Digital


Samsung Pay makes its UK debut

Samsung Pay has arrived in the UK with Visa keen to reveal that its account holders can use their compatible Samsung smartphones for purchases worldwide. In terms of Visa, the service is available to its cardholders who bank with MBNA, Nationwide and Santander. Samsung adds that its app can be used with HSBC (Mastercard and […]

Virgin Money walks away from Co-op Bank takeover talks

Virgin Money has withdrawn from a potential takeover of the UK’s Co-op Bank as the struggling lender prioritises talks with a group of hedge funds about a financial restructuring, according to Sky News. As Banking Technology reported in February, the Co-op Bank was put up for sale – with the minority investor Co-op Group saying […]

First National Bank of Pandora opens up to tech revamp with Fiserv

Ohio-based First National Bank of Pandora has selected Fiserv’s Premier core account processing platform for a front-to-back office technology overhaul. The bank has also chosen Retail Online and Business Online from Fiserv for consumer and business online banking, Mobiliti for mobile banking, CheckFree RXP for electronic bill payment, and Web Hosting and Design Services. Todd […]

Westpac takes first steps in cloud core system plan

Australian bank Westpac has gone live with the first stages of its tech overhaul in Australia to move its core processes from its own premises and into the cloud. According to the Australian Financial Review, it “has already moved two core banking processes to the cloud since the end of March, and intends to have […]

WorldRemit targets migrant market with US mobile money move

Digital money transfer service WorldRemit is now available in the US and it is targeting the nation’s migrant market with its mobile money services. The firm wants to tap into the $135 billion US remittance market (the global market is $600 billion) – and says mobile money lets people in emerging market economies send and […]

White paper: value of commercial cards for banks and their clients

This free white paper provides a structured framework for measuring performance of commercial card programmes across multiple industry sectors, suggests a range of norms for card penetration and usage, and describes the key data points for measurement. It also describes the actions that card issuers could take to maximise value from the programmes they have running: retaining business that is already fruitful, and nurturing business which could be more abundantly fruitful.

Fintech outside London – part 2

We look at UK fintech firms working outside of the London “bubble”, examining where they are based and why; their history; target markets; clients; tech specialisations, concerns and future plans.

Tandem Bank cuts staff numbers as funding slumbers

UK challenger bank Tandem is axing 30 jobs after its £29 million in funding fell through earlier this year. A source has told Business Insider that Tandem has “reduced its staffing levels from around 110 to close to 80. The headcount reduction includes both redundancies and contractors who have not been renewed”. As Banking Technology […]

Apple Creek Bank in front-to-back office tech revamp with Fiserv

Apple Creek Bank, a $140 million financial institution with six branches in the US state of Ohio, is modernising its technology with Fiserv. The bank will implement the Precision core processing platform, delivered on a hosted basis, plus a host of auxiliary solutions from Fiserv.

Mashreq bank mulls branchless future

Dubai-based Mashreq is planning its future as a branchless bank, according to a speech by CEO Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair at its 50th anniversary ceremony. With the rise in digital banking, Al Ghurair used the speech to express his understanding of the real world; and set out the bank’s vision of job cuts and embracing […]

RBS axes hundreds of tech jobs

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is cutting nearly 250 jobs as part of a back-office ops shake-up – with claims that some roles will end up in India. The bank says 92 full-time staff will be affected, while 154 contractor roles will go later this year. Most of these positions are technology-related and are based […]

Will augmented reality transform banking?

There has been a lot of rumour and speculation recently, focused around the news that Apple is working on augmented reality (AR) as its next major product. Last year, we saw how fast the take up of AR could be with the introduction of Pokémon Go that became a massive international cultural phenomenon almost overnight. Banks need to prepare sooner rather than later if they are going to take advantage of AR and not be left behind.

Alipay Expands in North America with First Data Deal

The Alipay online payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group is moving further into North America through an agreement with payments technology provider First Data. Alipay is considered the world’s largest online and mobile payment platform, with more than 450 million global active users.

CrossFirst Bank goes live on nCino Bank Operating System

Kansas-based CrossFirst Bank has implemented nCino’s Bank Operating System for its commercial loan process. nCino’s cloud-based solution is built on Salesforce.com. The vendor says it combines customer relationship management, loan origination, workflow, enterprise content management, business process management and instant reporting on a single platform. Amy Fauss, chief operating officer at CrossFirst Bank, says nCino’s […]

Alipay attacks Apple in North America expansion

Alipay is teaming up with First Data in North America as it looks to take a bite out of Apple’s market share. As Banking Technology previously reported, Alipay has been gaining plenty of traction around the globe – with HelloPay Group in Asia merging with Ant Financial (which runs Alipay); and inking deals with European […]

