Denmark-based mobile banking service Lunar Way has launched its travel card – and the chance to experience the world without fees. Its newest feature, called the Lunar Way Travel Card, is its attempt to stand out in a world of roaming charges. Lunar Way says: “One area where the consumer has always been stung is […]
Nordea is now keeping people informed about an ongoing investigation by the Danish Prosecution Service into its alleged anti-money laundering (AML) violations. By way of recap, it follows criticism by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA) in June 2016 regarding AML transgressions by Nordea Bank Danmark. According to Danish newspaper Berlingske, the money laundering involves […]
BBVA reckons the fever for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in blockchain must be cooled as the industry is facing a “dangerous bubble” driven by speculation. ICOs are a common story in fintech at present and they allow small businesses to reach a large audience via blockchain and cryptocurrencies. (And BBVA has its own interest in […]
Belgium – the “Jihadi capital of Europe” – is the European Union’s (EU) most lenient country on money laundering despite its role in terrorist financing, according to anti-money laundering (AML) firm Fortytwo Data. With refreshing frankness in the usually jargon-soaked and platitude-drenched world of fintech, Fortytwo Data says the EU’s disjointed approach to the fight […]
In the age of the internet, fintech dominates finance. In the UK, the sector is currently worth £7 billion, employing around 60,000 people with figures set to increase. The industry is definitely awe-inspiring, but as the lines between traditional banking services and fintech blur, fintech could disappear entirely.
Germany-based Deposit Solutions has acquired fellow fintech Savedo. With the acquisition of Savedo, Deposit Solutions gains 18,000+ clients, 13 partner banks and new regions – thus “further expanding its B2C capabilities”.
UK-based challenger bank Tandem received an emergency cash injection of £3.6 million from its existing investors earlier this year when a major funding deal with House of Fraser collapsed.
Business-to-business (B2B) payment solutions company Trustly has partnered with e-commerce payment provider Qliro.
National Settlement Depository (NSD), Russia’s central securities depository (CSD), and Waves, a decentralised platform for launching crowdfunding campaigns and issuing digital assets, have embarked on a blockchain project.
The UK has unveiled details for its new Data Protection Bill, and while it is largely in line with European Union rules, there is also some substance to it (for once).
EXCLUSIVE: Barclaycard is launching a pilot that enables merchants in the UK to accept in-store Alipay transactions. The pilot will commence on 14 August 2017 in eight retail stores across the UK, with Barclaycard providing the POS solution for payments via Alipay.
Trickbot is back, new and improved, and is targeting customers of Lloyds Bank in the UK in a new phishing campaign, according to cybersecurity specialist Cyren.
BML Istisharat, a Lebanon-based banking software provider, has gained two new takers of its ICBS core banking system. These are Peterhouse Securities, a financial services firm in London, and Liberty International Bank in Abu Dhabi.
Russia’s tech heavyweight Yandex and the country’s largest bank, Sberbank, are planning a joint venture to “boost e-commerce development”. The new venture will be based on the Yandex.Market platform.
Nordnet, a digital bank in the Nordics, will have a “new digital employee” as of this autumn – IPSoft’s Amelia artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
The EU Funds Transfer Regulation 2015 (FTR 2015), which has been in effect since 26 June 2017, aims to deliver full traceability of payments. A lack of regulatory clarity is, however, leading to significant implementation hurdles that require urgent action from all stakeholders.
Fintech companies will soon be able to test their products in Lithuania by creating customised regulatory sandboxes under the supervision of Bank of Lithuania.
Payworks, a Germany-based provider of point-of-sale (POS) payment infrastructure, has inked a deal with Alipay. Payworks’ gateway tech will be supporting the integration of Alipay for payment providers across Europe.
Off the back of its involvement in Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP), Swift has entered the instant payments market in Europe, with plans to launch a gateway solution in November 2018. The solution will enable instant payments to be made over the Swift network using a single gateway to connect to multiple instant payments systems across Europe.
BNG Bank, a public sector bank in the Netherlands, is implementing BearingPoint’s Abacus regtech solution for MiFID II/MiFIR, EMIR II, MMSR and SFTR reporting.
Chinese online and mobile payment platform Alipay is looking to grow its presence significantly in Russia with the help of VTB Group.
