Innovation


Wealthtech: a market poised for extended growth

Rapid changes are occurring in the wealth management space and the level of disruption in how advice and capital are managed is only beginning. Wealth management is a monumental industry. The players in the space run the gamut from gigantic hedge funds to individuals who manage their own investments. This changing wealth management landscape is driving a significant uptick in transactions.

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 24 November 2017

That Friday feeling isn’t complete without another round of the latest blockchain and Bitcoin news! Following on from yesterday (23 November) our latest covers Globitex, Billion and Bitcoin Gold.

DBS creates lifestyle branch for tech generation

In a move to attract the tech generation to branches, Singapore’s DBS has launched a “lifestyle space” providing freshly brewed coffee, interactions with humanoid robots and a virtual reality (VR) area for retirement planning.

Fintech alliance round-up: 23 November 2017

It’s that time again where alliances are formed and friendships are made in our latest co-operative filled round-up. Featuring the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Abu Dhabi Global Market, Dubai Financial Services Authority, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and Iran and Malaysia planning to establish banking ties.

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 23 November 2017

Following on from the action on Tuesday (21 November), our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up focuses on partnerships and future potential. Featuring BDA, Bitstamp, ModulTrade and Bank of Japan.

ING has a thing for data analytics

ING Wholesale Banking has set out its plans to increase investments in data analytics and put more resources into Asia and the Americas. It’s very early days as its ambitions and goals offer no real specifics. Stats and timelines are like good service in shops in the UK – i.e. almost nowhere to be seen. […]

BMO Financial Group injects $2m into Montreal AI lab

BMO Financial Group is putting $2 million into Creative Destruction Lab Montreal (CDL-Montreal) to fund artificial intelligence (AI) and data science projects. CDL-Montreal will target seed-stage start-ups by providing business and technology mentoring, equity opportunities and business development partnerships. On 15 December, the first cohort of 28 businesses, made up entirely of AI start-ups, will […]

Robots have got OCBC’s retail banking backend covered

Hey humans! Feeling down? Well let’s get down some more. OCBC Bank has launched two robots to enhance internal backend processing speeds in its retail banking secured lending (CSL) and finance teams. The robot attached to the CSL team assists with housing loan re-pricing. This includes processing time, which “has been almost entirely reduced” (i.e. […]

Standard Chartered and Axis Bank launch cross-border payments via Ripple

Standard Chartered and Axis Bank have unveiled a real-time cross-border payment service for corporates using Ripple’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) solution. This offering is now commercially available between Standard Chartered (Singapore) and Axis Bank India, and, accessible through Standard Chartered’s corporate digital banking platform, Straight2Bank. Himadri Chatterjee, president, transaction banking, Axis Bank, says by using […]

Interview: Nadish Lad, Volante – destiny and dreams

In an exclusive interview with payment specialist Volante Technologies, Nadish Lad, director – head of payments product, explains the firm’s foundation, vision and its key unique selling propositions (USPs).

Three crucial questions for insurance’s digital future

Insurance is an industry at a turning point. Few could have predicted that “innovation” would become one of its watchwords, but as the digital revolution spurred on by insurtech gathers pace fundamental changes are beginning to take hold.

RBC to open AI lab in Montreal

Borealis AI, a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Institute for Research, will open an artificial intelligence (AI) lab in Montreal. Borealis AI has partnered with McGill University Professor, Jackie Cheung, as academic advisor for the lab and will work with the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA). The team anticipates opening the doors of the […]

European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme goes live

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme created by the European Payments Council (EPC) is now operational. As of today (21 November), the EPC says nearly 600 payment service providers (PSPs) from eight European countries are offering instant payment solutions based on SCT Inst. It was launched last year, with […]

Fujitsu and Sensory are the face of biometrics for Mizuho

Fujitsu has teamed with Silicon Valley-based Sensory to provide face biometric authentication for Mizuho’s mobile banking. Mizuho is the first customer of the Fujitsu and Sensory partnership and it will be using TrulySecure. This solution’s features include the option to fuse voice and face biometrics recognition together; and it works with Android, iOS, Linux and […]

Payments round-up: 20 November 2017

It pays to pay attention to the pacey payments precinct. Our latest round-up comprises Glint’s golden launch, BillPro’s licence and QR codes in Singapore. Glint, an electronic payment system that enables gold to be used as a currency, has launched its account and app based technology in the UK. Jason Cozens, CEO, Glint, says: “Everyone […]

