FinTech


Give donations better with Betterment

Robo advisory platform Betterment says it is not only making it easier to give to charities, it is also giving consumers more reasons to do so, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Starting 28 November, on “Giving Tuesday”, Betterment investors will be able to donate shares of long-term investments from their taxable accounts directly to […]

EyeLock docks with ViaTouch for iris-powered payments

Iris-based biometric authentication specialist EyeLock has signed an agreement with ViaTouch Media that will integrate EyeLock’s technology within ViaTouch’s smart-shelf vending solution, Vicki. David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) reports that EyeLock CEO Jim Demitrieus says the agreement was the culmination of years of working with firms from a variety of industries to bring embedded […]

TransferTo and Fern Software get UN funding for payments push

Cross-border mobile payments network TransferTo and banking software provider Fern Software have both been awarded a grant as a part of the United Nations Capital Development’s Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation (Shift) Challenge Fund, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The goal of the fund is to use remittances to improve the economic power of women […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 15 November 2017

Following on from yesterday’s (14 November) news, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Trustology, Accenture, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Association of Banks in Singapore, Square and London Block Exchange. Another day, another new firm. Trustology has emerged from stealth and revealed it is building a peer-to-peer network of smart contract compute services. Trusted […]

Investec Bank to use iMeta for client data management

Investec Bank has selected iMeta’s client lifecycle management (CLM) platform to help with the automation and streamlining of data management processes. The platform consists of know your customer (KYC) support; credit and legal help (such as with MiFID II); and standing settlement instruction (SSI) for data management processes to provide a centralised hub of reference […]

Boku to raise $60m ahead of London IPO

Carrier billing company Boku plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (AIM), an international market for smaller growing companies, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). Ahead of next week’s public debut, the company announced it expects to raise $60 million on a post-money valuation of $164 million. Of the […]

When are we going to look at the human cost of AI?

Another week has passed, and another piece of research has emerged about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), but the human cost is starting to become a very big elephant, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The research itself is from SAS and highlights businesses are becoming normalised to the idea of AI. The concept […]

Cisco creates $1bn financing programme for smart cities

Cisco is looking to expand its presence in the smart city and internet of things (IoT) markets with a $1 billion financing program that will allow communities to make investments in their infrastructure with the vendor’s financial backing, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication). The City Infrastructure Financing Acceleration Programme also has backing […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 14 November 2017

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s (13 November) action, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Bitcoin Gold, OTC Exchange Network, Deloitte and Github. Bitcoin Gold (BTG), the newest fork of the Bitcoin blockchain, has officially gone live. It’s not the first to breakaway from Bitcoin, as previously in August, Bitcoin Cash (BCC) launched. […]

Rackspace and HPE offering OpenStack as private cloud service

With most of the chatter in the cloud computing market focused on the big public cloud providers, it’s easy to forget that private cloud is a viable option for many larger enterprises. Now, Rackspace and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) are looking to change that, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology’s sister publication). The two companies […]

Token and Envestnet | Yodlee team up for open banking

Open banking platform provider Token has partnered with Envestnet | Yodlee, a data analytics platform, for payments and financial data aggregation. The partnership will use Token’s operating system, TokenOS, which offers PSD2 compliant payments and gives access to banks for third-party service providers, via an API. In addition, the deal will use Envestnet | Yodlee’s […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 13 November 2017

Following Friday’s (10 November) feisty blockchain and Bitcoin action, here’s another round-up. Features CryptoCoinBits, European Commission, R3 and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. With increasing fears about Bitcoin ICOs and bubbles bursting, it was inevitable someone would see a gap in the market. Enter CryptoCoinBits, which has unleashed a Bitcoin trading platform and asks: “So how can […]

Crime moves upmarket as fraud becomes UK’s number 1 offence

New research from Experian claims fraud is now the UK’s most common criminal offence, much to the dismay of thugs and hoodlums everywhere, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). The company’s Annual Fraud Indicator 2017 estimates the annual cost of fraud in the UK is £190 billion, exceeding the total gross domestic product of 148 […]

It’s time to pull the brake on Bitcoin

With ten years in fintech under my belt, I have seen the creation of the word itself. I have also seen the rise of various hypes, adoption of buzzwords, sky-high funding rounds, epic failures and a surprising knowledge gap in what is the world’s biggest industry.

Talend acquires API design and test specialist Restlet

Talend, which specialises in big data and cloud integration, is acquiring the outstanding shares of Restlet SAS, a France-based company that specialises in API design and testing, reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Although no financial details were released, all 16 members of the Restlet staff along with the company’s founder will join […]

Fintech funding round-up: 10 November 2017

Just when you thought there couldn’t be more following yesterday’s (9 November), Wednesday’s (8 November) and Tuesday’s (7 November) fintech funding round-ups, here’s more news action. Featuring Crux, Accern and Blume Ventures.

