International Regtech Association launched
International Regtech Association (IRTA) is a new worldwide industry body with over 100 founding members.
Innovation
Till left with no part in Barclaycard pocket checkout
Barclaycard has begun trialling a new payment concept that lets consumers scan and pay for their shopping using their smartphone, without the need to visit a physical checkout. Called Grab+Go, it’s the firm’s plan to turn a smartphone into a “pocket checkout”, allowing users to scan the items they want to buy as they pick […]
Top fintech stories this week – 26 May 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Fintech and the role of government
What support does the fintech industry, and the broader financial ecosystem actually want (or need) from government?
HSBC plots to stop rise of the technophobe
A lack of understanding and trust in technology is stalling mainstream adoption of innovative new fintech services, according to HSBC’s research. The bank’s report, “Trust in Technology”, shows that technologies such as fingerprint recognition, voice recognition and robo-advice “hold enormous potential” for uses from bank security to mobile payments and investment advice. John Flint, global […]
Worldpay marks the PoC for VR payments
Researchers at Worldpay are investigating how shoppers can pay using a credit or debit card while remaining within a virtual environment. As part of its real ambitions, the payments firm has created a proof of concept (PoC), with the aim to provide the “same levels of convenience, and security” that shoppers have in-store and online, […]
Cognitive computing is not cognitive at all
IBM are not doing “cognitive computing” no matter how many times they say they are.
Europe strives to standardise cybersecurity
The EU Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has joined forces with the semiconductor industry in a bid to improve the continent’s cybersecurity, reports Telecoms.com (Banking Technology‘s sister publication). As ever region-wide initiatives such as this tend to be glacial affairs, but this announcement comes at a time when both cyber and physical security are […]
Travelex kills off Supercard
Supercard, a new card and mobile product launched by Travelex and Wirecard last June, is now being sunsetted.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 24 May 2017
Cut to the chase with this brief blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features Waves Platform, Everex and Bitcoin’s price surge. Moscow-based Waves has launched its Euro gateway, which will allow users of the platform to deposit and withdraw Euros directly from within the lite client, holding and trading them directly from their Waves accounts as WEUR […]
R3 hits jackpot with $107m investment for DLT
Blockchain consortium R3 has completed the first two of three tranches in its Series A fundraising round, securing $107 million in the “world’s largest distributed ledger technology (DLT) investment to date”. The consortia contest is heating up as this handy cash injection follows on from yesterday’s (22 May) announcement from the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) […]
Games without frontiers via TransferWise borderless account
TransferWise has unveiled its “Borderless” account with the promise that it works like a local bank account in different countries. The account is its plan to replace “old-fashioned” money transfers. TransferWise says local bank details in the UK, Eurozone and US are available, and other unspecified countries are on the way at some point in […]
Swift unveils “first ever” cross-border payments tracker
Corporate treasurers have a moment to treasure as Swift has unveiled its new cross-border payments “Tracker” for real-time tracing. Swift says Tracker is the “cornerstone” of its global payments innovation (gpi) initiative – which went live in February – with the aim to deliver greater speed, transparency and end to end tracking. Tracker provides a […]
Analysis: branches – coffee is not for closers
The vanishing branch offices… Could more coffee save them? Richard Buckle, founder and CEO of Pyalla Technologies, muses.
Nasdaq and Citi team up for blockchain-powered payments reconciliation
Nasdaq and Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) have unveiled a new payment solution for automating reconciliation using Chain’s blockchain infrastructure platform. The solution enables straight through payment processing by using a distributed ledger to record and transmit payment instructions. A number of payment transactions have been done including Citi’s automated processing of cross-border payments […]
R3 rival Enterprise Ethereum Alliance expands in size
The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has seen a surge of interest in its plans to drive Ethereum blockchain technology best practices with the arrival of 86 new members. New faces include Broadridge, DTCC, Deloitte, Infosys, MUFG, National Bank of Canada, Rabobank and Samsung SDS. As Banking Technology reported in March, Banco Santander, BNY Mellon, Intel, […]
The Monday mindset: 22 May 2017
Fintech zeitgeist! Every Monday, we might look back at last week; look ahead to this week; share a few thoughts (our own or others); or discuss anything that catches our eye. This week, Antony Peyton, Banking Technology’s deputy editor, briefly discusses artificial intelligence (AI) and job security. It seems humans’ jobs in fintech are safe […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 19 May 2017
It was only two days ago since the last blockchain and Bitcoin round-up, but here’s more news to keep you in the loop. Features Ripple, BitGo, Abu Dhabi Global Market, R3 and Corion. Ripple has enjoyed a good start to the year with ten more financial institutions recently jumping onboard its blockchain network; and deals […]
IBM unleashes blockchain accelerator for start-ups
IBM has launched its Blockchain Founder Accelerator to help enterprises and enterprise developers power up their blockchain networks. The programme provides one-on-one mentorship and support by network founders and technologists for business case development, network membership incentives, technical development, governance and legal issues. In addition, members of the Founder Accelerator will receive early access to […]
Bold statement two: statements around the bleeding edge of innovation
This is a series of posts on a subject that plays on my mind a little – the application of disruption, and innovation, when it is related through the filter of our use of language, and our desire to seem advanced. This instalment is about social media efforts.
Webinar: driving mobile banking engagement with e-signatures
This free webinar provides a discussion around how to utilise e-signatures to unlock the full potential of mobile banking applications.
