News


Nod and pay a virtual reality with Alibaba

Alibaba has revealed a new payment service that lets virtual reality (VR) shoppers pay just by nodding their heads. Called VR Pay, it’s been developed by Ant Financial’s (Alibaba’s financial arm) incubator F Lab, and it’s another innovation in the lively and overcrowded payments arena. With the tech, shoppers (bovine at the best of times) […]

Top fintech stories this week – 14 October 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! MasterCard to buy French payment firm Stet? EXCLUSIVE. Payments processor could be a target. Brooks Macdonald puts IT revamp with Third Financial on hold EXCLUSIVE. All freeze for wealth management firm. Banks behaving badly in Singapore Monetary Authority […]

Payments round-up: 13 October 2016

Make it lean, keep them keen. A round-up of events in the payments space. Nordea is leaving the Swipp collaboration and partnering with Danske Bank’s MobilePay platform in Denmark and Norway. The shared payment solution’s plan is a reaction to “new international players” who “regularly appear in the market”. Danske says it will begin converting […]

ISITC Europe and Oasis to define technical standards for blockchain

The International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITC) Europe and the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (Oasis) are to jointly define technical standards for blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT).

Fintech funding round-up: 13 October 2016

Fintech funding without the tub-thumping. A realistic and brief round-up of key events. ComplyAdvantage, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to help firms manage compliance, has revealed an $8.2 million Series A funding round led by Balderton Capital. The funding will allow the regtech firm to do the usual stuff – growth and […]

Infosys blockchain powers ICICI Bank and Emirates NBD trade finance ops

ICICI Bank and Emirates NBD say they have successfully executed the “first” banking transactions using blockchain in international trade finance in India and the UAE respectively. The development saw the exchange and authentication of remittance transaction messages as well as original international trade documents related to purchase orders, invoices, shipping and insurance, among others, electronically […]

Federal Appeals Court Declares CFPB Structure Unconstitutional

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Oct. 11 deemed the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unconstitutional because of it being led by a single director, calling the bureau a “gross departure from settled historical practice” in which independent agencies are led by commissioners or board members, according to the court’s decision.

CFPB Fines Navy Federal Credit Union $28.5 Million

The CFPB has fined Navy Federal Credit Union $28.5 million for improper debt collection action. That breaks down to $23 million going to victims and a $5.5 million civil penalty, the federal consumer agency said.

Applying Augmented Reality to an Omnichannel Retail Environment

Virtual reality (VR) has been grabbing headlines this year with major players across several industries entering the market. But there is evidence to show that augmented reality (AR) may be a more valuable platform in the years ahead. So what exactly is AR and what are the potential applications that could help take it from a small niche to a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few years?

People on the Move: Eric Jing, Ant Financial

Ant Financial Services Group, the online and mobile financial services affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has appointed current president Eric Jing as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective Oct. 16.

People on the Move: Safdar Khan, Mastercard

Mastercard has named Safdar Khan to the role of division president for Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Khan will be based in Jakarta and be responsible for leading the implementation of the company’s digital payment technologies in those markets.

Symantec reveals more hack attempts on Swift network

Symantec has found evidence that the Odinaff group has mounted attacks on Swift users, using malware to hide customers’ own records of Swift messages relating to fraudulent transactions. The tools used are designed to monitor customers’ local message logs for keywords relating to certain transactions. They will then move these logs out of customers’ local […]

Intense Industry Reaction Quickly Follows CFPB Prepaid Rules

The CFPB might have taken two years to release its final rules on prepaid accounts, but it took little time for payments industry players and observers to weigh in on them. Within a day of the rules’ release, which go into effect Oct. 1, 2017, prepaid services giant Green Dot Corp., the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), the Consumers Union and the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA) all had issued official comments, covering the spectrum of support for the new mandates.

Wirecard Launches Prepaid Card for European Truck Drivers

A new European prepaid product from Wirecard will help truck drivers pay for repairs and fuel. The program, launched in Germany, involves Europe Net, a subsidiary of ADAC Truck Service. Its European Net Service Card also enables fleet mangers to add value to the card so that drivers can make emergency payments.

