Top fintech stories this week – 16 December 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Banking
Will an open banking API kill commercial APIs?
The PSD2 directive will let third parties use the information stored in financial institutions and the only path to achieve this leads through an open API. The API is now being discussed and developed, but it’s not clear when it will be finalised, released and deployed.
Citi and FIS get pally with PayPal
Citi and FIS have formed separate agreements with PayPal for Citi cardmembers and FIS linking payment cards. For Citi, its customers will be able to use their Citi Cards with PayPal – online, in-app and in store – in 2017. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. With this agreement, Citi says it is […]
Beige Capital in Temenos T24 core banking revamp
Ghana-based Beige Capital Savings and Loans (BCSL) is in the final stages of rolling out Temenos’ T24 core banking system. The T24 project formally kicked off in February this year, after the November 2015 launch of BCSL’s new technology centre in Accra. During that same period consultants from Temenos and London-based systems integrator Jethro were […]
Banking Technology Dec 2016 / Jan 2017 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.
RegTech Futures: hipsters, hackers and hustlers – making innovative compliance a reality
At last week’s RegTech Futures summit in Amsterdam, organised by FinTech Futures and supported by Banking Technology, the potential of regtech innovators to re-imagine compliance – reducing the cost, creating more robust systems and creating new opportunities for deeper digitisation – was discussed in depth.
UniCredit to cut 14,000 jobs
Italy’s largest bank UniCredit plans to raise €13 billion and axe 14,000 jobs over the next two years as it looks to get its finances in order. Along with the job cuts, which amount to about 11% of its workforce, UniCredit will shut down about 25% of its 3,800 branches. It also aims to use […]
Fintech funding round-up: 13 December 2016
Who is investing in what? Our latest fintech funding round-up, mercifully brief as usual. Featuring ApplePie Capital and Firepay.
Orabank live with new core banking system, Sopra Banking Amplitude, in 12 countries
Orabank, a retail, SME and corporate banking group based out of Togo, has completed the implementation the Sopra Banking Amplitude core system, supplied by Sopra Banking Software. The new, standardised solution has been rolled out across 12 countries in West and Central Africa.
Metro Bank moves IT infrastructure to Rackspace cloud
UK-based challenger bank Metro Bank has moved its IT infrastructure to a Rackspace managed cloud solution. Rackspace says this has reduced the bank’s close-of-business processing time by 50% and report production time by two-thirds.
Wyelands Bank in ownership, brand and core banking software overhaul
Wyelands Bank (formerly Tungsten Bank) is relaunching in 2017 with a new core banking system.
Blockchain: a real opportunity for retail financial services
Given the pace of change and innovation underway in traditional industries it would take a brave person to predict how the finance industry will look in five years’ time, however I don’t believe high street banks will disappear and be replaced by online blockchain alternatives, the regulatory hurdles are just too high.
Fiserv acquires cash management software vendor Online Banking Solutions
Online Banking Solutions (OBS), an Atlanta-based provider of cash management software, is being taken over by banking tech giant Fiserv.
Cater Allen Private Bank “continues to work constructively” with Temenos
Cater Allen, a London-based private bank and a subsidiary of Santander, has completed “the discovery phase” of the project with Temenos to overhaul its core banking software.
Swedish Export Credit implements Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX for IFRS9 reporting
Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) is implementing Wolters Kluwer’s OneSumX regulatory reporting software for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9 reporting.
Fintech funding round-up: 12 December 2016
With so much fintech funding activity going on, we’ve summarised the latest fundraising efforts of start-ups. Featuring Lunar Way, FXCH and Polychain Capital.
AnaCap to acquire Barclays’ French retail banking & wealth management ops, complete IT overhaul planned
AnaCap Financial Partners, a UK-based private equity firm, is set to acquire Barclays’ French retail banking business, life insurance business, wealth and investment management and brokerage operations.
Mobile banking tech start-up Bankjoy signs two credit unions
Fintech start-up Bankjoy has secured two clients for its online and mobile banking software, Georgia Heritage Federal Credit Union and Wepawaug-Flagg Federal Credit Union.
Inside job
Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!
BNY Mellon suffers payments glitch
BNY Mellon experienced problems with processing clients’ payments instructions – it blamed the issue on its connection to Swift. The problems were subsequently resolved.
