Top fintech stories this week – 7 April 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Mobile
Banks spellbound by innovation? Lessons learnt from digitalisation
Dr Andreas Dombret, member of the executive board of Deutsche Bundesbank, ponders why fintech innovation is such a hot topic now, of all times, what exactly innovation in banking means, and whether banks are even capable of being innovative.
WeChat Wants to Grow Payments in U.S. and Europe
WeChat is on the move again. The China-based social messaging and mobile wallet platform plans to expand its presence in Europe and the U.S., efforts that could bring it better relationships with advertisers, brands and payment providers.
Western Union App Integrates Apple Pay
Facing increased competition from mobile P2P services, money transfer giant Western Union has made a move to bolster its own mobile offerings. U.S.-based users of Western Union’s mobile app now can use Apple Pay to send money from within the app domestically, or to more than 200 countries and territories.
UniCredit and SIA bring Alipay to Italy
The agreement between Alipay and UniCredit has now entered the operational stage. Technological infrastructure for this has been provided by SIA.
Cachet, Rebar and Central Bank of Kansas City bring mobile prepaid programmes to community banks
Cachet Financial Solutions is working with Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC) to bring mobile-optimised prepaid programmes to community banks. The two companies have also teamed with Rebar Interactive to provide Select Mobile Money-Express, a platform that includes a Mastercard-branded prepaid card.
WhatsApp set to join the Indian mobile money revolution
Facebook-owned WhatsApp is reportedly looking to get into mobile payments and has picked India as the best place to start.
Deutsche Bank launches new mobile payment app
Deutsche Bank has launched a new mobile payment app for Android devices.
OP Financial Group enlists Token to develop new payment solutions
OP Financial Group has partnered with Token, a Silicon Valley-based crypto-payment software provider. Token says the agreement will enable the Finnish bank “to innovate in the European open banking market and generate new revenue streams via future payment solutions”.
Cachet, CBKC Take Mobile, Prepaid to Rebar Customers
Cachet Financial Solutions is working with Central Bank of Kansas City again. The two companies, which in March announced a partnership to bring mobile-optimized prepaid programs to community banks, now are working with Rebar Interactive to provide Select Mobile Money-Express, a platform that includes a Mastercard-branded prepaid card.
Virtual Cards Could Displace Checks in the Travel Market; WEX Expands in Asia
With the B2B virtual card market estimated at more than $95 billion in gross spending in 2016, payment providers would do well to target the travel sector, which represents the largest single vertical volume of that spending, according to Mercator Advisory Group. One such company, WEX Inc., has found that moving to virtual payments offers travel suppliers, such as hotels, car rental agencies and tour operators, distinct advantages, including getting paid faster, easier reconciliation across borders and improved analytics.
Meezan Bank launches domestic payment scheme in Pakistan
Meezan Bank in Pakistan is partnering with 1LINK Guarantee, an interbank payment network service, to issue PayPak branded debit cards across the nation. PayPak is Pakistan’s “first” domestic payment scheme that aims to provide an “indigenous alternative to international payment schemes”. Ariful Islam, deputy CEO of Meezan Bank, says it “will, inshallah [God willing], develop […]
Voice biometrics take ANZ higher for mobile payments
Australia and New Zealand-based banking group, ANZ, has announced it will be the first Australian bank to introduce voice biometrics on mobile devices to allow higher value transactions. From the middle of this year, customers transferring more than $1,000 through ANZ’s mobile apps will be able to use their voice to automatically authorise high value […]
Uber rival Grab buys payments start-up Kudo
Grab, a ride-hailing and mobile payments platform in Southeast Asia, will acquire Indonesia-based O2O (online to offline) ecommerce platform Kudo. The Kudo team and platform will be integrated with Grab’s proprietary mobile payments platform, GrabPay. According to Grab, Kudo’s O2O platform allows Indonesia’s unbanked consumers to shop online by connecting them with merchants and service […]
Protecting porous perimeters via identity access management
With the growth of “mobile working” and an increasing number of business applications migrating to the cloud, the corporate perimeter has become more porous and vulnerable, driving demand for solutions that manage access and user identities securely and efficiently. This is where identity access management (IAM) technologies come into play. ING’s Sicco Boomsma explores.
Banking Technology April 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.
2017’s Top Launches so Far: Mobile Mania and More
As mobile payments continue to move into the mainstream globally, new services are rolling out on a steady basis to fill the growing demand for general and more specific use cases. Meanwhile, there’s been a recent surge of activity around “mobile” in a slightly different sense, as providers test drive car-based payments services.
Fintech funding round-up: 31 March 2017
Lighter and brighter – catch up with fintech funding news in our brief round-up. Features Monzo, Quint and Lidya. Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo has raised another £2.5 million from more than 6,000 investors – the highest-ever number of any Crowdcube campaign. This follows its crowdfunding record of £1 million round last year, which closed in […]
Apple Pay defeats Australian banks in payments punch-up
Apple Pay has emerged victorious in its long-running feud with four domestic banks over their permission to collectively bargain with Apple and boycott Apple Pay. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a determination denying authorisation to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB), and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank […]
Mastercard launches safer payments guide for children
Child & Youth Finance International (CYFI) and Mastercard have released a guide on banking and payment products for minors. The “Safer Payment Products for Minors” guide offers recommended practices on how financial service providers (FSPs) can develop age-appropriate payment products for minors; promoting responsible spending and financial decision-making. Walt Macnee, vice-chairman Mastercard, says: “Today’s minors […]
Waves of Change for Payments
At this week’s Smart Card Alliance Payments Summit, experts looked to mobile and transit for a view of how payments will evolve. Here is a dive into the trends that likely will keep making news in the years to come.
