News


Citi launches Total Touch block trading app

Citi has launched an equity trading app called Total Touch, which it says will help make it easier for investors to execute block trades in the European market.

Private banks set to benefit from UK account switching

As the UK Payments Council looks back on the first year of its current account switching service, numbers have risen but the change has been gradual and a disappointment to some. That could soon change as private banks make their move, according to senior financial services experts.

BATS Chi-X sets sights on Swiss ETFs through BX deal

Europe’s largest alternative trading venue BATS Chi-X Europe is set to target the Swiss equities market, following a deal with BX Swiss, an independent exchange. The deal focuses on cross-listings for exchange-traded funds, and trade reporting services – and is a direct threat to the incumbent SIX Swiss Exchange.

Reports: Weve Pulls Plug on Mobile Wallet (Sept. 15, 2014)

Weve, the mobile payments joint venture from mobile operators Vodafone UK, Telefónica UK’s O2 and EE, has abandoned plans to develop its own mobile wallet product after the U.K.’s three largest mobile telecom providers failed to agree on how to run the wallet.

ESMA puts IT on the regulatory agenda for credit ratings agencies

The European Securities and Markets Authority has set out a series of tough new proposals for how credit rating agencies should be regulated. The proposals have reignited debate over the agencies, which have been controversial for their alleged role in the financial crisis.

Comerica wins Direct Express RFP

Comerica Bank, the incumbent issuer of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Direct Express prepaid debit card program to distribute benefits to Social Security recipients, will continue in that role under a new five-year agreement, according to a blog post published today on the department’s Website.

Will Apple Pay and Its Backers Ignite Mobile Wallets? (Sept. 11, 2014)

Numerous payments providers, financial institutions and merchants have thrown their support behind Apple Inc.’s new Apple Pay service—and if the tidal wave of early backing is any indication, the Apple and iPhone brands already may have overcome one of the most vexing issues hindering mobile wallet adoption—lack of widespread support by stakeholders in the value chain.

Amex Program to Spark Financial Inclusion Accepting Applications (Sept. 11, 2014)

Hoping to foster the next great ideas to promote financial inclusion for underserved consumers, American Express has begun accepting submissions for its Financial Innovation Lab, which provides researchers and practitioners from nonprofit organizations the opportunity to test their ideas on the American Express Serve prepaid account software platform.