Top fintech stories this week – 9 December 2016
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Banque de France to modernise payments tech with Sopra Banking Software
Banque de France’s banking services department has embarked on a major technology overhaul programme. It will work with a domestic software provider on this project, Sopra Banking Software, which is part of the Sopra Steria group.
Fintech funding round-up: 8 December 2016
Fintech funding stories can be fun if they are brief. Featuring MoneyLion, SETL and Finicity.
Coventry Building Society in technology overhaul, looks for new core banking system
UK-based Coventry Building Society is believed to have embarked on a tech modernisation project and is looking for a new core system.
London Mutual Credit Union live with new core banking and debit card systems
India-based core banking tech provider TCS Financial Solutions has gained its third live site among the UK credit unions for its Bancs core banking system, London Mutual Credit Union.
Time has proved good for HPE and NonStop; banks everywhere can run networks, 24×7!
Having spent many years in the technology wilderness, has HPE finally determined the future of NonStop? Thinking about the more than 40 years that have passed since we were first introduced to fault tolerant Tandem Computers, particularly considering what transpired following the acquisition of Tandem Computers by Compaq and then Compaq by HPE, did we anticipate that there would be an expansion of the NonStop product portfolio? And to see not just one, but two distinct families of NonStop systems and with the possibility of further options featuring NonStop just around the corner? It is surprising to many that all this time hasn’t taken the sheen away from any of the magic that is NonStop!
Fintech tour Toronto: Ontario calls for venture capital
Ontario in Canada is calling for more venture capital to come to the region as it looks to boost its fintech industry. This is the main message from a tour of Toronto, given to the international media by the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth (MEDG).
NCDEX live with new trading and surveillance software, NextGen
India-based National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) has launched NextGen – a new trading and surveillance system developed by MillenniumIT (a trading tech subsidiary of London Stock Exchange).
IBM launches blockchain ecosystem on Hyperledger Fabric
IBM has unveiled a blockchain ecosystem “to help accelerate the creation of blockchain networks”. The programme “is designed for innovators looking to build real networks – venture capitalists, start-ups, systems integrators, independent software vendors and enterprise developers”.
Private & Commercial Finance Group receives banking licence
Private & Commercial Finance Group (PCFG) has received its banking licence from the UK regulators. It is now authorised with restrictions as a bank and enters into a mobilisation period of up to 12 months.
Digital challenger bank N26 goes pan-European
Germany-based mobile bank N26 is taking its business fully across 17 European countries, including Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Slovakia. Until now, some of these locations were in the “soft launch” phase.
P2P lender Folk2Folk gains full FCA authorisation
A UK-based peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, Folk2Folk, has received full authorisation from Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
HDB in Egypt live with Temenos T24 core banking system
Housing and Development Bank (HDB) in Egypt has gone live with new core banking software, Temenos’ T24. The new system ousted an in-house legacy development that “had been deeply customised to cater for HDB’s specific requirements”, according to Temenos.
40 clients worldwide join IBM Watson for Cyber Security beta programme
IBM Watson has launched a testing programme for its cyber security tech, which includes 40 companies from various sectors worldwide. On the financial services side, participants include Sun Life Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Global Fidelity Bank implements AMLtrac from iFinancial
UK-based core banking and anti-money laundering (AML) software vendor International Financial Systems (iFinancial) is implementing its AMLtrac solution at Global Fidelity Bank.
Metro Bank joins Faster Payments Scheme
UK-based Metro Bank says it has become the first high street bank to join the Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) since its launch.
Bank of Lithuania promises one-week response to fintech licence enquiries
Bank of Lithuania, the country’s central bank and regulator, promises to provide preliminary answers to financial institution licence enquiries within one week, “the fastest turnaround in the EU”.
Alipay partners with major European banks and payment provider
Alipay, one of the world’s largest online and mobile payment platforms, has inked deals with BNP Paribas, Barclays, UniCredit, and SIX Payment Services to drive the European expansion.
LandlordInvest now fully authorised by FCA
LandlordInvest, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform for buy-to-let and bridging loans, has gained full authorisation from the UK regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Weapons of mass distraction: worrying about the wrong fintech revolution
Reading the technology news these days you could be forgiven for thinking that some seismic revolution is occurring almost every day! Stories abound of Airbnb, Facebook, Uber, Alibaba taking over the world and demolishing our traditional business models – ushering in a new age where the “interface is king”. But are they revolutionary and game changing disruptors? I am not so sure…
