Latest Innovation News: Finextra Research

EBAday 2021: Finding European synergy in the transition from Open Banking to Open Finance

Pioneering a defined strategy in 2020, the European Commission outlined its intention to adopt a legislative proposal for a new Open Finance Framework by mid-2022.

09 April 2021

News/people

Fintech billionaires revealed: Who is on the 2021 rich list?

According to Forbes, a new billionaire was minted every 17 hours in 2020.

08 April 2021

News/cloud

How cloud enables banking transformation towards contextual finance

Companies adapting to the new normal brought on by the pandemic have been forced to undergo a digital shift toward contactless payments and a surge in online transactions. As a result, many are looking to Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) to enable innovative financial and payments services that can be embedded into digital apps and products. Further, the deployment of BaaS enables a faster time to market for more personalised propositions.

01 April 2021

News/payments

EBAday 2021: VC investment fuelled European fintech throughout 2020

While total investment across EMEA dropped from $61.5 billion in 2019 to $14.4 billion in 2020, VC investment remained robust, propelling the region to an annual record high of $9.3 billion. Europe saw the majority of the region’s VC investment with $4.8 billion flowing directly into European fintechs throughout the year.

26 March 2021

News/crypto

Cryptocurrency’s complex quest toward building institutional infrastructure

If the normalisation of Bitcoin and crypto-at-large is to be achieved, there are fundamental challenges that this ‘non-analogue’ asset will be faced with. During Citi’s Digital Money Symposium, panellists of the ‘Institutional Infrastructure for Crypto’ session explored the obstacles crypto firms have faced while trying to carve out a footing within the institutional ecosystem.

25 March 2021

Company update/wholesale

SmartStream doubles footprint of innovation lab

SmartStream Technologies, the financial Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM®) solutions provider today announce the expansion of its Innovation Lab, with the recent opening of its new workspace in Mariahilfer Strasse in Vienna, Austria.

16 March 2021

News/payments

EBAday 2021: The road to payments transformation

After the success of EBAday 2020, the event will again run in digital format on 28-30 June 2021 for its sixteenth year, welcoming a host of board directors, chief executive officers and payments and technology heads from Europe’s leading banks.

12 March 2021

News/inclusion

Why a cookie-cutter approach to VC and funding hinders diversity

During the ‘Women in FinTech: Reshaping the Industry’ session at Citi’s Digital Money Symposium 2021, the panel tackled thorny issues surrounding securing funding to startups founded by females and those from minority backgrounds.

09 March 2021

News/inclusion

IWD 2021: No more talking, it's time for action on female representation in fintech

2020 may have been a year of challenge, but it proved that above all else, digital resilience will remain foundational, not only to female financial inclusion, but to female representation across the fintech sector.

08 March 2021

News/sustainable

Fintech’s role in Paris Agreement success and restoration of nature at scale

According to the UNFCCC High-Level Climate Champions and the Marrakech Partnership Climate Action Pathways report published at the end of 2020, certain notable breakthroughs are moving key sectors closer to the 2050 zero emissions goal, in an attempt to avert the impact of climate change.

02 March 2021

Company update/payments

VTB and Gazprom Neft launch blockchain-enabled payments

VTB Bank has implemented a new method of making online payments by connecting to the blockchain platform, Smart Fuel, provided by Gazpromneft-Aero (operator of Gazprom Neft’s aviation refuelling business).

01 March 2021

News/sustainable

F10 and New Energy Nexus unite to nurture green fintech

F10, fintech incubator and accelerator, will collaborate with New Energy Nexus to form the first global green and climate fintech program, bringing decarbonisation of financial services to the cutting edge of innovation.

01 March 2021

News/regulation

The Kalifa Review’s five-point plan to bolster UK Fintech

The long awaited Kalifa Review of UK Fintech has been released, outlining a comprehensive plan to support and bolster the sector’s significant presence across the globe. Led by Ron Kalifa OBE, the in-depth review was launched almost a year ago as a component of Rishi Sunak’s first budget.

26 February 2021

Company update/cloud

Banks to up spending on next generation technologies

Over half of financial services firms worldwide plan to increase their spending over the next two years on next-generation technologies such as AI, blockchain, the Cloud and digital, according to a new study surveying 1,000 global C-suite executives and their direct reports, released today by Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader.

23 February 2021

Company update/retail

Bank of America files record number of patents

Bank of America inventors filed 722 patent applications with the United States Patent Office last year, the most in the company’s history.

19 February 2021

News/wealth

InvestCloud accelerates past $1bn valuation

InvestCloud has completed a recapitalisation that values the wealth platform at $1 billion. As part of the deal, two additional businesses are being rolled into InvestCloud, immediately pushing the valuation of the combined business up over $2 billion.

02 February 2021

Company update/startups

Finastra names Hack to the Future winners

Finastra has named the winners of its annual hackathon: Hack to the Future.

27 January 2021

Company update/people

Aviva appoints chief innovation officer, forms fintech investment partnership with Anthemis

Aviva, the UK’s leading insurer, today announces the appointment of Ben Luckett as Chief Innovation Officer.

21 January 2021

News/crypto

Nordea: No deployment of CBDCs in 2021 but greater clarity is coming

2021 will see further clarity offered on the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) but deployment is still some way off, according to Ville Sointu, head of emerging technology at Nordea.

21 January 2021

Company update/startups

Credit Suisse names Disruptive Technology Recognition winners

Credit Suisse today named five winners of its 2021 Disruptive Technology Recognition (DTR) Program, an annual program that highlights some of the best disruptors of traditional enterprise information technology.

15 January 2021