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

Santander transforms shuttered branch into 'Work Cafe'

Banco Santander is to launch its 'Work Café' concept in the UK, billed as a community hub offering state-of-the-art banking facilities, free co-working spaces and freshly-brewed artisan coffee.

17 July 2019

News/Branch banking

Santander pips Metro Bank for best savings account

Santander has the most intuitive savings account and ranks fastest for account opening time when compared with nine other leading UK banks, according to Worship’s inaugural Savings Account Audit.

01 July 2019

News/Branch banking

Money 20/20 Europe 2019 Q&A: Rabobank’s Nico Strauss and Signicat’s John Erik Setsaas

Following their panel on why KYC is seen as a necessary evil, Finextra spoke to Nico Strauss, Tribe Lead B2B services at Rabobank and John Erik Setsaas, VP of Identity and Innovation at Signicat about how KYC could be used for social good, why digital identity is crucial for vulnerable groups like migrants and the impact of PSD2.

12 June 2019

News/inclusion

UK banks commit to free access to cash

The UK banking industry is promising to work with local communities to ensure that Brits continue to have free access to cash as the country drifts towards a digital economy.

12 June 2019

News/Branch banking

Sberbank to open pilot branch in McDonald's outlet

Customers of Russia's Sberbank will soon be able to do their banking with a side-order of Big Mac and Fries following a collaboration deal agreed between the state-owned banking entity and the giant US burger chain.

10 June 2019

News/retail

Money 20/20 Europe 2019: How to build a bank

Ronit Ghose, head of global banks research at Citi went hard before Money 20/20 Europe 2019 attendees headed home from Amsterdam and graced the stage to discuss long term strategy for building a bank from scratch.

06 June 2019

News/Branch banking

Credit Agricole sets €15bn tech budget through 2022

French bank Credit Agricole (CA) is set to spend €15 billion on new technology over the next four years as part of its digital transformation.

06 June 2019

News/ai

Money 20/20 Europe 2019: The interplay of AI, cloud, blockchain and quantum computing

On the final day of Money 20/20 Europe 2019 in Amsterdam, Jesse McWaters, financial innovation lead at the World Economic Forum starts the day discussing the interplay of AI, cloud, blockchain and quantum computing, and what happens when it all collides.

05 June 2019

News/Branch banking

Money 20/20 Europe 2019 Q&A: ING’s Benoît Legrand

Benoît Legrand, chief innovation officer at ING, graced the stage at Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam to discuss how the Dutch bank has developed and deployed its own innovation methodology. Ahead of the session, Finextra spoke to Legrand about post-Brexit Amsterdam, where ideas for innovation comes from and what platforms actually are.

05 June 2019

News/Branch banking

Money 20/20 Europe 2019: Is Open Banking a complete fiasco?

On the Industry Transmutation stage at Money 20/20 Europe 2019 in Amsterdam, Dave Birch, global ambassador at Consult Hyperion opens an afternoon of sessions on Open Banking and the potential it has to reshape the way the financial services industry works.

04 June 2019

News/Branch banking

Money 20/20 Europe 2019: The future of B2B banking

What can we expect from the banking industry in 2019? The second day of sessions at Money 20/20 Europe 2019 answers this question, with Drew Graham, director, digital strategy at Barclays, kicking off proceedings with Claire Calmejane, group chief innovation officer at Société Générale, Dr. Leda Glyptis, 11:FS Foundry CEO and chief of staff at 11:FS and Anne Boden, CEO and founder of Starling Bank.

04 June 2019

News/Branch banking

Money 20/20 Europe 2019: Stop innovating, start executing

Money20/20 Europe dives deep into three debates that continue in boardrooms across Europe around the subject of cultural innovation, technology innovation and external innovation.

03 June 2019

News/ai

Emirates NBD taps AWS for AI-enabled bank

Emirates NBD is using Amazon Web Services (AWS) machine learning and data analytics technology to help build a "bank of the future".

30 May 2019

News/Branch banking

As customers go digital, KBC takes humans out of branches

With customers continuing the migration to digital channels, Belgium's KBC is closing some branches and making others unmanned.

17 May 2019

News/Branch banking

Brits wary of new banking tech, despite high demand

Brits expect their banks to deliver the latest technology to them but are less likely to rush to use it, suggests a survey from ING.

15 May 2019

News/retail

Santander to reduce Spanish workforce by 11%

Banco Santander plans to cut 3700 jobs and close 1150 branches in Spain as part of a cost-cutting programme that will also see tech spending ramped up.

14 May 2019

News/Branch banking

MPs say banks should fund shared hubs for personal customers

The UK's Treasury Select Committee says that the country's big banks should be compelled to fund shared hubs to prevent the loss of the 'last bank in town'.

14 May 2019

News/Branch banking

CommBank under pressure to come clean on cost-cutting plans

Commonwealth Bank of Australia is working on a secret plan to cut as many as 12,000 jobs - a quarter of its workforce - in an effort to slash A$2 billion in costs, according to local broadsheet The Australian.

12 April 2019

News/Branch banking

Banks have been the catalyst for Nordic digital identity success

In conversation with Finextra Research, Arkwright’s Frank Wunderlich and Signicat’s John Erik Setsaas discuss their new report which highlights how the Nordic region can now act as a blueprint for digital identity success and how banks are crucial for this positive result.

09 April 2019

News/retail

Money 20/20 Asia Q&A: Barclays’ John Stecher on fintech/banking co-opetition

John Stecher, chief innovation officer at Barclays, joined industry leaders at Money 20/20 Asia in Singapore to discuss the relationship traditional banks have with fintech challengers and technology companies. Ahead of the panel session, Finextra spoke to Stecher about how the ongoing evolution from competition to co-opetition between fintech startups and incumbents, as new players realise that because of a range of different factors, it is difficult to replace incumbent banks.

25 March 2019