Top fintech stories this week – 29 September 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Bitcoin
SEB and Nasdaq working on blockchain prototype for Swedish mutual fund market
Swedish financial services group SEB and Nasdaq are working on a joint project to test a developed prototype for a mutual fund trading platform based on Chain’s blockchain ledger. The aim is to increase efficiency in the processing of purchases and sales of fund units and to create a unit ledger – an area which […]
R3 and TradeIX plan open account trade finance DLT network
Enterprise software firm R3 and trade finance specialist TradeIX are developing an end-to-end open account trade finance business network which will be powered by TradeIX and R3’s Corda distributed ledger platform. The initiative is a joint undertaking between the duo, and 12 financial institutions including Bangkok Bank, Barclays, BBVA, Bladex, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, CTBC Bank, […]
Japanese banks to launch new national digital currency
A consortium of Japanese banks has confirmed they are to launch a new national digital currency in time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. As Banking Technology reported last week, there was talk about plans to establish this currency by 2020. At that time, the name was mooted to be J-Coin. Now, and according to the […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 25 September 2017
Exchange traded funds, certification, a rewards network and a new cryptocurrency. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up features Evolve Funds Group, DNV GL, Deloitte and Codemojo. Evolve Funds Group has filed a preliminary prospectus with the Canadian securities regulators for Canada’s first cryptocurrency exchange traded funds (ETFs), Evolve Bitcoin ETF (aka BITS). “Accessing Bitcoin is […]
Japanese regulator and banks plan shared ID system on blockchain
The Financial Services Agency of Japan and some of the nation’s banks are planning to develop a shared identification system on blockchain. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, consumers will be able to open accounts at multiple banks and financial houses without having to re-enter personal information. The first step will see an administrative body […]
Commerzbank, KfW and MEAG simulate blockchain-based security transaction
Commerzbank, KfW Banking Group and MEAG, the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO, have replicated a jointly traded euro commercial paper (ECP) in a blockchain environment.
Fintech funding round-up: 22 September 2017
There was a round-up yesterday because fintech funding won’t go away. More action featuring Tuition.io, Apiax and Etch. Tuition.io, a US-based employer-funded student loan repayment assistance platform, has announced a $7 million Series B funding round led by Wildcat Venture Partners with participation from existing investors Mohr Davidow Ventures and MassMutual Ventures, the corporate venture […]
Japan embraces fintech’s hard-boiled wonderland
Banks and politicians in Japan are getting ever more energetic for fintech with grand plans for APIs, artificial intelligence (AI), digital currencies, blockchain, funding for start-ups and an easing of regulations. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) will launch a website on Monday (25 September) for makers of smartphone […]
Fintech funding round-up: 21 September 2017
Following swiftly on from the fintech funding round-up on 19 September, here’s more concise, cash-coated action. Features CivilisedBank, HighRadius, Swirlds and Luno. UK challenger CivilisedBank, which got its banking licence in May, has agreed terms for a further round of funding from current investor Warwick Capital Partners. No more details on that but the bank […]
SEI and Coinfirm concur for blockchain-powered asset transfers
Wealth management firm SEI is partnering with London-based blockchain company Coinfirm as they plan to tap into the UK’s asset transfer market. Coinfirm and the SEI Wealth Platform will use digital ledger technology (DLT) – and as with 99.9% of comments on any blockchain project, SEI says its solution will reduce costs and risks. Brett […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin Roundup: JP Morgan Chase, Japan’s Regulator, Wish Finance
Arguments, exchanges and something getting launched. It’s our blockchain and bitcoin roundup, featuring Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Japan’s regulatory plans and alt. lending.
BitFlyer competes for Japanese Bankers Association’s blockchain experiment attention
Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange BitFlyer has been selected as a partner vendor to provide an experimental environment for the Japanese Bankers Association’s “collaborative blockchain platform”. BitFlyer’s proprietary blockchain technology – Miyabi – will be used and the platform is scheduled to begin operation in October. Miyabi is a private blockchain “exclusively” for enterprise users. The experiment […]
Top fintech stories this week – 15 September 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 14 September 2017
Arguments, exchanges and something getting launched. It’s our blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features JP Morgan Chase, the Financial Services Agency of Japan and Wish Finance. There will be blood. Sort of. JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon got plenty of attention with his scepticism and criticism of Bitcoin – calling it a “fraud”. Using the […]
Intel and Tencent team up for blockchain tech
Chinese investment holding company Tencent and US-based Intel have joined forces to co-operate on blockchain projects.
FCA ICO uh-oh
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is warning consumers about the risks of initial coin offerings (ICOs). ICOs have proved very popular in the worlds of blockchain and cryptocurrency, which many funding stories flowing on a regular basis. However, last month, BBVA reckoned the fever for ICOs in blockchain must be cooled as the industry is […]
R3, RBS and UK regulator build regtech prototype for mortgages
Enterprise software firm R3, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), RBS and another unnamed bank have built a prototype application for regulatory reporting of mortgage transactions on R3’s Corda distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. The application is also able to generate automated delivery receipts for the regulator when a mortgage is booked. The application was […]
Blockchain firms R3 and Ripple locked in legal tussle
The blockchain duo of R3 and Ripple are suing each other over an options contract to purchase Ripple’s digital currency XRP, according to Reuters. In September 2016, the two companies entered an agreement giving R3 the right to purchase up to five billion XRPs for $0.0085 per unit until September 2019, according to a lawsuit […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 7 September 2017
From immaturity to security, our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up features the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, the People’s Bank of China, Bank Hapoalim and Microsoft. It’s happened before and it will happen again, but distributed ledger technology (DLT) has come into some criticisms in relation to payments. In a dark duet, the European […]
The future of cross-currency payments
The landscape of cross-currency (FX) payments is taking on a whole new look – creating challenges for corporate financial managers and the need for new banking solutions.
