Financial Services/Finserv


Top fintech stories this week – 5 August 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! RBS scraps Williams & Glyn banking platform plans, writes off £345m Defeated by the IT challenges. W&G is now likely to be sold to Santander. Azimo “industry first” to enable money transfers via Facebook Messenger Sending money should […]

ING Bank Romania launches new mPOS service with GoSwiff and MasterCard

ING Bank Romania has launched a new mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) service, underpinned by MasterCard and specialist vendor GoSwiff. ING mPOS is aimed at local merchants of all sizes. It enables them to accept card payments through mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, connected to a card reader. It also supports other added-value services, such as consumer […]

SIA buys e-money processing unit of Unicredit

Unicredit is selling its e-money processing unit to payments vendor SIA. The unit – part of Unicredit Business Integrated Solutions (UBIS) – processes around 13.5 million payment cards and manages 206,000 POS terminals and 12,000 ATMs in Italy, Germany and Austria. SIA has also got a ten-year outsourcing contract from UBIS for the supply of […]

Interview: Rupert Scofield, founder of Finca International

Rupert Scofield, president and CEO of microfinance organisation Finca International, discusses how it brings banking to the developing world and why people should follow America’s lead in the art of philanthropy. “This is your world. My generation had its shot. We thought our problems were daunting but it’s nothing like the stuff you’re dealing with. […]

Nordea’s new chief digital officer calls on fintechs to get in touch

Ewan MacLeod is heading to Nordea as co-head of its newly created “Group Digital” unit and is on the lookout for fintech companies, services and ideas to introduce to Nordea. MacLeod will be one of two chief digital officers at the Nordic banking group. The other one is Poul Raaholt, previously head of group IT […]

JP Morgan launches In-Residence start-up programme

JP Morgan has launched In-Residence, a new programme for fintech start-ups to use its facilities, systems and expertise. The company says it is inviting start-ups to sit “side by side” with its businesses to develop innovations that could “revolutionise” the sector. Sanoke Viswanathan, chief administrative officer of JP Morgan’s Corporate & Investment Bank, says this […]

Standard Chartered revamps wealth management ops with Temenos

Temenos has landed a major deal with Standard Chartered, to modernise the bank’s wealth management software across 30+ countries. The bank signed for Temenos’ WealthSuite, front-to-back office, which incorporates the vendor’s T24 system; Insight BI for analytics; Temenos Connect for channels; and the TripleA portfolio management software that stems from Odyssey Financial Technologies, a wealth […]

ING deploys ThetaRay’s analytics solution for fraud detection in SME lending

Israel-based specialist vendor ThetaRay has implemented its Advanced Analytics Solution at ING Netherlands for fraud detection. The vendor says that combining its tech with ING’s standing risk engine will enable the bank to detect new instances of SME lending fraud hidden within massive amounts of transactional and organisational data – in real-time and with industry-low false […]

Top fintech stories this week – 17 June 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! UniCredit and Open Bank Project launch fintech start-up competition Top prize is €50,000 and a contract to work with UniCredit. BBA to merge with three trade associations to create major industry body British Bankers Association (BBA), Council of […]

Wells Fargo invests in Alpha Payments Cloud

Alpha Payments Cloud, a provider of the AlphaHub Payments-as-a-Service platform, has received investment from Wells Fargo. Through its Startup Accelerator programme, for the next six months Wells Fargo will collaborate with Alpha Payments Cloud on its global payments network technologies for merchants. The company says its valuation now stands at $100 million. Wells Fargo’s Startup […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Ex-Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins sets up new fintech start-up

Former Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins has set up a fintech firm called 10X Future Technologies. Jenkins, who was sacked by Barclays in summer 2015 for failing to transform the bank quickly enough, has appointed himself as the sole director of 10X Future Technologies. He has refused to comment on what he plans to do with […]

