Bankjoy scores digital banking tech deal with SafeAmerica Credit Union
California-based SafeAmerica Credit Union is building a new omnichannel banking platform with fintech start-up Bankjoy.
FinTech
Four Australian banks sign up for Swift’s global payments innovation
Four Australian banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac are now live or planning to implement Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi) initiative. According to Swift, these Australian banks represent over 80% of cross-border payments flow for Australia. The banks all say the same stuff – so […]
RBS joins forces with RocketSpace UK for new tech campus
San-Francisco based RocketSpace, with the support of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest, has opened its campus in London for fintech and tech start-ups. Housed in NatWest’s (a subsidiary of RBS) Regents House in London, the campus is the “first of its kind” in the capital and RocketSpace’s only international location. The campus occupies […]
Singapore regulator gives and takes advice on robo-advice
The humans at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have laid down some guidelines and want opinions on providing robo-advisory services. In a consultation paper released today (7 June), MAS says it seeks to support innovation in financial services by recognising the unique characteristics of digital platforms. MAS states that financial institutions (FIs) regulated under […]
UK challenger Bank of Lambeth preps for launch
London-based Bank of Lambeth is getting ready to enter the UK’s highly competitive challenger bank arena. The community bank is the brainchild of Duncan Law at Transition Town Brixton. The latter is an initiative that looks to new ways of dealing with climate change, and energy and financial issues. In a report in the Brixton […]
SunTec system fits the bill for Amex business travel
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has opted for SunTec’s Xelerate billing system for its corporate clients. According to SunTec, its platform can onboard new geographic regions and “weaves data locked in various legacy and modern billing systems” to create relevant offers for American Express GBT’s corporate clients. Michael Konstas, VP of billing strategy at […]
Maybank launches fintech sandbox
Malaysia’s largest bank, Maybank, has unveiled its fintech sandbox to let ASEAN start-ups develop and test new ideas. As the “first in ASEAN”, the Maybank FinTech Sandbox offers a place “free of charge” to help developers throughout the region. The bank is keen to tap into ideas around cloud, the internet of things (IoT) and […]
Fintech funding round-up: 7 June 2017
Fintech funding can be an intense blur of money, jargon and unerringly similar expansion plans. Here’s a round-up that gets to the heart of the matter. Features Plynk, IHS Markit, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Wahed. Ireland’s Plynk, a money messaging app, has revealed a Series A raise of €25 million. Led by […]
SBS Bank in major digital revamp with Sandstone Technology
New Zealand-based SBS Bank is rolling out a new “end-to-end” digital banking platform supplied by Sandstone Technology.
Local banking for global trading – an impossible goal?
Anders la Cour, CEO of ground-breaking payments utility Saxo Payments Banking Circle, which is underpinning the service propositions of a growing number of payments businesses, reports on the payment pain points currently faced by merchants who have ambitions to trade globally.
