Germany-based mobile challenger bank N26 will enter the UK market in the first half of 2018. According to N26, the UK is “one of the most advanced markets” in Europe in terms of digital payment methods. It says “non-cash payments and e-commerce are the accepted norm” and reckons there is a demand for a “fully-fledged […]
The customers of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland have been affected by an online and mobile banking glitch that is preventing access to accounts or telling users they don’t have an account with the bank. The banks say their phone lines are back to normal, but online and mobile banking are facing “intermittent issues”. […]
UK-based regtech vendor Lombard Risk Management is supplying its regulatory reporting platform, AgileReporter, to OneSavings Bank.
UK-based MarketInvoice has expanded into the business lending space, complementing its suite of invoice finance solutions. The firm says it has rebranded itself into “a business finance company”.
Burnley Savings and Loans, a lending company based in Burnley, UK, is awaiting a banking licence from the UK regulator for its Bank on Dave challenger bank.
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks (CYBG), through its digital banking service B, is launching new technology in November 2017 to enable customers to pay in cheques using its mobile banking app, B.
The UK peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market has flourished in the last decade. Lending volumes among the major platforms are increasing rapidly, pushing the cumulative total above £7 billion for the first time, as the understanding of the investment model continues to grow.
WorldFirst, an international payments business, has unveiled its new World Account platform for UK corporate customers, providing a range of international banking services to SMEs trading overseas who find it difficult to access through traditional banks.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will adopt Landmark Valuation Services’ (formerly Quest) valuation risk model (VRM) service for its mortgage valuation process for both RBS and NatWest. Using property analytics and land and environmental data, VRM helps the banks to apply an automated valuation where the risks are considered “low”. Where a physical inspection is […]
HSBC UK and its First Direct online banking subsidiary have partnered with fintech start-up Bud to provide customers with an integrated selection of financial services products and tools from across the market.
South Africa’s financial services group FirstRand is in takeover talks with Aldermore, a UK-based challenger bank focused on SMEs.
BFC Bank, a subsidiary of the Bahrain Financing Company money transfer group, has completed its mobilisation process and is preparing for a launch in early 2018. As reported last year, BFC received authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). After an initial “soft launch” for selected companies (such as SMEs […]
UK-based Lloyds Banking Group is modernising its payments technology for corporate and institutional clients with SAP. The bank has signed for SAP’s cash management and payments platform, powered by SAP HANA.
Fintech start-ups are being invited to apply to Accenture’s sixth FinTech Innovation Lab London, a three-month programme offering mentoring and the chance to accelerate business development. Accenture says this year’s lab has introduced a new stream to help regtech start-ups, because banks are “being compelled to open up their customer data and ensure this data […]
NCR Corporation has signed a five-year deal with UK’s TSB Bank to look after the bank’s 900+ ATMs and IDMs as well as provide service desk support for its employees across its branch network.
The UK’s Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) is asking for expressions of interest for the renewal and management of its infrastructure – the services that enable the nation’s 24/7 real-time payment service. This is the first of a three-phase competition for the infrastructure for up to ten years. The renewal will migrate the Faster Payments Service […]
What countries among the 20 largest economies are adapting quickest to using cashless systems like phones and contactless cards? New research (and nifty infographics) from global trading site Forex Bonuses reveals that Canada takes the top spot, narrowly edging out Sweden for the top position.
UK based insurer Aviva confirms that it’s acquired a majority stake in robo advisor, Wealthify.
The UK’s Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, is a woman on a mission, and that mission is to mutilate the reputation of platforms like WhatsApp in the pursuit of the destruction of end-to-end encryption, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). It isn’t new. Rudd must have been wronged by an online troll at some point and […]
Four of the latest stories in one for a fast fintech funding round-up. Features SalaryFinance, Featurespace, Worldpay, Invoke Capital, ESF Capital and ThinCats.
Uber is to accept an investment of up to $1.25 billion from Japan’s SoftBank and usher in new governance rules aimed at reining in former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick.
Invstr, the social and investment game app, has launched a new product which will give UK members the ability to trade fractional shares.
Credit Kudos, a challenger credit bureau, has received the green light from the UK’s regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to operate as a credit reference agency.
