Dubai-based Mashreq is planning its future as a branchless bank, according to a speech by CEO Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair at its 50th anniversary ceremony. With the rise in digital banking, Al Ghurair used the speech to express his understanding of the real world; and set out the bank’s vision of job cuts and embracing […]
Swedbank has acquired payment provider PayEx as it seeks to enter new markets and add more services. PayEx is a privately-owned group comprising several companies in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. It offers payment solutions for internet, mobile and physical commerce and administrative services within billing, account management and debt collection. The company also offers […]
Current, a startup comprised of a small team of New York-based fintech entrepreneurs, has launched a prepaid card program and mobile app for kids and parents that goes beyond dispensing allowances
What President Trump’s record on regulatory reform means for payments and financial services so far, and what comes next.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is cutting nearly 250 jobs as part of a back-office ops shake-up – with claims that some roles will end up in India. The bank says 92 full-time staff will be affected, while 154 contractor roles will go later this year. Most of these positions are technology-related and are based […]
Delaware-based Dover Federal Credit Union has opted for the Episys core system for in-house processing from Jack Henry’s Symitar subsidiary. According to Symitar, Dover FCU’s chief innovation officer, Travis Frey, had encountered Episys at two prior credit unions, and was “confident in the flexibility and scalability of the system”. Frey says its core selection process […]
Whether it’s blockchain, lending or core banking – everyone likes a bit of cash. Our latest funding round-up – featuring Coinsilium Group, Coindash, Kreditech, PayU and Finxact. Blockchain accelerator Coinsilium Group has completed its investment of $75,000 in Coindash, which is developing a social trading platform for cryptocurrency investors. Coinsilium will also receive an entitlement […]
Pennsylvania-based AmeriChoice Federal Credit Union has launched a new online banking platform based on the Symmetry e-banking software from Wescom Resources Group (WRG).
South Africa-based Mercantile Bank has implemented a new digital channels platform, TCS Bancs Digital, supplied by TCS Financial Solutions.
KeyBank, Fifth Third Bank and JP Morgan Chase are funding and backing a new Ohio-based accelerator, Fintech71 – a nod to the cross-state highway I-71 connecting Ohio via its three largest cities, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. The accelerator will focus on growing entrepreneurial activity in Ohio and offer mentor and partnership options. Finalist teams will […]
Say goodbye to long reads with this brief round-up of the latest buys in the fintech world. Features KPMG, Matchi, Ancoa, Cinnober, Valitor, International Payment Services and AltaPay. KPMG has acquired Matchi, a matchmaking platform that connects financial institutions with fintech companies. The pair have worked together since 2015, so the deal “cements” their relationship. […]
Good days and good times have come to Australia’s fintech scene with the 2017-18 Australian budget bringing in some useful initiatives. Some of the positives include open financial data reforms, reduced barriers for banking licences, an expanded regulatory sandbox and digital currency tax cuts – all welcomed by Fintech Australia, a national industry association. Australian […]
The Bank of England (BoE) has released its blueprint for a renewed real-time gross settlement (RTGS) service for payments in the UK – with plans to interface with blockchain and deal with APIs. On an average day, BoE says RTGS settles around £500 billion between banks – around a quarter of the UK’s annual GDP […]
Hong Kong’s government has come under fire for perceived failings in the further development of fintech in the region. The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) today (9 May) has released two research reports that look at the fintech scene in Hong Kong and it urges the government to step up the action. Chairperson of the […]
Kansas-based CrossFirst Bank has implemented nCino’s Bank Operating System for its commercial loan process. nCino’s cloud-based solution is built on Salesforce.com. The vendor says it combines customer relationship management, loan origination, workflow, enterprise content management, business process management and instant reporting on a single platform. Amy Fauss, chief operating officer at CrossFirst Bank, says nCino’s […]
Alipay is teaming up with First Data in North America as it looks to take a bite out of Apple’s market share. As Banking Technology previously reported, Alipay has been gaining plenty of traction around the globe – with HelloPay Group in Asia merging with Ant Financial (which runs Alipay); and inking deals with European […]
“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” The acidic words of American writer Dorothy Parker. But sharp tongues will now come under the scrutiny of a new digital reputation management service. Be nice everyone and form a giant group hug. Geezeo Interactive, the marketing arm of […]
Centralway Numbrs is launching a B2B portal, enabling banks to integrate their financial products into its Numbrs Store in Germany digitally and free of charge. The firm says its store is Germany’s first financial products distribution platform, run independently of a bank. The store is part of its Numbrs app, which has got 1.5 million […]
In a matter of days, financial institutions in the UK will make their first Common Reporting Standard (CRS) transmittal to HMRC. It promises to be a significant event and we’re keen to hear from the industry how its preparations are going and what its predictions are. So we’ve teamed up with compliance solution provider Sovos […]
Switzerland’s Hypothekarbank Lenzburg is opening up its Finstar core banking system to fintech firms with the use of APIs. The bank has signed an agreement with German software firm NDGIT, which supplies the APIs, and the implementation at Hypothekarbank Lenzburg will be completed by the end of May. Once implemented, its data and services will […]
WorldFirst has unveiled World Account, an international payments platform for SMEs and online sellers. The company states the account offers international banking functionality on one platform. It says “many businesses waste time and money” trying to open up bank accounts in new currencies. These accounts are also often held in the UK resulting in “additional […]
Everyone loves a dreamer, except in the world of banking – where digital aspirations are swiftly cut down to size by the reality of legacy systems. That is until Luis Uguina, chief digital officer for Macquarie’s Banking and Financial Services Group, comes along and challenges everything you thought you knew about banks’ digital offerings.