Vodafone, PayPal Team for U.K. Contactless Payments

Vodafone customers in the U.K. now can make NFC payments funded from their PayPal accounts via Android smartphones. A new deal between Vodafone and PayPal enables PayPal to be used as a funding source for transactions made with Vodafone Pay.

Facebook Co-Founder among Targets in Jumio Lawsuit

A shareholder of ID verification startup Jumio Inc. has sued company officials over alleged mismanagement and misrepresentation of the firm, which filed for bankruptcy in March 2016. In a lawsuit filed in Delaware, Bloso Investments Ltd., alleges that Jumio directors, including Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, made deliberately misleading statements about the company’s prospects, duping Bloso into investing $5 million in Jumio.

MasterCard and SolarisBank partner for digital banking push

MasterCard and Berlin-based SolarisBank have teamed up to bolster their digital banking ambitions. SolarisBank has got principal membership status, and will now operate at MasterCard’s “highest issuer level”, with access to its entire product portfolio. Dr. Andreas Spengel, vice-president at MasterCard, says it is “excited by the outlook of working together with a young, visionary […]

Payments round-up: 10 October 2016

Wasting your time is a crime. Here’s a round-up of key events in the payments space. Absa has teamed up with South African start-up Walletdoc to let its Absa Rewards customers earn cash rewards each time they use Walletdoc to pay their monthly accounts. Walletdoc works by sending reminders when payments are due, notifying users […]

Fintech funding round-up: 6 October 2016

When time is tight, the reading can be light. A round-up of key events in fintech funding. US-based Payoneer has completed the first closing of a growth equity financing. Proceeds from the $180 million financing will be used to “accelerate global growth”. This year, the firm opened new offices in India, Japan and the Philippines, […]

Finleap and Mohan launch Burnmark

Berlin-based fintech incubator FinLeap has teamed up with fintech analyst Devie Mohan to launch Burnmark, an independent research company focusing on trends in the financial technology industry. Finleap will support Burnmark with network, knowhow and research capabilities. Mohan works closely with traditional banks, consulting firms, innovation teams, start-up accelerators and investors, advising them on fintech […]

Thomson Reuters launches new blockchain tech for developers

Thomson Reuters has launched BlockOne ID to let developers build applications in a controlled environment with blockchain. BlockOne ID (for Ethereum) is an experimental user-entitlement framework through which decentralised app (DApp) owners can manage access to their blockchain contracts. Thomson Reuters says it uses traditional methods to authenticate users and provides a mechanism for DApp […]

Kohl’s Launches Mobile Payments Tied to Private Label Card

Kohl’s on Oct. 5 launched a mobile payment option that “integrates the Kohl’s Charge private label credit card into the popular Kohl’s mobile app,” the retail chain said. Called Kohl’s Pay, the service enables some 25 million U.S. holders of that private label card to pay for in-store purchases directly from mobile devices.

Swift smart modules seek stronger security

Swift has published a series of eLearning modules as it ramps up its cybersecurity defences in the face of hacking threats. The SwiftSmart modules will help its customers operate their Swift environment “securely and in-line with best practice”. The move is also a “critical part” of its Customer Security Programme launched in May 2016. That […]

CFPB Includes Mobile Wallets in Final Prepaid Rule

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Oct. 5 released its final rule on prepaid accounts, and the agency’s requirements, which go into effect Oct. 1, 2017, go well beyond plastic.

Mastercard Brings Selfie Payments to Europe

Say cheese! Or at least hold still. Mastercard is rolling out its pay-by-selfie service in a dozen European countries. The move follows a similar pilot in North America.

HSBC hits $100bn mobile payments mark for corporates

There’s glee and a spending spree for HSBC as over $100 billion in mobile payments have been made by its corporate customers. The bank says the $100 billion sum was authorised globally through the HSBCnet mobile corporate banking platform since its launch in 2011. The total transaction value of mobile payments has more than doubled […]