Absa has launched a MasterCard-powered digital wallet and ChatBanking for Facebook Messenger. ChatBanking will let customers conduct banking without having to leave the social media platform; and follows on from the recent introduction of Absa ChatBanking on Twitter in May. Ashley Veasey, group CIO and chief digital officer at Barclays Africa (Absa is majority owned […]
Australian bank Westpac is to trial the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in its digital banking systems, as it looks to automate customers’ queries. With the rise of digital banking, Westpac’s general manager of consumer digital, Travis Tyler, says it is looking at using “bots” to respond to customers’ simple questions. One example includes the […]
Soumik Roy, Banking Technology’s editorial contributor based in India, explores India’s digital banking landscape, examines innovative players like DBS digibank, and ponders what’s next for the nation’s fast-paced fintech sector. Electronic banking and payments are rapidly picking up pace in India; citizens love the convenience, the government hopes it will drive transparency and reduce the […]
Entries are now open for the prestigious Banking Technology Awards – the premier event recognising excellence in the use of technology in banking and financial services, strive for innovation, and professional contribution to the industry’s betterment. Highlights A comprehensive list of categories to laud the best of the best across a broad range of IT […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! BBA records dramatic increase in mobile banking usage Digital banking is in a “consumer-led revolution”. MasterCard buys VocaLink for $920 million Current owners Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS will receive a handy windfall. Cidel Bank implementing ERI’S Olympic […]
Thomson Reuters and Imperial College London have teamed up on research projects to look at big data challenges impacting global fintech and regtech. Working with researchers from the Data Science Institute at Imperial, Thomson Reuters will contribute financial market data and legal expertise, as well as data management and machine-learning expertise, to Imperial’s data visualisation […]
Blockchain and biometrics could be the way forward for the future of the UK’s regtech industry, according to the findings of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA issued a call for input in November 2015 about the development and adoption of regtech; and more than 350 responses were received. Of that number, 43% were […]
NCR Corporation and Wells Fargo have established a team focused on research and development in ATM and retail banking customer experience. Over the past eight years, NCR and Wells Fargo have worked together on other projects. These range from cash- and check-processing to self-service devices. The latest agreement expands the relationship to a “more strategic […]
OakNorth has become the first challenger bank to launch Facebook at Work as the platform prepares for its global launch later this year. Facebook at Work is the professional version of the social network, enabling individuals to set up an account that is separate from their personal Facebook but works in almost the exact same […]
Barclays and MuleSoft, a platform provider for building application networks, have teamed up to host a digital banking hackathon. The hackathon will take place at Barclays Technology Centre Radbroke in Cheshire (UK) on 20-21 July. The event aims to foster innovation and harness technology to build a range of new financial services solutions. Peter Josse, […]
Santander InnoVentures, the fintech venture capital fund of Santander Group, has secured a further $100 million in funding from the group’s balance sheet. Launched in 2014, Santander says the fund is now set to deploy a total of $200 million (up from the $100m originally allocated) in minority stakes in fintech start-ups. Santander says this […]
The latest edition of our flagship magazine – Banking Technology – is out now, packed with news, analysis and insights, case studies, research and expert commentary.
Lloyds Banking Group has launched a new mentoring scheme giving fintech start-ups access to its workforce’s expertise. The support offered includes refining concepts to strengthening business models within a flexible timeframe determined between the mentor and the start-up. The mentors will come from all areas of Lloyds and will be matched with start-ups according to […]
Deloitte Luxembourg has developed a proof of concept for regulatory transaction reporting in a distributed ledger technology (DLT) environment. In its DLT proof of concept, counterparties of the transaction will seal and report their deal using a smart contract, whose terms include all the aspects needed for the transaction reporting. The regulators will be able […]
Brazilian online bank Neon has launched – offering accounts only accessed through a smartphone. The bank, founded by 24-year-old entrepreneur Pedro Conrade, is targeting the millennial crowd and its goal is to reach 100,000 active customers in its first year of operation. Neon says it will be the first bank in Brazil to use biometric […]
Russia-based Tochka Bank of the Otkritie Financial Group has launched the world’s “first” Facebook bot for a range of financial services. The bot will allow the bank’s clients to check their accounts, find nearby ATMs using geolocation, call the bank, contact customer support and make payments via Facebook messenger. Elena Budnik, chair of Otkritie Bank’s […]
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put together an inter-regulatory working group (WG) to study the entire gamut of regulatory issues relating to fintech and digital banking in India. The move is designed to help facilitate their development and is the latest in a long list of technological advances in the country. Aside from […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Swift seeks stronger network security Strikes back after hacks. IBM to open blockchain innovation centre in Singapore Big Blue stays true to blockchain. Starling Bank gets UK banking licence Aims to launch to customers by January 2017. Unibank […]
In the face of an ever rising digital agenda in Europe, banks are jumping on the fintech bandwagon, hoping to jumpstart innovation. Technology stands today as a catalyst for change in established banking institutions, write Astrid Froidure, digital transformation lead at Open Reply, and Fausto Jori, owner of E-finance Reply. The spark comes in a […]
According to new research from Visa, consumers across Europe are interested in using biometrics when making a payment – especially when integrated with other security measures. About 73% of the 14,000 European consumers surveyed see two-factor authentication, where a biometric is used in conjunction with a payment device, as a secure way to confirm an […]