The loss problems for India’s Intellect Design Arena have abated as it has revealed a profit after tax of INR 106 million ($1.65 million) in its Q4 results. As Banking Technology reported last year, Intellect’s lack of profit worsened as it disclosed a loss after tax of INR 138 million ($2 million) for the quarter […]
Peer-to-peer lending start-up Flender is seeking to get €1 million in funding and is targeting a UK launch after getting full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. As Banking Technology reported last year, Flender launched its crowdfunding campaign on 21 November 2016, to raise £500,000 in exchange for 10% equity in the firm. The firm […]
Deutsche Bank and a variety of German and European companies have teamed up to establish a joint, pan-industry platform for online registration, e-identity and data services. The initiative was set up by the bank, Allianz, Axel Springer, Daimler, Postbank, technology think tank Core, and location services provider Here Technologies. Their aim is to “make online […]
Score one for London. Even as the U.K. prepares to leave the European Union through Brexit, the British capital and banking and investment center stands as the global hub of fintech, according to Paybefore readers.
Barclays has unveiled its new £10 million digital safety drive in the UK as it wants to increase the public’s awareness of financial fraud risks. As part of its plan, it will offer new debit card choices to let customers turn on and off remote spending and change ATM limits. It has revealed a new […]
UK challenger bank Starling is staying busy with the launch of its real-time mobile offering, Starling Payment Services. The service, which it calls a new division of the bank, will offer sponsorship access to the UK’s major payment schemes, allowing other banks, payment service providers, and fintech companies to use real-time payments from the summer. […]
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, Soumik Roy asks – will Paytm become India’s WeChat? Ever since demonetisation, electronic payments in India have been all the rage. In […]
Micro-investing service Acorns Australia has chosen Moneythor’s machine-learning solution to help it analyse customers’ spending patterns and offer insights into savings. The new “My Finances” features of the Acorns app were developed with Moneythor’s engine. The solution’s predictive analytics and data classification techniques are also used to provide customers with an estimate of their future […]
Correspondent banking relationships have reduced globally by 25%, despite the fact that global GDP per capita grew during the same period, following the 2008 financial crisis, according to research by Accuity. Henry Balani, global head of strategic affairs at Accuity, says: “The irony is that regulation designed to protect the global financial system is, in […]
The clock is winding down for US Congressional lawmakers to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) final prepaid accounts rule under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), reports Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Under that law, Congress has until 9 May – 60 legislative days after the law was published in the Federal Register – to repeal […]
Nordea Bank has teamed up with the Stockholm Fintech Hub (SFH) for innovation ambitions and to connect with start-ups, financial institutions and regulators. The bank says a number of people from Nordea will move into the space, so it can talk and work with start-ups, bigger companies, other banks and “new players” like IBM and […]
FinovateSpring 2017 in San Jose, US, concluded with its first ever panel discussion! “Our panelists will recap the key demos and help put the innovations on display into a broader context,” the conference organisers said.
A group of fintech companies and associations are asking for changes to the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) due to fears it will force them to become technologically dependent on banks. The coalition of 60 European Union (EU) based entities have signed a seven-page manifesto seeking the European Commission (EC) to make changes to the […]
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) is the payment cards region increasing the quickest across the globe, according to research by Retail Banking Research (RBR). According to RBR’s Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2021, the number of cards in issue in MEA increased by 13% to 611 million in 2015, making it the […]
New banks are appearing at the double – and Ditto, a France-based mobile-driven multi-currency bank, is the latest one getting ready to launch. Ditto, which is backed by foreign exchange company Travelex, has been built from scratch over the last two years and is “managed as a separate entity” from Travelex. Ditto is based on […]
Wished you were at FinovateSpring in San Jose but missed it? No worries – we’ve got it covered. A comprehensive overview of the two-day conference – session by session.
The Bancorp Inc. has closed the sale of its European prepaid properties to Neptune International Ltd. The news comes amid a strong quarter for the financial holding company, which reported a net income of $8 million for the first quarter of 2017, compared with a $10.9 million net loss for the same period last year.
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
