FinTech


Ayondo pursues IPO after reverse takeover deal lapses

Social trading company Ayondo has announced that, despite an earlier reverse takeover bid falling through, it is determined to become the first fintech company to IPO on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX).

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.

Ovamba and Microsoft team for first African language driven chatbot

Fintech firm Ovamba says it is working with Microsoft to create “the first African language driven chatbot designed to serve the millions of African SMEs who face exclusion from financial services due to the challenges of functional and business literacy”.

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.

apoBank opts for Avaloq Banking Suite

Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank (apoBank) has selected the Avaloq Banking Suite as it looks to increase operational efficiency via a digital strategy. As reported last year, apoBank was considering the implementation of Avaloq’s flagship core banking system. The two parties signed a contract to “analyse and elaborate how far the execution of the apoBank IT […]

Corporate client self-onboarding

Know this feeling when you are asked by a check-in clerk where you’d like to sit on a plane? A torrent of thoughts rushes through your head: being able to see the actual seat map with available options would make your choice much easier. Otherwise it’s kind of like a child describing his/her favourite movie.

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 […]

Openbank goes for Temenos T24 core banking system

Openbank, a digital banking subsidiary of Santander, has made its new core banking system decision – the bank has opted for Temenos T24. Infosys with its Finacle offering lost out in the final.

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, […]

SocietyOne tops $350m in loans

Australian P2P lender SocietyOne has revealed it has issued more than $350 million in loans on its platform since 2012, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Additionally, the company has the highest number of current loans, setting a record for itself with $200 million in its books. “Our growth in 2017 underlines […]

Baker Hill forges partnerships with Allied Solutions and Experian

With a pair of newly-announced deals, Baker Hill continues to deliver what company president and CEO John M. Deignan calls “the cutting-edge technology and comprehensive analytical intelligence our clients need to compete and win in today’s lending environment”. David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) reports that Baker Hill has partnered with Allied Solutions, which will refer […]

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 […]

EBA Clearing’s RT1 payments system gets Swift access

Users of EBA Clearing’s instant payment system, RT1, will be able to access the platform via Swift’s SwiftNet Instant solution from November 2018. According to Swift, its solution will address all RT1 customer requirements, including instant messaging, file transfers and a browse solution. Erwin Kulk, head of service development and management, EBA Clearing, says: “RT1 […]

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 […]

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank goes live with Intellect’s core banking system

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, a microfinance institution in India, has rolled out Intellect Design Arena’s core banking system. The bank received its licence last year, and according to Intellect, one of the key requirements for Utkarsh was to have a joint liability group solution that would enable it to provide group loans to the microfinance […]

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.

Q&A with Michael Parlotto, InComm

Michael Parlotto, VP, Emerging Technologies, InComm, gives the lowdown to Paybefore on the evolution of prepaid and what the future might hold for the industry.

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 […]

BNP Paribas is a Smart Chaser for AI-powered trade

BNP Paribas Securities Services is implementing Smart Chaser, a trade matching tool using artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analysis, to further automate trade processing services it provides to investment managers. According to BNP Paribas Securities Services, trade matching – the comparison of trade details between the client and its broker – must be performed in […]

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 […]

Abu Dhabi wants eyes open wide via digital currency guide

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has set out its approach to initial coin offerings (ICOs) and virtual currencies under the Financial Services and Markets Regulations (FSMR). It cites the usual stuff that distributed ledger technology (DLT) has “extraordinarily wide application to financial services and markets as a whole” […]

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 […]

DBS readies for IFRS 9 with Z-Risk Engine roll-out

Singapore-based DBS is deploying Aguais and Associates’ (AAA) Z-Risk Engine (ZRE) to generate future credit losses on the bank’s wholesale credit portfolio, as it complies with imminent IFRS 9 requirements. According to AAA, the new financial regulations, effective from 1 January 2018, call for banks and other lenders to deliver a regular, predictive point-in-time (PIT) […]

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 […]

Nymbus unveils digital banking platform, SmartDigital

Banking software start-up Nymbus has launched its digital banking platform – SmartDigital – offering open architecture and APIs to enable financial institutions to integrate with third-party applications.

Tascet teams with Secured2 to launch Algo5 data security offering

Identification technology company Tascet is partnering with Secured2 to launch a new data security offering. The product, Algo5, aims to protect data against both internal and external breaches, hacks, and disasters, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company). The new data storage solution combines Tascet’s SuperToken, which verifies a user’s identity, with Secured2’s Beyond Encryption, […]

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.