Standard Life and ING Australia working with IBM on digital projects

UK-based investment company Standard Life and ING’s Australian subsidiary are working with IBM on a range of digital and data management initiatives. Standard Life: it’s personal Standard Life is personalising its financial services capabilities “to each of its 3.8 million UK customers”, IBM states. Using IBM’s analytics tools Standard Life “can accurately track a person’s […]

UBS invests in digital tech firm SigFig, develops new platform for advisors

UBS Wealth Management Americas (WMA) and tech company SigFig has formed a “strategic alliance” to develop digital technology for UBS WMA, its financial advisors and their clients. San Francisco-based SigFig specialises in wealth management software. It will create and customise digital tools and services for UBS WMA’s 7,000 advisors. UBS WMA’s remit is domestic US and […]

Top fintech stories this week – 13 May 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Perception brings to market new core platform UK credit unions, lenders and start-up banks take note. ING adds some zing to start-up ring It’s working with 45 start-ups on banking innovation. Punjab National Bank to modernise enterprise data […]

Barclays swerves Android Pay with smartphone NFC payments

Banking giant Barclays has announced the launch of its own mobile contactless on Android, and confirmed it will not be joining Android Pay, reports Tim Skinner at Telecoms.com. The bank has been one of the UK’s more innovative financial institutions harnessing mobile payments, and specifically the integration of payment technology into wearable or alternative devices. […]

ING adds some zing to start-up ring

Dutch bank ING has revealed it’s working with 45 fintech start-ups on banking innovation, such as money management, payments, lending and mobile on-boarding. Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING Group, says of the 45 fintech firms, these include seven start-ups working on their proof-of-concept through the ING Fintech Village initiative in Belgium, and four through the […]

Sopra Steria partners with DataStax for data storage tools for banks and FIs

Sopra Steria has teamed with DataStax, a provider of database software for cloud applications, as they target finserv organisations across the retail banking, investment banking and trading sectors. Working with DataStax, Sopra says it will provide solutions to some of the “biggest challenges” currently facing traditional banking institutions, such as compliance with “ever more stringent […]

Barclays.Net down and out for UK Bank Holiday weekend

Barclays’ business banking service, Barclays.net, decided it would also take time off during the three-day Bank Holiday weekend in the UK. The system suffered intermittent outages from 29 April until today (3 May), and there were numerous complaints on Twitter from angry users. The impact on customers ranged from trying to pay staff or facing […]

UniCredit to unify global transaction business on one platform

Italian banking heavyweight, UniCredit, is working on standardising its global transaction business (GTB) on one platform, underpinned by D+H’s Global PayPlus (GPP) system. GPP is supplied by D+H’s Global Transaction Banking Solution (GTBS) unit, formerly known as Fundtech. UniCredit’s GTB business covers 17 countries – the bank has accrued it via an aggressive M&A strategy […]

Capgemini launches test automation platform for finservs

Tech consultancy firm Capgemini has launched its Intelligent Test Automation Platform for financial services, promising quality assurance savings of up to 30%. The platform uses frameworks and robotic agents, and Capgemini says it speeds up the release of new products and services by providing “much shorter test cycles and better collaboration between development and test […]

Broadridge launches global solutions partner programme

Broadridge Financial Solutions has launched a new solutions partner programme to enable consulting, technology and servicing firms to offer technology solutions. Partner firms will get access to solutions across wealth management, asset management, capital markets and corporate issuer segments; and a set of sales enablement resources, technical training services and a financial benefits package. Ira […]

EdgeVerve launches blockchain framework for financial services

EdgeVerve Systems, a product subsidiary of Infosys, has launched a blockchain framework targeted at the financial services sector. Called EdgeVerve Blockchain Framework, it is a permissioned ledger that allows banks to deploy blockchain-based services for “varied” business areas. EdgeVerve says it can “scale to the levels needed to support international, cross-border transactional business”; and therefore […]

Top fintech stories this week – 8 April

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Money 20/20 Europe: Biometric identity, SMEs and final day’s sessions round-up Key highlights, what went well and what could be improved. Money 20/20 Europe: KYC/ID, commerce disruption and femtech round-up Valid points raised, key issues discussed. A must […]

