“Don’t Fear the InsurTech Start-ups, Fear Other Incumbents”
In 2027, how will the insurance industry have changed?
Artificial Intelligence/AI
MIT warns of ransomware in the cloud and weaponised AI
How secure will the cloud be in the coming 12 months?
Jordan Ahli Bank launches chatbot service, ahli bot
The first bank in Jordan to introduce a chatbot service. It is currently in beta version.
EBL launches Bangladesh’s first AI-based banking chatbot
EBL Digital Interactive Agent will communicate with customers via Facebook Messenger.
Top ten fintech opinion pieces in 2017
They thought for you.
A look back at 2017 and ringing in a new year for the payments industry
2017 has been another eventful year for the payments industry. From celebrities like 50 Cent getting involved (more on this later) to businesses neglecting the needs of pretty much every generation bar millennials, there hasn’t been a dull moment.
Virtual branching: how disruptive innovations are changing financial services
The ability to blend artificial intelligence (AI) and human interaction should resonate strongly with financial service organisations due to their need to be highly targeted and responsive. When you provide the right service to a consumer at the right time, you can affect their behaviour and give them the push needed to complete the purchase.
Fintech trends 2017: blockchain, big data… what’s next?
2017 ends with the Bitcoin having surpassed the $19,000 mark. Could this perhaps be a taste of our future?
SBDA Group closes Series A investment round
Banking personalisation firm SBDA landed investment from FinSight Ventures and Digital Space Ventures.
Schroders first in Singapore to launch asset manager chatbot
Beta version now online operating through Facebook Messenger.
Using artificial intelligence to keep criminal funds out of the financial system
Are you suspicious? This is a key question at the heart of efforts to tackle money laundering: if you work for a bank or other financial institution and have suspicions money laundering is happening, you have a legal duty to speak up.
AI will create 2.3m jobs by 2020 – report
With concerns that AI will make human employment obsolete, research firm Gartner is looking to counter that narrative.
Fortune 500 fuel IBM quantum computing quest
IBM has revealed the first clients to tap into its IBM Q early-access commercial quantum computing systems.
Emirates NBD appoints chief digital officer, seeks fintech partnerships
Emirates NBD’s new chief digital officer is on the lookout for partnerships with fintechs.
Google shows love for AI with new centre in China
Google has unveiled an AI centre in China as it searches out humans with ML talent.
ING cuts bond trading time with AI-powered Katana
The name’s bond. Tamed bond.
Microsoft releases quantum development kit for AI
Microsoft sets out ambitions to create a quantum computer that can be used to address complex issues such as AI.
Rise of the machines will be monitored
The Financial Stability Board has stated in its first report on AI that the risks they pose need monitoring.
Fintech funding round-up: 11 December 2017
This round-up features WorldRemit, PAIR Finance and an update on Sophia the AI robot and SingularityNET.
Fintech Connect Live 2017: the unleashing of AI and ML
Fintech Connect Live 2017 is a gathering of some of the biggest players in the fintech. With the looming rise of open banking and the cryptocurrency surge, it’s the smaller start-ups and innovators of smart technologies in banking that are making headway with use of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML).
Jaywing the Archetype with new AI risk tech launch
Risk and data science firm Jaywing has unveiled Archetype, a new risk technology product that uses artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and deep neural nets to help lenders generate statistical models.
IBM’s Power9-based AC922 system designed for AI workloads
IBM is ready to start shipping the first commercial server systems built around its recently released Power9 processor. Dubbed the AC922 Power Systems, these servers will ship by the end of December, and are specifically designed for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
Hartford InsurTech Hub hails hearty start-ups for 2018
Connecticut-based Hartford InsurTech Hub, powered by Startupbootcamp, has unveiled its 2018 cohort of start-ups for its inaugural insurance acceleration programme. The 11 selected firms comprise a mix from sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics and natural language processing (NLP) combined with cybersecurity, smart home and health insurance. According to the hub, over […]
Fintech funding round-up: 1 December 2017
Who doesn’t love a trilogy? Following on from the round-ups on Thursday (30 November) and Tuesday (28 November) here’s another slice of fintech funding action. Features Deposit Solutions, Hanson Robotics’ Sophia, and BNP Paribas Asset Management. Germany’s Deposit Solutions, an open banking platform for deposits, has closed an investment round of $20 million led by […]
Amazon brings machine learning to “everyday developers”
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is looking to bring machine learning (ML) to ordinary developers, launching the SageMaker service to simplify building applications, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication). ML is too complicated for ordinary developers, AWS CEO Andy Jassy said at a keynote during the AWS re:Invent event. “If you want to enable most […]
The AI arms race might be a bit more dangerous than you think
In the tech world, an arms race usually a metaphor for two companies battling for supremacy, but McAfee thinks it might be a bit more literal for artificial intelligence (AI) as hackers upskill to make use of the breakthrough, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). As one of its predictions for 2018, security software vendor […]
PostFinance has crack at Swiss jackpot with new chatbot
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Switzerland’s PostFinance has unveiled a German language virtual assistant on its website – generating automatic replies to customers’ most frequently asked questions. PostFinance, keen to tap into the fintech zeitgeist for artificial intelligence (AI), says it’s the “first Swiss financial institution” to launch such a chatbot. It was developed by the IT […]
Intuit selects AWS for machine learning and AI workloads
Business and financial software company Intuit has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its standard for machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.