Geezeo puts your reputation on the online

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” The acidic words of American writer Dorothy Parker. But sharp tongues will now come under the scrutiny of a new digital reputation management service. Be nice everyone and form a giant group hug. Geezeo Interactive, the marketing arm of […]

Centralway Numbrs unveils B2B banking platform

Centralway Numbrs is launching a B2B portal, enabling banks to integrate their financial products into its Numbrs Store in Germany digitally and free of charge. The firm says its store is Germany’s first financial products distribution platform, run independently of a bank. The store is part of its Numbrs app, which has got 1.5 million […]

WorldFirst launches international payments platform for SMEs

WorldFirst has unveiled World Account, an international payments platform for SMEs and online sellers. The company states the account offers international banking functionality on one platform. It says “many businesses waste time and money” trying to open up bank accounts in new currencies. These accounts are also often held in the UK resulting in “additional […]

Exclusive interview: Luis Uguina, Macquarie

Everyone loves a dreamer, except in the world of banking – where digital aspirations are swiftly cut down to size by the reality of legacy systems. That is until Luis Uguina, chief digital officer for Macquarie’s Banking and Financial Services Group, comes along and challenges everything you thought you knew about banks’ digital offerings.

Deutsche Bank leads charge for pan-industry e-identity platform

Deutsche Bank and a variety of German and European companies have teamed up to establish a joint, pan-industry platform for online registration, e-identity and data services. The initiative was set up by the bank, Allianz, Axel Springer, Daimler, Postbank, technology think tank Core, and location services provider Here Technologies. Their aim is to “make online […]

Barclays backs British fraud fightback

Barclays has unveiled its new £10 million digital safety drive in the UK as it wants to increase the public’s awareness of financial fraud risks. As part of its plan, it will offer new debit card choices to let customers turn on and off remote spending and change ATM limits. It has revealed a new […]

Starling Bank unveils real-time mobile payments

UK challenger bank Starling is staying busy with the launch of its real-time mobile offering, Starling Payment Services. The service, which it calls a new division of the bank, will offer sponsorship access to the UK’s major payment schemes, allowing other banks, payment service providers, and fintech companies to use real-time payments from the summer. […]

The Monday mindset: 8 May 2017

Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Soumik Roy asks – will Paytm become India’s WeChat? Ever since demonetisation, electronic payments in India have been all the rage. In […]

Acorns Australia goes live with Moneythor for personal finance

Micro-investing service Acorns Australia has chosen Moneythor’s machine-learning solution to help it analyse customers’ spending patterns and offer insights into savings. The new “My Finances” features of the Acorns app were developed with Moneythor’s engine. The solution’s predictive analytics and data classification techniques are also used to provide customers with an estimate of their future […]

Travelex preps new challenger bank Ditto for launch

New banks are appearing at the double – and Ditto, a France-based mobile-driven multi-currency bank, is the latest one getting ready to launch. Ditto, which is backed by foreign exchange company Travelex, has been built from scratch over the last two years and is “managed as a separate entity” from Travelex. Ditto is based on […]

Banks banking on APIs for payments and beyond

Facing increased competition from financial services upstarts and tech firms, banks are doubling down on application programming interfaces (APIs) as a competitive tool, a new report shows. Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication) reports that an Aite Group study canvassed product and digital channel managers at Asia-Pacific, European and North American banks, and found that those […]

Infographics: UK’s fintech job market

Time for some simpler infographics. According to meta search engine Joblift, there has been an average monthly growth of 5% in the number of fintech jobs posted in the UK in the past year, this is in comparison with a growth of 1% in the UK job market as a whole. Joblift found that London […]

PayNearMe Expands Bill-Pay Service with CVS Deal

With 27 percent of U.S. households unbanked or underbanked, according to the most recent FDIC report on the subject, PayNearMe continues in its efforts to make it easier for such consumers, as well as those who prefer not to use plastic or checks, to pay bills using cash.

Idea’s express bank branch hits the tracks

Poland’s Idea Bank has launched the first bank branch on rail tracks and the first co-working space for travellers. Called the Idea Hub Express carriage, the bank selected Poland’s PKP intercity trains, and the hub will be for passengers traveling on the Warsaw-Poznan-Warsaw, Warsaw-Krakow-Warsaw and Warsaw-Wrocław-Warsaw routes. Selected trains linking the cities will have a […]

UK’s CYBG banking group launches innovation lab

UK-based Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank – which together form CYBG – have launched their banking innovation lab on Kensington High Street in London. Called Studio B – CYBG partnered with design consultancy Market Gravity to design, implement and launch the lab. Nick Sherrard, managing director, Market Gravity Edinburgh, says it will be exploring voice […]