UK-based banking services challenger Ffrees Fiamily Finance has launched a new “digital agency banking solution” – U Account. The account is supported by Wirecard, Global Processing Services (GPS) and payments software vendor Bottomline Technologies.
Law firm Addleshaw Goddard (AG) is launching the AG Elevate programme – worth up to £500,000 – to support the UK fintech firms. The application process will open on 17th November 2016 – more established firms as well as start-ups are welcome to take part, AG says.
Byte Academy has unveiled its first international campus with programmes in fintech, data science and Python full-stack development. The new campus is based in Singapore, supported by Standard Chartered Bank, IBM, Thomson Reuters, Microsoft and the Insead business school.
Kasikornbank (Kbank), one of the largest banks in Thailand, is exploring blockchain with IBM, “to save costs and speed up transactions”, the two companies say. The services will be launched in H1 2017, to certify the letters of guarantee (LCs).
Pan-European exchange Euronext will use Algomi’s fixed income technology for its new multilateral trading facility (MTF) in a ten-year partnership. With their joint venture (JV), capitalised by Euronext for $2.3 million, dealers will be able to access the trading interface either directly through their existing Algomi technology or through their stand-alone systems. The platform will […]
Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nomura International and Societe Generale have teamed up to produce documentation for use in listed and unlisted repackaging transactions. According to the banks, repackaged products provide the investor exposure to the underlying credit of an issuer and are specifically designed for the investor’s risk-return needs. In addition, cash flows can be […]
Tullett Prebon Information (TPI), a provider of real-time price information from the global OTC financial and commodity markets, has signed a deal with Brave New Coin (BNC) to distribute its digital currency data. TPI says this is the “first time such a comprehensive view of the entire digital currency landscape has been made available to […]
As retailers across the country need to bring innovative customisation and convenience factors to their customers, credit cards are becoming an essential part of delivering value. Co-branded cards continue to play an important role in the retail landscape and can offer a unique point of distinction for retailers in today’s competitive environment.
London-based blockchain firm SETL and Cobalt DL, a private peer-to-peer network, have teamed up to use SETL’s OpenCSD within the Cobalt FX post trade platform. The service is set to launch in 2017, with 15 institutional FX participants “already committed” to the service. Earlier this year, SETL unveiled the OpenCSD platform, its first commercial offering, […]
BBVA has reached a global agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) as it looks to cloud computing to boost its digital banking services. The agreement, which is part of a series of accords that the group is making with providers, turns AWS into its “preferred” cloud infrastructure services provider. AWS will execute the migration of […]
Verifone is partnering with Alipay to enable retailers in North America and Europe to accept payments from Chinese tourists. According to Verifone, nearly 100 million Chinese consumers annually travel abroad and use Alipay to make purchases. This latest partnership follows quickly on Alipay’s deals with Zapper and Ingenico – both for the same reason as […]
Envestnet Yodlee has extended its partnership with omnichannel banking specialist Backbase. The two companies have been collaborating for some time. With the new agreement, Backbase will be providing its customers with integrations to the Envestnet Yodlee data aggregation platform.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Korean Financial Services Commission (KFSC) have signed an agreement to foster more co-operation in the fintech space. Under the agreement, MAS and KFSC will explore potential joint innovation projects on technologies such as big data and mobile payments. MAS and KFSC will also discuss issues of common […]
Fintech start-up Configo has launched a project to aggregate the API portals launched by financial players around the world. It is not commercial driven but is “just a small project to put everything in order”, says Yosi Dahan, co-founder and CEO of Configo.
More than 60 of financial institutions around the world (including many top-tier banks) are involved in the R3 consortium, with considerable financial and resource commitments. The international consortium promises to build a common blockchain-based platform – called Corda – but the end-result is still a number of years away.
Why limit getting in debt quickly only to the Arcadia Group shoppers? Payments provider Klarna onboards a raft of partners for its retail financing solution. These include Shopify, Worldpay, BigCommerce and CyberSource.
The International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITC) Europe and the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (Oasis) are to jointly define technical standards for blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT).
