Innovation


P2Binvestor launches lending programme for banks

Colorado-based P2Binvestor (P2Bi), a marketplace lending platform, has unveiled its bank partnership programme to let organisations access capital. Krista Morgan, CEO of P2Binvestor, says it’s “enabling banks to lend to businesses they otherwise wouldn’t be able to due to strict lending standards”. P2Bi’s strategy is to “build a lending relationship with banks at an earlier […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 12 October 2017

Whether it’s prepaid card time or financial crime, the world of blockchain and Bitcoin is a lively one. This latest round-up features BitFlyer, Visa, Accuity, R3 and SIA. Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange BitFlyer has unveiled a Visa prepaid card that can be charged with Bitcoin in yen and used throughout Japan. It can be charged via […]

Venture into Accenture’s fintech innovation adventure centre

Fintech start-ups are being invited to apply to Accenture’s sixth FinTech Innovation Lab London, a three-month programme offering mentoring and the chance to accelerate business development. Accenture says this year’s lab has introduced a new stream to help regtech start-ups, because banks are “being compelled to open up their customer data and ensure this data […]

Deutsche Bank jumps on IBM Watson for Germanic AI ambitions

Wunderbar! Deutsche Bank has completed internal proofs of concepts (PoCs) with IBM for the deployment of an artificial intelligence (AI) powered Watson cognitive system in the German language. The system will be used in the bank’s Artificial Intelligence Client Communication Centre (AI-C³), and Deutsche Bank says it will use Watson for the development of a […]

Cloud security start-up ShiftLeft de-stealths

Eyes right. US start-up ShiftLeft has emerged from stealth and wants to shift enterprise cloud security strategy from reactive to preventative. Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that ShiftLeft is an alternative to finding vulnerabilities and attacks as they crop up and defending against them. Instead, ShiftLeft’s service scans application and microservices source […]

The modern trade landscape: banks and digitalisation

Innovative technologies are increasingly sparking enhancements to trade processes. BNY Mellon Treasury Services’ Dominic Broom, global head of trade business development, and Joon Kim, head of global trade product, discuss how the industry – with banks at the helm – can drive forward new capabilities and help to support trade growth through digitalisation.

Salesforce launches CRM/IoT starter kit

Salesforce is stepping up its internet of things (IoT) game, launching a low-code service to help enterprises get started using IoT to improve customer relationships.

Dell putting its company muscle behind new IoT strategy

Dell Technologies is looking to leverage the various parts of the company into a new internet of things (IoT) strategy that focuses on the edge of the network, hyperconverged infrastructure at the middle, cloud computing in the data centre, as well as the end points picking up all the data.

Microsoft Ventures seeks AI-merican Idol

Microsoft Ventures has partnered with Madrona Venture Group to launch their Innovate.AI global start-up competition as they seek out machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) firms. Madrona says the convergence of cloud computing, specialised chips for machine learning and new advances in algorithms has created a “unique opportunity for start-ups to build high value intelligent […]

IBM combining data science and AI for analytics advance

IBM is looking to offer big data number crunchers and data scientists a way to add more machine learning and deep learning technology into the analytics process by combining two of the company’s platforms developed specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) and scientific research. Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports that two IBM executives, […]

Payments round-up: 10 October 2017

Payment services are all the rage this week, here’s a rundown with this week’s round-up. Featuring Paynear, GoSwiff, BBVA, Omnia Pay and Huawei.

Peer Mountain aims high with data trust solution launch

Luxembourg-headquartered start-up Peer Mountain has unveiled a peer-to-peer self-sovereign identity, compliance and commerce delivery solution as it seeks to exploit the Equifax data breach episode. The firm says it gives users control of their data across blockchain. Consumers can choose who can access the data without the need for third party involvement. Peer Mountain says […]

Around Fintech in 8 Hours – new online course launched by CFTE

Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) has launched a fintech foundation course – Around Fintech in 8 Hours – “designed to give professionals working in the finance industry a solid understanding of how technology is redefining the provision of financial services”.

India’s fintech valley gets pally with Mastercard for smart city plan

Mastercard has partnered with the Andhra Pradesh government in India to bring its digital payments into the Fintech Valley Vizag’s smart city plan. Under the agreement, Mastercard will help Andhra Pradesh in its ambitions to be a cashless society and develop the city concept. Mastercard president and CEO Ajay Banga says it can do this […]

Fujitsu to trial blockchain payments with three Japanese banks

Fujitsu will work with Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) to conduct a joint field trial of a person-to-person (P2P) money transfer service using blockchain. The trial will begin in January 2018 and last for about three months. Fujitsu says it has already initiated development of the […]

PSD2 – the tip of an Open Banking API iceberg?

It’s been over a year since I first blogged on the subject of open banking and it is fair to say, mainly driven through the regulatory pressures of PSD2 and the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) led UK Open Banking initiative, that across Europe, much progress has been made in moving the banking industry to adopt APIs.