TSB has selected Microsoft 365 Enterprise and Dynamics 365 cloud solution as part of its digital banking revamp for its eight corporate centres and 550 branches. Microsoft 365 integrates Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security into a solution to help the bank’s 8,500 employees. Dynamics 365 delivers a cloud-based suite of applications […]
The last 24 hours for payments start-up Revolut haven’t been kind after its services went down due to a server failure. Not only was it painful for the engineers working to ensure the services are back up, but also painful to the customers who at the time couldn’t access their accounts. Revolut CEO, Nikolay Storonsky, […]
Oh brave new world! Where transparency reigns. The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
Nimbla, a London-based insurtech start-up, has launched a platform offering UK SMEs credit control and single invoice insurance using cloud accounting, as well as underwriting rules agreed upon by Munich Re’s new business unit Digital Partners. The firm says it is looking to tap into the UK’s SME market that has a reported £5.8 billion […]
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is setting up an asset management authorisation hub to support start-ups entering the lively market. In a speech at the “FT Investment Management Summit Europe 2017”, Megan Butler, executive director of supervision – investment, wholesale and specialist, FCA, says the hub will help start-ups as they move between pre-authorisation […]
HSBC UK is taking steps in a new direction with its first foray into open banking. Starting with the introduction of a new testing platform, HSBC Beta, this allows HSBC to get its feet wet before diving in with a fully fleshed out app for customers in 2018. Still, the testing platform won’t be no […]
HSBC is expanding its existing bank feed services with the launch of a new online tool that enables SMEs to establish a data feed from their bank account to their accounting software. Its customers can now connect their bank accounts to their choice of accounting package – namely Xero, Sage and Intuit. Nadya Hijazi, global […]
UK-based challenger bank Starling is asking its investors for another £40 million in funding as it looks to grow its business overseas, according to Sky News. Sky News says it understands that Starling, which got its banking licence last year, has appointed Quayle Munro, an advisory firm, to oversee the fundraising. As reported by Banking […]
Cardtronics’ $460-million purchase of rival ATM provider DirectCash Payments (DCP) has finally been approved by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Back in May 2017, Cardtronics had to offer undertakings due to competition concerns, and initially didn’t. The CMA said at the time: “As Cardtronics has not offered these undertakings, the CMA will now […]
Reading the UK news you might think fintech innovation only comes from limelight-hogging London, but that isn’t the case. There are obviously other rival global centres of innovation like Berlin or Stockholm, but many other regional UK fintech hubs exist too. The Fintech outside London report looks at UK fintech firms working outside of the so-called […]
10X Future Technologies, the start-up founded by ex-Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins last year, will announce this week that it has raised more than £30 million in funding from Ping An Insurance and management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, according to Sky News. The deal will speed up 10X’s expansion, and is good news for Jenkins’ ambitions. […]
Wealth management firm SEI is partnering with London-based blockchain company Coinfirm as they plan to tap into the UK’s asset transfer market. Coinfirm and the SEI Wealth Platform will use digital ledger technology (DLT) – and as with 99.9% of comments on any blockchain project, SEI says its solution will reduce costs and risks. Brett […]
Berlin-based deposit marketplace Raisin has acquired UK-based fintech specialist PBF Solutions to offer end-to-end deposit raising for UK banks and other providers. The acquisition is the first in Raisin’s history. If you’re not sick of Brexit yet, then Raisin states that “despite current market volatility and Brexit discussions, Raisin remains committed to the UK and […]
EXCLUSIVE: Russia’s second largest banking group, VTB, is looking to launch a retail banking business in the UK, Banking Technology understands. The bank has applied for a UK banking licence, to enable it to take retail deposits.
UK challenger bank Atom has partnered with user-generated content platform Reevoo to improve customer engagement and offer better purchase decisions. Using Reevoo’s platform, Atom says it collects reviews for its fixed saver account and mortgage products. These reviews are then displayed on Atom’s website, and have been included in various customer communications including newsletters and […]
The Bunker, a UK-based data storage and managed services provider, has launched a new sandbox service for start-ups seeking to develop applications for the financial services market and cope with regulations. It’s got some backing for its plans as innovation network Barclays Rise “will also play a supportive role in helping to identify early stage […]
NatWest says it is to become the first UK bank to offer a paperless mortgage – as customers can now apply for a completely digital mortgage and share and verify documents online. The new proposition means customers don’t need to send signed paperwork or personal and private information through the post. Lloyd Cochrane, director of […]