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 9 November 2017

Whether it’s AI to bridge cryptocurrencies or someone accidentally losing it, something is always going on, whether right or wrong in the world of blockchain and Bitcoin. Our latest round-up features Parity, AiX, R3 and SIA.

Payments round-up: 9 November 2017

We got a trilogy folks. Following the payments round-ups on 8 November and 7 November, here’s more paytech action. Features PayPal, NCR, Samsung, Scotiabank, Mastercard and Eftpos. It’s been offering cross-border payments in India for a decade, but PayPal has now launched domestic operations in the country as it looks to take on Paytm and […]

Microsoft looks to secure clouds with Project Cerberus

Microsoft is looking to make cloud infrastructure safer at the hardware level with a new offering called “Project Cerberus,” which is the company’s latest contribution to the Open Compute Project (OCP), reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Company engineers unveiled Cerberus at Zettastructure, the European digital infrastructure conference, which is taking place this […]

UK start-up secures inevitable Hollywood movie sequel

With unerring predictability, the Hollywood movie machine has churned out a sequel for the energetic and eventful life story of a UK-based payments start-up. As reported in May, the rise of Charon Ferries, the creation of the husband and wife team of Michelle and Mark Morrison (who have defied all known laws of the universe […]

Fintech funding round-up: 9 November 2017

Briskly following yesterday’s (8 November) and Tuesday’s (7 November) fintech funding round-ups, here’s more brief news action. Features WeLab, FinMkt and FriendlyScore. Hong Kong’s lending platform WeLab has raised $220 million of combined Series B+ equity and debt financing – and has won the backing of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, International Finance Corporation (IFC) […]

A new edge for fintech centres in a post-Brexit world

The uncertainty produced by the Brexit vote – and the turbulent negotiations since – has led some to question whether the UK can maintain its status as a global fintech capital. But for London as much as for its rivals in the US, China and beyond, the key may lie in capitalising on the next competitive edge for fintech centres.

Payments round-up: 8 November 2017

Just yesterday (7 November) was a payments round-up, but here’s more action from the lively paytech place. Features Apple, Coinsilium Group, UMT United Mobility Technology, Visa and even the Olympic Winter Games. Apple, which is rarely out of the news, has set up Apple Pay Cash for person-to-person (P2P) payments in Messages. This feature is […]

Fintech funding round-up: 8 November 2017

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s (7 November) fintech funding round-up, here’s more money action. Features WeSwap, OakNorth Bank and OTCX. Peer-to-peer currency exchange platform WeSwap has revealed its £8 million series B investment round led by London-based private equity firm IW Capital. As WeSwap nears the end of 2017, it says further product features include […]

Fintech funding round-up: 7 November 2017

Not cash-strapped just backed. Our latest fintech funding round-up features Douugh, Choice Financial, Monzo and Smartkarma. All rise please. Banking (not baking) challenger Douugh has partnered with community bank Choice Financial to launch an integrated checking account and debit card. Choice has also made an investment to “support Douugh’s roadmap”, bringing the company’s total seed funding […]

Top trends in cybersecurity

Cyber risks have evolved significantly over the last couple of years across industry sectors. The financial services industry, in particular, has become the target of choice with malicious actors exploring every avenue they can in order to identify areas of vulnerability.

IBM’s Watson Data Platform focuses on AI

The IBM Watson Data Platform already provides data scientists with the ability to crunch numbers and share large data sets across different public and private clouds. Now the company has its sights set on artificial intelligence (AI), reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Big Blue has announcing expanded capabilities and tools for the […]

Fintech funding round-up: 2 November 2017

The money rolls for all you fintech souls. Our latest funding round-up features TransferWise, Lendified and Glint. Let’s begin with a big one. TransferWise has got $280 million in a Series E round led by asset management company Old Mutual Global Investors and Silicon Valley VC firm IVP. A source speaking to TechCrunch and “close to […]

Implementing derivatives clearing on distributed ledger technology platforms

Clearing houses and central clearing counterparties (CCPs) play a pivotal role in managing collateral and counterparty risk, in increasing standardisation and transparency of financial markets, and in the credit enhancement process for clearing banks. For such systemically critical functions, how appropriate are innovative new technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT)?

Avoid a bank branch nightmare this Halloween

Trick or treat! It’s Halloween and brands everywhere are using spooky season as a way to have some fun with customers. However, any ghoulish behaviour belongs firmly in the land of fun, and should not creep into everyday customer interactions