Latest Innovation News: Finextra Research

M-payments to hit $1 trillion by 2017; mobile to become main way to pay in UK

International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts worldwide mobile payments will account for $1 trillion in value in 2017, up 124% from the less than $500 billion expected in 2015.

19 August 2015

News/Innovation

Trading game helps FS firms pick job candidates

Wall Street and City firms now have a new tool to help them sift through thousands of job applications: a virtual trading platform that uses social gaming, psychology and machine learning techniques to test candidates' mettle.

19 August 2015

News/Innovation

Bank of England Twitter test scores home run

An American football match in September led to some heart-stopping moments for a Bank of England team tasked with monitoring Twitter for sentiment about a potential bank run in the build up to the Scottish independence referendum.

19 August 2015

News/Innovation

Earthport opens gateway to distributed ledgers with Ripple

UK-based payments network Earthport has opened a distributed ledger gateway for bank clients to process real-time cross border payments via the Ripple protocol.

18 August 2015

News/Innovation

Interac backs Toronto fintech cluster

Toronto's new financial technology cluster has signed up one of the country's biggest fintech players, debit payment group Interac, as a strategic partner.

18 August 2015

News/Innovation

MarketInvoice to broaden access to retail investors with £6 million investment

MarketInvoice, a P2P platform for small business lending, has raised £6 million in its first round of financing as part of an effort to attract retail investors.

17 August 2015

News/Innovation

SIX Group sets up fintech incubator

Swiss financial infrastructure provider SIX Group has set up a fintech incubator to work with startups on evaluating and developing innovative new products and services for the financial services industry.

13 August 2015

News/Innovation

OCC may create innovation unit to help banks compete with fintech firms

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is contemplating setting up a fintech innovation unit to help regulated financial institutions compete on an equal footing with non-bank providers of financial services.

13 August 2015

News/Innovation

UBS taps startup community with Future of Finance Challenge

Giant Swiss bank UBS has launched a global innovation challenge with cash prizes of $300,000 at stake for entrepreneurs, start-ups or growing companies with ideas that could change the way finance works.

12 August 2015

News/Innovation

TD, MasterCard and Nymi pilot heartbeat-authenticated contactless payments

Canada's TD Bank, MasterCard and tech firm Nymi have completed what they claim is the world's first wearable contactless credit card payment to authenticate the user through their heartbeat.

11 August 2015

News/Innovation

Blockchain poised to become banking's biggest disruptor yet - BBVA Compass economists

With dozens of the world's biggest banks already investing heavily in the blockchain, it is just a matter of time before the technology creates far-reaching disruption in the financial services industry, says a new report from BBVA Compass economists.

11 August 2015

News/Innovation

PE fund for African and Asian fintech startups raises $150m

A London-based private equity firm, Apis Partners, has raised $157 million for a new fund focused on fintech startups in Africa and South Asia.

10 August 2015

News/Innovation

Taiwan bank trials face-recognition ATM

Taiwan's CTBC Bank has launched a pilot version of an ATM that uses both facial recognition and finger-vein scanning to verify identity.

10 August 2015

News/Innovation

Credit scoring startup wins BBVA financial inclusion award

A Chilean start-up that allows users to build a credit score based on their history of paying utility bills has won the BBVA Open Talent 2015 Special Financial Inclusion Award.

07 August 2015

News/Innovation

Flip-flops are for startups, not banks; Barclays boss dresses down scruffy staff

While other banks try to emulate the dress-down culture of the tech startup sector, Barclays is going in the reverse direction, banning jeans, t-shirts, trainers and flip-flops at its head office.

07 August 2015

News/Innovation

Floating bank branch sets sail in Indonesia

Indonesia's first floating bank branch has set sail on its maiden voyage, bringing financial services to inhabitants of the some of the country's more remote islands.

07 August 2015

News/Innovation

Silicon Valley Bank acquires startup team to build out API platform

Silicon Valley Bank has hired the team from startup company Standard Treasury to jump start its efforts to build an API-based banking platform.

06 August 2015

News/Innovation

SavingsGlobal, an Amazon for EU savings, raises EUR20 million in funding

SavingGlobal, a German startup that enables savers to access the best deposit rates across Europe, has closed €20 million Series B financing led by Palo Alto-based Ribbit Capital and Index Ventures with participation from Yuri Milner and Tom Stafford, bringing the total amount raised to €30 million.

06 August 2015

News/Innovation

Asic extends Innovation Hub initiative

An 'Innovation Hub' established by Australian financial watchdog Asic to help fintech startups navigate the regulatory landscape is reporting strong demand for its services from budding businesses keen to break into financial services.

06 August 2015

News/Innovation

Visa opens development centre in India; preps new m-payment service

Visa is opening a new technology development centre in Bangalore that will house 1000 staff, as the card scheme prepares for the roll out of a new mobile payment service for the Indian market.

05 August 2015