UK


New fintech firm, Soldo, comes to UK and Italy

Soldo, a London-based fintech start-up, is launching its flagship multi-user spending account. Soldo is not a bank, but a prepaid MasterCard. It holds an e-money licence from the UK’s regulator, FCA.

FCA to hold regtech themed TechSprint

The UK’s regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will focus on “unlocking regulatory reporting” in its second TechSprint event. Over 100 developers and 30 organisations are expected to participate and “experts from the Bank of England will be observing”, says the FCA.

Tesco Bank suspends online transactions due to cyberattack

UK-based Tesco Bank has revealed that 20,000 of its customers had up to £2,000 stolen from their accounts in a cyberattack. As a result, all online transactions have been frozen for 24 hours until the situation is bank “under full control”, according to Benny Higgins, Tesco Bank’s CEO.

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority calls for current account competition

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says it will take action to improve competition in the current account market. This follows a series of recommendations which were proposed by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of its investigation into retail banking. Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, […]

Tandem Bank calls for first customers

Digital banking start-up Tandem has started inviting its community of 10,000 “co-founders” to be its first customers. Tandem was formed in 2014 and is accessible online, via an app and through a UK call centre. It got its banking licence in November 2015 and says its focus is on helping people manage their money rather […]

UK challenger bank FGTB bites the dust

First Global Trust Bank (FGTB) had its licence cancelled by the UK regulators, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

ACI powers Faster Payments for Turkish Bank UK

ACI Worldwide has partnered with Turkish Bank UK to power its Faster Payments offering. The UK-based bank will use ACI’s aggregator service to connect to the nation’s Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) – allowing it to process all transfers to and from UK bank accounts “instantly”. It will use the service via ACI’s cloud-based delivery model […]

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority calls for more finserv access

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wants more access to financial services and for fintech to show a greater understanding of the nation’s ageing population. In its 160-page “FCA Occasional Paper”, published today (1 November), the FCA looks at “barriers to bank accounts”, digital transformation and the growing grey brigade. Christopher Woolard, director of strategy […]

10x Future Technologies to build digital core banking platform for Virgin Money

10x Future Technologies, the start-up founded by former Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins, is building a digital core banking platform for Virgin Money. It will be delivered in a cloud and will enable Virgin Money to unify its data platforms into a single infrastructure via 10x’s APIs, the vendor says. This new deal follows on from […]

Nimbrix launches blockchain consortium and platform

London-based Nimbrix has unveiled its new blockchain platform and the creation of an industry consortium with KPMG and Microsoft. The Nimbrix buy-side platform will use cloud, open API, Software-as-a- Service (SaaS) and blockchain. It will be powered by Microsoft Azure, and Nimbrix says trades can be “executed instantaneously between counterparties, thus reducing the risk of […]

ABLV Bank chooses Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for regulatory reporting

ABLV Bank, a Latvia-based private bank, has selected Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX to provide regulatory reporting software. The solution will be used for both its Latvian headquarters and its Luxembourg-based subsidiary, including European Banking Authority reporting obligations. The bank is also using the firm’s Regulatory Update Service. This service is maintained by Wolters Kluwer experts who […]

Misys scraps IPO

Misys’ initial public offering (IPO) has been scrapped. It had planned a £5.5 billion float but says in a statement that it “decided not to proceed… at the current time due to market conditions”.

FIS fuels Faster Payments for Raphaels Bank

UK-based Raphaels Bank has chosen FIS’s reconciliation solution to help extend access to Faster Payments. Earlier this year, Raphaels Bank became the first new member of the Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) since its inception in 2008, stating its “aim was to improve access to the scheme”. The bank offers a sponsorship model for “instant connectivity” […]

Misys IPO gets a rough ride

Misys’ initial public offering (IPO) is not going smoothly as planned with its value cut by 20%. As Banking Technology reported earlier this month, Misys planned to proceed with the IPO on the London Stock Exchange in early November 2016. The firm is currently residing in the hands of US-based Vista Equity Partners and is […]

Challenger BFC Bank readies for UK launch

BFC Bank, a subsidiary of the Bahrain Financing Company money transfer group, has received authorisation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as it finalises its launch as a UK bank. For its technology, BFC will be using an outsourced “bank in a box” version of ERI’s Olympic core banking system. […]