Banking Technology September 2017 issue out now
Welcome to fintech central! Good service operating on all lines. The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
Six new banks join UBS-led utility settlement coin plan
The UBS-led effort to create a digital cash model for payments and settlement on blockchain has got six new banks onboard, according to the Financial Times. As Banking Technology reported in August last year, BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, ICAP and Santander joined UBS and Clearmatics to advance their utility settlement coin (USC) concept, and plan […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 31 August 2017
Audio ambitions, accelerators and an association. It’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring Anryze, Starta Accelerator and the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency. Anryze, which provides a blockchain platform designed for speech recognition and analysis, has announced it will hold a token sale to develop its product and expand into new markets. The […]
Blockchain Roundup: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Nations, platforms and some bad news in our latest blockchain and bitcoin roundup. Find out more about the SEC’S suspension of First Bitcoin Capital Corp., an initial coin offering for cryptocurrency exchange platform KyberNetwork and more.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 25 August 2017
Nations, platforms and some bad news. It’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Featuring securities in South Korea, KyberNetwork and the suspended First Bitcoin Capital Corp. Over in South Korea, 18 securities firms will start offering blockchain-based authentication services from October for the “first time in the world”, according to BusinessKorea. This follows the investment […]
Synechron teams with R3 for KYC project on blockchain
Financial services IT consultancy Synechron is working with enterprise software firm R3 on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) collaboration to develop a know your customer (KYC) solution. The solution will be built on R3’s Corda platform – that “operates in strict privacy in an open, global network”. The project aims to improve data collection, data […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 21 August 2017
Hot on the heels of the round-up on 18 August, here’s another blockchain and Bitcoin report. Featuring D+H Corporation (now Finastra), Visa, BTCS and Blockchain Global. A patent filing frenzy seems to be occurring at present. Following on from Bank of America filing three new patents using blockchain earlier this month, we now have D+H […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 18 August 2017
Quickly following on from the round-up on 16 August, here’s more blockchain and Bitcoin action. Features the Australian government, Blockchain (as in the firm), ShapeShift, Bitstamp and Payza. The Australian government has launched a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism financing – including the digital currency exchange sector being regulated for the first time. The […]
Infographic: UK’s blockchain job market
Blockchain vacancies in the UK increase by 25% with Britain posting three times as many jobs as Germany – and more findings in this infographic.
Infographic: 58 insane facts about Bitcoin
Did you know that the FBI owns 1.5% of the world’s Bitcoin!? Get ready for some super scrolling with “ten years of the world with Bitcoin” – and 58 insane facts. Infographic and research courtesy of Bitcoin Casino. Source: Bitcoin Casino
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 16 August 2017
Blockchain and Bitcoin are flying high – literally in one case – as we now have satellites in space. Our latest round-up features Bitcoin Cash, Blockstream, Falcon Private Bank and Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin’s value doesn’t need to be discussed every day, but today (16 August) on the US-based Bitfinex exchange, it has been holding at […]
BBVA warns of “dangerous bubble” for blockchain ICOs
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 […]
Industry bullish on promise of fintech – Opimas research
Market players are bullish on the near- and longer-term promise of fintech, according to new research by Opimas, “Fintech Spending and Innovation in Capital Markets”. In 2017, it estimates fintech spending across all capital markets participants to exceed $127 billion.
Where top US banks are investing in fintech – CB Insights
Since 2012, the top ten US banks (by assets under management) have participated in 72 rounds totaling $3.6 billion to 56 fintech companies, according to CB Insights. While investment activity dropped on a quarterly basis in Q1 2017, four of the last five quarters have seen over $1 billion invested into fintech start-ups in the US backed by venture capital firms.
The Monday mindset: 14 August 2017
Fintech zeitgeist! This week, Banking Technology’s editor Tanya Andreasyan muses about the growing trend of celebrity endorsement in the fintech world.
Abu Dhabi Global Market and UAE Exchange partner for “vibrant fintech ecosystem”
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi and UAE Exchange have teamed up “to support, develop and promote the fintech” ecosystem in the country.
Infographic: how serialised blockchain will revolutionise supply chain
This infographic, courtesy of Savi Technology, explains how blockchain links offer immutable, trackable parcels of data that can include “smart contracts”, instructions such as other transactions that will be triggered to perform automatically later.
Russia’s CSD develops blockchain platform with Waves
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.
Coinbase joins unicorn club with $100m funding, partners with Fidelity
Digital currency wallet Coinbase has taken the leap to become a unicorn. The San Francisco-based company announced it has received $100 million in Series D funding led by IVP.
