From immaturity to security, our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up features the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, the People’s Bank of China, Bank Hapoalim and Microsoft. It’s happened before and it will happen again, but distributed ledger technology (DLT) has come into some criticisms in relation to payments. In a dark duet, the European […]
France’s BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has acquired a majority stake in Belgium-based robo-advisory company Gambit Financial Solutions. BNPP AM says via the deal it will look to improve its advisory-guided or autonomous interfaces. Gambit will maintain its independence and become the preferred partner for robo-advisory solutions for BNP Paribas’ retail and wealth management […]
Tech City UK is looking for start-ups for a competition to find the best products and services from the fintech sector that promote financial inclusion. As part of the UK Government’s Digital Strategy, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has asked it to hunt for the best across the country. The competition […]
Mambu has gone on the record about its core banking software project at N26, a German-based challenger bank. N26 is using Mambu’s flagship core system, provided on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis.
With every technological breakthrough there needs to be updates to the rules, and the UK general public think the government needs to pull the finger out when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). That rules need to be changed in relation to everyday life is a given, but it would […]
Banking platform SolarisBank has chosen Italy-based SIA to support the launch of new contactless debit cards and to contribute to the development of electronic payment solutions in Germany. SIA’s technology platform will manage the processing of transactions made using payment cards issued by the bank for its clients. The infrastructure, supporting the launch of new […]
UK challenger bank Atom has been granted permission to offer retail deposits in Germany via a partnership with Deposit Solutions. Atom says customers in the country will get access to a range of fixed term products and so it will be able to “gather deposit funding from Europe’s largest savings market onto its balance sheet, […]
EXCLUSIVE: UK-based Saffron Building Society is modernising its technology with DPR Consulting, Banking Technology understands. On the way out is the legacy MSS core processing solution, supplied by Sopra Banking Software.
Berlin-based cybersecurity start-up Perseus is seeking to become a legend for the country’s SME market with a “one-stop solution”. According to fintech incubator FinLeap, which is behind the venture, more than 70% of German companies were affected by cybercrime activities within the last two years, but only one out of ten SMEs holds an insurance […]
What the world needs now is love, sweet love. And fintech is on hand to deliver with a pair of co-operation agreements. Features the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Chongqing; and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority and Israel. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Chongqing Financial Affairs Office and the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative […]
We all knew Canadians were afraid of the dark and that Scots are not always fond of vegetables, but who knew the European Commissioners were wary of foreigners? Reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). In her latest speech, the European Commission’s chief Gaggler for competition Margrethe Vestager, has seemingly set the tone; foreign money isn’t as […]
Swiss digital banking company Crealogix has bolstered its artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities with the acquisition of new technology from Koemei, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Crealogix will leverage Koemei’s technology that uses automated speech recognition (ASR) to convert audio, podcast, and video content into text data, which facilitates cross-media […]
EXCLUSIVE: Redwood Bank, a new SME-focused bank in the UK, has opted for a cloud-based banking platform. The front-to-back office solution is supplied by a local fintech firm, DPR Consulting, Banking Technology understands. It is hosted in a private cloud.
Core banking software provider Fern Software has opened its Abacus HUB Cloud platform to third parties in the UK and Ireland.
EXCLUSIVE: UK-based Association of British Credit Unions (Abcul) has suspended its plans to migrate its member credit unions onto its new tech platform, Banking Technology understands.
Kempen, a €49.5 billion asset manager in the Netherlands, is replacing its legacy client reporting solution with Simcorp Coric.
With the arrival of new regulations, there are two main options for banks: they can choose to become either “data donors” or “data seekers”. These two positions imply opposite approaches to the new banking market that is in prospect, and sharply contrasting mentalities.
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Switzerland-based core banking software provider ERI has joined forces with another domestic IT firm Swisscom to offer private-banking and wealth management outsourcing services to banks and financial institutions operating in the Swiss financial centres.
