Bancolombia and US-based First Data have formed a strategic agreement to integrate their technology platforms to “improve and diversify” services for business owners in Colombia. The companies will focus on building e-commerce and business management solutions for merchants as well as improving access to the banking system. First Data and Bancolombia say they will bring […]
Citing a lack of financing, gift card exchange GiftCardRescue.com has closed up shop. Kwame Kuadey, founder and CEO, launched the company in 2008, enabling consumers to exchange unwanted gift cards or buy new ones at a discount.
Mastercard is setting its sights on China, with plans to apply for a payment services license there and releasing a new index to track the pulse of the nation’s new economy. China began allowing foreign-based payment card providers to operate in the country in June, giving outside players the opportunity to access the country’s $8.25 trillion payments market—provided they met certain capital and security standards. Mastercard currently is studying the requirements and deciding whether to apply for a license alone or with a partner.
With nearly 40 million Americans using wearables—and that number expected to more than double by 2018, retailers are looking for ways to capitalize on wearable popularity by using these devices to push personalized offers and provide payments capabilities to improve the shopping experience.
Mobile banking is catching on in a big way in the U.K., with payments via mobile banking apps reaching £347 (about US$456 million) in 2015, up a whopping 54 percent over the previous year, according to a new study. The Way We Bank Now, a report from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and professional services organization EY, found that U.K. consumers used mobile banking apps—ranging from those of major banks to full-featured mobile-centric accounts—more than 4 billion times last year.
Absa has launched a MasterCard-powered digital wallet and ChatBanking for Facebook Messenger. ChatBanking will let customers conduct banking without having to leave the social media platform; and follows on from the recent introduction of Absa ChatBanking on Twitter in May. Ashley Veasey, group CIO and chief digital officer at Barclays Africa (Absa is majority owned […]
Global payments provider WorldPay says it has put an end to two weeks of turmoil which saw millions of payments affected through one of its gateways. The company had experienced a fretful fortnight which saw many customers unable to receive cash from e-commerce sites (and other non-fintech ones). This led to a boisterous backlash and […]
ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are the first Indian banks to sign up for Swift’s global payments innovation initiative. Swift says both of them will be joining forces with more than 70 other banks globally. The initiative aims to “enhance” cross-border payments by using its messaging platform. In its first phase, the initiative will focus […]
Australian bank Westpac is to trial the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in its digital banking systems, as it looks to automate customers’ queries. With the rise of digital banking, Westpac’s general manager of consumer digital, Travis Tyler, says it is looking at using “bots” to respond to customers’ simple questions. One example includes the […]
Vermilion Software, a UK-based supplier of client reporting and communications software, has been selected by one of the largest investment managers in Australia, Challenger. Challenger has chosen Vermilion Reporting Suite for its institutional client base. David Mackaway, general manager of operations at Challenger, says: “Vermilion’s multi-tenanted approach will enhance our ability to deliver reporting for […]
The UK’s second largest building society, Yorkshire Building Society Group (YBSG), has opted for Unisys’ Stealth product to secure customer data and achieve compliance with the new Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). This is a five-year deal. YBSG will use Stealth to micro-segment its network to create secure communities of interest (COIs), […]
Entries are now open for the prestigious Banking Technology Awards – the premier event recognising excellence in the use of technology in banking and financial services, strive for innovation, and professional contribution to the industry’s betterment. Highlights A comprehensive list of categories to laud the best of the best across a broad range of IT […]
MasterCard plans to become a payment service provider in China, according to Reuters. It is still pondering whether to do so alone or with a partner, it is understood. Ann Cairns, president of international markets at MasterCard, told Reuters that China is “pretty crucial” to MasterCard’s future, but the company is still “trying to understand […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! BBA records dramatic increase in mobile banking usage Digital banking is in a “consumer-led revolution”. MasterCard buys VocaLink for $920 million Current owners Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS will receive a handy windfall. Cidel Bank implementing ERI’S Olympic […]
British Bankers Association (BBA) says digital banking is in a “consumer-led revolution”. Its latest report – Way We Bank Now – shows a drastic increase in consumers using digital channels to manage their money. Changing customer habits and major technological advances in banking have resulted in the following: Customers are using mobile banking apps more […]
For those wondering if the post-eBay PayPal would act differently, July 21 gave us the answer: Yes. On Thursday, PayPal announced a strategic partnership with Visa where Visa would get preference—in both PayPal and Venmo apps—and PayPal said that it would “not encourage Visa cardholders to link to a bank account via ACH” and “PayPal will also support and work with issuers to identify consumers who choose to migrate existing ACH payment flows to their Visa cards.”
