Deloitte Luxembourg has developed a proof of concept for regulatory transaction reporting in a distributed ledger technology (DLT) environment. In its DLT proof of concept, counterparties of the transaction will seal and report their deal using a smart contract, whose terms include all the aspects needed for the transaction reporting. The regulators will be able […]
Efforts to develop standards for banks to provide third-party access to customer account information are at risk of fragmentation under pressure from tight deadlines, a lack of clarity about the technical requirements and competing domestic proposals. At a conference in London last week arranged by industry body Payments UK, delegates heard that this will lead […]
German mobile payments start-up Cringle is working with SolarisBank to launch a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments platform for the Eurozone. Berlin-based Cringle will use SolarisBank’s banking licence and Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) access API to roll out its wallet-less mobile payment solution. Cringle says the SEPA-based approach allows it (with SolarisBank’s help) to “move and […]
Russia-based Tochka Bank of the Otkritie Financial Group has launched the world’s “first” Facebook bot for a range of financial services. The bot will allow the bank’s clients to check their accounts, find nearby ATMs using geolocation, call the bank, contact customer support and make payments via Facebook messenger. Elena Budnik, chair of Otkritie Bank’s […]
TIM, the single brand of Telecom Italia Group, has teamed with SIA (through its subsidiary TSP), to make POS MultiPay terminals operative in over 2,200 stores in its sales network across Italy. The aim is to extend the methods of e-payment for its offers; and SIA says TIM’s prepaid mobile phone customers will be able, […]
New challenger bank Starling has received its UK banking licence and adopted Faster Payments. Starling Bank says the licence comes with unspecified “restrictions” from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. The bank aims to launch to customers by January 2017. Anne Boden, CEO, Starling Bank, says: “For the past year, our team […]
UK-based start-up Thought Machine has emerged from two years in stealth mode with a new cloud-based core banking software, VaultOS. The company was founded by a core of ex-Googlers, and VaultOS was built from the ground up. The system was created with private blockchain-style technology and has cryptographic ledgers for “watertight” security. Paul Taylor, CEO […]
The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is calling for feedback on its Payments Strategy Forum’s draft plans. The Forum, which was created by the PSR in March 2015, is made up of 22 experts tasked with planning the future of the UK’s payments sector. Today (13 July), the Forum published its findings in an 80-page […]
Decentralised financial platform provider Nxt has developed Ardor, the “first ever” scalable platform using blockchain. The Netherlands-based firm says Ardor, which is available from tomorrow (14 July), is designed to function beyond financial exchanges and will be “open to everyone”, including individual users, start-ups, banks and governments. Dave Pearce, director at Nxt Foundation, says: “Ardor […]
Target2-Securities (T2S) is a big task, but it is already improving intraday liquidity, says TAS Group. The opportunities are now ripe for the vendor to apply its fintech expertise across the pan-European market. Banking Technology caught up with TAS Group at the recent EBAday conference in Milan. When the T2S system went live in June […]
ThinkForex, a financial derivatives trading provider, has rebranded to ThinkMarkets and launched ThinkTrader, its own multi-asset trading platform. The changes are part of the firm’s growth ambitions; and Nauman Anees, CEO and co-founder at ThinkMarkets, says it still has “the same mission and values but the new brand better reflects who we are, a technology […]
Russia’s largest banking group, Sberbank, is to launch mobile banking via a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). According to Russian business daily Vedomosti, the bank has created a new subsidiary, SB-Telecom, which will act as the MVNO. The development is at the early stage as the new firm hasn’t received any licences yet from Roskomnadzor […]
HSBC has escaped charges of money laundering by US officials due to fears by the Department of Justice (DOJ) it might create a “global financial disaster”. A US Congressional report shows that UK officials, including Chancellor George Osborne, used their clout to warn the US it could lead to market unrest. According to the BBC, […]
Britain’s Speaking Clock, which will celebrate its 80th birthday on Sunday, July 24, was a real fascination for me as a child. Who was this person on the other end of the phone who was always available, any time of day, who could tell me the time down to the exact second? Did they ever […]
Payment provider Worldline and Luxembourg-based start-up SnapSwap have signed a partnership agreement for the latter’s mobile payment application Gloneta. Gloneta combines a mobile messenger (chat) with cross-currency transactions using blockchain. Worldline says it will “provide” secure card payments services to the new app Gloneta. Denis Kiselev, founder and CEO of SnapSwap, says: “Worldline’s expertise in […]
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is asking for input on its post-implementation review of crowdfunding rules. In its 31-page paper the FCA sets out some of the recent developments across the crowdfunding sector and a number of concerns it has identified. The FCA wants to get feedback from all interested parties relating to the […]
The 2016 UEFA European Championship ran from 10 June to 10 July in France. Portugal beat France 1-0 in the final. In the spirit of that football tournament, PPRO created an e-commerce guide to each country that proved very popular throughout the event. Click here to see all the countries: Euro 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Brexit: keep calm and carry on We assemble a panel of fintech and law specialists to discuss – with cool heads – the challenges and opportunities. Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up A round-up of key developments to save you […]
Advanced Payment Solutions (APS) has secured a credit licence from the UK’s regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). And whilst APS is not a bank, it competes with them. So is going through the pains for getting a banking licence really worth it, asks Rich Wagner, CEO and founder APS. We regularly see news of challenger finance […]
It’s hard to believe that it’s been just under two weeks since the UK narrowly voted in favour of Brexit. The pace of breaking news across the political and economic spheres has been brisk. In and amongst what is a great deal of uncertainty about the UK’s future relationship with the European Union, FinTech Futures, […]
