Financial Services/Finserv


Diversity in fintech: finding the next Ada Lovelace

Niamh de Niese, a new director and head of BNY Mellon’s EMEA Innovation Centre, shares her views on diversity in fintech, Ada Lovelace (often regarded as the world’s first computer programmer) and how to encourage more women into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions.

HSBC hits $100bn mobile payments mark for corporates

There’s glee and a spending spree for HSBC as over $100 billion in mobile payments have been made by its corporate customers. The bank says the $100 billion sum was authorised globally through the HSBCnet mobile corporate banking platform since its launch in 2011. The total transaction value of mobile payments has more than doubled […]

Sibos 2016: blockchain passes stupidity test

“First they think it’s stupid, then they think it’s obvious. Blockchain has passed the first test.” These are the words of an economics professor (quoted, but not present) on revolutionary ideas, and perhaps a succinct evaluation of where blockchain is right now. In a packed conference room on the Monday afternoon (26 September), the panel discussed “Blockchain 2020 – what next for adoption by the financial industry”.

Blockchain: the theme for 2016

Blockchain and distributed technology have been hot topics at Sibos this year, with a raft of announcements from banks and fintechs alike. One of the areas identified as of most promise is trade finance – an area of banking that is rife with paper-based processes.

CMB inks Obor deal with Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered Bank has entered into a One Belt One Road (Obor) strategic alliance with China Merchants Bank (CMB) to accelerate the Belt and Road initiative and help promote economic growth and regional cooperation for countries along the Road. Obor is a development strategy and framework that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries, primarily […]

Digitising the transaction banking world

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, transaction banking was considered a reliable source of income for global banking groups. But nearly a decade on, multiple factors are putting pressure on transaction banks’ revenues. This year’s World Payments Report suggests banks increase their investments in digital solutions to offer more compelling propositions to their corporate treasury clients.

Sibos 2016: navigating the payments storm

The payments industry faces a perfect storm with immediate, open and context-based changes emanating from new technology, regulation and infrastructures set to “transform the landscape”.

The future of money: humans need to keep the robots in check

Udayan Goyal’s vision for the future of money revolves around seamless, instant micropayments being made continuously between autonomous apps and services all triggered by thoughts and actions of humans as they go about their daily lives.

Banks and fintechs: the time is now to join forces

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.

Daily News at Sibos 2016 – Day 1

Read our first Daily News at Sibos edition of the Sibos 2016 conference in Geneva – all the latest news and analysis from Swift’s premier event of the year.

Clearing and settlement: a moving target

Momentum is building behind the T2S securities settlement system as it gains critical mass. While expected benefits and outcomes have not fully materialised, the unexpected benefits have captured the imagination of the post-trade industry.

Top fintech stories this week – 23 September 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Harrods Bank in search of new core banking system EXCLUSIVE. The FIS Profile project is dead. Long live a new project! Deutsche Bank GTB builds new payments platform EXCLUSIVE. Dovetail to deliver? Misys unveils Platform-as-a-Service strategy Opens up […]

Does the bank branch still matter?

The number of branches operated by major banking groups in the UK has halved over the last 20 years. In fact, Britain’s banks closed more than 600 branches across the UK between April 2015 and April 2016. This is hardly surprising as more and more people move online, often mobile-first, to complete most of their […]

New banking platform for MFIs in Nepal

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.

Deutsche Bank has an Axel Springer in its step for start-ups

Deutsche Bank is partnering with start-up accelerator Axel Springer Plug and Play to select, develop and finance up-and-coming firms from sectors such as banking and insurance. Deutsche Bank will be an exclusive Axel Springer Plug and Play partner – the latter a joint venture between the media company Axel Springer and California-based Plug and Play […]

Six more in the mix for Ripple’s payments network

Standard Chartered, National Australia Bank, Mizuho Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Siam Commercial Bank and Shanghai Huarui Bank are the latest banks to join Ripple’s blockchain-powered network for cross-border payments. “2016 has proven to be the year where the most forward-thinking financial institutions are actually using blockchain technologies for payments and settlement rather than as […]

M&A round-up: 15 September 2016

Welcome to the world of mergers and acquisitions – and our mission to provide a quick round-up. Ant Financial, Alibaba’s payments arm, has bought Missouri-based EyeVerify, a biometric security technology company. The big deal here is that its tech is used by Wells Fargo – and regional banks and credit unions in the US. Also, […]

UBS goes for AI face off

UBS is testing out artificial intelligence (AI) to see if it can assist clients in how best to invest their money – just by looking at their facial expressions. UBS chief investment officer Mark Haefele says the Swiss bank is running several pilot programmes – with one tool able to interpret clients’ facial expressions while […]