Turkey’s Garanti Bank wins BBVA fintech ideas challenge
Turkey-based Garanti Bank’s new mobile app has won BBVA’s “Open Talent Ideas” fintech competition. BBVA launched the competition in February, and yesterday (5 June) the ten finalists presented their idea to experts from BBVA’s senior management. The winning idea was GarantiStore, a mobile app able to identify products automatically. Through image recognition techniques or by […]
FinLeap in its Element with digital insurance partnership
German fintech incubator FinLeap’s digital insurance platform Element is partnering with financial services group Signal Iduna for new products and services. Element is currently in the process of applying for a life insurance licence under Germany’s Insurance Supervision Act, and plans to offer services in property, accident and liability, and cybersecurity. It will provide “Insurance-as-a-Platform” […]
HSBC launches social network for business customers
HSBC Commercial Banking has launched its Connections Hub, a digital platform to connect buyers and sellers around the world. Businesses in Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Singapore, the UK and the US can sign up to the multi-lingual hub for free. The service will be available to customers in France in the coming weeks […]
Scale360 powers TPBank digital branch network in Vietnam
It’s another farewell to tradition as Vietnam’s TPBank has opted for Scale360’s “Digital Branch” network across the country. The digital option from Scale360, a UK-based fintech start-up with a development centre in Bangkok, replaces the usual brick-and-mortar branch with a video link. The bank plans to open 50 such branches across Vietnam. Branded as TPBank’s […]
OCBC Bank unveils “HR in your pocket” app
OCBC has become the first bank in Singapore to launch a human resource (HR) mobile app for its employees. The app, called “HR in your pocket”, includes an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot that is integrated with the bank’s HR information system. This chatbot can provide responses that are specific to each employee. Examples of use […]
Saving and investing service Moola launches
After 18 months of development, UK-based online saving and investing service Moola has launched. The firm says there are 5.4 million “mass affluent people in the UK who have no access to financial advice, but disposable income and a desire to save and invest”. It wants to tap into that market by doing the “hard […]
Apple squares up to rivals with Pay Cash feature
Apple has unveiled Pay Cash as it looks to fight it out with PayPal, Square and Venmo in the overcrowded peer-to-peer (P2P) payments market. In a range of updates to its mobile operating system, iOS 11, new features to the iPhone and iPad are coming this autumn. Apple Pay users will be able to make […]
New edtech project for financial services, CFTE, launches
The Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE), a new educational platform for the finance industry, has been unveiled. “In a tech world, we bet on people,” CFTE states.
CIBC launches free mobile credit scores in Canada
Canada’s banking group CIBC, fintech firm Borrowell and Equifax Canada have unveiled a free credit score for mobile banking users – a “first for a major Canadian Bank”. The credit score is accessed through the CIBC mobile banking app, and clients can get their Equifax credit score which will be updated quarterly, allowing them to […]
LG Electronics unleashes mobile payments in South Korea
Watch out Samsung Pay, but South Korean titan LG Electronics has unleashed its mobile payment service in the country. Called LG Pay, it will be offered first as a service that allows users to pay offline in the same way as a credit card. Its use is limited at the moment to Shinhan, KB, BC […]
Nationwide bowled over by cloud software from Cutover
The UK’s Nationwide Building Society has opted for release management software from cloud technology start-up Cutover. The deal means London-based Cutover will be the “first completely cloud-based tool with no footprint within Nationwide’s infrastructure”. Cutover’s software lets teams plan, rehearse and execute events. It also offers real-time status visualisation and communications across SMS, voice and […]
EY to acquire Australian cybersecurity firm Open Windows
Consulting firm EY will acquire Australian cybersecurity and identity and access management (IAM) provider Open Windows. EY says Melbourne-based Open Windows’ expertise and tools will form the basis of a new Asia-Pacific regional IAM advisory platform within EY, to help assess, design, build and operate solutions. Lynn Kraus, Oceania managing partner advisory, EY, says it […]
Payments firm Tilt wilts
Following Airbnb’s acquisition of crowdfunding and social payments start-up Tilt in February, it is now being wound down. Tilt (formerly Crowdtilt) was built with the aim to allow groups and communities to collect, fundraise, or pool money online. It was founded five years ago with high hopes. Its co-founder and CEO James Beshara said at […]
Argent Credit Union live with new core platform, Keystone
Argent Credit Union in the US state of Virginia has converted to a new core processing platform, Keystone from domestic software developer Corelation.
Abcul perseveres with Model Credit Union project
The Association of British Credit Unions (Abcul) says it is making progress with its Model Credit Union initiative, to modernise the tech and operations of its members. Three credit unions are now live with new core and mobile banking software.