With news on blockchain and Bitcoin appearing thick and fast, here’s a round-up of key events to save you time. Bitcoin has got some love in Russia when the centre-right Party of Growth says it is open to accepting donations in the digital currency. Boris Titov, head of the party, who also acts as an […]
Standard Bank in South Africa has launched its existing banking app to four additional African markets. The app is now available in Uganda, Namibia, Ghana and Botswana; with plans to roll it out to Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe by the end of 2016. The latest development is part of its drive to “enhance its […]
Avox Data Services, a provider of legal entity reference data and a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), has migrated its data servers to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The move is part of a company-wide initiative to implement new technologies to “increase scalability, further enhance the security of the data and reduce […]
UK-based start-up Thought Machine has emerged from two years in stealth mode with a new cloud-based core banking software, VaultOS. The company was founded by a core of ex-Googlers, and VaultOS was built from the ground up. The system was created with private blockchain-style technology and has cryptographic ledgers for “watertight” security. Paul Taylor, CEO […]
Nationwide Building Society has launched a new mobile banking app – and users can now log on using Apple’s Touch ID biometric technology. Barnaby Davis, Nationwide’s divisional director group retail strategy, says: “As a mutual, Nationwide is owned by and run for the benefit of its members. This is why when designing our new mobile […]
Decentralised financial platform provider Nxt has developed Ardor, the “first ever” scalable platform using blockchain. The Netherlands-based firm says Ardor, which is available from tomorrow (14 July), is designed to function beyond financial exchanges and will be “open to everyone”, including individual users, start-ups, banks and governments. Dave Pearce, director at Nxt Foundation, says: “Ardor […]
South African heavyweight Absa is the first bank in Africa to join New York-based R3’s blockchain consortium. Absa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Africa Group Limited, will be working with over 50 banks to design and deliver distributed ledger technologies to global financial markets. On the back of its membership, Absa will also be […]
IBM plans to establish the “first” IBM Center for Blockchain Innovation in Singapore. The firm says this is the first collaboration of its kind with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). IBM researchers will work with government, industries and academia to develop applications and solutions which are based […]
Britain’s Speaking Clock, which will celebrate its 80th birthday on Sunday, July 24, was a real fascination for me as a child. Who was this person on the other end of the phone who was always available, any time of day, who could tell me the time down to the exact second? Did they ever […]
Brazil’s Banco Bradesco is planning to start trials for a blockchain-based digital wallet service, as it looks to streamline operations and reduce costs. The service is being developed by Brazilian start-up eWally, discovered via Bradesco’s own innovation programme InovaBRA. Marcelo Frontini, MD at Scopus IT and part of Bradesco’s innovation department, says trials should start […]
Ewan MacLeod is heading to Nordea as co-head of its newly created “Group Digital” unit and is on the lookout for fintech companies, services and ideas to introduce to Nordea. MacLeod will be one of two chief digital officers at the Nordic banking group. The other one is Poul Raaholt, previously head of group IT […]
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Brexit: keep calm and carry on We assemble a panel of fintech and law specialists to discuss – with cool heads – the challenges and opportunities. Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up A round-up of key developments to save you […]
Advanced Payment Solutions (APS) has secured a credit licence from the UK’s regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). And whilst APS is not a bank, it competes with them. So is going through the pains for getting a banking licence really worth it, asks Rich Wagner, CEO and founder APS. We regularly see news of challenger finance […]
With news on blockchain and Bitcoin appearing thick and fast, here’s a round-up of key events to save you time. In Switzerland, the city of Zug, is piloting the acceptance of Bitcoin for payments. From 1 July, residents could start to pay their taxes, fees and fines with the digital currency. The project is part […]
Japan-based software development firm Infoteria says it has “successfully” used blockchain for microfinance transactions in Myanmar – the “first time in the world”. The test was carried out on the computer system of Yangon-based BC Finance, Myanmar’s largest microfinance company. Infoteria says the data in question comprises spreadsheet software rather than specialty systems; and transactions […]
Finnish fintech start-up Holvi has launched a debit card, Holvi Business MasterCard. It is available to customers in Germany, Austria and Finland. This follows on from the launch of a mobile banking app for iOS and Android last summer. Holvi, which was founded in 2011, provides entrepreneurs and SMEs with a range of financial and […]
Banks in Singapore are working together on a new service that will allow users to make payments using Twitter usernames or Facebook IDs. According to the FT, a pilot is due to take place in the first quarter of 2017. Rather than entering an account number and sort code, users will be able to make […]
Spanish biometrics firm FacePhi has signed a new contract with Mexico’s Banco Inbursa to implement its face recognition technology on mobile banking apps and web platforms. This is the company’s ninth contract in total. FacePhi says Banco Inbursa becomes the first financial institution in Mexico offering facial recognition authentication to its clients, “just by taking […]
The Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, has set up a blockchain research consortium with several privately-owned Russian banks. The development follows Banking Technology reporting recently that Russian payment platform Qiwi was planning to create such an entity. The central bank’s deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova says: “We developed a technical prototype for message transmission […]
Bitso, Quotanda and Destacame have won the first Innotribe Start-up Challenge for Latin America – and a handy prize of $10,000 each. The event was held in Mexico City in partnership with Swift’s Latin America Regional Conference (LARC). Based in Mexico, Bitso connects the nation’s “traditional” banking infrastructure to bitcoin and blockchain for international cross-border […]
