Infographics: PSD2 explained
This nifty infographics, created by the European Payments Council (EPC), explains all you need to know about PSD2, from what it will change and its key components (such as APIs) to who the new players are.
Europe
SIX Securities Services unveils blockchain based bond issuing solution
SIX Securities Services, Switzerland’s post-trade market infrastructure says it has developed – “and intends to deploy” – a new bond issuing solution based on the distributed ledger technology (DLT).
Branches to go in Alior Bank’s 2020 digital dream, but tech to get $100m investment
Poland’s Alior Bank has unveiled its growth ambitions and number of branch closures over the next three years with its “Digital disruptor” strategy. In its 65-page report, the bank does the usual trick of praising itself and its disruptive qualities, calling itself the “largest ever start-up” in Central and Eastern Europe in the financial services […]
UK’s Financial Conduct Authority calls for greater responsibility
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out its plan for improved banking standards and financial services with its new “Senior Managers and Certification Regime”. In a speech “Culture in financial institutions: it’s everywhere and nowhere” delivered today (16 March) by Andrew Bailey, FCA chief executive, to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Annual […]
N26 mobile bank powers to 300,000 users
Berlin-based mobile bank N26 says its user base grew to more than 300,000 over the last year, tripling in size since the last announcement of 100,000 users in January 2016. As Banking Technology reported late last year, N26 took its business fully across 17 European countries, including Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Slovakia. Before that […]
Poland’s mBank to invest €50m in fintech start-ups
Poland-based mBank will set up the “first” fund in Central and Eastern Europe that will specialise in developing and selling new technologies. The Polish bank says it has an ambition to influence digital transformation in the banking sector and its mAccelerator project will provide €50 million in investment to start-ups. mBank CEO Cezary Stypułkowski says […]
Starling Bank spreads its beta wings
UK challenger bank Starling has unveiled its mobile app and is welcoming the first customers through its digital doors to join a beta testing programme. As Banking Technology previously reported, the bank has been getting ready for this moment. Yesterday (15 March), it chose TransferWise to provide money transfer services to its customers. It will […]
TransferWise to power Starling Bank payments
TransferWise will provide money transfer services to customers of UK challenger bank Starling when it launches later this month. As Banking Technology has previously reported, the bank is getting ready for its 2017 launch. It will host its first hackathon, opening up its API to outside developers. It has received its UK banking licence, joined […]
The UK gets new coins, but why?
As of March this year, UK’s one-pound, two-pound and 50p coins have all been upgraded to become “the most secure coins in the world”. However, with the rise in cashless payments, online transactions and mobile banking, is there any point?
EquensWorldline bags Degussa Bank payments processing deal
Payments firm EquensWorldline, a subsidiary of Worldline, has secured a long-term contract to process all payments for Degussa Bank in Germany, starting Q2 2017. Degussa Bank will outsource its end-to-end payments processing to EquensWorldline. This includes SEPA processing, cross-border payments, high value payments, compliances services, investigations, archiving and a full channel service suite including Swift […]
SBI Holdings, Unicredit and Bertelsmann invest in SolarisBank
Berlin-based fintech SolarisBank has raised €26.3 million from Japanese financial group SBI Holdings, German media company Bertelsmann, Italian banking group Unicredit, plus other investors.
UK faces relegation battle in fight for digital dominance
If data is going to define the digital economy the UK is screwed, according to fresh research from Teradata.
Lloyds in £1.3bn tech outsourcing deal with IBM
UK-based banking group Lloyds is to outsource its tech to IBM in a seven-year deal worth £1.3 billion. More than 1,900 jobs will be shifted to IBM and £760 million of costs will be cut as a result.
Banco Sabadell in regtech project with AxiomSL
Risk management and regulatory reporting software vendor AxiomSL has been selected by Banco Sabadell.
SEB supports Samsung Pay in Sweden
SEB is among the first banks in Sweden to offer Samsung Pay functionality to its customers.
Fortuna Banque to revamp front-to-back office tech with Temenos and Syncordis
Luxembourg-based Fortuna Banque, a retail co-operative bank, is modernising its core banking and digital operations with Temenos. The project is being carried out by local system integrator Syncordis.
DSK Bank moves core and digital banking ops to IBM Cloud
DSK Bank, Bulgaria’s largest bank and a member of the OTP banking group, has completed the migration of its banking operations to IBM’s data centres.
KBC Asset Management in technology modernisation
KBC Asset Management, Belgium’s largest investment manager, is implementing a new investment book of record (IBOR) platform, Simcorp Dimension, and Axioma’s risk management engine.
Penta and SolarisBank team for business bank accounts for German SMEs
Two Berlin-based fintech firms, Penta and SolarisBank, have joined forces to provide German businesses with “fast access to bank accounts”.
Nordea brings Samsung Pay to customers in Sweden
Nordea has launched the beta version of Samsung Pay in Sweden. The bank’s customers can use this new payment service to make in-store payments with their mobile phones.
