Innovation


JPMorgan Chase acquires MCX payments technology

The technology behind CurrentC, the QR-based mobile payment service created by MCX, a consortium of the largest merchants in the US, has been acquired by JPMorgan Chase. The bank says it will help expand Chase Pay, the mobile and digital wallet for Chase customers.

HDFC Bank launches AI-powered virtual assistant Eva

India’s HDFC Bank has partnered with Senseforth to launch an electronic virtual assistant – Eva – to answer customer queries. Powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) based engine, the chatbot is said to be able to “assimilate knowledge from thousands of sources and provide answers in simple language in less than 0.4 seconds”.

DFSA proposes innovation testing licences

Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has issued a new consultation paper to find the ways to avoid creating a standalone regime to facilitate fintech companies. Instead, keeping in line with practices followed in the UK and Australia, DFSA will review innovative fintech business propositions and match them with applicable rules already prevailing in the region.

Monetary Authority of Singapore and R3 power blockchain payments project

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is partnering with R3, and a consortium of financial institutions on a proof-of-concept project to conduct inter-bank payments using blockchain. This project, which is seen as a rival to Swift’s network, will potentially create a payment system for participants to transact in different global markets round-the-clock. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief […]

UK and Japan regulators partner for innovation

The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have exchanged letters on a co-operation framework to support fintech companies. This deal will provide a regulatory referral system for “innovator businesses” from Japan and the UK seeking to enter the other’s market. The authority that receives such a referral will […]

New global fintech group for standardisation launches

The International Standards Organisation (ISO) Financial Services Committee (TC/68) has unveiled its new global committee, the Fintech Technical Advisory Group (TAG), to act as a sounding board for data and technology standards. The group’s goal is to establish a “proactive dialogue” with financial institutions, their regulators, and supply chain and fintech firm. TAG’s objectives are […]

Robo-advice case study: Munnypot

Robo-advice has captured a lot of attention in the financial services sector of late, so it is great to find an institution that is putting it firmly into practice. Banking Technology talks to Munnypot, a recent arrival on the UK market.

Misys goes gaming for banking tech

Misys is introducing gamification capabilities into its FusionBanking Essence Digital platform with Moroku’s GameSystem (also known as Gameo).

Accenture opens innovation studio in Latvia

Accenture has opened a “liquid studio” in Riga, Latvia to help its clients with innovation and software development cycles. At the studio, its clients don’t get wet or drunk but work alongside Accenture engineers to turn concepts into products, “taking days to achieve what used to take months”. Maksims Jegorovs, Accenture Latvia lead, says clients […]

LendIt USA: the British are coming

Fintech is developing a distinctly British accent and the US is in danger of losing out, according to remarks made by Congressman Patrick McHenry, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, at the LendIt USA conference in New York.

Abu Dhabi and Singapore sign up for fintech innovation

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have signed a co-operation agreement to help fintech entrepreneurs and support innovation in financial services in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The agreement establishes a framework for both regulators to assist start-ups and innovators to understand the regulatory regime in each jurisdiction and provide […]

Will 2017 be the year financial services improve their UX?

2016 has been a big year for user experience (UX). The web, as a whole, became easier to use, apps became more intuitive, and services became a lot more engaging and purposeful. But could the same be said for financial services? Perhaps…

Corporate One Federal Credit Union tests real-time payments with D+H

North American banking and payments tech vendor DH Corporation (D+H) is helping Corporate One Federal Credit Union move to real-time payments. Corporate One FCU is using D+H’s cloud-based testing environment to simulate connectivity to The Clearing House’s (TCH) real-time payments network.

LendIt USA: $400 from disaster

A startling 46% of American adults would be unable to come up with $400 to meet an unexpected expense without borrowing or selling something. We are so used to thinking about financial exclusion in terms of the un- or under-served that we are overlooking the financial vulnerability of nearly half the US adult population.

Hellenic Bank to launch open APIs

Cyprus-based Hellenic Bank is readying the first project by its recently unveiled innovation lab – open application programming interfaces (APIs).

Banking Technology March 2017 issue out now

The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.

Bots and biometrics: The Mobile World Congress shows the future of payments

Bots, biometrics and wristbands stood out as examples of payments innovation this week at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Judging by the product releases and displays, the future promises to involve more use of fingerprints in payments, and technology that allows quick purchasing from social media, reports Paybefore (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). Payment bots […]

PwC blockchain aims to win Oscar for London insurtech

PwC has created a working blockchain prototype for the London Market Target Operating Model (TOM) Innovation Exchange, as it seeks to use the tech for payments in the specialist insurance market. Completed over a six-week period, the proof of concept (PoC) focuses on “enhancing” interactions between multiple different London Market parties involved in a claims […]

Race to patent Bitcoin tech heats up

The man who claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, is now working on filing patents for the currency, according to Reuters. In a lengthy investigative report, Reuters says Craig Wright is “working with a fugitive online gambling entrepreneur to file scores of patents relating to the digital currency and its underlying technology, […]

Japan edges towards blockchain commercialisation

SBI Ripple Asia and the Japan Bank Consortium have “successfully” completed a pilot implementation of RC Cloud, Ripple’s unified blockchain platform for domestic and cross-border payments. As Banking Technology reported last year, the consortium (full name “The Japan Bank Consortium to Centrally Provide Domestic and Cross-border Payments”) officially launched with 42 member banks. As of […]

Nordea preps for PSD2 with open banking portal

Nordea has released the first version of its open banking portal targeted towards external developers, as it gets ready for the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) requirements. Currently the site has “limited functionality” but unspecified pilot activities will be conducted through the portal during 2017, in advance of a full launch in Q1 2018. Jarkko Turunen, […]

InvestCloud launches US innovation centre

California-based InvestCloud has opened its first fintech accelerator and incubator, the InvestCloud Innovation Centre, at its Pacific Design Centre headquarters in Los Angeles. The new 10,747-foot centre gives banks, wealth managers and other financial services firms “residences” to accelerate the development of new apps through access to InvestCloud’s full technology platform, in collaboration with a […]

Ex-R3 members behind new blockchain alliance

Banco Santander, BNY Mellon, Intel, JP Morgan and Microsoft are some of the big names behind the launch of a new blockchain alliance. Called the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), it plans to drive Ethereum blockchain technology best practices – “focusing on security, privacy, scalability and interoperability”. This development creates another rival for the R3 blockchain […]

Crypto Valley launch breathes life into blockchain and cryptography

Switzerland-based Crypto Valley Association has launched as the nation looks to boost its blockchain and cryptographic ecosystem. Headquartered in the Swiss canton of Zug, Crypto Valley is an independent, government-supported association which aims to foster the development of digital technologies in Switzerland and internationally. The association will support start-ups and established enterprises through policy recommendations, […]

USAA gives development rights to Persistent Systems

USAA, a provider of banking and insurance services to the US military personnel and their families, has granted intellectual property (IP) rights to Persistent Systems for the development of its banking tech. Through this agreement, India-based Persistent will look and attempt to extend USAA’s technologies to identify and verify members. Persistent says it will focus […]