Germany


Infographic: insurtech job market

Meta search engine Joblift analysed the UK’s insurtech job market, comparing it to both the traditional insurance industry, and the insurtech market in the UK’s major competitor Germany.

Deutsche Bank jumps on IBM Watson for Germanic AI ambitions

Wunderbar! Deutsche Bank has completed internal proofs of concepts (PoCs) with IBM for the deployment of an artificial intelligence (AI) powered Watson cognitive system in the German language. The system will be used in the bank’s Artificial Intelligence Client Communication Centre (AI-C³), and Deutsche Bank says it will use Watson for the development of a […]

ING goes manic for Scalable wealth management dynamic

ING will start a partnership with online wealth manager Scalable Capital as the bank plans a digital investment solution for its retail customers in Germany. Customers of ING in Germany will be able to register in less than 15 minutes through a paperless process. With a minimum investment of €10,000 they can monitor their portfolios […]

SolarisBank selects SIA to launch contactless payment cards in Germany

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 […]

Atom Bank breaks into German retail savings market

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, […]

Perseus start-up seeks to shield German SMEs from cyber threats

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 […]

Europe’s pan-industry e-identity platform preps for launch

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 […]

Commerzbank and BNP Paribas part ways over lending JV

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 […]

Commerzbank launches digital mortgage financing app

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 […]

Figo fuels Consorsbank multi-banking launch

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 […]

Mobile bank N26 launches loans with credit marketplace Auxmoney

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 […]

Lendico and SolarisBank team up for SME lending

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 […]

SIX buys girocard network

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 […]

Germany’s National Bank overhauls IT infrastructure with Atos

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 […]

FinLeap reveals new €39m funding, partners and HQ

German fintech incubator FinLeap has a spring in its step with new capital, new partners and a new HQ. The company has raised around €39 million from several investors, including the German Insurer Signal Iduna, SBI Group from Japan and the Dutch NIBC bank. Furthermore, the reinsurer Hannover Re, as a “big institutional investor”, raised […]

Commerzbank preps for major job losses

As part of its massive job cutting spree, Commerzbank has agreed an outline reconciliation of interests and social plan with the employee representative committees in Germany. As reported last year, Commerzbank firmed up plans to lay off nearly 5,000 people. According to a letter by German labour union Verdi, the majority of these job cuts […]

Commerzbank turns to blockchain for digital trade finance

Commerzbank and the Fraunhofer-Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund have teamed up to research and develop the digitisation of trade finance using blockchain. The bank says by using blockchain or distributed ledger technologies (DLT), it will build a decentralised database for internet of things (ioT) applications and smart contracts. This will offer […]

FinLeap in its Element with digital insurance partnership

German fintech incubator FinLeap’s digital insurance platform Element is partnering with financial services group Signal Iduna for new products and services. Element is currently in the process of applying for a life insurance licence under Germany’s Insurance Supervision Act, and plans to offer services in property, accident and liability, and cybersecurity. It will provide “Insurance-as-a-Platform” […]

Centralway Numbrs unveils B2B banking platform

Centralway Numbrs is launching a B2B portal, enabling banks to integrate their financial products into its Numbrs Store in Germany digitally and free of charge. The firm says its store is Germany’s first financial products distribution platform, run independently of a bank. The store is part of its Numbrs app, which has got 1.5 million […]

Deutsche Bank leads charge for pan-industry e-identity platform

Deutsche Bank and a variety of German and European companies have teamed up to establish a joint, pan-industry platform for online registration, e-identity and data services. The initiative was set up by the bank, Allianz, Axel Springer, Daimler, Postbank, technology think tank Core, and location services provider Here Technologies. Their aim is to “make online […]