News


Myanmar Oriental Bank in banking software revamp

Myanmar Oriental Bank (MOB Bank) is looking to modernise its core banking software. Banking Technology understands that the new system of choice is Temenos’ T24. Temenos provided a “no comment” response. MOB Bank was set up in 1993 and is privately owned. It has 26 branches and offers savings, remittances and SME financing. The bank […]

UniCredit and Open Bank Project launch fintech start-up competition

UniCredit and Open Bank Project, an open source API and app store for banks, invite fintech developers and start-ups to take part in its Appathon competition. The 2016 Appathon is driven by the Open Bank Project API, developed by the Berlin-based Tesobe Ltd/Open Bank Project. Ten companies will be selected to demo their products in […]

CFPB Spends Big to Reach Consumers Online

The CFPB wants to make more consumers aware of its watchdog mission and is spending big to ensure that: $15.3 million so far in fiscal 2016, making the federal agency among the biggest government advertisers, according to reports and an online database.

N.Y. DOL Payroll Rule Expected this Week

It’s been more than a year since the New York Department of Labor first proposed payroll card regulations, but the agency is expected to follow up with a new payroll card rulemaking in the New York State Register this week. What’s uncertain is whether the regulations will be final or if the state will be following up its controversial proposal with a revised proposed rulemaking for which it will accept additional comments.

VocaLink, Zapp Bring Faster Payments to Retailers

Though the focus for most faster payments initiatives primarily has been on P2P and B2B real-time payments, the technology has yet to really be implemented for POS and e-commerce transactions. London-based international payment provider VocaLink and its Zapp technology subsidiary are looking to change that.

Taiwan Business Bank expands contract with Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer’s regulatory reporting platform, OneSumX, will be used by the Chinese branch of Taiwan Business Bank. With the need for enhanced regulatory reporting to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the bank required “scalable solution to meet the new standards”, the vendor says. These include the CBRC’s requirements for Basel III & Foreign Asset […]

New fintech platform for cash savings launched by ex-Merrill Lynch directors

Two former Merrill Lynch directors, Paul Richards and Giles Hutson, have unveiled a new fintech venture, Insignis Asset Management. Insignis, a cash management company, is set “to revolutionise how clients manage their cash deposits”, the founders say. The Insignis Digital Banking Network will enable clients to deposit cash, starting from £100,000, into a hub account, […]

FIX Trading Community releases standards for MiFID II transaction and trade reporting

FIX Trading Community, the non-profit standards body for the global financial trading industry, has unveiled the FIX Protocol for use for transmitting MiFID II Transaction Reports to Approved Reporting Mechanisms (ARMs). Under MiFID II, all investment firms (including certain buy-side institutions) executing transactions in financial instruments are required to report details of their transactions to […]

Earthport gains foothold in Sri Lanka via Commercial Bank of Ceylon

Earthport, a cross-border payments service provider, has inked a deal with Commercial Bank of Ceylon to provide local payment capability into Sri Lanka. The deal is part of Earthport’s Asian expansion strategy, with similar money transfer partnerships already secured in Pakistan and India. Sajeev Viswanathan, president, global strategy at Earthport, says the tie-up with Commercial […]

Avaloq has a breakthrough in Austria with two new core banking software clients

Private banking software vendor Avaloq is to gain two sites in Austria for its flagship core banking system, Avaloq Banking Suite. These are at the Austrian operations of LGT and Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB). Both banking groups originate from Liechtenstein and both are long-standing users of Avaloq Banking Suite at home and Switzerland. LGT also runs […]

Visa Europe unveils augmented reality payment tech

Visa Europe and its innovation hub, Visa Europe Collab, have teamed up with visual discovery and augmented reality app Blippar to bring augmented reality to payments. The new e-commerce solution, unveiled at a recent fashion show in London, enables designer garments to be instantly purchased straight off the backs of models. The pilot fashion brand […]

BBA to merge with three trade associations to create major industry body

British Bankers Association (BBA) has secured the go-ahead from its members to merge with three other UK-based trade associations: Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), Payments UK and UK Cards Association. The new trade association will be have a broader representation of the financial services industry. Anthony Browne, CEO of BBA, comments that it is only […]

Top fintech stories this week – 10 June 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Goldman Sachs to underpin new digital bank with Infosys tech It’ll be the e-Finacle digital banking platform, Banking Technology understands. Infographics: The Euro 2016 guide to e-commerce In the spirit of that football tournament that starts today, we’ve got an e-commerce […]

Infographics: Flavors of Fast – the world of immediate payments

FIS has published its third annual report, Flavors of Fast, which shows via infographics the growth in the number of real-time payment initatives and usage volumes. Warren Gardiner, VP strategy enterprise payments, FIS, says: “Context is everything: speed without context is just faster; creating context without open data mining is merely an improvement. Speed, context […]

Development Bank of Nigeria plans core banking software revamp

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is planning a core banking system implementation and the bidding process is open. As part of the bank’s ambition, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is inviting vendors to bid for the supply and installation of core banking software and related infrastructure. FGN has received a loan from International Bank […]

Has Death Knell Sounded for MCX’s CurrentC?

