Partnerships


Bank of China launches new UnionPay Europe Card

SIX Payment Services, Bank of China and UnionPay International have joined forces for a new credit card, targeting Chinese travellers in Europe. The “Europe Card” card is aimed at Chinese consumers traveling to Europe for business or leisure purposes. SIX says as an incentive during the launch phase, cardholders are eligible for up to 5% […]

Creating a hyperconnected corporate bank of the future

Banks are not competing with banks anymore, but against the ubiquitous, all pervading unified digital experience, which is driving the adoption of digital across the corporate banking value chain. Fintechs are a great example of how innovations in digital can deliver speed to market, a superior customer experience and better pricing.

Monitise and MasterCard launch Finkit partner programme

UK-based payments vendor Monitise has launched its Finkit partner programme with founding partner MasterCard to speed up collaboration in banking and payments. For the “first time”, the founding partners – which also include BehavioSec, Currencycloud, Envestnet | Yodlee, Experian, Fastacash, FICO, HID, iGeolise, LivePerson, Mypinpad, Syniverse and WorldFirst – have agreed to make their capabilities […]

Fujitsu teams with fintech five to launch new customer onboarding tech

Fujitsu has launched its customer onboarding technology, Smart Origination, developed in partnership with ImageWare Systems, InAuth, Intelligent Environments, Mitek and Trunomi. The tech enables financial institutions to collect, process and verify documents and the identity of new applicants in “less than five minutes”. Gary Fegan, head of digital financial services solutions at Fujitsu, says Smart […]

Kbank and IBM team up for blockchain in Thailand

Kasikornbank (Kbank), one of the largest banks in Thailand, is exploring blockchain with IBM, “to save costs and speed up transactions”, the two companies say. The services will be launched in H1 2017, to certify the letters of guarantee (LCs).

Euronext and Algomi to launch new MTF for corporate bond trading

Pan-European exchange Euronext will use Algomi’s fixed income technology for its new multilateral trading facility (MTF) in a ten-year partnership. With their joint venture (JV), capitalised by Euronext for $2.3 million, dealers will be able to access the trading interface either directly through their existing Algomi technology or through their stand-alone systems. The platform will […]

Four banks team up to standardise repackaging transactions

Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nomura International and Societe Generale have teamed up to produce documentation for use in listed and unlisted repackaging transactions. According to the banks, repackaged products provide the investor exposure to the underlying credit of an issuer and are specifically designed for the investor’s risk-return needs. In addition, cash flows can be […]

Brave new Bitcoin for Tullett Prebon

Tullett Prebon Information (TPI), a provider of real-time price information from the global OTC financial and commodity markets, has signed a deal with Brave New Coin (BNC) to distribute its digital currency data. TPI says this is the “first time such a comprehensive view of the entire digital currency landscape has been made available to […]

The changing co-branded credit card landscape

As retailers across the country need to bring innovative customisation and convenience factors to their customers, credit cards are becoming an essential part of delivering value. Co-branded cards continue to play an important role in the retail landscape and can offer a unique point of distinction for retailers in today’s competitive environment.

SETL blockchain powers Cobalt’s FX post trade

London-based blockchain firm SETL and Cobalt DL, a private peer-to-peer network, have teamed up to use SETL’s OpenCSD within the Cobalt FX post trade platform. The service is set to launch in 2017, with 15 institutional FX participants “already committed” to the service. Earlier this year, SETL unveiled the OpenCSD platform, its first commercial offering, […]

BBVA favours Amazon Web Services for cloud drive

BBVA has reached a global agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) as it looks to cloud computing to boost its digital banking services. The agreement, which is part of a series of accords that the group is making with providers, turns AWS into its “preferred” cloud infrastructure services provider. AWS will execute the migration of […]

Chinese tourism powers Verifone and Alipay payment partnership

Verifone is partnering with Alipay to enable retailers in North America and Europe to accept payments from Chinese tourists. According to Verifone, nearly 100 million Chinese consumers annually travel abroad and use Alipay to make purchases. This latest partnership follows quickly on Alipay’s deals with Zapper and Ingenico – both for the same reason as […]

Envestnet Yodlee extends tie-up with Backbase, unveils updates

Envestnet Yodlee has extended its partnership with omnichannel banking specialist Backbase. The two companies have been collaborating for some time. With the new agreement, Backbase will be providing its customers with integrations to the Envestnet Yodlee data aggregation platform.

Singapore and South Korea sign up for fintech co-operation

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Korean Financial Services Commission (KFSC) have signed an agreement to foster more co-operation in the fintech space. Under the agreement, MAS and KFSC will explore potential joint innovation projects on technologies such as big data and mobile payments. MAS and KFSC will also discuss issues of common […]

Configo launches site to aggregate banks’ API portals

Fintech start-up Configo has launched a project to aggregate the API portals launched by financial players around the world. It is not commercial driven but is “just a small project to put everything in order”, says Yosi Dahan, co-founder and CEO of Configo.

Trouble in the R3 paradise?

More than 60 of financial institutions around the world (including many top-tier banks) are involved in the R3 consortium, with considerable financial and resource commitments. The international consortium promises to build a common blockchain-based platform – called Corda – but the end-result is still a number of years away.

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).

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 […]

Chinese tourism fuels Alipay and Zapper payment partnership

Alipay has partnered with Zapper, the consumer insights and marketing platform, to grab a slice of the Chinese tourism market in the UK. Zapper says the partnership will allow over 250,000 Chinese tourists visiting the UK to pay using the Alipay app in over 1,000 locations nationwide. Rita Liu, head of Alipay EMEA, says merchants, […]

Talanx and FinLeap create Elinvar for asset management digitalisation

German insurance firm Talanx and fintech developer FinLeap have founded a joint venture to provide a digital platform for independent asset managers and private banks. Under the name Elinvar, the start-up offers a white-label platform – so asset managers can offer their own brand and corporate design. The solution includes new client onboarding, automatic creation […]

Aurora Exchange partners for P2P lending platform launch

Finland-based Aurora Exchange, a consumer loans exchange, has teamed with two firms for its P2P lending platform launch. Maiden Life, based in Sweden, brings its payment protection insurance to cover “all loans” against borrower’s death, permanent and temporary disability with lenders as beneficiaries. Mangopay will act as Aurora Exchange’s custodian and payments technology provider. Mangopay […]

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 […]

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 […]

Standard Chartered customers taken for an Uber ride

This time we have a genuine Uber moment in fintech. Standard Chartered and Uber are partnering to offer the bank’s credit cardholders cashbacks on Uber rides. This is the “first ever multi-market partnership” for both of them. The deal is for six markets – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and the United Arab Emirates – […]

ACI Worldwide and Vocalink team up for real-time payments push

ACI Worldwide and Vocalink have joined forces “to offer a complete end-to-end immediate payments solution to launch a domestic or regional immediate payments network”. The partnership will combine Vocalink’s Immediate Payments System (IPS) offering for central payment infrastructures and ACI’s UP Immediate Payments solution for banks and financial institutions.