Banking


Standard Chartered China teams with Tencent FiT for e-commerce solution

Standard Chartered China is partnering with Tencent Financial Technology Group (Tencent FiT) to launch a new e-commerce solution for corporates. The deal makes Standard Chartered the “first global bank to offer a one-stop online collection solution with WeChat Pay” and combines its cash management offering with the online payment gateway. The bank says it can […]

Mobile payments in the age of the customer

The mobile payment market is getting more congested every day. For banks, it’s the most frequent touchpoint – one that can help (re) establish everyday relevance and drive engagement. How can banks develop their strategy and prioritise the capabilities that will help them remain valuable to their customers?

Joy for Bankjoy as three credit unions sign contracts

Fintech start-up Bankjoy has signed three credit unions for its digital banking software: CommunityWide Federal Credit Union in Indiana; Advantage Plus Federal Credit Union in Idaho, and One Detroit Credit Union in Illinois.

IBM in major IoT drive with new partners

IBM has unveiled a large ecosystem initiative as it opens the doors of its new $200 million global headquarters for its Watson Internet of Things (IoT) business in Munich, Germany. BNP Paribas, Capgemini and Tech Mahindra are some of the firms who will place development teams at the IBM centre. Harriet Green, general manager, IBM […]

Amazon looking to buy Capital One?

Amazon is rumoured to be pondering the acquisition of Capital One. Banking Technology contacted both parties for a comment but received no response.

Mobile money: the state of play

With mobile money technology widely available, and so many citizens having access to a mobile phone, how many are actually banking in this way? What are the benefits available to them when using mobile money? And what does the future hold for this fintech innovation?

NatWest debuts digital platform for SME lending

NatWest (part of the RBS group) is set to launch a new digital platform to allow small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to quickly obtain unsecured loans of up to £150,000. Called Esme Loans, it is in trial mode and the bank will offer fast decisions on lending applications “potentially within an hour”. There will […]

Bank of Cyprus chooses Dovetail for payments revamp

Bank of Cyprus has selected Dovetail’s payment solution to support Swift, Target2, SEPA credit transfer and direct debits. The project is part of the bank’s ongoing digital transformation programme. Dr Andreas Stylianou, manager organisation and change, Bank of Cyprus, says: ‘Payments are the life blood of our business. We needed a modern, proven payments solution […]

SolarisBank raises €26m in funding round

Berlin-based SolarisBank has raised €26.3 million in its series A funding round as it targets European expansion, according to a “confidential source that’s close with the company”. The official press release is expected in the next two weeks, where Solaris will announce its new partners, as well as the products available for these partner companies. […]

Fintech accelerator round-up: 14 February 2017

You can read about fintech accelerators quickly with our latest round-up. Featuring RBS, BNP Paribas, Ben Franklin Technology Partners and the info on how to apply. Scotland has got its “first” fintech accelerator with the launch set for May. The new hub will be based in Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) Entrepreneurial Spark business centre […]

FCA: experimenting in the sandbox

2017 looks set to be the year in which a number of different jurisdictions vie to become the natural home of the financial technology sector. To help ensure that London remains fintech-friendly, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has created the “regulatory sandbox”.

Go-lives power Avaloq revenue rise

Avaloq has reported increases in its revenue and earnings for the 2016 fiscal year – with three new customers and 28 go-live projects completed. The Swiss firm generated full year revenues of CHF 533 million ($530 million) in 2016, an increase of 10% on a reported basis from CHF 485 million ($482 million) in the […]

Santander first bank in UK for voice-powered payments

Santander has become the first bank in the UK to allow customers to make payments using their voice. As Banking Technology reported in March 2016, Santander said it was the “first” bank in the UK to launch voice banking technology. Phase one enabled customers to talk to their Santander SmartBank app and ask about their […]

UK’s Co-op Bank goes up for sale

The UK’s Co-operative Bank has been put up for sale – with the minority investor Co-op Group saying it is “supportive of the plan to find the bank a new home”. The recent history of Co-op Bank (which markets itself as an ethical bank) has been interesting. It had a disastrous merger with Britannia Building […]

“Game changer” Jargon Bank updates an app

UK-based challenger Jargon Bank has updated its “revolutionary” mobile payments app from version 1.1 to version 1.2. As Banking Technology reported in December, the “game changer” bank launched offering “compelling and innovative” products that left journalists diving for cover… usually to the nearest pubs. Now it’s back with a 2,000-word press release that contains so […]