Payments: I spy gpi

Much of the focus for correspondent bankers at this year’s Sibos will again be Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi) initiative. More than 110 transactions banks from Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Americas have signed up to the initiative, which opened for live payments in January 2017.

Innovate Finance contest calls for fintech start-ups

Innovate Finance, a UK-based fintech membership association, is seeking start-ups for its latest Pitch360 competition. The contest is open to any start-up in the following sectors: Distributed ledger technology (DLT) Financial inclusion Cybersecurity Cross-border payments Peer-to-peer and alternative funding Regtech Personal finance management and robo-advice Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning Sandboxes The winner will […]

It’s official – Siri is a simpleton

It is true, but might be a bit mean to single out the iLeader, as researchers have put various artificial intelligence (AI) programmes to the test, figuring out what the IQ of each one is. Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports that Liu Feng of Beijing Jiaotong University, Yong Shi from the Chinese Academy of […]

EC investigates Dutch and Polish banking groups over fintech access

The European Commission (EC) has confirmed its officials carried out unannounced inspections in “a few member states” concerning online access to bank account information by competing service providers. The EC doesn’t name the countries involved, but “according to people familiar with the matter” that spoke to the Financial Times, Poland and the Netherlands are among […]

UK’s Faster Payments Scheme seeks tenders for infrastructure competition

The UK’s Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) is asking for expressions of interest for the renewal and management of its infrastructure – the services that enable the nation’s 24/7 real-time payment service. This is the first of a three-phase competition for the infrastructure for up to ten years. The renewal will migrate the Faster Payments Service […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 6 October 2017

Blockchain funding, Pubcoin blockchain rewards programme, network and technology sharing and platform test launching. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up features Anryze, Leanpub, MicroMoney, Karma and Zilliqa.

Bank of England fintech accelerator feels the fourth for innovation

The Bank of England’s (BoE) fintech accelerator has unleashed four new initiatives in the fields of distributed ledger technology (DLT), data storage and analysis, machine learning and cybersecurity. As reported in July, BoE revealed the third stage – such as its work with machine learning Mindbridge AI, DLT darling Ripple, and regtech bouncer Enforcd. Now […]

The tech is there so why aren’t we doing better?

New technology has been billed as a means to make us more efficient in the work place, but we are actually becoming less productive. So what’s missing from the equation? Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication) reports. The point was made by Joshua Meltzer from the Brookings Institute at the “Nordic Digital Business Summit” in Helsinki. […]

Just because it can be connected, that doesn’t mean it should be

Technology breakthroughs are great things; they present the opportunity for ideas, creativity and innovation. But there is always the risk of enthusiasm running away with itself, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology’s sister publication). That was certainly evident at this year’s “Nordic Digital Business Summit”, where internet of things (IoT) was at the top of the agenda. […]

Nacha’s American API payments dream pushes on

Nacha, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the US, and its Payments Innovation Alliance (PIA), have named the first five APIs for their big payments push. The API Standardization Industry Group, created in spring 2017 and sponsored by Nacha’s PIA, is working to further efforts to standardise the use of […]

Infographic: the world’s most cashless countries

What countries among the 20 largest economies are adapting quickest to using cashless systems like phones and contactless cards? New research (and nifty infographics) from global trading site Forex Bonuses reveals that Canada takes the top spot, narrowly edging out Sweden for the top position.

Tibco acquires Cisco’s data virtualisation business

Integration, analytics, and event-processing software company Tibco has agreed to acquire Cisco Data Virtualization (formerly Composite Software), reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). The solution powers enterprise-scale data virtualisation and offers associated consulting and support services. Tibco will leverage the new solution to “enhance its portfolio of analytics products and will help clients onboard analytics […]

Temenos teams with MuleSoft to accelerate open banking

Banking software provider Temenos has teamed up with Mulesoft, a platform provider for building application networks. The move is intended to break down barriers to the open banking initiative by facilitating API connections, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister publication). As a part of the partnership, Temenos will develop a core banking adaptor […]

NACHA Pushes on with API Payments Dream

NACHA, the backbone for the electronic movement of money and data in the U.S., and its Payments Innovation Alliance, have named the first five APIs for their big payments push.

Central banking and fintech: a brave new world?

This is a moment to celebrate 20 years of independence during which the Bank of England has been a stabilising force for the UK economy, inspiring others in the world of central banking.

Singapore and Thailand mull digital payments alliance

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank of Thailand are in discussions about connecting their national digital payment systems as officials step up efforts to curb the use of cash, according to Bloomberg. The link would bring together Southeast Asia’s first national digital payment platforms, Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay, says Naphongthawat Phothikit, […]

Singapore sets Phase 2 to stun for blockchain inter-bank payments

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) say that the consortium which they are leading has developed software prototypes for improved payments on blockchain. The prototypes included three different models for decentralised inter-bank payments and settlements with liquidity savings mechanisms. The project, conducted together with 11 financial institutions […]