Goldman Sachs goes blockchain for FX sake

All aboard the blockchain bandwagon – Goldman Sachs has filed a new patent application to use it on the foreign exchange (FX) market. The latest development follows on from late last year when Goldman Sachs made a patent application for a new virtual currency, dubbed “SETLcoin”, for “nearly instantaneous execution and settlement” of trades involving […]

Top fintech stories this week – 9 September 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Barclays and Wave pioneer blockchain trade finance transaction What is a fintech day without blockchain? UK challenger banks: who’s who The list has been updated. US credit union consortium plots blockchain use Watch out R3. Smile and an […]

FTR 2015 – EU regulation with global impact

What is FTR 2015 and how does it affect banks operating in the cross-border payments space? Marc Recker, Head of Market Management, Institutional Cash Management at Deutsche Bank, explores. The challenges and complexities of complying with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CFT) regulations are certainly not new in the financial industry. Over the past […]

Barclays and fintech start-up Wave pioneer blockchain trade finance transaction

Barclays and fintech start-up Wave claim to have become the first organisations to complete a global trade transaction using distributed ledger/blockchain technology. Barclays is now calling on other banks to adopt Wave’s platform. “This can develop into an industry-wide improvement in how trade documentation is managed,” Barclays urges. The letter of credit (LC) transaction between […]

Mambu plans to onboard 50 new clients by year-end

Fintech vendor Mambu says it has added 25 new clients to its portfolio this year and is set to double this figure by the end of 2016. It will also more than double the size of its team by the year-end. “All [of Mambu’s new customers] are focused on servicing consumers and businesses poorly reached by […]

Smile and an HSBC account smiles with you

HSBC business customers can now open accounts using “selfie” verification, giving them the option to complete ID security checks on their mobile device. It says ID verification can be completed in a “few clicks” on an Apple or Android device. Once the initial headshot or selfie of a customer is captured, it is then assessed […]

BTL teams with Visa Europe Collab for blockchain settlement project

BTL Group is partnering with Visa Europe Collab to investigate potential applications for blockchain settlement in financial services. The project will use BTL’s cross-border settlement platform Interbit to explore the ways in which blockchain-based settlements can “reduce the friction” of domestic and cross border transfers between banks. A small number of European banks have been […]

Virtual bank accounts: forget what you thought you knew

Virtual bank accounts (VBAs) are a hot topic among the treasury community today. While you may have heard of VBAs before, their usage is rapidly evolving – and their benefits for treasurers continue to grow. Dick Oskam, global head of sales for transaction services at ING Bank, explains what VBAs are all about. In an increasingly […]

VisionFund International opts for BankBI’s business intelligence solution

VisionFund International (VFI), the microfinance arm of World Vision, has selected BankBI’s cloud-based business intelligence and analytics solution. The Microsoft Azure-deployed solution will be used in 32 countries. VFI plans to centralise its data management and reporting efforts across its operational, social performance and financial data, as it wants to “capitalise” on opportunities in rural […]

Nordea and DNB to unite banking ops in Baltics

Nordea and DNB will bring together their operations in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to create a new bank. The two banks say their Baltic operations are “a great match”, with Nordea’s strength being in the large corporate segment, while DNB’s is in the SME segment. Both banks also have significant presence in the retail space. […]

Famous five unsettle Bitcoin with utility settlement coin

BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, ICAP and Santander have joined UBS and Clearmatics to advance their utility settlement coin (USC) concept, and plan tests in a real-market environment. USC is a digital cash model for payments and settlement. It will run on blockchain and be another rival to Bitcoin. The group plan to build on the […]

Top fintech stories this week – 19 August 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! New core banking project for Temenos in Canada Exclusive. Credit union in British Columbia goes for T24. Swift slow on strong security say execs “Took their eye off the ball.” Volksbank pioneers NCR Innovation Experience Room An “experimental […]

Four to score in ING innovation studio

Four start-ups will enter ING’s Innovation Studio in September to see whether they can make the big time – the launch of a viable commercial business. Axyon AI, Gekko, Startup Insight and Surance will take part in the bank’s accelerator programme, the third of its type, since it began in July 2015. ING selected the […]

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and HSBC team up for blockchain-based trade finance innovation

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) have teamed up to develop a blockchain prototype for trade finance innovation. The consortium uses the distributed ledger framework provided by Linux Foundation’s open source Hyperledger Project; and the proof of concept has reduced manual processing in letter of credit transactions. […]