UK challenger Amicus applies for banking licence

Amicus Finance, a UK financial services group, has submitted a banking licence application to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It hopes to get the banking licence in 2017. In advance of authorisation, Amicus will convert £30 million of the debt currently used to fund its lending activities into equity […]

Equity firm Martin Currie picks Vermilion for reporting

Vermilion Software, a UK-based supplier of client reporting and communications software, has been selected by active equity specialist Martin Currie. Edinburgh-based Martin Currie has chosen its client reporting suite and pitchbook facility as a means of “consolidating” its reporting and marketing materials. In addition to adopting Vermilion’s V4.0 reporting technology, Martin Currie has also purchased […]

UK challenger Redwood submits banking licence application

Acorn Financial Partners (AFP) has submitted a banking licence application to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). On authorisation, AFP will be called Redwood Bank, a new UK-based SME challenger bank, and it anticipates receiving its licence early in 2017 and opening to customers later the same year. AFP’s majority […]

NatWest’s debit card payments suffer glitch

Friday’s not the best for NatWest. Today (14 October), there have been some issues with its debit card payments and its customers are unable to make purchases. The bank says it is “aware of some issues” and is “working hard to fix them”. On Twitter, customers are either confused or venting their fury. We’re aware […]

TransferWise connects to UK Faster Payments Scheme

TransferWise has “successfully” integrated into the UK’s Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) using ACI Worldwide’s tech at the back-end. As Banking Technology reported in August, TransferWise became the “first” tech firm to get direct access to FPS as technical partner to Raphaels Bank. Prior to that, ACI partnered with the same bank, opening up access to […]

Chinese tourism fuels Alipay and Zapper payment partnership

Alipay has partnered with Zapper, the consumer insights and marketing platform, to grab a slice of the Chinese tourism market in the UK. Zapper says the partnership will allow over 250,000 Chinese tourists visiting the UK to pay using the Alipay app in over 1,000 locations nationwide. Rita Liu, head of Alipay EMEA, says merchants, […]

Lloyds job cuts run deeper – 1,230 to go

Lloyds has confirmed 1,230 jobs will be cut as part of its continuing restructuring plan. The jobs will go from group operations, retail, customer products and marketing, finance and risk divisions. As Banking Technology reported in April, Lloyds revealed it was to cut 625 jobs – part of its 9,000 job reductions and 200 branch […]

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority fines Sonali Bank for AML fails

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Sonali Bank UK £3.25 million for “serious” anti-money laundering (AML) systems failings. It has imposed a restriction, preventing it from accepting deposits from new customers for 168 days, and fined the bank’s former money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), Steven Smith, £17,900 and prohibited him from performing the […]

Handbag stars in Starling Bank debit card debut

“We have the licence, we have the technology, now we have the card.” New UK challenger bank Starling has got its first batch of debit cards as it continues to build its infrastructure. Like some kind of shopaholic’s symbolic frolic, the bank detailed its London shopping adventure with a blog post. This had a point […]

Brooks Macdonald puts IT revamp with Third Financial on hold

UK-based wealth and investment management firm Brooks Macdonald is believed to have scrapped its plans to implement a new wealth management system. The project was underway for some time, with domestic software developer Third Financial to deliver its Tercero platform, front-to-back office, to Brooks Macdonald.

AI at RBS for TLC

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has installed advanced “human” artificial intelligence (AI) to help its staff answer customer queries. The bank says a two month trial has been “successful “and the AI, known as ‘Luvo’, is to be rolled out more widely to support employees, and perhaps bring some tender loving care (TLC) with it. […]

Atom Bank opens doors to all UK customers

There’s nothing better than going all the way. Challenger bank Atom is now fully open for all customers in the UK. Atom initially launched with an “invitation only” phase, but as of today (6 October) anyone can download the Atom App, both in IoS and Android, and open an account. The App is available to […]

Misys to float on London Stock Exchange

Misys plans to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange in early November 2016. As Banking Technology reported in August, Misys – currently residing in the hands of US-based Vista Equity Partners – was understood to be gearing up for this IPO with a £5.5 billion float and appointed investment […]