Jiffy – the instant mobile payments service developed by SIA – is now available in over 150 outlets in Milan, Rome and Turin. As reported last year, the person-to-business (P2B) project was piloted in Milan and Bergamo, allowing customers to pay via app at participating retail outlets authorised by UBI Banca. SIA said at the […]
Commerzbank has processed the first bank payment obligation (BPO) transactions in Austria, covering the import of bus components from Germany and Italy. The buyer, a customer of Commerzbank Austria, is TAM-Europe, located in Slovenia. The suppliers are MAN Truck & Bus, headquartered in Munich, and ISAF Bus Components, an Italy-based supplier and customer of UniCredit. […]
UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd has taken another dim-witted swipe at end-to-end encryption claiming that terrorists are the only ones who care about it, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). It’s the latest chapter in one of the most short-sighted and ill-informed books available today, as Rudd has continued her moronic quest to make the […]
The Regulatory Reporting Hub of Deutsche Börse has launched a partnership with Risk Focus and its software subsidiary, RegTek.Solutions, to use its key system components for the hub’s OTC trade reporting solution. The functionality of the components provided by Risk Focus and RegTek.Solutions includes the Validate.Trade product, and interpretation of instrument details of OTC derivatives […]
Klarna has unveiled Wavy, a new, free P2P payments service. Available in iOS and Android as well as online, the free app enables users in more than 30 European markets to transfer euros between friends and family.
Commerzbank is pushing hard on its mortgage lending business ambitions with the launch of a digital financing app. The app is free and users can carry out house and apartment purchases on their smartphones. Included in the app are a budget calculation tool and access to over 200,000 properties in Germany. “We are the first […]
German fintech firm figo’s technology is the backbone for the launch of Consorsbank’s open-minded MultiBanking service. The bank, which is part of BNP Paribas Germany, says its customers can now use accounts and deposits they have with other banks after logging into their online banking. Figo says it brings the technical foundation via its business […]
Berlin-based mobile bank N26 has teamed up with credit marketplace Auxmoney to offer loans in Germany. The deal builds on N26’s current range of consumer loans – and with this new partnership, N26 says it will soon be able to offer loans to those such as students, the self-employed or freelancers. The bank already offers […]
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the outcome of its review into high-cost credit, which includes its assessment of the effectiveness of the payday loan price cap. With a generous amount of back-slapping, the review provides “clear evidence that FCA regulation of high-cost short-term credit (often known as ‘payday lending’) has delivered substantial […]
The Berlin-based duo of peer-to-peer lending provider Lendico and fintech firm SolarisBank are working together on a long-term collaboration for financing SME loans. To begin with, SolarisBank is providing an “eight-digit sum” for financing loans via Lendico – with unspecified plans to expand this commitment in the medium-term. Dr. Clemens Paschke, co-founder and managing director […]
Everyday Loans, a UK-based provider of “loans for bad credit”, has signed for Jaywing’s Horizon solution for IFRS 9 modelling and provision calculation.
In the beating business heart of London, Banking Technology met Ben Brabyn, head of tech hub Level39, for an exclusive interview on Brexit, rivalry and how success isn’t a zero-sum game.
UK-based DueCourse, a cloud-based invoice financing start-up, has run its course with the revelation that it has gone into administration. The bad news comes less than a year after it received £6.25 million in funding from investors, including the founders of TransferWise, and non-fintech firms such as LinkedIn, Zoopla and Lovefilm. According to online publication […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Mobile financial services company Vipera is acquiring SoftTelecom. The deal is expected to close for $1.5 million (€1.3 million).
SIX Payment Services is buying the Frankfurt-based girocard network operations business from VÖB-ZVD Processing, a subsidiary of Deutsche Postbank, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology‘s sister publication. The agreement provides for the customer relationships, employees and assets of the network operations business being transferred in full to SIX Payment Services as part of the acquisition. The terms of […]
Paytech firm Viva Payments is bringing Alipay to Greece. A strategic partnership between the two companies will see Alipay users “access the service for the first time” while visiting the country.
Bank of Cyprus has selected IBM as its “strategic partner” for its digital transformation plan.
Legal & General Insurance (LGI) has created a new business to build and buy into a range of fintech companies. LGI says its fintech subsidiary Investments Discounts Online (IDOL), which was established in 1999, will form a key part of the new fintech business area. Nick Frankland, who’s been with LGI since 2010, will take […]