The Monday mindset: 5 June 2017
Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, we sum up the predictions made by Google’s illustrious chief futurist, Ray Kurzweil, on what awaits us this century. 2019 Farewell cables. […]
Nasdaq fuels new trading system in Poland
Towarowa Gielda Energii (TGE – Polish Power Exchange) has launched a new trading system provided by Nasdaq. Nasdaq has partnered with TGE since 2008 and the new technology allows TGE to expand future activities, including adding commodity and derivative instruments to its business offering. The trading platform features multi-market model support, a range of order […]
GTCR to acquire Sage Payment Solutions for $260m
Private equity firm GTCR will buy Virginia-based Sage Payment Solutions (SPS) for $260 million. Chicago-based GTCR is acquiring SPS from the Sage Group, a provider of accounting, payroll and payment solutions headquartered in the UK. GTCR says it will work with SPS management to pursue organic growth and fund future acquisitions in the payment processing […]
Deriving value from big data
An explosive growth in data and information, coupled with advances in technology and a boost in methods of communication, have given rise to an empowered and aware global customer. And to provide legendary experience to their customers, maintain a competitive edge and to make better and sound decisions, organisations need to harness insights from this ever growing “big data”.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 2 June 2017
From Russian banks to Greek lawyers. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin report rounds up the news into a quick and easy read. Russian news agency TASS reports that Bank of Russia, the nation’s central bank, will develop a national cryptocurrency. At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017, the regulator’s deputy chairperson Olga Skorobogatova says: […]
UK payments firm Helixion is liquidated
It’s not only the end of the working week but the end of the line for Edinburgh-based payments firm Helixion. The company has gone into liquidation and intellectual property (IP) firm Metis Partners has been appointed to support the marketing and sale of its assets. On Metis’ website, it says the deadline for offers has […]
Six Startupbootcamp stars secure sweet deals in India
Six graduating start-ups from Startupbootcamp FinTech Mumbai have secured pilots with banks and corporates such as RBL Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI). At Startupbootcamp’s demo day at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai, 11 start-ups showcased technologies in financial services to more than 400 guests. Propositions included SME banking, blockchain, digital […]
Deutsche Bank feels the fourth on GBST Syn system in Australia
Securities processing software vendor GBST has migrated the back and middle-office operations of Deutsche Bank from the legacy GBST Shares platform to GBST Syn for processing the bank’s equity market trades in Australia. This is GBST’s fourth live Syn installation in the country. Other users are Macquarie Bank, Citi Australia and brokerage and investment firm […]
Fintech funding round-up: 2 June 2017
The money’s rolling in for fintech – as this round-up follows hot on the heels from 30 May. This latest report features Zopa, RateSetter and Niyogin Fintech. The plans of peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Zopa to launch a new digital-only bank in the UK are going well as it has completed a £32 million funding round […]
Misys scores another core banking system deal in Myanmar
Myanmar-based Ayeyarwady Bank (AYA Bank) has signed for Misys’ Fusionbanking Essence core banking platform.
Hong Kong launches IPO support system for start-ups
Hong Kong is looking to boost its fintech scene with an initiative to help tech firms take the right road for their initial public offering (IPO). Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) have launched their “Road to IPO” platform. It’s not purely for fintech as the […]
Top fintech stories this week – 2 June 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Sweden’s SEB selects CGI for trade transaction action
Swedish financial services group SEB has selected Canada-based CGI’s Trade360 solution for trade finance and emerging digital technologies, such as blockchain. CGI Trade360 is a cloud-based transaction platform and includes a portal for end-to-end transaction management, including regulatory compliance. SEB is the first bank headquartered in Europe that will implement the solution. Robert Pehrson, head […]
Sterling Bank and Trust signs for iFinancial BankWare core system
Sterling Bank and Trust, a new bank in the Bahamas, has selected the BankWare core system from UK-based International Financial Systems’ (iFinancial). The bank will be using the multi-currency accounting, exposure management, current accounts, deposits, loans, payments, and Swift modules from the BankWare portfolio of retail and wholesale banking solutions. The bank is part of […]
InvestCloud wins deal with South African wealth manager
US-based InvestCloud has a spring(bok) in its step as it has been appointed by South Africa’s Anchor Private Clients to provide digital client communication and client reporting solutions. Johannesburg-headquartered Anchor Private Clients, the private client division of Anchor Group, specialises in investment management and advice for private clients across South Africa and internationally. Its parent […]
