Masthaven Finance, a UK-based specialist mortgage lender, has joined the “challenger banks” rush and secured a banking licence. It plans to open for business this summer. The new bank will offer mortgages and savings products to retail customers who struggle to get service from mainstream banks and lenders. These products will include specialist mortgages and […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! EPC launches public consultation on SEPA instant payments scheme You’ve got until 10th July to submit your views. What do corporates want from their banks? Simplicity, standardisaion and automation. New core banking system selection in the Netherlands Amsterdam Trade […]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is cutting almost 600 jobs in its UK retail bank. British and Irish trade union Unite has reacted to the news. RBS will axe about 200 positions across London and the south east of England, with 400 jobs to go in the Midlands, east and the north of the country, […]
Estonia-based Bigbank is modernising its credit decisioning and loan origination processes with Provenir. Provenir’s cloud-based solution will reduce time to market, improve efficiency and customer centricity at the bank, says the vendor. Agur Jõgi, chief technology officer at Bigbank, comments that investment in technology will help the bank to achieve the goals of “delighting customers” […]
Santander and Kabbage are piloting an online tool to give UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) access to same day funding. Announced today (4 April) at Money 20/20 in Copenhagen, SMEs can get access to new working capital of between £500 and £100,000 via an online process. At a media briefing, Sigga Sigurdardottir, chief […]
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
Croatia’s Splitska Banka has gone live with SB SmartNet, a new internet and mobile banking system provided by Polish IT specialist Comarch. SB SmartNet, based on Comarch’s Smart Finance solution, will give Splitska’s retail customers access to account information as well as a multitude of transactional services. The mobile version is designed for iOS and […]
Deutsche Bank is cutting its retail outlets in Germany from 700 to 500 as it looks to lower costs and adapt to digital banking. Christian Sewing, head of private, wealth and commercial clients and member of management board, Deutsche Bank, says the cuts are “necessary as the retail bank’s profitability has decreased over the last […]
A UK-based challenger bank, Atom Bank, has added another system to its bulging IT set-up. This is WDS Virtual Agent, which will answer customer queries from an AI bot within the bank’s mobile app. The solution is supplied by WDS, a subsidiary of Xerox. The vendor says it will “give the customers the power to […]
Croatia-based banking software developer, ABBA, has gained a new taker of its flagship core banking system, NovaDoba. This is a local bank, Banka Kovanica d.d. Varaždin. The agreement was signed in early March, “following months of negotiations”, says the vendor. The work on data migration and the implementation of the new solution has already begun. […]
Almost 50% of retail banks worldwide believe the rise of digital will bring an end to branch-based banking, according to a study by Temenos. “Retail Banking: In Tech We Trust”, the third annual study of retail banks produced in association with the Economist Intelligence Unit, reveals that banks perceive the threat from tech companies operating […]
Who, what, where, when of the fintech industry today – this excellent infographics pulls together plenty of useful data, from top specialists, unicorns and start-ups to geographies and M&As. Created by Savvy Beaver and Call Levels.
Crealogix’s subsidiary Elaxy Financial Software & Solutions will roll out a hybrid consulting platform at Bankhaus August Lenz in Germany. The solution, developed in nine months, is ready for MiFID II (markets in financial instruments directive) and PRIIP (packaged retail and insurance-based investment products) regulations. It is also integrated into the bank’s online banking system […]
In 2016, retail banks are facing up to their biggest challenge. A combination of new market disrupters, increased regulation and the continuing pace of technology change is set to transform the industry, shifting power firmly to the consumer. Natalie McLellan, director of financial services at consultancy firm Egremont, offers her insight. Many commentators argue that […]
EQ Bank, a new pure-play digital bank in Canada, has opened its virtual doors. It is underpinned by the front-to-back office software from Temenos. The bank is using Temenos’ T24 core banking system at the back-end and Temenos Connect for digital channels at the front-end. It is also using Insight BI for business intelligence and […]
Banking technology specialist Wincor Nixdorf has been selected as the general contractor to equip all 20,000 workstations of Deutsche Post and Postbank with new IT systems. The installation will begin in April 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by April 2017. The solution package also includes a five-year service agreement. During the project, up […]
Tandem Bank has selected the Agiliti technology platform from core system provider Fiserv. The bank received its banking license on 30 November 2015, and is expected to launch later in the year. Focussing on creating what it calls a ‘good bank’ with a heavy emphasis on the needs and behaviours of its customers, it will […]
Visa Developer, will offer software application developers will open access to Visa’a payments technology, products and services. The new Visa Developer platform is designed to help financial institutions, merchants, and technology companies meet the demands of consumers and merchants, who increasingly rely on connected devices to shop, pay and get paid. At launch, the new […]
European Central Bank (ECB) figures appear to show that cashless payments transaction volumes in 2014 remained flat at 68 billion payments. However, Deutsche Bank analyst Heike Mai, who specialises in payments and shadow banking, has published a report that corrects this conclusion. Entitled ‘Payments in the euro area: Are they stagnating? – No!’ the report […]
Fifth Third Bank is introducing Touch ID biometric capabilities to its mobile banking app for the iPhone. Touch ID allows fingerprint authentication for enabled devices, letting customers log into their Fifth Third app with their fingers or thumbs instead of a password. The Bank’s fast mobile app allows people to check balances, transfer funds and […]
The online retail services of HSBC have been brought down in a distributed-denial-of-service attack according to the bank. Online services were inaccessible to clients, the second online service problem the bank’s customers have faced this month, following a two-day outage earlier in January that the bank reported was not caused by a cyber-attack. Concern about […]
Cognitive computing specialist CustomerMatrix, a co-founder of forum Cognitive Computing Consortium, has closed US$10.5 million in Series-B funding. The investment, one in a series of investments in artificial intelligence-like technologies in 2016, was led by HSBC, with participation from Aster Capital, and existing investors Newfund and True Global Ventures. CustomerMatrix, which offers a predictive engine called […]
Banco Santander is to begin using services provided by ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf to support its Mexican subsidiary. The services cover monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting.
