Moneycorp expands with acquisitions in Brazil and UK
The Moneycorp Group will acquire Brazilian foreign exchange business Novo Mundo Corretora de Cambio, and UK-based currency firm First Rate FX.
South America
Itaú Unibanco in wealthtech revamp with Temenos
Itaú Unibanco, Latin America’s largest banking group, has signed for a new core banking solution – Temenos’ T24 – for its international private banking business.
BBVA and Wave test blockchain-based international trade transaction
BBVA, working in collaboration with Wave, performed the first blockchain-based international trade transaction between Europe and Latin America.
Financial innovation in LatAm calls for open collaboration with start-ups
Fintech is upending the way we understand the financial sector in Latin America; financial services are experiencing deep transformations as a result of start-ups’ love for change driven by new technologies.
Nubank reaches out to Brazil’s underbanked with digital banking accounts
Brazilian fintech Nubank will soon be offering digital banking accounts in addition to its credit card business. The move will provide access to billpay, account-to-account transfers, and the ability to earn more in interest than is available with a regular savings account.
Top fintech stories this week – 27 October 2017
Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place!
Fintech start-up Ualá targets Argentina’s unbanked with new mobile banking service
Argentina-based fintech start-up Ualá has launched a mobile banking service app to champion financial inclusion in the country.
LarrainVial finally goes live with Temenos’ T24 core banking system
Chile-based LarrainVial has implemented Temenos’ T24 platform – seven years on from signing the contract – as it seeks growth throughout the Americas including in Chile, Colombia, Peru, and the US.
Two new core banking tech deals for Technisys in Brazil and Argentina
EXCLUSIVE: Banking tech vendor Technisys has landed two new deals for its flagship core banking system, Cyberbank Core, and digital channels software, Cyberbank Omnichannel.
PayU pioneers Mambu’s lending platform in Colombia
PayU Colombia has become the first payments services provider globally to implement Mambu’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based core banking solution. It will support PayU’s new short-term deferred payment product.
Nasdaq looking cool with Chile CSD tech revamp
Chile’s central securities depository (CSD), Depósito Central de Valores (DCV), has chosen Nasdaq to revamp its technological infrastructure. Under the agreement, Nasdaq’s CSD solution will include trade and instruction management, settlement, custody, corporate event management and registry capabilities; and full coverage for all types of securities and multi-currencies. In addition, it will support settlement with […]
IBM heats up Chile’s financial sector with blockchain
IBM and Chile’s Santiago Exchange, the largest in the country, have teamed up to introduce blockchain across the country’s financial sector. The agreement makes the Santiago Exchange the “first stock market in Latin America” to apply IBM blockchain within its short selling system for securities lending. Built by IBM and Santiago Exchange, the solution is […]
Brazil’s central bank mulls new rules to boost fintech
The Central Bank of Brazil is eyeing up new regulations this year to oversee and assist fintech firms across the nation, according to Reuters. In a Reuters interview with the bank’s director, Otavio Damaso, he says increased innovation and a growing number of fintechs are all “very positive” for the efficiency of Brazil’s financial system. […]
BIM, Peru’s first mobile money wallet: lessons learnt
Peruvian mobile wallet BIM, described as “the world’s first fully-interoperable national mobile money platform”, will launch new services in H2 2017. It will enable customers to pay electricity, water and telephone bills, as well as have access to micro savings and loans, and micro-insurance.
Trustbank Suriname selects core banking tech from Path Solutions
Path Solutions and its iMAL core banking system have beaten Temenos and Oracle FSS to a core banking software deal at Trustbank in Suriname.
Inter-American Development Bank launches Finconecta ecosystem
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Florida-based fintech firm Above & Beyond (A&B) have unveiled “Finconecta”, a ten-month programme which integrates fintechs and financial institutions (FI) in an interconnected ecosystem. The technology platform behind it is called “Forward”, which was built by A&B, and is described as an app store-styled marketplace that allows firms to expose […]
Mastercard growing faster than Visa in Americas
Mastercard saw faster growth than Visa in the Americas in 2015 but, with 43%, Visa still has significantly the largest market share, according to research by Retail Banking Research (RBR). According to RBR’s Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2021 study, the number of Mastercard cards grew by 6% in the Americas in 2015, […]
Wipro takes over Brazil’s banking tech and services provider, InfoServer
Wipro has acquired InfoServer, a provider of custom application development and software deployment services to banks, financial institutions and insurance companies in Brazil. India’s IT giant paid BRL 27.6 million ($8.7 million) for the deal.
Tesco Bank suspends online transactions due to cyberattack
UK-based Tesco Bank has revealed that 20,000 of its customers had up to £2,000 stolen from their accounts in a cyberattack. As a result, all online transactions have been frozen for 24 hours until the situation is bank “under full control”, according to Benny Higgins, Tesco Bank’s CEO.
Latin American banks turn to Swift for crime compliance
Eight central banks in Latin America have adopted Swift’s financial crime compliance solutions to combat financial crime. The central banks of Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti and Paraguay, have implemented the solutions, including Swift’s KYC registry and sanctions screening. Some of the banks have also endorsed the adoption of the KYC […]
Argentina’s CSD Caja de Valores joins Swift’s network
Caja de Valores, Argentina’s central securities depository (CSD), is now fully operational directly on the Swift network. All its international transactions are now executed via Swift.
