Chime Pulls in $18 Million, Surpasses 500,000 Bank Accounts
Chime, a mobile banking challenger co-founded by Green Dot and Visa veteran Chris Britt, has raised $18 million in Series B financing, led by global venture fund Cathay Innovation.
PayTech
Whole Foods Market Reports Breach
On Sept. 28, Whole Foods Market announced it had recently received information regarding unauthorized access of payment card data used at certain venues such as taprooms and table-service restaurants located within some of its stores.
Top fintech stories this week – 29 September 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
CFPB Financial Well-Being Report Underscores Industry Opportunity
More than 40 percent of U.S. adults struggle to make ends meet, according to new data from the CFPB. While not great news on its own, the findings could help financial services providers design products directed at improving financial well-being.
CPI Names Scott Scheirman CEO
CPI Card Group, a provider of financial card production and related services, announced the appointment of Scott Scheirman as president and CEO, effective Oct. 5, 2017. He succeeds Steve Montross, who is retiring from the company.
Pindrop Releases ‘Next-Gen’ Phoneprinting with Machine-Learning Might
Pindrop, an Atlanta-based voice security and authentication firm, says its latest technology release is improving clarity and accuracy and increasing fraud detection by 20 percent.
Saxo Payments Banking Circle Backs Project International Trade
Saxo Payments Banking Circle, has become the benefactor of an Emerging Payments Association (EPA) project to support the growth of early stage fintech companies around the world.
Alexa Is Making ‘Her’ Presence Known
While Google is doing its impression of a petulant child, storming home from the park with its football tucked under its arm by barring Amazon Echo Show access to YouTube, Amazon has drafted a host of reinforcements for its Alexa offensive.
Rodney C. Adkins Joins PayPal’s Board of Directors
PayPal has welcomed Rodney C. Adkins to its board of directors. Adkins is president of 3RAM Group LLC, a privately held company specializing in capital investments, business consulting services and property management.
Payment Trends: BAI Beacon 2017 Preview
Cut through the noise and examine the payment trends most likely to affect your bottom line.
TransferMate Appoints Former Intuit Exec as Director of Strategic Partnerships
TransferMate, a Dublin-based B2B payments platform, has named Fabrizio Zanollo as director of strategic partnerships.
Wirecard Continues Alipay Push with Merchant Deals
Wirecard has announced two partnerships this week to expand Alipay acceptance in Europe, one with Schustermann & Borenstein and another with Swarovski Crystal Worlds.
Hawk Incentives Launches Mastercard Prepaid Incentive Card for Mobile Wallets
Hawk Incentives, a Blackhawk Network business that provides rewards and incentive solutions, has unveiled a new open-loop Mastercard prepaid card that can be added to major mobile wallets.
SunTec Xelerates its open banking ambitions
SunTec has unveiled its out-of-the-box open banking solution, offering preset configurations and definitions, through its Xelerate billing system. With the rise of open banking, SunTec wants to join the throng looking to prosper in a very competitive and crowded market. The firm says banks can use the layer to get business value from their APIs […]
InComm expands transit business
InComm, a prepaid and payments technology company, continues to expand its tolling and transit payments business nationwide with the launch of the RiverLink Starter Kit.
First Tech Credit Union Goes Live with Zelle
First Tech Federal Credit Union announced that the Zelle P2P service is live in its mobile banking app, enabling payments for more than 110,000 First Tech mobile banking members.
Tech dominates Interbrand global rankings
Interbrand has released its rankings of the most valuable brands in the world, and the technology sector has a lot to boast about, occupying six of the top ten spots, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). Every now and then we just need a reminder of how important technology is for today’s society. In previous […]
Mastercard, Swarovski Launch VR Shopping
Mastercard and Swarovski have teamed up to launch a virtual reality (VR) shopping app for the Atelier Swarovski home décor line. The app immerses consumers in a home where they can browse and purchase the pieces with Masterpass.
Cashplus Expands with £30 Million Debt Facilities Led by RBS
Cashplus, a London-based alternative financial services provider—and Top 5 Best Challenger Bank—has announced two new, three-year funding arrangements totaling £30 million (US$40.52 million). The company will use the credit to expand its lending products for SMEs.
Banks going Kodak
When was the last time you visited a bank branch? While the rise of the internet, banking shifted the customer interaction from the branch to the web, the business was still owned and run end-to-end by the bank and at lower cost. For a few years now, the landscape has altered significantly bringing Kodak to […]
How millennials are shaping the future of payments
For the millennial generation, paying for a latte using a contactless card, transferring money to a family member or friend online or buying a pair of trainers with “one click” has become the norm. This generation has not only shaped and driven the payments revolution, but is also playing an active role in developing a lot of the payment technologies emerging today.
