FinTech


BBVA buys Mexican payments start-up Openpay

BBVA Bancomer, a fully owned subsidiary of BBVA, has acquired Mexico-based payments start-up Openpay to tap into its network of more than 15,000 payment reception points across the country. Openpay offers a platform for physical and electronic payments for businesses via its real-time Paynet network. According to BBVA, the start-up manages more than one million […]

Swift launches blockchain proof of concept

Swift has launched a proof of concept (PoC) to explore whether blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be used by banks to improve the reconciliation of their nostro databases in real time. Under the current correspondent banking model, Swift says banks need to monitor the funds in their overseas accounts via debit and credit updates and […]

Accenture adopts German accent for AI research

Accenture and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) have formed an alliance to make the most out of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture Digital, will work with DFKI (Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz). Accenture will get access to DFKI research results, AI tools, and its “Living Labs”. Prof. Dr. […]

Societe Generale calls for Indian fintech start-ups

Societe Generale is calling for Indian start-ups with the launch of Catalyst 2.0 – its accelerator programme to promote innovation. This is its second edition, and Societe Generale Global Solution Centre (SG GSC), an innovation hub of the banking group in India, will run Catalyst 2.0 from May to August 2017. During the ten-week programme, […]

The Monday mindset: 24 April 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, Banking Technology’s deputy editor Antony Peyton looks at whether Japan’s rules rule. If you’re a billionaire (which I assume isn’t all of […]

Game’s on for Sovcombank credit scoring

Russia-based Sovcombank hopes to attract more young people looking to get their first credit card by “gamifying” the credit application process. The project has been carried out with Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL), which developed a new survey-based credit scoring model, and FICO, which handles marketing.

Avaloq under attack as Temenos starts year strongly

Banking software vendor Temenos has reported a strong start to 2017 with total software licensing revenues up 19% – and it takes a swipe at rival Avaloq in the process. In its Q1 2017 financial results, its non-IFRS total revenues were $142.7 million compared to $129.4 million for the same period last year. Non-IFRS EBIT […]

Payments start-up Plastc goes bust

Plastc, a US fintech start-up that created a card that could digitally hold 20 credit or debit cards, is filing for bankruptcy.

BBVA and Ripple complete blockchain cross-border money transfer pilot

BBVA has announced the completion of “the first real-life implementation of an international money transfer using Ripple’s new distributed ledger technology (DLT)”. The transaction, which ran on BBVA infrastructures with real money, resulted in money moved between Spain and Mexio “in a matter of seconds”.

Central Bank of Lesotho overhauls tech with Intellect Design Arena

The Central Bank of Lesotho has gone live on Intellect Design Arena’s Quantum Central Banking Solution (QCBS). According to India-based Intellect, the “key highlight was an accelerated implementation with zero errors during migration despite complex integration with multiple external interfaces”. Mothetsi Sekoati, head of business solution at Central Bank of Lesotho, says the project is […]

The feeling’s Crédit Mutuel for IBM Watson

Following a pilot, IBM says its Watson cognitive technology will be extended to Crédit Mutuel’s 20,000 employees and 5,000 branches in France to help with the bank’s operations. This marks the “first commercial use” of Watson by a financial institution in France to assist its staff. The bank’s customer advisors have been using Watson services […]

Kid me not fraud with GoHenry digital deal

GoHenry, a UK-based digital banking solution to help young people manage their money, has appointed fraud prevention firm Featurespace to safeguard customers’ accounts. GoHenry was founded by a group of parents to help young people aged six to 18 “learn good money habits”. It is a subscription service, which offers a prepaid debit card and […]

Thumbs up for Mastercard’s new biometric card

Mastercard has launched its latest biometric card, combining chip technology with fingerprints to verify the cardholder’s identity for in-store purchases. South Africa is the first market to test the evolved technology, with two separate trails recently concluded with Pick n Pay, a supermarket retailer, and Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays Africa. According to Mastercard, […]

Capriza powers Yorkshire Building Society mobile move

UK-based Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has chosen Capriza’s platform to help improve its digital and mobile capabilities. The society will use the platform to let its customers connect and apply for its mortgages and savings accounts through mobile devices. Nick Mortimer, head of marketing and e-commerce, Yorkshire Building Society, says Capriza’s platform offers “very little […]

