Latest Innovation News: Finextra Research

We are the robots: AI technology shifts into the mainstream

Once the preserve of futurists, artificial intelligence technology is to set to become a routine part of everyday business operations, according to a report from venture capital firm MMC Ventures, in association with Barclays Bank.

05 March 2019

News/retail

Innovate Finance launches Fintech for Schools initiative

UK fintech industry body Innovate Finance has launched a schools initiative as it seeks to inspire the country's next generation of financial technology leaders.

05 March 2019

News/ai

Danske Bank is using AI to predict IT breakdowns before they happen

Danske Bank is using machine learning technology from IBM for prediction and resolution of IT issues, identifying problems in advance before they impact on the customer.

04 March 2019

News/startups

Citi, Goldman Sachs invest in Second Measure

Second Measure, a technology company that analyses billions of everyday purchases to answer real-time questions about consumer behavior, has closed $20 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Goldman Sachs, and joined by Citi Ventures.

04 March 2019

News/Innovation

Banco Sabadell conducts live demo of payment biohack

Spain's Banco Sabadell has been demonstrating the use of implanted NFC chips to authorise payments with a wave of the hand.

01 March 2019

News/payments

European payments chiefs to gather in Stockholm for EBAday2019

A host of board directors, chief financial officers and payments and technology heads from Europe's leading banks have confirmed their participation in the conference programme for the fourteenth annual EBAday, taking place this year in Stockholm between the 18th and 19th June.

01 March 2019

News/Innovation

Mapfre picks the brains of neurologists for 'behavioural' fund

Mapfre AM, the asset management arm of the giant Spanish/LatAm insurer, Mapfre Group, is launching a fund that aims to exploit pricing inefficiencies in European equities caused by the behaviour of market participants.

28 February 2019

News/payments

EC considers regulatory push for TIPS instant payments

The European Commission is pondering a "regulatory push" to encourage adoption of the new TIPS instant payments service and make it a genuine rival to the card schemes and tech giant-built digital wallets.

26 February 2019

News/regulation

Metro, Starling and ClearBank the winners in £280 million RBS bail out award

Metro, Starling and ClearBank have been awarded a combined £280m from the RBS bail out fund, beating off competition from better-known brands TSB, Co-operative Bank and CYBG.

22 February 2019

News/Innovation

Allianz X raises digital investment fund to EUR1 billion

Allianz X, the digital investment unit of German insurance and asset management giant Allianz, is taking a big bet on the tech-driven future of finance, increasing its fund size to a whopping EUR1 billion.

20 February 2019

News/Innovation

Estonia maps out plans to create regulatory sandbox

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is working with Estonia's Ministry of Finance on a technical assistance fintech project to support the creation of a regulatory sandbox in the Baltic state.

19 February 2019

News/Innovation

FSB: Banks should be worried about BigTech not fintech

The Financial Stability Board has warned that banks have more to fear from the competitive impact of Big Tech firms in financial services than the disruptive threat posed by cherry-picking fintech startups.

15 February 2019

News/startups

Rabobank puts EUR80m into tech venture fund

Rabobank is pumping another EUR80 million into its venture fund investing in early-stage fintech and agritech companies.

15 February 2019

News/inclusion

UN report dismisses fintech sandboxes in developing economies

The rise of fintech has the potential to extend the benefits of financial inclusion to millions of people but also poses complex regulatory challenges, says a new UN-backed report which also questions the value of the increasingly popular sandbox approach.

15 February 2019

News/security

CaixaBank rolls out facial recognition at the ATM

CaixaBank is offering customers the opportunity to use facial recognition technology rather than PIN codes to withdraw cash from ATMs.

14 February 2019

News/Innovation

Akamai and MUFG to roll out blockchain-based payment network in 2020

Mitsubishi UFJ has formed a joint venture with Akamai for the roll out of a new blockchain-based online payment network.

13 February 2019

News/startups

VC Finch Capital to invest EUR20m in Irish fintech startups

VC firm Finch Capital has earmarked EUR20 million for investment in Irish fintech-focussed startups after scoring EUR10 million from State agency Enterprise Ireland.

13 February 2019

News/startups

UK retains top three spot for fintech investment

UK fintech investment increased by 18% to $3.3 billion in 2018, retaining the country's top three profile for deal-making behind the US and China.

12 February 2019

News/Innovation

Mastercard seeks good vibrations with new sonic identity

Mastercard is heading to the Grammys and the Brit Awards to debut a new sonic brand identity scored with the help of Mike Shinoda of US rock band Linkin Park.

08 February 2019

News/Innovation

Financial inclusion takes stage at massive blockchain hackathon

Financial inclusion and security will be one of the challenges at what is being billed as the world's largest blockchain and AI hackathon, taking place in the Netherlands this April.

08 February 2019