CaixaBank is launching imaginBank, Spain’s first mobile-only bank providing banking services exclusively through mobile apps and social networks.
UK building society Nationwide has signed BT to provide the network infrastructure for its digital transformation strategy, as part of a six-year deal between the two firms.
French telecoms firm Orange is to create a new bank called Orange Bank together with French insurer Groupama, in a move the two firms say will help to break open the banking market using mobile phone technology.
India’s Post Bank is to begin processing payments in March 2017, according to the government’s communications minister. The move is part of long-standing plans to use India’s Post Office network to spread financial inclusion in the world’s largest democratic nation.
Millennials – those highly sophisticated, tech-savvy men and women born between 1980 and 2000 – present enormous opportunities for banks and other financial institutions. Yet to be successful, these businesses must understand and meet the needs of a generation that grew up having it all, seeing it all, and being exposed to it all since early childhood – and that is no easy task.
Digital technology is on the verge of transforming banking, in a similar way that Spotify has completely changed the music industry and Netflix has revolutionised broadcast entertainment
Retail banks often claim that customer service is their primary focus, but 75% of banks believe they haven’t concentrated efforts on improving it. Instead, annual reports focus on the financial results. Whether these two stories can become one remains to be seen, according to a new whitepaper by bank technology vendor Misys.
RBS has awarded a contract to Hewlett Packard Enterprise for the implementation of a new image-based cheque clearing service in response to UK regulatory changes that require all cheques to be processed digitally by 2017, under HM Treasury’s Future Clearing Model.
One in five UK consumers (21%) have had personal details stolen and their bank accounts used to buy goods and services as a result of a cyber security breach, according to new research from business advisory firm Deloitte.
Santander has launched a competition to support startups using distributed ledger technology in financial services. Through its subsidiary InnoVentures, the bank hopes to promote distributed ledger tools that could improve banking processes.
The threat of competition from technology companies, startups and non-banks is causing serious worry to nearly three-quarters of retail banks, causing four-fifths of them to invest in so-called ‘disruptive’ technologies, according to a new study by Infosys and non-profit organisation Efma.
Trade association Efma has appointed Vincent Bastid as its new chief executive, replacing Patrick Desmarès, who is retiring after 12 years in the post.
One in three retail banking customers feel their mobile banking app is not as good as online banking through a browser, according to a new study by ecommerce company First Data in the UK. The figures also revealed that more than half still have yet to use a mobile banking app – suggesting that there may be both an unmet demand for more functionality in mobile apps, and a need to convince the remaining consumers of their value.
Technology has infiltrated every facet of our lives, fundamentally changing our behaviour patterns and our expectations of what constitutes a good customer experience. The banking sector has not been immune to these changes; the industry has been forced to drastically transform its business processes and services in order to keep up with customers’ expectations. Today, customer satisfaction is judged not by the smile on the face of a cashier, but on the speed with which one can gain mobile access
Three challenger banks have committed to take advantage of a new way to guarantee settlement between banks of payments made through Faster Payments, the UK’s 24/7 real-time payments service, when it becomes available next year.
In bygone days the bank manager knew each of his customers by name but could offer them only the narrowest range of products. Today the computer can tailor bespoke financial solutions in a mass market – but has no empathy with which to convey its expertise …
When ANZ decided to make its acquisition of New Zealand’s National Bank into a single brand, it had some wide-ranging rationalisation ahead of it to reduce costs while expanding service coverage. Software from Californian geographic information systems specialist Esri helped.