Firms operating dark pools have made “significant progress” in addressing the promotion and the management of conflicts of interest, according to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Dark pools are trading venues with no-pre trade transparency where the price and volume of all orders are hidden and anonymous. Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA, […]
Mastercard is set to gain control of a major chunk of the U.K. transaction processing market, entering a definitive agreement to acquire 92.4 percent of VocaLink in a deal that could total up to $1.14 billion. A bank-owned consortium, VocaLink’s technology underpins the British direct debit and credit payments system, as well as the LINK ATM network and the Faster Payments Scheme for real-time mobile and Internet payments.
Société Générale has acquired a stake in TagPay, a French mobile banking firm, as it looks to develop mobile banking in Africa. Société Générale says the deal will support the development of TagPay on the market and it will roll out the service to its African subsidiaries. TagPay’s mobile-centric core banking system, also called TagPay, […]
MasterCard has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 92.4% of VocaLink for $920 million. As Banking Technology reported in March and April, MasterCard was in “exclusive” talks with VocaLink over the acquisition. VocaLink’s existing shareholders have the potential for an earn-out of up to an additional $220 million, if performance targets are met. This […]
Thomson Reuters and Imperial College London have teamed up on research projects to look at big data challenges impacting global fintech and regtech. Working with researchers from the Data Science Institute at Imperial, Thomson Reuters will contribute financial market data and legal expertise, as well as data management and machine-learning expertise, to Imperial’s data visualisation […]
Artemis, a UK-based fund manager with £22.6 billon assets under management, is implementing new behavioural analytics software for compliance. The solution – called Compass – is provided by specialist vendor Sybenetix. It will support the market abuse surveillance functionality, case management and conduct management, end-to-end. This is a multi-year deal and is an extension on […]
German digital bank Number26 becomes N26 and has received its banking licence, 1.5 years after launching. After applying for the licence nine months ago; Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the European Central Bank gave the bank regulatory approval to conduct operations across Europe. “This banking licence is an important additional step for us […]
Standard Chartered Bank is bringing its video banking service to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the “biggest roll-out of its kind by any international bank”. The bank says more than five million clients in nine markets across the continents will get access. The service is already live in Malaysia and Singapore, and will launch […]
Blockchain and biometrics could be the way forward for the future of the UK’s regtech industry, according to the findings of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA issued a call for input in November 2015 about the development and adoption of regtech; and more than 350 responses were received. Of that number, 43% were […]
In this contentious presidential election cycle, it’s hard to imagine anything getting 70 percent of the Senate to back it. But 70 U.S. Senators want the CFPB to lay off credit unions and community banks when it comes to certain, unspecified rules.
Duplicate charges and delayed payments to online gamblers: Those are among the issues reported as technical problems at Worldpay continue for the third week.
Visa has been granted a patent that could help in a big way by identifying and “blacklisting” a device that’s been used to perpetrate fraud.
A University of Toronto study raises a delightfully non-intuitive payments point. Although shoppers gravitate toward the payment forms promising the least friction, do they value purchases more when they are made with more friction, such as cash?
NCR Corporation and Wells Fargo have established a team focused on research and development in ATM and retail banking customer experience. Over the past eight years, NCR and Wells Fargo have worked together on other projects. These range from cash- and check-processing to self-service devices. The latest agreement expands the relationship to a “more strategic […]
Fran Fisher, strategic sales and business development manager-ARM for a subsidiary of global payment processor Payscout Inc., has been appointed to the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA) International Council of Delegates.
Ballard Spahr LLP has announced that David Landau has joined the firm as a partner in its New York office.
The Bancorp has named Jeff Nager as senior vice president and director, government guaranteed lending.
Corbin Simon, executive recruiter at R&P Group, has won the U.S. Recruiting Network’s Sioux Falls Area Top Recruiter Award for the second quarter of 2016.
Blackhawk Network President and CEO Talbott Roche has been appointed to the board of directors of digital interactive entertainment provider Electronic Arts (EA).
Bacs Payment Schemes Ltd., the organization behind direct debit and Bacs direct credit in the U.K., as well as the current account switch service, has become the latest member of the Emerging Payments Association (EPA).
Global provider of financial services technology provider Fiserv Inc. has appointed John Kim to its board of directors.
Law firm K&L Gates LLP has opened a Munich office, the firm’s third office location in Germany, eighth in Europe, and 46th worldwide.
Online loan marketplace Lending Club announced today that Patrick Dunne has joined the company as chief capital officer.
Payments industry research and advisory firm Mercator Advisory Group has appointed Ted Iacobuzio as managing director of custom research and consulting services.