DBS creates lifestyle branch for tech generation
In a move to attract the tech generation to branches, Singapore’s DBS has launched a “lifestyle space” providing freshly brewed coffee, interactions with humanoid robots and a virtual reality (VR) area for retirement planning.
BMO Financial Group injects $2m into Montreal AI lab
BMO Financial Group is putting $2 million into Creative Destruction Lab Montreal (CDL-Montreal) to fund artificial intelligence (AI) and data science projects. CDL-Montreal will target seed-stage start-ups by providing business and technology mentoring, equity opportunities and business development partnerships. On 15 December, the first cohort of 28 businesses, made up entirely of AI start-ups, will […]
Robots have got OCBC’s retail banking backend covered
Hey humans! Feeling down? Well let’s get down some more. OCBC Bank has launched two robots to enhance internal backend processing speeds in its retail banking secured lending (CSL) and finance teams. The robot attached to the CSL team assists with housing loan re-pricing. This includes processing time, which “has been almost entirely reduced” (i.e. […]
RBC to open AI lab in Montreal
Borealis AI, a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Institute for Research, will open an artificial intelligence (AI) lab in Montreal. Borealis AI has partnered with McGill University Professor, Jackie Cheung, as academic advisor for the lab and will work with the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA). The team anticipates opening the doors of the […]
RBS unleashes robo-advice service via NatWest brand
Wealthtech is coming to the UK high street as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has launched a robo-advice service for around five million customers under its NatWest brand. The service will be available for clients with a minimum of £500 to invest. The total cost of advice, investment and platform fees will be at 0.95%. […]
ForwardLane unveils new AI APIs
US-based ForwardLane has introduced a pair of new artificial intelligence (AI) APIs that apply natural language processing and deep learning AI for managing research data and communication, reports David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). “The two APIs empower the world’s leading asset managers, wealth mangers, and insurers augment the capabilities of their star performers and […]
Multicloud can lead to management nightmare – survey
As enterprises move to a multicloud universe that combines different public and private clouds, the question now becomes how to manage all these competing platforms as the complexity builds? Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports that’s the question at the heart of a study released this week by research firm opinion.life and sponsored […]
Fintech funding round-up: 17 November 2017
Following on from yesterday’s (16 November) fintech funding fun, here’s another summary. Features Flender, Tipigo Ventures, India Accelerator, Kuants, Sumeru and a handy $2 billion in Singapore. Return to Flender. Address known. As reported in May, peer-to-peer lending start-up Flender was seeking to get €1 million in funding and is targeting a UK launch after […]
Top fintech stories this week – 17 November 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Microsoft doubles down on open source and analytics for developers
Microsoft’s embrace of open source software is about to get a lot bigger as the company is rolling out several new tools and services designed to help developers create applications designed for the cloud, as well as highly specialised apps for artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT), reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking […]
EyeLock docks with ViaTouch for iris-powered payments
Iris-based biometric authentication specialist EyeLock has signed an agreement with ViaTouch Media that will integrate EyeLock’s technology within ViaTouch’s smart-shelf vending solution, Vicki. David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) reports that EyeLock CEO Jim Demitrieus says the agreement was the culmination of years of working with firms from a variety of industries to bring embedded […]
Finastra Universe London 2017: open banking and the rise of AI
Finastra has revealed its focus on the open innovation of smart technologies in banking, alongside artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning/deep learning.