The Monday mindset: 13 February 2017

Fintech zeitgeist! Welcome to our new series of brief reports. Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week we welcome the views of our editor Tanya Andreasyan. Dear PR, we know you […]

Misys mulls another IPO

Misys is planning another initial public offering (IPO), following last year’s cancellation, according to the Daily Telegraph. As Banking Technology reported in October, Misys had planned a £5.5 billion float but this didn’t go smoothly as planned with its value cut by 20%. At the time it said it “decided not to proceed… at the […]

FinovateEurope 2017: designing good finance

Last week’s FinovateEurope was full of the broad range of exciting and innovative companies that we have come to expect at the show. Although the 72 companies showcasing their solutions operated right across the fintech landscape, they all sing from a common hymn sheet of improving the customer experience.

Trade finance and blockchain: the right time

Financial institutions and technology companies have tinkered with trade finance for years, but progress has been slow. Despite automation advances in many areas of financial services, trade finance remains a largely paper-based, manual process. But it could be one area where blockchain technology will be successfully applied.

Six into one with new UK financial services trade association

Bob Wigley, the former chairman of the collapsed Yellow Pages, will be the chair of a new financial services trade association, which will bring together six member organisations across the UK. It hasn’t got a name yet, but the new moniker and brand “will be decided in due course” and launched in the summer. The […]

Start-up DiPocket looks to rock it in mobile banking app launch

Start-up DiPocket has unveiled its new mobile banking app, which is not dependent on third party IT systems but built on its own platform. As well as “challenging” the traditional high street banks with its technology, DiPocket thinks it “has a thing or two to teach other ‘neo-banking’ start-ups”. Fedele Di Maggio, CEO and co-founder […]

Standard Chartered launches open banking API developer portal

Standard Chartered has unveiled its Open Banking Application Programming Interface (API) Developer Portal for transaction banking. The launch is part of its “digitisation agenda” and to increase collaboration with corporates, fintech firms and developer communities. The portal will initially provide a repository of API services focused on cash management and then roll out other API […]

Askari Bank goes live on Autosoft’s Islamic treasury solution

Pakistan-based Askari Bank has gone live with Autosoft’s Islamic treasury management system, Adams Islamic, and its RTGS STP utility (real-time gross settlement system straight-through processing), AutoRTGS. The bank can manage its Islamic treasury operations using Adams Islamic as well as process funds transfers between banks using AutoRTGS. Adams Islamic is also integrated with the bank’s […]

PSD2 and the future of payments

Banks need to do more than just comply with the upcoming revised Directive on Payment Services (PSD2). To survive, banks will need to embrace these changes.

Metro Bank speeds up data virtualisation with Delphix

UK challenger Metro Bank has accelerated a data project delivery, cutting provisioning time by 80%, following the deployment of the Delphix Data Virtualisation platform. The bank began working with California-based Delphix to enable it to deliver data to teams better. The idea was to integrate enterprise software into an existing IT stack. Delphix says its […]

Temenos cuts jobs in US; eyes D+H payments business

Banking software vendor Temenos is understood to have laid off a number of staff across its operations in the US, including at the Trinovus and Akcelerant subsidiaries. It is also understood to be eyeing the payments business of DH Corporation, Global Transaction Banking Solution (GTBS, formerly Fundtech).

IBM unveils Dubai blockchain deal

IBM has launched a blockchain initiative for trade finance with telecom operator du, Dubai Customs, Dubai Trade, Emirates NBD and Banco Santander. The plan is to explore the use of logistics solutions for the import and re-export process of goods in and out of Dubai. Using Hyperledger Fabric and IBM Cloud, their blockchain solution transmits […]

Moven the maven for monetary monitoring

Moven, the online-only bank founded by Brett King, has launched its finance help app to “make monetary monitoring easy for everyone” in the UK at FinovateEurope. Moven was first launched in the US in 2013, and this new UK app took four weeks to launch. King says this is its “first launch in Europe” and […]

AnaCap to acquire €177m loan portfolio from Barclays

Private equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners will acquire a portfolio of Italian performing and non-performing corporate secured loans from Barclays. The portfolio, which has a gross book value of €177 million, comprises loans to primarily small and mid-sized corporates secured against real estate located mostly in the north of Italy. The agreement follows AnaCap’s Credit […]