News


Deutsche Bank and Postbank select Wincor Nixdorf for 20,000 workstations

Banking technology specialist Wincor Nixdorf has been selected as the general contractor to equip all 20,000 workstations of Deutsche Post and Postbank with new IT systems. The installation will begin in April 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by April 2017. The solution package also includes a five-year service agreement. During the project, up […]

Banking Tech celebrates the start of a new era

Banking Technology is delighted to announce the appointment of Tanya Andreasyan as Editor and Antony Peyton as Deputy Editor. Andreasyan brings a wealth of experience to the role having been working in the banking/financial services technology industry for ten years. She had previously worked at IBS Intelligence, a UK-based publishing house and analyst/consultancy firm focused on […]

Visa Europe expands tokenisation service for cloud-based payments

Visa Europe is expanding its Visa Europe Payment Tokenisation Service (VEPTS) for cloud-based payments. VEPTS will be available for payment credentials such as banks’ own mobile payment apps, a variety of wearable and other connected devices, internet browser-based wallets, and retailer-specific checkout offerings such as Visa Checkout. Sandra Alzetta, executive director product enablement for Visa […]

Fidessa bullish in rough markets

Trading platform provider Fidessa has reported a growth in revenue in 2015 up 7%, rising to £295.5 million up from £275 million in 2014, despite the reduction and closure of many sell-side trading operations over the last 12 months. The firm notes that the closure of the Jefferies Group’s Bache futures unit and Standard Chartered […]

Temenos’ earnings up 23% in FY 2015

Temenos’ earnings have risen by 23% for the full year (FY) 2015 on the back of 52% growth in total software licensing. Along with FY 2015, the vendor reported good results for the fourth quarter of 2015 – its IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) revenue was $168.4 million, up from $133.1 million in Q4 2014. […]

Nasdaq OMX: Cap Markets Union needs disruptive technology

A whitepaper by market operator Nasdaq OMX has warned that disruptive technology needs to be encouraged if Europe’s proposed Capital Markets Union (CMU) is to prove effective. The paper notes that the current proposals place an emphasis on larger institutions investing and growing their product and service offerings, which the firm argues do not necessarily […]

Irish Stock Exchange preps for next gen Xetra migration

The Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) has renewed its strategic technology partnership with Deutsche Börse and extended its use of the Deutsche Börse trading infrastructure and related services. The new contract runs for 6 years until the end of 2021. Deutsche Börse has provided the Xetra platform to the Irish Stock Exchange since June 2000. Several […]

Nasdaq extends blockchain innovation with Estonian shareholders

Estonia’s e-Residency platform will use a blockchain-based e-voting service to allow shareholders of companies listed on Nasdaq’s Tallinn Stock Exchange, to vote in shareholder meetings. The country’s e-Residency platform is an electronic identity system used by both Estonian residents and those with business interests in the country to access government services through e-Residency digital authentication. The program […]

BBVA breaks off fintech fund

BBVA, a major shareholder in Atom Bank, a UK challenger, has announced an increase in its financial technology fund to US$250 million from US$100 million and a partnership with Propel Venture Partners which will see Propel managing the investment independently. Propel will use the US$250 million in a US and a European fund while opening an office […]

Canada Sees Surge in Mobile, Contactless Payments

Canada’s payments system is undergoing a rapid transition, with mobile P2P, e-wallet and contactless transactions on the rise, according to a report from the Canadian Payments Association.

Goldman Sachs new electronic market-making unit for FICC

Goldman Sachs has launched a new FICC Systematic Market Making (SMM) unit. SMM will consolidate its e-trading assets and capabilities across FICC. The move was reported in an internal memo as reflecting changes in market structure and client needs. The memo, signed by several executives including group chief information officer Martin Chavez, says, “Our ability to […]

U.K. Gov’t Group Calls for Open Banking Standard

A U.K. government panel is calling for the development of an open banking standard that will enable banking data to be shared and used securely, giving consumers access to tailored financial solutions and an easier way to compare products and services.