Swiss banks and SIX plan national mobile payments platform

Exchange group SIX and Switzerland’s five largest banks are in talks over a joint mobile payments platform for the country. SIX, retail chains Migros and Coop, and telecoms company Swisscom are planning to create a standardised digital payment system for consumers in Switzerland. A joint statement from the banks – UBS, Credit Suisse, Raiffeisen, PostFinance […]

Marstone teams with IBM Watson for cognitive computing-powered advice

Marstone, a New York-based financial services firm, has teamed up with IBM Watson for Wealth Management to offer digital advice assisted by cognitive computing. The plan is for Marstone’s platform, powered by Watson, to use data, patterns and natural language to provide cognitive advice and learn from experience. Margaret Hartigan, chief executive of Marstone, says […]

Top fintech stories this week – 24 March 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! As it’s Easter holidays in the UK, this time it’s published on Thursday. Deutsche Bank reduces branch network in Germany Rise of digital banking drives change. Polymer notes pose £45m problem for UK cash machines Slippery when plastic. […]

Commerzbank live on SAP HANA for finance and risk management

Commerzbank is now live with an integrated set of finance and risk solutions powered by the SAP HANA platform. SAP says the bank has more than 70% of its balance sheet running on SAP Bank Analyzer and SAP Accounting for Financial Instruments. It adds that Commerzbank is able to close its monthly books “significantly faster”, […]

Rise of the megabanks

A great visual of how four US-based conglomerates – JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) – have grown to be the megabanks we know today. Source: American Banker

Top fintech stories this week – 18 March 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Deutsche Börse and LSE to merge Two hearts beat as one. D+H Corporation joins US real-time payments rush Catches up with rivals FIS and Jack Henry. Deutsche Bank and Bank of China partner for cash management Becomes first […]

UBS Securities automates risk and surveillance with Eventus

Eventus Systems, a US-based provider of data processing and analysis solutions, has signed UBS Securities for its flagship Validus risk and surveillance platform. Mark Holder, global co-head of electronic trading at UBS, says Eventus and Validus offered “impressive capabilities that strengthen our current platform”. The implementation has just begun. “Validus is going to bring a […]

Standard Chartered brings “Bank on an iPad” to new markets

Standard Chartered has launched its “Bank on an iPad” sales and service tool in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Called Retail Workbench, it is a digital tablet-based sales-and-service tool that “brings the bank” to clients. It is integrated with the bank’s back-end infrastructure, and will allow sales staff to open an account for a […]

Ulster Bank and KPMG launch start-up hub in Northern Ireland

Ulster Bank and KPMG have launched the “world’s largest free business accelerator” for entrepreneurs – Entrepreneurial Spark – in Belfast in Northern Ireland. The new hub, or “Hatchery”, can host up to 80 businesses and early stage entrepreneurs. Also involved in the launch were Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest (all three are part […]

Digitising risk data architecture reporting

Can applying semantics make BCBS 239 reporting consistent and comparable across all regulatory bodies? Rupert Brown explores the options when best practice isn’t good enough… Regulatory vagaries and the punitive fines make these tense times for bank risk officers. On the one hand, regulators are asking for a whole lot of architectural work to be […]

The force awakens: data science in banking

A quiet revolution powered by the force of data science has begun to deliver significant improvements in many areas including national security, business intelligence, law enforcement, financial analysis, healthcare and disaster preparedness. But are we ready to use the force in banking? Standard Chartered’s global chief innovation officer, Anju Patwardhan, explores the topic. Digital data […]

Fintech 2.0: creating new opportunities through strategic alliance

Banks and fintechs should collaborate rather than compete, leveraging their respective strengths to revolutionise the B2B payments space and create sustainable business models in today’s digital era. As the next stages of digital structural change continue to transform financial services, the focus of technological developments will shift. Most recent developments in business models have been […]