European Association for Biometrics conference: easing the digital journey

Customers are impatient and friction leads to lost sales – a key takeaway from last week’s seminar on the use of “Biometrics in Banking and Payments” organised by the European Association for Biometrics. Researched flagged by Michael Sass, VP market product management, security solutions Europe at Mastercard, highlighted the potential impact on revenue; abandonment rates […]

RBS unleashes robo-advice service via NatWest brand

Wealthtech is coming to the UK high street as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has launched a robo-advice service for around five million customers under its NatWest brand. The service will be available for clients with a minimum of £500 to invest. The total cost of advice, investment and platform fees will be at 0.95%. […]

ForwardLane unveils new AI APIs

US-based ForwardLane has introduced a pair of new artificial intelligence (AI) APIs that apply natural language processing and deep learning AI for managing research data and communication, reports David Penn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). “The two APIs empower the world’s leading asset managers, wealth mangers, and insurers augment the capabilities of their star performers and […]

Fiorano launches PSD2 solution for banks

Fiorano Software, a specialist in integration middleware and API management, has launched Fiorano PSD2, a solution enabling banks to comply with the European Union’s PSD2 regulations.

ABN Amro joins API rush with developer portal

ABN Amro has launched the first version of its Developer Portal, with a series of commercial application programming interfaces (APIs). The bank says working more closely with external developers will help it accelerate innovation and improve its services.

Faure to fintech – what music can teach us about communicating the benefits of tech

On the surface Handel or Shostakovich seem a world away from the world of finance. Yet, strange as it may seem, the similarities are there. This is because both the mechanics behind music and the technology underpinning the digital transformation are – unless you’ve had first-hand experience of either – pretty abstract concepts to understand.

What a Swell Sibos we had

One of the more entertaining aspects of this year’s Sibos in Toronto was the continuation of the rivalry between the event’s host, Swift, and distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm Ripple.

Wanted: US-based bank for crypto-friendly fun

It wasn’t spotted on Craigslist but here’s an unusual request. If you are the owner of a small or medium-sized bank in the US and are ready to sell it completely (or partially) – you have a buyer! Vladislav (aka Slava) Solodkiy, managing partner at venture capital (VC) firm Life.Sreda, is being refreshingly direct and […]

PoC-ketful of fintech pinnacles for Kickstart Accelerator

Fintech is running like clockwork in Switzerland as over 30 proof of concepts (PoCs) and partnerships have been secured at Zurich-based Kickstart Accelerator’s tech programme. The accelerator – an initiative of digitalswitzerland and operated by Impact Hub Zurich – saw 29 start-ups as well as an intrapreneur team from AXA Winterthur and Swisscom working in […]

Veridium and Wala bring blockchain power to Africa’s unbanked

Biometrics firm Veridium has teamed with Wala, a blockchain-powered financial services platform, as they target the unbanked and underbanked population in Africa. The duo will collaborate on a pilot programme in sub-Saharan Africa to demonstrate their digital model offering “zero-fee banking”. This pilot is funded by a grant awarded to Veridium from the Digital Financial […]

All aboard the Amex blockchain payments express

American Express has launched blockchain-enabled, business-to-business cross-border payments with Santander using Ripple’s network. The Amex FX International Payments (FXIP) business is working with Ripple to make blockchain payments commercially available, “reducing the time and cost of settlement”. Santander UK is the selected partner to initiate this new transaction channel. Marc Gordon, EVP and CIO at […]

Microsoft doubles down on open source and analytics for developers

Microsoft’s embrace of open source software is about to get a lot bigger as the company is rolling out several new tools and services designed to help developers create applications designed for the cloud, as well as highly specialised apps for artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT), reports Enterprise Cloud News (Banking […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 16 November 2017

Coming straight after yesterday’s (15 November) action, here’s our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features Mastercard in a patent place, ING Bank opening up, and another warning from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Let’s start with yet another patent. Mastercard has jumped on the blockchain payments bandwagon by filing “Method and System for Instantaneous Payment […]

Rainmaking Colab kicks up a storm for fintech innovation

Rainmaking Colab is looking to make its new model of innovation reign via a theme-based fintech programme that taps into mature markets. Created by the founders of Rainmaking and Startupbootcamp FinTech, they say “mature fintech markets like New York and London are starting to experience ‘accelerator fatigue’ and require a new way of thinking 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 […]