One million Visa cardholders in Switzerland now have access to the newly launched Apple Pay. Wirecard is now providing its clients with Apple Pay support too (see below for details). Cornèrcard and Bonuscard.ch customers will be able to use Apple Pay, which can be used at any of the over 100,000 contactless point-of-sale terminals in […]
With news on blockchain and Bitcoin appearing thick and fast, here’s a round-up of key events to save you time. In Switzerland, the city of Zug, is piloting the acceptance of Bitcoin for payments. From 1 July, residents could start to pay their taxes, fees and fines with the digital currency. The project is part […]
US payments firm Stripe has launched “Managed Accounts” for its Stripe Connect to marketplaces in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. Stripe says by using Managed Accounts, marketplaces in Europe can design “lightweight” setup flows, configure payment schedules, decide who pays fees, determine when information is collected, and more. Managed Accounts was launched […]
Finnish fintech start-up Holvi has launched a debit card, Holvi Business MasterCard. It is available to customers in Germany, Austria and Finland. This follows on from the launch of a mobile banking app for iOS and Android last summer. Holvi, which was founded in 2011, provides entrepreneurs and SMEs with a range of financial and […]
ING and Belgian bank KBC have joined forces to launch a new, integrated mobile payments and loyalty platform in Belgium. This will combine ING’s payment app Payconiq with loyalty platforms Qustomer and KBC’s CityLife. Rik Vandenberghe, CEO ING Belgium, says the customer feedback it received about Payconiq and Qustomer “strengthens our conviction that as a […]
UniCredit Bank, MasterCard and platform provider GoSwiff have launched mobile payments for Allianz-Tiriac Asigurari insurance agents in Romania. The partnership will enable Allianz-Tiriac agents to start accepting card payments with mobile point of sale (mPOS) for the insurance policies issued by the company. The firms say Allianz-Tiriac becomes the “first insurance company in Romania” to […]
APS Bank in Malta completes its major technology overhaul. The project has been successfully completed on time and on budget, states the bank’s management. The new platform is the ICBS system supplied by a Lebanese banking software vendor BML Istisharat. The solution is delivered on a hosted basis. This is the first project for BML […]
The UK is home to the world’s leading centre for financial services, and in recent years a thriving centre for fintech innovation. Elizabeth Budd, financial regulation expert at Pinsent Masons, urges the financial services industry to be vocal about the framework it needs to have in place to protect this status, and continue to do […]
The financial institutions have adjusted their service and relationship models by integrating digital interaction and communication tools for private banking customers, writes Alberto Cuccu, chief product officer at Objectway. In Italy, the digitisation of banking services has for many years been focused primarily on propositions aimed at retail customers (such as payment services or home […]
Just a couple of months following the appointment of the new CIO at Harrods Bank, its chief executive – Peter Ball – leaves. Ball has moved to specialist lender Together, to head its retail division. Together has been ramping up its leadership team – over the last three months alone it has added Colin Kersley, […]
Berlin-based Raisin has gained a third partner bank on its pan-European deposit marketplace website, Euram Bank in Austria. The latest partnership follows on from deals with Poland-based Alior Bank and J&T Banka in the Czech Republic. Dr. Tamaz Geordgaze, CEO and founder of Raisin, says the level of Euram’s equity has remained at an “excellent” […]
The Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, has set up a blockchain research consortium with several privately-owned Russian banks. The development follows Banking Technology reporting recently that Russian payment platform Qiwi was planning to create such an entity. The central bank’s deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova says: “We developed a technical prototype for message transmission […]
As first reported by Banking Technology in early May, Phoebus Software has gained a new customer – UK challenger bank Atom. The five-year deal will see Phoebus’ lending software supporting Atom’s secured business lending and account servicing for Atom’s residential lending. The new platform will be used by the bank’s team to originate loans for […]
Three ex-Barclays workers have been found guilty of manipulating the Libor interest rate between 2005 and 2007. Jay Merchant was convicted unanimously at Southwark Crown Court in London of rigging the key financial rate. Jonathan Mathew and Alex Pabon were found guilty by majority verdict after a ten-week trial. They will be sentenced on Thursday […]
On Friday 24th June Britons woke up to the game-changing news that UK voters had voted to exit the EU. As the politicians look at how to commence divorce proceedings, the financial sector faces a number of challenges and questions around existing regulatory structures, currency and market valuations, and the wider macro impact. In this […]
The Dutch government is to open a new campus for the development of blockchain to attract banks and financial institutions. At a media briefing by Holland Fintech and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the first official “Fintech Ambassador of the Netherlands”, Willem Vermeend (also a professor in economics and former minister of social affairs and employment), […]
IBM and Crédit Mutuel Arkéa have completed their first blockchain project to “improve” the French bank’s ability to verify customer identity. The result of the pilot is an operational permissioned blockchain network that provides a view of customer identity to enable compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. “Blockchain is a transformative agent in our […]
Nordea has set up a new “Group Digital” unit to drive its digital banking agenda forward. The unit will start to operate on 1 September and will be co-headed by Poul Raaholt, previously head of group IT at Nordea, and Ewan MacLeod, previously responsible for the retail digital transformation programme at Royal Bank of Scotland. […]
Nordic digital payments firm Nets has been selected by a Danish banking collective to launch a new NFC mobile wallet solution. The collective, known as the Bokis partnership, includes 62 banks that form the small to mid-sized banks segment of Lokale Pengeinstitutter (the Association of Local Banks, Savings Banks and Co-operative Banks in Denmark), together […]
The Services Family bank will cater for the UK military personnel, veterans and their families. Sopra Steria’s technology will underpin its operations. The digital bank is being created by The Services Family Ltd (TSFL), a financial services firm set up two years ago by two military veterans. It is going through a process of obtaining […]