MCX, led by a consortium of large retailers such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy, has announced it’s ending the beta test of its mobile payments service CurrentC, and accounts will be deactivated June 28.

Dodd-Frank Faces New Challenge from House Republicans

A less powerful CFPB and looser caps on card interchange fees: Those are among the potential features of a bill that Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) plans to introduce later this month that would overturn major provisions of the Dodd-Frank act.

American Express and HSBC part of $75m investment in Tradeshift

Business network Tradeshift says new and existing investors have joined its $75 million series D funding, including HSBC and American Express Ventures. Other investors comprise venture capital firm Data Collective (DCVC), Notion Capital, CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund, managed by CreditEase, and Pavilion Capital, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. Matt Ocko, co-managing partner and co-founder of […]

People on the Move: Rich Baich, FSSCC

The Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) has announced the election of Rich Baich, chief information security officer of Wells Fargo and Co., as its new chairman.

People on the Move: Tristan Blampied, Pelican

Tristan Blampied has joined Pelican, where he will serve as senior product manager for the firm’s suite of transaction banking, regulatory compliance and corporate payments solutions.

Unisys revamps New Zealand’s Co-operative Bank IT infrastructure

Unisys Corporation’s New Zealand subsidiary has revamped the Co-operative Bank’s IT infrastructure using Unisys ClearPath Forward systems. Unisys says ClearPath Forward provides “enhanced security” for client and business information, as well as scalability to support the addition of new services. In addition, it says ClearPath ePortal, an automated application modernisation solution, will support the bank’s […]

People on the Move: Leonore Van Waaij, Backbase

Omnichannel digital banking technology provider Backbase has hired Leonore Van Waaij to be the company’s new chief financial officer, heading all of the firm’s financial, legal and compliance operations.

Four UK banks sign up for VocaLink’s Zapp app

Four of the UK’s biggest high street banks have signed up to launch Zapp’s “Pay by Bank app” mobile payment service. Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax and Lloyds Bank are working with Zapp, VocaLink’s payments innovation team, to deliver the service. David Yates, CEO VocaLink, says the gang of four join a “growing number of […]

Goldman Sachs to underpin new digital bank with Infosys tech

Goldman Sachs has recently launched a new digital bank, GS Bank. It accepts deposits from consumers and institutional clients, starting from just $1. Goldman Sachs is understood to be working with Infosys and its EdgeVerve division on this project, with the vendor’s e-Finacle platform as the underlying tech for GS Bank. Infosys’ spokesperson provided a […]

Japan raises security after ¥1.8bn taken from ATMs

Japan’s Seven Bank has improved security for ATM withdrawals following Japanese banks losing JPY 1.8 billion ($16.8 million) through fake overseas cards. Banks across the island nation are rushing to deal with the fraud, and Seven Bank which operates ATMs in the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, has cut its withdrawal limit to JPY 50,000 ($468) […]

Brazil-based digital bank Banco Original live with new treasury tech

Banco Original, a pure-play digital bank in Brazil has gone live with a new treasury management system, OpenLink’s Findur. The vendor says the implementation was completed in ten months. Findur is the bank’s new cross-asset and treasury solution, integrated with internet banking and handling a range of financial products such as bank certificate of deposit […]

Gemini Bitcoin exchange expands to Canada

US-based Gemini Bitcoin exchange has expanded its services to Canada. Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins (Cameron and Tyler, who were memorably depicted in the film The Social Network), says registered customers in Canada can trade bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) on Gemini’s ETH/BTC order book. Cameron Winklevoss says this is “just the beginning of […]

Cater Allen Private Bank in major tech overhaul with Temenos

Cater Allen, a London-based private bank and a subsidiary of Santander, is undergoing a major technology overhaul. The bank is going to implement a new core banking system, Temenos’ T24, Banking Technology understands. It is now looking to recruit T24 specialists and project managers to help it with system customisation and implementation, and migration from […]

Torstone’s Inferno goes live in Myanmar’s securities market

Torstone Technology says an unnamed Myanmar-based broker has started using Inferno, its post-trade securities and derivatives processing system. Inferno will process the broker’s post-trade flow of its equities execution business. The system covers the “whole” trade life-cycle from trade capture through to settlement, accounting and reconciliation. Brian Collings, CEO of Torstone Technology, says Asia is […]

Visa and MasterCard could get access to $8.4tn Chinese card payment market

China will let foreign payment card firms operate in the country under rules issued on 7 June, according to Reuters. The announcement gives Visa and MasterCard the opportunity to tap into a CNY 55 trillion ($8.4 trillion) card payment market. Both companies have been lobbying for more than ten years for direct access to China’s […]

Infographics: FATCA and CRS – how ready are you?

As we enter a new era in global tax reporting with increasing regulations around tax transparency, Banking Technology and Thomson Reuters have gathered industry views from across the globe to piece together a full picture on the financial market’s readiness for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and continued approach to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance […]

Cybercriminals Take Bite out of O’Charley’s

National restaurant chain O’Charley’s announced it suffered a security breach that may have exposed diners’ payment card information during a three-week period starting in mid-March.