Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

Lloyds Bank strikes deal with Enigio to digitise trade finance documentation

Lloyds Bank is to bring blockchain to bear on trade finance documentation, using technology from Swedish firm Enigio to dematerealise promissory notes, bills of exchange and bills of lading.

04 April 2023

News/markets

JPX takes stake in Nomura-led blockchain business Boostry

Japan Exchange Group (JPX) is taking a stake in Nomura-led blockchain project Boostry as part of a deal to push the development of the security token market.

04 April 2023

News/sustainable

SEB and Crédit Agricole launch green-tinged blockchain-based bond platform

SEB and Crédit Agricole CIB are jointly launching so|bond, a sustainable platform for digital bonds built on blockchain technology that rewards participants for improving their environmental footprint.

03 April 2023

News/retail

Blockchain mortgage platform Acre raises £6.5 million

Acre Software, a UK startup using blockchain technology to revamp the mortgage and insurance application process for advisers, has raised £6.5 million from Starling Bank backer Harold McPike alongside returning investors Aviva and Founders Factory.

03 April 2023

News/crypto

Citi Digital Money Symposium: Global standardisation of cryptoassets is critical

Citi’s Digital Money Symposium brought together experts and businesses in the industry to explore trends and future developments in the digital money market.

31 March 2023

News/wholesale

Swift hails results of blockchain pilot for corporate actions data

Interbank co-operative Swift has successfully completed its blockchain-based corporate actions pilot, describing it as a "compelling solution".

24 March 2023

News/crypto

Crypto firm Copper makes job cuts

UK digital asset custody and trading startup Copper is ditching its enterprise business and making job cuts as it faces up to the crypto sector's market and regulatory woes.

17 March 2023

News/crypto

NAB completes cross-border multicurrrency stablecoin pilot

NAB has completed an intra-bank cross-border transaction using its own minted stablecoin.

15 March 2023

News/startups

Fintech deals in Singapore reach record levels

Singapore's fintech sector enjoyed a mixed year in 2022, with a record level of activity but a significant drop in the level of funding, according to recently published data.

03 March 2023

News/crypto

Mastercard partners Immersve on Web3 crypto payments

Mastercard has teamed up with Web3 outfit Immersve to let people in Australia and New Zealand use cryptocurrency directly from their Web3 wallet to make digital, physical and metaverse purchases wherever Mastercard is accepted.

23 February 2023

News/crypto

BIS chief floats unified programmable ledger to turbocharge payments innovation

A unified programmable ledger could unleash an explosion of innovation in payments and money comparable to the arrival of the smartphone, according to Bank for International Settlements general manager Agustín Carstens.

23 February 2023

News/markets

UK provides legal clarity on issuance of digital securities via blockchain

LawtechUK, a government-backed and industry-led group tasked with promoting the use of English law and the UK’s jurisdictions in the context of novel technologies, has determined that the UK legal framework is fit for purpose in relation to the issue of digital securities.

16 February 2023

News/crypto

JP Morgan touts bank-issued deposit tokens

Blockchain-based deposit tokens, rather than stablecoins, could emerge as the foundation for stable digital money, according to a report from JP Morgan and Oliver Wyman.

10 February 2023

News/sustainable

Big banks invest $45m in carbon credit transaction network

A group of nine banks has pumped $45 million into Carbonplace, the global DLT-based carbon credit transaction network they founded that is now becoming an independent entity ahead of its planned launch later this year.

09 February 2023

News/markets

EIB issues its first ever digital bond in pound sterling

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has priced its first ever £50 million digital bond using a combination of private and public blockchains operated and accessed via HSBC's tokenisation platform, Orion.

01 February 2023

News/crypto

NAB mints its own stablecoin

National Australia has become the second of the big four banks to mint its own stablecoin.

19 January 2023

News/crypto

ConsenSys cuts workforce by 11%

Blockchain software engineering firm ConsenSys is laying off 96 staffers - 11% of its workforce - citing the crypto bear market and wider economic environment.

19 January 2023

News/wholesale

ABN Amro registers digital bond on public blockchain

ABN Amro has become the first bank in Europe to register a digital bond for a Midcorp client on the public blockchain.

16 January 2023

News/crypto

Visa explores auto payments for crypto wallets

Researchers at Visa have been investigating how to enable automatic recurring payments for self-custodial crypto wallets.

21 December 2022

News/crypto

UN pilots blockchain-based system for getting aid to people in Ukraine

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is piloting the use of blockchain technology to get digital cash payments to internally displaced people in Ukraine.

20 December 2022