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The switch from analog to digital banking is not just about new tech – part 1

Art Gillis, a seasoned banking technology consultant (working in the computer industry since 1958 – and listed as a top 25 tech consultant by the American Banker) and author, pulls no punches in this opinion piece. Digital technology evangelists, read it at your peril. The past 50 years I have known only three bank CEOs who […]

Beaten British banks need to modernise and improve software quality management

Following outages at some of the UK’s leading banks including Barclays and, most recently, HSBC which left customers unable to access funds for up to two days, means system failures are a hot topic. The amount and frequency of these damaging failures emphasises the growing issue of poor software quality management in the UK banking […]

Infographics: the efficient treasury

The treasury function plays a pivotal role within a bank, and with great power comes great responsibility… and the need for automation. Misys and Banking Technology conducted a survey to find out about the changing role of the banks’ treasury and the degree of support received from current systems. How can technology help treasurers cope […]

ICAP profit and revenue fall, plans name change to NEX

ICAP, a UK-based financial services firm, has revealed profit and revenue loss for the year ended 31 March 2016; and a new name following the sale of its global hybrid voice broking and information business. Revenue, trading operating profit, trading profit before tax and profit before tax were all down for year ended 31 March […]

Green Dot Agrees to Split CEO, Chairman Role amid Proxy Fight

A week from its 2016 annual shareholder meeting, Green Dot has announced plans to split up the role of chairman and CEO. The move comes in the midst of Green Dot’s proxy battle over board seats, propelled by Harvest Capital, which owns 9.3 percent of Green Dot common stock and has proposed three nominees to the board.

Walmart Pay Rolls out in Texas, Arkansas

Five months after unveiling its own in-store mobile payment service, Walmart has begun rolling out Walmart Pay in Texas and the retail giant’s home state of Arkansas. Available through the Walmart smartphone app for iOS and Android, Walmart Pay can be loaded with any major credit, debit or prepaid card or a Walmart gift card.

Sen. Durbin Wants Answers on EMV Terminal Certification Delays

More than seven months after last October’s EMV liability shift in the U.S., customers “are forced to continue using fraud-prone magnetic stripe technology” because chip-reading payment terminals remain idle, charged U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Edith Ramirez.

VocaLink signs ATM deal with UnionPay

VocaLink, the payment systems provider, has signed a five-year deal with China’s UnionPay International, which will enable UnionPay cardholders to access ATMs in the UK and continental Europe. Under the deal, VocaLink will provide ATM transaction processing and UnionPay sponsored access. VocaLink says on average, the value of UnionPay card withdrawals from UK ATMs are […]

Bloomberg applies to join global LEI system

Bloomberg has applied to the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) to become a local operating unit (LOU) of the Global LEI System (GLEIS). By submitting this application, Bloomberg moves to the candidate stage of the LOU accreditation process and joins an existing network of LOU’s monitored by GLEIF. Peter Warms, senior manager of fixed […]

Swift warns of second new malware threat

Swift has warned its customers about a newly identified malware found at a “commercial bank”, which it has declined to identify. This latest development follows yesterday’s (12 May) news where Swift rejected the allegations made by Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials about the first cyber fraud scandal in February. Details […]

Crowdfunding and investment round-up: 13 May 2016

With news on crowdfunding and investment appearing with relentless regularity, here’s a round-up of key events to save you time. UK challenger bank Tandem has now revealed the money it’s raised and its valuation – all in preparation for a crowdfunding campaign that starts on 20 May. Money raised comes to £22 million and it […]

Infographics: the efficient treasury

Banking Technology and Misys conducted a survey to find out about the changing role of the banks’ treasury and the degree of support received from current systems. The results are in our infographics – great contents that is easy on the eye and easy to digest.

Top fintech stories this week – 13 May 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Perception brings to market new core platform UK credit unions, lenders and start-up banks take note. ING adds some zing to start-up ring It’s working with 45 start-ups on banking innovation. Punjab National Bank to modernise enterprise data […]

Barclays swerves Android Pay with smartphone NFC payments

Banking giant Barclays has announced the launch of its own mobile contactless on Android, and confirmed it will not be joining Android Pay, reports Tim Skinner at Telecoms.com. The bank has been one of the UK’s more innovative financial institutions harnessing mobile payments, and specifically the integration of payment technology into wearable or alternative devices. […]

Blackhawk: Mobile Wallets Gain as Cash and Check Usage Falls

A Blackhawk Network study finds that more consumers (44 percent) are buying gift cards for themselves, most consumers are familiar with digital gift cards and other innovative payment methods are catching steam, while checks and even cash are declining.