Connecting the Dots between Online Offers and In-Store Purchases

Knowledge is power. And, that’s particularly true for merchants and marketers that want to track consumers from online ad campaigns to in-store purchases. Arming merchants with the right knowledge is the goal of Discover’s Merchant Data Platform.

MasterCard, SVB Select Four Startups for Accelerator Program

Four more startups have been selected for the Commerce.Innovated. program. The companies represent the fourth class chosen by MasterCard and Silicon Valley Bank as part of a program to help startups get their products and services off the ground.

Russian Lawmakers Want to Ban Bitcoin

Bitcoin continues to encounter hurdles as its supporters try to facilitate the digital currency’s mainstream acceptance. Though certain states and countries are welcoming bitcoin, or permitting it with certain provisos, Russia is considering a ban.

Green Dot Announces Tax Return Promotions Including Free Refund Advance

Green Dot and subsidiary Santa Barbara Tax Products Group have announced a pair of promotions to make this time of year less taxing on consumers while helping independent tax preparers get more customers coming through their doors. One of the promotions involves up to a $750 free advance toward consumers’ tax returns.

Visa Aims to Boost Commerce Products with Outside Developer Help

Visa wants to strengthen its commerce offerings by opening up its technology treasure chest to software developers bent on improving consumer experiences. The payment network has launched Visa Developer, an “open platform that gives application developers access to Visa’s payments technology, products and services.”

Hackers Target Gyft, Neiman Marcus Customer Data

Cybercriminals continue to target payments providers and retailers, with Gyft and Neiman Marcus among the latest firms to announce separate data breaches. The attacks highlight two major data security issues facing financial providers and retailers: third-party security and the migration of fraud to online accounts as a result of enhanced POS security brought about by the arrival of EMV.

Will innovation replace secrecy in Swiss banking?

To succeed as a startup hub Switzerland may need to focus on developing a hub for senior entrepreneurs within the financial industry. That is one suggestion stemming from a new report into the country’s capacity to become an innovation hub for fintech firms, published by consultancy EY and the Swiss Finance and Technology Association, entitled […]

Trade Bank of Iraq upgrading Misys infrastructure

Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) is working with core banking technology provider Misys to upgrade to develop a digital platform. Misys reports it has previously run two major projects with TBI in 2003 and 2009. The bank, claims to have introduced the market’s first ATM solutions and Visa and Mastercard offerings and is set to […]

T2S takes one step forward amidst backwards steps

The European Central Bank has selected connectivity provider SIA, in partnership with telco Colt, for its connection to TARGET2-Securities (T2S), the delayed centralised European platform for the settlement of domestic and cross-border securities transactions. The European Central Bank is expected to migrate to SIA and Colt’s value-added network infrastructure in June 2016. The two companies will also provide the ECB with a message processing […]

ESMA to tackle trade repository data quality in 2016

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its 2016 supervisory priorities for credit rating agencies (CRAs) and trade repositories (TRs). The regulatory authority reports seeing a number of changes in the CRA and TR industries during 2015, with new applicants for registration in both sectors, and current authorised entities seeking to develop their […]

Visa Developer opens up payments technology

Visa Developer, will offer software application developers will open access to Visa’a payments technology, products and services. The new Visa Developer platform is designed to help financial institutions, merchants, and technology companies meet the demands of consumers and merchants, who increasingly rely on connected devices to shop, pay and get paid. At launch, the new […]

Cashless payments plateau is stats mirage: Deutsche Bank

European Central Bank (ECB) figures appear to show that cashless payments transaction volumes in 2014 remained flat at 68 billion payments. However, Deutsche Bank analyst Heike Mai, who specialises in payments and shadow banking, has published a report that corrects this conclusion. Entitled ‘Payments in the euro area: Are they stagnating? – No!’ the report […]

AllianceBernstein tracking fixed-income execution with Interactive Data

Investment manager AllianceBernstein is working with Interactive Data, to help evaluate its trade execution quality and perform transaction cost analysis (TCA).  The work will be done across various mutual funds and separately managed portfolios using Interactive Data’s Best Execution (Best Ex) service. The service leverages its Continuous Evaluated Fixed-Income Pricing to run TCA for fixed-income […]