Vroom, Vroom: Vehicles Accelerate the Future for Payments
A drive through the emerging landscape of in-vehicle transaction projects shows a wide variety of services that could appeal to consumers and push payments forward. But there’s still work to do before automakers are off to the races.
HSBC and First Direct to get VocaLink Pay by Bank app
VocaLink’s Pay by Bank mobile payment app will soon be available to customers of HSBC and its subsidiary, First Direct. Pay by Bank app, created by VocaLink’s payment innovation team Zapp, enables people to make “digital debit” payments for goods and services via their banking app, with payment made directly from a current account. HSBC […]
Mastercard Bolsters Authentication with NuData Acquisition
Mastercard is beefing up its transaction security and authentication capabilities in the age of connected devices, entering an agreement to acquire NuData Security, a Pay Award-winning provider of anti-fraud technology that uses session and biometric indicators to verify online transactions.
U.K. Makes Official Its Intent to Leave EU
A little after noon in Brussels March 29, a British ambassador delivered a letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk that set the wheels into motion for the U.K.’s exit from the EU. Today’s announcement makes official the results of the historic vote June 23, when 52 percent of voters in the U.K. stunned many around the world when they opted to leave, or “Brexit,” as it’s commonly called.
Blackhawk Renames Incentives Division
Blackhawk Network has given its incentives business a new identity, renaming it Hawk Incentives, which includes products and services formerly part of Blackhawk Engagement Solutions and the prepaid and payments company’s B2B digital incentive teams, according to a March 28 announcement.
Bokis in mobile payments first with Dankort card
Members of a Danish banking collective, Bokis, have become the first in the country to offer mobile payments using Dankort, the national debit and credit card. Bokis includes 62 banks that form the small to mid-sized banks segment of Lokale Pengeinstitutter (the Association of Local Banks, Savings Banks and Co-operative Banks in Denmark), together with […]
Square launches in UK
San Francisco-based payments specialist Square has landed in the UK. This is the fifth market for Square, following the US, Canada, Australia and Japan.
Samsung’s Newest Payments Push Aims to Bring Contactless to the Masses
Hoping to bring “digital cash to everyone,” Samsung has introduced a chip platform that can enable contactless payments in watches, wristbands, key fobs and perhaps even clothing.
Raiffeisen Bank Romania in digital tech revamp with Backbase
Raiffeisen Bank Romania, a subsidiary of Austria’s Raiffeisen Group, is modernising its channels delivery with Backbase.
Top fintech stories this week – 24 March 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
UnionBank launches New EON, the first “selfie” banking in the Philippines
UnionBank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has launched the New EON, a new digital banking platform (a revamped version of the original EON, launched at the start of the millennium). The mobile biometric authentication tech is provided by Daon.
RBS continues with branch closures and job cuts
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is closing 30 of its own branches and 128 of its subsidiary, NatWest, putting 470 people out of work. The bank says this decision is a result of the changing consumer behaviour, which has now shifted to digital banking.
Proposed M-Wallet Rules Don’t Hinder Samsung Pay Launch
While the Indian government works toward a digital economy, the Reserve Bank of India is soliciting feedback through March 31 on guidelines for prepaid payment instruments that could adversely affect issuers of prepaid products, including mobile wallets.
Samsung Pay makes its India debut
Digital payments app, Samsung Pay, has been launched in India. Access is limited to those who signed up for the early access programme and available only on its mid-segment and flagship Samsung Galaxy devices.
Samsung moves on Siri with Bixby AI
Watch out Siri and Alexa, Samsung has unveiled its own artificial intelligence (AI) solution called Bixby. This will be a new interface on Samsung’s devices – with the imminent Galaxy S8 getting it first – and when an application becomes Bixby-enabled, it will be able to support “almost every task” that the application is capable […]
Walmart Pushes Omnichannel Shopping with New Tech Incubator
Walmart recently announced another step toward further developing its e-commerce business with the creation of a technology incubator called Store No. 8 to create new retail online businesses as well as help the retail giant better compete against Amazon.com.
Illinois Regulator Joins Global Virtual Currency Consortium
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has become the first U.S. regulatory agency to join the R3 Consortium, a global partnership of banks and other parties working to develop distributed ledger-based applications for financial services. The agency oversees the regulation and licensing of banks and financial institutions, among other businesses, in the state.
Faster Loans for Consumers with Little Credit History? Experian and Finicity Think So.
New underwriting technology developed by Experian and financial data aggregator Finicity could speed up borrowing and enable millennials and other consumers with thin or no credit files to receive money. The product emerges amid a federal call for more work on helping those potential borrowers build credit scores.
Everyone is a bank with Babb’s blockchain plan
London-based fintech start-up Babb App says it is creating a bank based on a “permissioned” blockchain implementation of a distributed ledger using Ethereum smart contracts. The Babb banking platform will operate a decentralised information model to “minimise costs while maximising data fidelity and security” – i.e. the usual suspects. It expects to do a soft […]