IBM promise in the cloud threatens to become false dawn

IBM has reported a mixed bag of results for the first quarter of 2017, with the strategic imperatives offerings up but overall revenues down 2% to $18.2 billion, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). While another quarter of decline is nothing new to report for Big Blue, what might be worrying for the team is […]

Malaysia’s central bank seeks fintech start-ups

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the nation’s central bank, is calling out to fintech start-ups for ideas to improve the financial services sector. The bank’s Financial Technology Enabler Group (FTEG) is now open to concepts through its “Fintech Hacks” initiative which aims to “identify pain points in the delivery and consumption of financial services, and solicit […]

Nomura turns fintech Voyager in India

Asian investment bank Nomura plans to tap into India’s lively fintech scene with the launch of its “Voyager – Nomura Fintech Partnership” – including a new JPY 10 billion ($91.7 million) fund to provide support to start-ups. Nomura is inviting entrepreneurs to participate in the programme to build solutions for capital markets and investment banking […]

Nasdaq goes on attack with fintech investment programme

Nasdaq has unveiled its venture investment programme, Nasdaq Ventures, as it seeks out new fintech firms to work with in the global capital markets. Adena Friedman, president and CEO, Nasdaq, says it plans to “accelerate the pace of innovation”. The minority stake investments made by Nasdaq Ventures are expected to range from less than $1 […]

Accenture calls for Asia-Pacific fintech start-ups

Applications will soon open for Accenture’s fourth annual Asia-Pacific Fintech Innovation Lab, a 12-week programme to help start-ups speed up product and business development. According to the firm, investments in Asia-Pacific fintech companies are on the rise. During the first quarter of 2017, investments totalled $1.1 billion, representing 21% of the $5.1 billion invested into […]

Report: accelerators speed up UK fintech growth

We’re travelling at the speed of light, that’s why we’re on a news site. The UK’s fintech scene is chock-full of sweet accelerators and incubators – powering the industry ever onwards. In their 76-page report, “Business incubators and accelerators: the national picture”, the UK Government and innovation foundation Nesta paint a pleasant portrait of energy […]

HelloPay merges with Ant Financial for AliPay boost

HelloPay Group, which runs the HelloPay payment platform and online shopping and selling site Lazada, has merged with China’s Ant Financial. Ant Financial, part of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group, runs Alipay and so HelloPay has now been rebranded as Alipay Singapore, Alipay Malaysia, Alipay Indonesia and Alipay Philippines in its respective markets. Douglas Feagin, SVP […]

Fund times with BNP Paribas blockchain-powered platform

BNP Paribas Securities Services is partnering with AXA Investment Managers for the creation of a new digital fund distribution platform. Called BNP Paribas Fund Link, it aims to make the fund distribution process better by improving the flow of information between fund buyers and sellers via blockchain and smart contract technology. Jean Devambez, head of […]

Singapore regulator and UN team up for ASEAN financial inclusion

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have teamed up to improve access to digital financial services in the ASEAN region. The partnership is under the ongoing UNCDF’s Shift (Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations) programme for development in this part of the world. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer, MAS, […]

Fintech in the US: where is regulation headed?

Aaron Cutler, partner, and Loyal Horsley, associate at Hogan Lovells, examine the state-level fintech regulation, proposed legislative solutions, and provides a brief overview of international regulation.

Piraeus Bank e-branches go Greece lightning

Piraeus Bank has launched three fully automated e-branches, across the region of Attiki – the first of their kind in Greece. Services on offer include a “remote cashier”, where customers can perform 90% of the transactions provided via a video call with a cashier; remote registration of internet banking through a phone service point; a […]

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority champions consumer

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is calling for an end to consumer vulnerability and more access to financial services in its plans for 2017. In a speech today (18 April) by Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA, the publication of its corporate documents and its role and goals were all outlined. Bailey says: […]

Intesa Sanpaolo and EBA Clearing complete first pan-European instant payment test

Italy’s largest retail bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, and EBA Clearing have successfully completed their first user testing activities on Dovetail’s solution for EBA’s pan-European real-time payment platform. Among the institutions funding the new EBA infrastructure, Intesa Sanpaolo is the first one to connect to the test system. The new infrastructure will provide a real-time payment processing […]