounts by glancing at their phone. According to the BBC, some TSB customers will be able to do this from September when the bank introduces iris recognition to its mobile banking app. […]
The Bank of England (BoE) is opening up access to settlement accounts in its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system with the goal to promote fintech innovation and competition. The bank says it’s extending access to non-bank payment service providers (PSPs), offering direct access to the UK’s sterling payment systems. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), […]
Swiss financial services provider SIX has selected Synechron as the systems integrator for the Calypso v15 solution as an update to its post-trade services. The deal is part of the SFR (securities finance renewal) programme, with the objective to revamp SIX’s post-trade services where it acts as a contractual triparty agent for its clients to […]