ICICI Bank and Emirates NBD say they have successfully executed the “first” banking transactions using blockchain in international trade finance in India and the UAE respectively. The development saw the exchange and authentication of remittance transaction messages as well as original international trade documents related to purchase orders, invoices, shipping and insurance, among others, electronically […]
Alipay has partnered with Zapper, the consumer insights and marketing platform, to grab a slice of the Chinese tourism market in the UK. Zapper says the partnership will allow over 250,000 Chinese tourists visiting the UK to pay using the Alipay app in over 1,000 locations nationwide. Rita Liu, head of Alipay EMEA, says merchants, […]
German insurance firm Talanx and fintech developer FinLeap have founded a joint venture to provide a digital platform for independent asset managers and private banks. Under the name Elinvar, the start-up offers a white-label platform – so asset managers can offer their own brand and corporate design. The solution includes new client onboarding, automatic creation […]
Finland-based Aurora Exchange, a consumer loans exchange, has teamed with two firms for its P2P lending platform launch. Maiden Life, based in Sweden, brings its payment protection insurance to cover “all loans” against borrower’s death, permanent and temporary disability with lenders as beneficiaries. Mangopay will act as Aurora Exchange’s custodian and payments technology provider. Mangopay […]
MasterCard and Berlin-based SolarisBank have teamed up to bolster their digital banking ambitions. SolarisBank has got principal membership status, and will now operate at MasterCard’s “highest issuer level”, with access to its entire product portfolio. Dr. Andreas Spengel, vice-president at MasterCard, says it is “excited by the outlook of working together with a young, visionary […]
Digital banking software vendor Backbase has teamed up with Mitek, a mobile capture and identity verification specialist. Mitek’s OCR and document validation capabilities are now available through the Backbase Open Banking Marketplace.
Wasting your time is a crime. Here’s a round-up of key events in the payments space. Absa has teamed up with South African start-up Walletdoc to let its Absa Rewards customers earn cash rewards each time they use Walletdoc to pay their monthly accounts. Walletdoc works by sending reminders when payments are due, notifying users […]
“Transaction banking will undergo a change of character,” states the global banking giant.
Berlin-based fintech incubator FinLeap has teamed up with fintech analyst Devie Mohan to launch Burnmark, an independent research company focusing on trends in the financial technology industry. Finleap will support Burnmark with network, knowhow and research capabilities. Mohan works closely with traditional banks, consulting firms, innovation teams, start-up accelerators and investors, advising them on fintech […]
This time we have a genuine Uber moment in fintech. Standard Chartered and Uber are partnering to offer the bank’s credit cardholders cashbacks on Uber rides. This is the “first ever multi-market partnership” for both of them. The deal is for six markets – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and the United Arab Emirates – […]
More collaboration is required among members of the correspondent banking community, despite the progress that has been made through efforts such as the Global Payments Innovation (GPI) initiative.
ACI Worldwide and Vocalink have joined forces “to offer a complete end-to-end immediate payments solution to launch a domestic or regional immediate payments network”. The partnership will combine Vocalink’s Immediate Payments System (IPS) offering for central payment infrastructures and ACI’s UP Immediate Payments solution for banks and financial institutions.
A FinTech Technical Advisory Group has been established by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) TC68 Financial Services Committee. ISO has also just recently approved a new blockchain committee.
Italy’s TAS Group and targit GmbH Austria have signed a deal to collaborate on bringing a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model for liquidity risk management and reporting within reach of tier two and three banks throughout Central and Eastern Europe, including Austria and Germany.
A central securities depositories (CSDs) consortium has been founded to help emerging market CSDs investigate and take advantage of new technologies such as blockchain. Led by Russia’s CSD, National Settlement Depository (NSD) and South Africa’s Strate, the consortium will initially focus on working with CSDs in Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia.
Digital innovation has the potential to radically transform the payments arena, through solutions that enhance end-to-end speed, efficiency, transparency, security and cost effectiveness. Anthony Brady, global head of business strategy and market solutions, treasury services at BNY Mellon, discusses how banks are being spurred to drive forward new technology initiatives – with collaboration at their core – to deliver an enriched global real-time payments experience to clients.
Join the consortium. PayCommerce, an open cross-border payments network, has launched an instant cross-border payment, clearing and integrated settlement programme for global banks.
Malaysia-based payments solutions provider Finexus is building a new real-time gross settlement (RTGS) platform for banks in Asia Pacific. It has partnered with Volante Technologies, which will provide the MT to MX message transition, via its flagship Volante Designer product.
The tectonic plates of the banking sector are shifting faster than ever. High street banks are under stress from the massive competitive threats generated by their leaner, technology-driven fintech rivals and challenger banks. These fintech companies are finding success simply by being more efficient or by taking advantage of emerging and highly effective technologies such […]
National Australia Bank (NAB) says it has successfully transferred AU$10 ($7.6) – using Ripple’s blockchain tech – from Australia to Canada. It took ten seconds to process.
Canadian start-up Finn.ai (formerly Payso) has teamed with ATB Financial for the “first ever banking chatbot” on Facebook Messenger. In an interview with Betakit, Finn.ai co-founder and COO Natalie Cartwright says it has been in talks with ATB since Q1 2016, and “after initial work had already begun on design and integration, the organisations are […]
JP Morgan Chase and InvestCloud, a California-based fintech firm, are partnering to develop digital capabilities for individual investors at both the JP Morgan and Chase franchises. JP Morgan has also made an equity investment in InvestCloud, but hasn’t revealed the figures. This investment is just one part of JP Morgan’s three-year $300 million digital strategy […]
34 microfinance entities in Nepal have joined forces to set up a fintech company – Nepal Finsoft – to build and maintain a shared core banking platform.