Will fintech cause the next financial crisis?
Payments experts weigh in on the analysis and offer their own two cents on fintech, innovation, regulation and risk.
Digiliti Money plans to delist from Nasdaq
Digiliti Money (DGLT), which is in merger negotiations with Urban FT, is planning to delist from the Nasdaq, according to its most recent SEC filing.
Top fintech stories this week – 22 September 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Innovators’ Spotlight: SPENT Money
Rather than being top of wallet, SPENT Money wants to help consumers manage and earn rewards from what’s already there—at least for now.
Fintech funding round-up: 21 September 2017
Following swiftly on from the fintech funding round-up on 19 September, here’s more concise, cash-coated action. Features CivilisedBank, HighRadius, Swirlds and Luno. UK challenger CivilisedBank, which got its banking licence in May, has agreed terms for a further round of funding from current investor Warwick Capital Partners. No more details on that but the bank […]
Bento for Business Names Jeff Pomeroy VP of Product
Blackhawk Network veteran Jeff Pomeroy has joined the Pay Award-winning Bento for Business, a provider of employee expense management solutions for small businesses, as vice president of product.
Fifth Third Bets on Gaming with Investment, Partnership
Fifth Third Bancorp is placing its bets on the newly merged gaming payments companies NRT Technology Corp. and Sightline Payments, announcing a strategic relationship and equity investment in NRT Sightline, “one of the largest pure-play casino payment-technology companies in the world.”
FT Partners Hires Goldman Sachs Veteran Melissa Wasser
San Francisco-based Financial Technology Partners (FT Partners), a fintech-focused investment bank, has hired Melissa Wasser as a director and head of private capital markets.
Executive profile: Solana Cozzo, Mastercard
It’s a good thing Solana (“Sol”) Cozzo is high energy. When she’s not literally running or chasing after 3-year-old twins, she’s running Mastercard’s North American prepaid and inclusive growth business. It’s hard work when you consider that “the cardable opportunity is about seven times the current market,” she says.
Raise Pulls in $60 Million in Funding, PayPal Joins Party
Raise, which bills itself as the world’s largest gift card marketplace, has raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by Accel, with participation from PayPal and existing investors New Enterprise Associates and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Juniper: Apple Users Likely to Reject Facial Recognition
A new survey conducted by Juniper Research has found that more than 40 percent of iOS users in the U.S. consider themselves unlikely to use facial recognition as a payment security technology. This suggests that a core use case for the iPhone X’s main security feature may struggle to gain traction among consumers, the consultancy says.
Fintech funding round-up: 19 September 2017
Four stories in one for a fast fintech funding round-up. Features Ellevest, iZettle, GoCardless and MarketInvoice. New York-based fintech Ellevest, led by former Merrill Lynch CEO Sallie Krawcheck, has got itself $34.6 million funding. Ellevest is a bit different from the rest as it was founded to provide an investing experience to “help women meet […]
Hyperwallet Taps B2B Payments Veteran for Executive Role
Hyperwallet, a global payouts provider to millions of independent workers, has hired Derrick Walton as its new executive vice president of global financial networks.
InComm OLS, NBS Fuel Gift Card Growth with Gas Pump Integration
Consumers now will be able to use some gift cards to pay at the pump, thanks to a partnership with On-Line Strategies Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of InComm, and National Bankcard Services.
EML Payments Europe Partners with Fortuna on Gaming Payout Cards
EML Payments Limited announced that its wholly owned subsidiary EML Payments Europe Limited has entered into a multiyear agreement with Fortuna Entertainment Group to provide branded reloadable cards for customers to access their winnings or remit funds back into their gaming accounts.
Barcode Payments Spread across Africa with M-vendr, PiP iT
M-vendr, a U.K.-based tech company with a POS pay-in system across 12 African nations, has signed an agreement with international cash payments platform PiP iT to integrate the latter’s barcodes across its network of 45,000 merchant locations.
Viber Brings Good Vibes to Addiko Bank’s Chat Banking Payments
Austrian banking group Addiko has unveiled chat banking for its customers—the “first ever” Viber-based financial transaction service available in Croatia.
Blockchain and Bitcoin Roundup: JP Morgan Chase, Japan’s Regulator, Wish Finance
Arguments, exchanges and something getting launched. It’s our blockchain and bitcoin roundup, featuring Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Japan’s regulatory plans and alt. lending.
Semafone Appoints John Donaldson CFO
Semafone, a U.K.- and Boston-based provider of data security and compliance solutions for contact centers, has appointed John Donaldson to the role of chief finance officer, as the company prepares to build on its record growth in 2016.