Bancolombia’s Nequi first in Colombia to deploy mobile biometrics
Nequi, a financial mobile banking service from Bancolombia, has become the first in Colombia to deploy mobile biometrics for authentication. The technology – the IdentityX platform – is supplied by US fintech specialist Daon. Users will be asked to provide their biometrics when signing up for Nequi. They will be able to authenticate with a […]
Elo and Discover mark “first” transaction for global network boost
Elo, the “first” 100% Brazilian card brand, conducted its first international transaction in the US on the Discover Global Network. This transaction marks the official acceptance of the Elo Global Card in the US. The cards are issued by Banco do Brasil, Bradesco and Caixa Econômica Federal, and will be used for international purchases and […]
Bancolombia and First Data team up for payments innovation
Bancolombia and US-based First Data have formed a strategic agreement to integrate their technology platforms to “improve and diversify” services for business owners in Colombia. The companies will focus on building e-commerce and business management solutions for merchants as well as improving access to the banking system. First Data and Bancolombia say they will bring […]
Samsung Pay launches in Brazil
Samsung Electronics will roll out Samsung Pay in Brazil tomorrow (19 July), the first market in South America to introduce its mobile payment service. The service will launch with “major issuers” including Banco do Brasil, Brasil Pré-Pagos, Caixa, Porto Seguro and Santander. Additionally, Samsung says it is working with other bank partners including Banrisul, Bradesco, […]
Neon aims to light up banking in Brazil
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 […]
Banco Bradesco to trial blockchain-based digital wallet
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 […]
Three firms win Innotribe’s first Latin America start-up challenge
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 […]
Brazil-based digital bank Banco Original live with new treasury tech
Banco Original, a pure-play digital bank in Brazil has gone live with a new treasury management system, OpenLink’s Findur. The vendor says the implementation was completed in ten months. Findur is the bank’s new cross-asset and treasury solution, integrated with internet banking and handling a range of financial products such as bank certificate of deposit […]
Third time unlucky for Swift as Ecuador bank hacked
Ecuadorian bank Banco del Austro has become the third victim of hacking through the Swift system, with cybercriminals stealing around $9 million. This latest revelation follows a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh; and Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank (TPBank) stopping an attempted wire fraud involving the use of “fraudulent” Swift messages. The Ecuador attack has […]
Swift’s Innotribe looks for best start-ups in Latin America – now open for applications
Swift’s Innotribe Start-up Challenge is to be unveiled in Latin America. The best fintech start-ups will be able to showcase their products at the Swift’s Latin American Regional Conference (LARC) this summer. Get your applications in! This is the first time the Swift innovation arm – Innotribe – has partnered with LARC, which will take […]
Banco Santander selects ATM monitoring service
Banco Santander is to begin using services provided by ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf to support its Mexican subsidiary. The services cover monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting.
Swift expands Innotribe to emerging markets, adds Industry Challenge
Swift’s Innotribe initiative is to expand its programme to support innovation in emerging fintech ecosystems, including Africa and Latin America. It has also announced a new Industry Challenge programme under which the Innotribe team will work with Swift members to identify business areas that could benefit from collaborative solutions.
New exchange BIVA plans conquest of Mexico
A new stock exchange, Bolsa Institucional de Valores, is planning to launch in Mexico, creating competition for Latin America’s second largest stock market, the BMV. The exchange, currently waiting for final regulatory approval, will use Nasdaq’s X-stream trading platform.
Is merging innovative financial technology with credit unions the key to banking the unbanked in Latin America?
Credit unions play a critical role in local economies of countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, serving as a vital savings and credit conduit to vast numbers of people, especially those in the lower rungs of the income pyramid who are in many cases, priced out of the traditional banking system
Wincor Nixdorf targets Brazil retail banking market
ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf is to expand its ATM business in Brazil, following a deal with Brazilian hardware company Perto. The deal comes as the BRIC market expands its retail banking infrastructure to serve the growing middle class of Brazilian society.
Banking at a digital crossroads
The Banking industry is at a digital crossroad as it faces both a wave of technology companies poised to disaggregate every facet of the business and a changing consumer that is increasingly demanding that banks products match the state-of-the-art digital services they are receiving from other industries
Lima Exchange sets sights on LatAm expansion with LSE platform
As Peru rapidly grows its economy, the country’s Bolsa de Valores Lima exchange hopes to turn itself into a regional hub for international investors. To that end, the exchange has gone live with a new trading platform, built by the London Stock Exchange’s MillenniumIT subsidiary.
Appointment: Swift Americas hires markets initiatives director
Swift has hired David Lefferts as managing director, market initiatives for the Americas. Lefferts joins Swift after eight years at Markit, where he held product development, cross-product strategy, and senior business development roles over his eight year tenure.
Brazil capital markets spending set to rise as LatAm surges forward
Brazil’s capital markets IT spend is expected to reach $2.6 billion by 2017 as the country seeks to modernise its financial institutions, improve post-trade processing and integrate with global markets. The transformation creates both challenges and opportunities for foreign financial services companies in Latin America’s largest market, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