Open Banking, the implementation entity set up by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has chosen Ping Identity to provide the identity and access management (IAM) technology to underpin its UK framework. Ping’s IAM solution suite, the Ping Identity Platform, will provide the hub for Open Banking, where all UK banks and financial services […]
UK payments system Bacs is asking for public feedback on how to improve the nation’s Direct Debit product. Bacs says usage is at an “all-time high” and lavishes praise on it. What a surprise. However, its 2016 consultation identified where it might be able to make improvements and “any changes will need to be carefully […]
A joint European pan-industry platform for online registration, e-identity and data services is readying for launch at the turn of the year with new partners on board. As reported in May, Deutsche Bank and a variety of German and European companies teamed up for the plan to “make online registration simpler and more secure for […]
Klarna is having quite a summer. It reported sales and profit results for the first half of 2017 that represented gains of 21% and 138%, respectively, reports Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). The strong financials come amid a series of headlines that show the Swedish payments company making strides on a number of fronts. This includes […]
Redwood Bank, a new UK-based SME challenger, has launched four months after securing its banking licence. The bank is now offering secured SME mortgages for business owners, as well as for “experienced” commercial and residential property investors. It has also launched a business deposit account. As reported in April, Redwood entered its mobilisation phase and […]
Scott McInnes, partner at international law firm Bird & Bird, discusses how the Second Payments Services Directive (PSD2) will affect companies and what requirements industry players need to know.
Avaloq has reported impressive earnings growth for the first half of 2017 due to investment in its banking suite and the “accelerating trend of the market” towards digital, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and transaction processing services. For H1 2017, the firm says compared to the same period last year, adjusted EBITDA increased 257% to CHF 36.3 million […]
ING will use decision management software and predictive models from analytic software firm FICO to launch its unsecured lending programme in the Czech Republic. The bank will use one retail banking platform, which will have FICO Blaze Advisor decision management rules system as its “risk brain”, making “fast, consistent, analytically guided” credit risk decisions on […]
A recent report from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport claims 10% of the UK’s 350 largest firms do not have a response plan in place for a cybersecurity incident, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). These clearly aren’t all fintech companies, but considering the rhetoric which is constantly flowing around, bigging up […]
Barclays says it’s the first UK high street bank that lets mobile banking customers make a payment by asking Siri. The payment, which relies on TouchID for authentication, can be completed without opening the Barclays mobile banking app, reports Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore. The Siri integration enables payments to existing payees or mobile contacts. […]
Commerzbank and BNP Paribas have ended their Munich-based lending joint venture (JV), Commerz Finanz. The German bank says it has reached an agreement with BNP Paribas Personal Finance on the split-off of the business division holding the instalment loans brokered by Commerzbank from Commerz Finanz. Michael Mandel, member of the board of managing directors of […]
A distinctly cheerless round-up as we highlight some key moments regarding fintech layoffs. Features Simple and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). US-based digital banking service Simple has fired 33 staff members (about 10% of its workforce), including several executives, according to The Oregonian. Simple’s CMO, chief people officer, VP of operations, and VP of engineering […]
Blockchain vacancies in the UK increase by 25% with Britain posting three times as many jobs as Germany – and more findings in this infographic.
HSBC is introducing a new improved software platform for brokers and also confirms Personal Touch Financial Services as its next intermediary partner. The new software, provided by Capita, replaces the current system and provides a single platform which “drives greater automation, making it easier for brokers to transact, upload documents, and track details of mortgage […]
Denmark-based mobile banking service Lunar Way has launched its travel card – and the chance to experience the world without fees. Its newest feature, called the Lunar Way Travel Card, is its attempt to stand out in a world of roaming charges. Lunar Way says: “One area where the consumer has always been stung is […]
Nordea is now keeping people informed about an ongoing investigation by the Danish Prosecution Service into its alleged anti-money laundering (AML) violations. By way of recap, it follows criticism by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) in June 2016 regarding AML transgressions by Nordea Bank Danmark. According to Danish newspaper Berlingske, the money laundering involves […]
BBVA reckons the fever for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in blockchain must be cooled as the industry is facing a “dangerous bubble” driven by speculation. ICOs are a common story in fintech at present and they allow small businesses to reach a large audience via blockchain and cryptocurrencies. (And BBVA has its own interest in […]
Belgium – the “Jihadi capital of Europe” – is the European Union’s (EU) most lenient country on money laundering despite its role in terrorist financing, according to anti-money laundering (AML) firm Fortytwo Data. With refreshing frankness in the usually jargon-soaked and platitude-drenched world of fintech, Fortytwo Data says the EU’s disjointed approach to the fight […]
In the age of the internet, fintech dominates finance. In the UK, the sector is currently worth £7 billion, employing around 60,000 people with figures set to increase. The industry is definitely awe-inspiring, but as the lines between traditional banking services and fintech blur, fintech could disappear entirely.
Germany-based Deposit Solutions has acquired fellow fintech Savedo. With the acquisition of Savedo, Deposit Solutions gains 18,000+ clients, 13 partner banks and new regions – thus “further expanding its B2C capabilities”.
UK-based challenger bank Tandem received an emergency cash injection of £3.6 million from its existing investors earlier this year when a major funding deal with House of Fraser collapsed.