Walmart Sues Visa over Debit Verification Rules

Walmart has filed a lawsuit against Visa Inc. over claims that the payment network is forcing Walmart to offer customers the option to verify EMV debit card purchases via signature—a method the retail giant says is more prone to fraud than PIN verification.

Fidor Bank and Telefónica Germany to launch O2’s first mobile bank account

Telefónica Germany, in association with Fidor Bank, will be launching its mobile banking offering, “O2 Banking”, in Germany in late summer 2016. Matthias Kröner, CEO of Fidor Bank, says the collaboration offers “the best of two digital worlds”. Namely, banking services via a mobile app and additional services from an O2 mobile contract. Fidor says […]

Fear of missing out vs fear of failure: how to resolve the conflict

The fear of missing out (FOMO) forever clashes with the fear of failure (FOF) when it comes to innovating in banks. Lee Cameron, CEO of Monitise, explores the FOMO versus FOF conflict and how to resolve it. FOMO is commonly cited as being characteristic of the Instagram-driven millennial generation, but how does this relate to […]

Banking Technology May 2016 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.

People on the Move: Gene Fredriksen, Global Forum to Advance Cyber Resilience

Gene Fredriksen, chief information security officer for credit union service organization PSCU, has been selected to help represent the nation’s credit unions in the Global Forum to Advance Cyber Resilience, a public/private initiative bringing together industry, business, government and critical infrastructure leaders to operationalize cyber resilience and cybersecurity.

Company on the Move: TOC, FIDO Alliance

Chilean biometrics company TOC has joined the FIDO Alliance, the association aiming to develop global standards for online authentication based on methods that are more secure than simple passwords.

European Banking Federation pushing for global policy on cybersecurity

The European Banking Federation (EBF), the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) are planning global policy measures on cybersecurity, data and technology through a new set of common principles. In its paper, “International Cybersecurity, Data and Technology Principles”, the organisations want to create a “starting point for dialogue […]

Vendor spotlight: the difference engine

Amidst the mass of humanity at Money 20/20 Europe in Copenhagen, Olivier Sery, general manager Iberia for TAS Group, took a few moments of his time to discuss the company’s software solutions for electronic money and payment systems; and its future plans. “We’ve done the investment, but now is the time to grow our footprint.” […]

CFSI Study Cites Key Indicators of Financial Health

Forget traditional measures like credit scores and net worth. A new report from the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) identifies eight key indicators that it says provide a better understanding of consumers’ financial health that can help financial services providers and nonprofits design products and services to help consumers get ahead.

Can Password Manager Dashlane Race ahead in Wallet Wars?

Dashlane, a password manager with offices in New York City and Paris, announced on May 9 that its digital wallet has surpassed $5 billion in online consumer spending. Could this digital identity company become a leader in the wallet wars?

Groupon Sells M-POS Arm to Upserve

The sale of the unit to the restaurant management technology company comes amid financial woes for Groupon. The deal makes Upserve the industry’s largest cloud-based restaurant management platform, serving more than 6,000 restaurants in every U.S. state, according to the company.

Int’l Regulatory Roundup: Pakistan Issues Prepaid Rule; SEQR Lands E-Money License

The State Bank of Pakistan has issued new prepaid card regulations in a bid to promote prepaid for financial inclusion and enhanced security. Meanwhile, Stockholm-based mobile payment specialist Seamless Distribution AB has been granted an e-money issuing license by Sweden’s financial supervisory authority for its SEQR mobile wallet.

ING adds some zing to start-up ring

Dutch bank ING has revealed it’s working with 45 fintech start-ups on banking innovation, such as money management, payments, lending and mobile on-boarding. Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group, says of the 45 fintech firms, these include seven start-ups working on their proof-of-concept through the ING Fintech Village initiative in Belgium, and four through the […]

The Increasing Role of the Banks’ Treasury

The world of the banks’ treasury is changing. Treasurers are getting more involved with corporate governance, risk management and regulatory reporting. In this webinar, we will discuss the latest results of a survey run by Banking Technology with more than 100 treasurers earlier this year and discuss the implications of these results with treasurers, other […]

Really! Why is my big data a time bomb?

Over $100 billion fines were paid in US for non-compliance since 2007! More than $2.5 billion in 2015 alone was a result of incomplete and inaccurate data used for complying with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. It’s not just financial institutions, but most firms are sitting on a ticking time bomb. How? Dr Seth Rao, CEO […]

Green Dot’s Strong Q1 Doesn’t Silence Harvest

Green Dot’s positive financial results for the first quarter of the year included growth in the prepaid segment, the launch of the company’s revamped MonkeyPak reload product and several new partnerships. But the company’s strong quarter wasn’t enough to silence its loudest critic, as activist investor Harvest Capital sends yet another letter to shareholders blasting what it calls Green Dot’s “smear campaign” against its board of director nominees.