Google moves to claim a bigger piece of the IoT pie
Internet giant Google has launched Cloud IoT Core, a new service in its Google Cloud Platform designed to extend its capabilities to distributed devices.
Knowledge economy in financial services: from curator to conductor
Once upon a time, not so long ago, companies tried to generate new business by sending marketing messages to prospective clients by post. Direct or “junk” mail – sending a leaflet or letter to anyone for whom the firm had a job title, street address or postcode – was pretty unsophisticated, often derided as a “scattergun” approach.
Equifax forms new alliance to develop open banking products
Equifax, credit information provider Castlight and Oakbrook Finance, the owners of consumer loan brand Likely Loans, have teamed up to develop new products for the 2018 open banking initiative. Under open banking, Equifax says bank transaction data will play a crucial role in lending decisions. Lenders will have access to real-time and historic account and […]
Fintech boosted by IBM’s quantum computing leap
Fintech innovation could be getting a push as IBM has built and tested its most powerful universal quantum computing processors. IBM says this development opens up a range of possibilities within the fintech world. Namely, solutions to optimisation problems found in supply chains, modelling financial data, and risk analysis; making facets of artificial intelligence (AI) […]
Fintech funding round-up: 17 May 2017
Quickly following on from the cash flow glow of 15 May, here’s another fintech funding round-up. Features Additiv, BZ Bank, Symphony, BNP Parabis and IOTA. Zurich-based digital finance provider Additiv knows how to stay healthy as it has secured its first capital investment funding round of CHF 21 million ($21.3 million). The round was headed […]
Blockchain: not the silver bullet against fraud that many expect it to be
Anyone that picks up any business publication has no doubt read about blockchain. Conceptualised around the same time as the financial crisis in 2008, blockchain as originally conceived served as a digital ledger to publicly record cryptocurrency transactions and execute contracts.
SAP launches Blockchain-as-a-Service in the cloud
SAP has launched a blockchain platform – “ready-to-use blockchain technology” – in the SAP cloud.
Corvil’s virtual Cara cares for cybersecurity scares
Trading tech firm Corvil has launched “Cara” – its virtual security expert designed for electronic trading businesses looking to solve cyberattack issues. Powered by machine learning algorithms, Cara works in tandem with Corvil’s existing analytics appliances and it autonomously identifies vulnerabilities and possible attacks within trading environments. It then runs multi-dimensional security analytics that detects […]
SAP fires up Leonardo platform for digital innovation
SAP has made a raft of announcements (and promises) at its annual Sapphire conference in Orlando, Florida. Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP, says the company continues to be committed to its “empathy” strategy unveiled last year and the time is now for “the urgency of action”. The vendor has unveiled its new SAP Leonardo platform […]
White paper: value of commercial cards for banks and their clients
This free white paper provides a structured framework for measuring performance of commercial card programmes across multiple industry sectors, suggests a range of norms for card penetration and usage, and describes the key data points for measurement. It also describes the actions that card issuers could take to maximise value from the programmes they have running: retaining business that is already fruitful, and nurturing business which could be more abundantly fruitful.
Misys brings AI to its trade monitoring software
Misys is getting in on the artificial intelligence (AI) act, with the launch of Misys FusionCapital Detect – a component for its trading solution which uses machine learning to spot booking errors, anomalies and unusual activity. The firm says FusionCapital Detect behaves as a personal assistant for trade validation teams, red flagging probable mistakes that […]
Facebook’s Q1 results and five things for financial services
With the release of Facebook’s Q1 2017 results, there are five things worth your attention about its strategy that are relevant for financial services. In its latest results, Facebook announced a major emphasis in solving for communities and reiterating the key messages from its F8 developer conference. Q1 2017 profit is +76.6% YoY to $3.06 […]
How future technologies are transforming banking
How two key technologies – cloud and cognitive – can aid banking transformation.
White paper: beyond data grids – the advantages of in-memory platforms
With the cost of system memory dropping 30% every 12 months, in-memory computing has become the first choice for a variety of workloads within the financial services industry. In-memory computing can provide a lower TCO for data processing systems while providing an unparalleled performance advantage.
Budget boosts Australia’s fintech
Good days and good times have come to Australia’s fintech scene with the 2017-18 Australian budget bringing in some useful initiatives. Some of the positives include open financial data reforms, reduced barriers for banking licences, an expanded regulatory sandbox and digital currency tax cuts – all welcomed by Fintech Australia, a national industry association. Australian […]
Will augmented reality transform banking?
There has been a lot of rumour and speculation recently, focused around the news that Apple is working on augmented reality (AR) as its next major product. Last year, we saw how fast the take up of AR could be with the introduction of Pokémon Go that became a massive international cultural phenomenon almost overnight. Banks need to prepare sooner rather than later if they are going to take advantage of AR and not be left behind.
A spreadsheet way of thinking: why the future of financial services still lies in rows and columns
Spreadsheets, say some, should just fade away into the dustbin of innovations’ past, but in my opinion, they might be the best bridge between the “old way” of working and the new.
OpenFin tech for capital markets goes open source
New York-based OpenFin has open sourced its core technology and is giving application developers free access to its operating layer for financial desktop web applications via its OpenFin Community Edition. The firm, which is a provider of HTML5 runtime technology, says the open source project, called Hadouken, will run under an Apache 2.0 licence. It […]
Banking Technology May 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.