UK and Japan regulators partner for innovation
The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have exchanged letters on a co-operation framework to support fintech companies. This deal will provide a regulatory referral system for “innovator businesses” from Japan and the UK seeking to enter the other’s market. The authority that receives such a referral will […]
Fidor’s digital banking right shot for Van Lanschot
Dutch wealth management firm Van Lanschot has chosen Fidor’s digital banking solution for an upgrade of its payments software and infrastructure. As part of the agreement, Fidor will manage user and account data and will process Van Lanschot’s payments flows within its fidorOS (fOS) platform, which is built using open APIs. It will also modernise […]
BBVA automates UK risk and reg reporting with Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX
BBVA’s subsidiary in the UK has opted for Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX solution for regulatory reporting and liquidity risk management.
Digital bank bunq goes international with open API
Digital-only banking start-up, bunq, has expanded beyond its native Dutch market to Austria and Germany with the launch of its open API.
Robo-advice case study: Munnypot
Robo-advice has captured a lot of attention in the financial services sector of late, so it is great to find an institution that is putting it firmly into practice. Banking Technology talks to Munnypot, a recent arrival on the UK market.
Android Pay heads down Belgium way
Android Pay is now available in Belgium – becoming the tenth country in the world to get it. It can be used at more than 85,000 retail locations throughout Belgium that accept contactless payments. Its purchase button can also be seen in apps like Deliveroo, TransferWise and Vueling, with other unspecified apps on the way. […]
Accenture opens innovation studio in Latvia
Accenture has opened a “liquid studio” in Riga, Latvia to help its clients with innovation and software development cycles. At the studio, its clients don’t get wet or drunk but work alongside Accenture engineers to turn concepts into products, “taking days to achieve what used to take months”. Maksims Jegorovs, Accenture Latvia lead, says clients […]
Austria’s Raiffeisen revamps trade finance tech with Intellect
Five Austrian Raiffeisen regional banks and Raiffeisen Bank International will implement Intellect Design Arena’s digital trade finance platform as the group looks to standardise its operations. Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien, Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, Raiffeisen-Landesbank Tirol and Raiffeisenlandesbank Vorarlberg Waren- und Revisionsverband regristrierte Genossenschaft mit beschränkter Haftung and Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI, a large banking group in […]
Seconds out for Monzo tech
Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo has been hit by tech issues for the second time this week. As Banking Technology reported on 6 March, payment outages caused major problems to cardholders and fintech services provides in the UK and internationally – and Monzo was one of the affected firms reporting issues with their payment processor. Today […]
Wirecard brings mobile payment app boon to Apple Pay in Ireland
Wirecard has launched its mobile payment app boon with Apple Pay in Ireland – and the app is “independent from any bank or telecom operator”. After the initial launch to the UK, France and Switzerland, Ireland is the fourth market where people can use boon with Apple Pay. Georg von Waldenfels, EVP consumer solutions with […]
UBS launches SmartWealth digital platform in UK
UBS Wealth Management has launched its new digital platform, SmartWealth, to tap into “a new audience” in the UK. The banks says it’s the first of its kind in the country.
Payments: looking down the regulatory pipeline
In the immediate aftermath of the 2007/8 financial crisis, measures to promote better conduct and improve customer protection and the resilience of the financial system dominated the regulatory agenda. More recently, regulators in many countries have added competition and innovation objectives to their agenda.
Banking Technology March 2017 issue out now
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
Atom Bank goes atomic with £113m funding plan
UK challenger bank Atom plans to raise almost £113 million in equity investment to support its ambitions for growth. As Banking Technology reported late last year, Atom opened for all customers in the UK. Its “invitation only” phase is over and people can download the Atom App, both in IoS and Android, and open an […]
DeVere enters international fintech space with Lithuania launch
Financial consultancy firm DeVere Group has taken advantage of Lithuania’s ambitions to attract fintech firms and set up a new office in the capital Vilnius. The Bank of Lithuania, the country’s central bank and regulator, recently issued an electronic money institution licence which made it possible for DeVere to establish its new subsidiary DeVere E-Money. […]
Bots and biometrics: The Mobile World Congress shows the future of payments
Bots, biometrics and wristbands stood out as examples of payments innovation this week at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Judging by the product releases and displays, the future promises to involve more use of fingerprints in payments, and technology that allows quick purchasing from social media, reports Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Payment bots […]
PwC blockchain aims to win Oscar for London insurtech
PwC has created a working blockchain prototype for the London Market Target Operating Model (TOM) Innovation Exchange, as it seeks to use the tech for payments in the specialist insurance market. Completed over a six-week period, the proof of concept (PoC) focuses on “enhancing” interactions between multiple different London Market parties involved in a claims […]
Nordea preps for PSD2 with open banking portal
Nordea has released the first version of its open banking portal targeted towards external developers, as it gets ready for the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requirements. Currently the site has “limited functionality” but unspecified pilot activities will be conducted through the portal during 2017, in advance of a full launch in Q1 2018. Jarkko Turunen, […]
Crypto Valley launch breathes life into blockchain and cryptography
Switzerland-based Crypto Valley Association has launched as the nation looks to boost its blockchain and cryptographic ecosystem. Headquartered in the Swiss canton of Zug, Crypto Valley is an independent, government-supported association which aims to foster the development of digital technologies in Switzerland and internationally. The association will support start-ups and established enterprises through policy recommendations, […]
Harrods Bank implements Temenos T24 core banking system
UK-based Harrods Bank is implementing a new core banking system, having abandoned the FIS Profile project, Banking Technology understands.
