Latest Innovation News: Finextra Research

Switzerland begins consultation on new fintech regulations

During its meeting on 1 February 2017, the Federal Council initiated the consultation on amendments to the Banking Act and Banking Ordinance in the fintech area.

01 February 2017

News/Innovation

WaveShades and pay - the latest in contactless wearables

Music lovers too wired to reach for their wallets at upcoming Laneway Festival events in five Australian cities will be able to make payments by simply tapping their sunglasses at the checkout.

01 February 2017

News/Innovation

Liverpool gets its own digital currency

Liverpool has launched its own digital currency using technology from Israeli-based blockchain startup Colu.

01 February 2017

Company update/Innovation

Switzerland kickstarts new accelerator programme

Kickstart Accelerator, one of Europe’s largest multi-corporate, zero-equity technology accelerators and an initiative of digitalswitzerland, has today announced that applications are open to international startups for its second programme, predominantly based out of ewz-Unterwerk Selnau, the old transformer station in centre of Zurich.

01 February 2017

News/Innovation

Is proptech the new fintech? Trussle follows Habito with £4.5 million round

The UK's mortgage broking industry is being revolutionised by a new breed of online price comparison and fulfilment startups, with Trussle the latest to receive backing from a clutch of prominent fintech investors.

01 February 2017

Company update/Innovation

Starbucks debuts voice ordering with Amazon Alexa

Today (January 30), Starbucks is taking the next step toward evolving the digital customer experience by launching voice ordering capabilities within the Starbucks mobile iOS app and the popular Amazon Alexa platform.

31 January 2017

News/Innovation

ING aims to take blockchain experimentation to the next level

Dutch bank ING says it has conducted 27 proofs of concept of the application of blockchain technology in six business areas, including payments, trade finance and working capital solutions, financial markets, bank treasury, lending, and compliance and identity.

31 January 2017

News/Innovation

BNY Mellon backs plan for blockchain IoT protocol

The Bank of New York Mellon is one of several Fortune 500 firms teaming up with a host of distributed ledger technology startups to work on a blockchain-based Internet of Things protocol.

30 January 2017

Company update/Innovation

Abu Dhabi Global Market partners Temenos on Innovation Jam

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial centre in Abu Dhabi, continues to develop the regional FinTech ecosystem by bringing in and supporting initiatives such as the Temenos Innovation Jam event series; taking place in Abu Dhabi at ADGM on March 7th, 2017.

30 January 2017

Company update/Innovation

Dubai Ministry of Finance and IMF to host fintech seminar

As part of its commitment to support innovation within government financial work, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) will organise, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a seminar on finance technology services (FinTech).

30 January 2017

News/Innovation

Former Visa president raises $125m for new fintech fund

Nyca Partners, a fintech startup-focused venture capital firm set up by former Visa president Hans Morris, has raised more than $125 million for its second fund.

27 January 2017

News/Innovation

UK Government to host international fintech conference as Brexit shadow looms

The UK Government is to host an international fintech conference in April in a bid to attract more investment into London's financial technology hub.

27 January 2017

News/Innovation

Lloyds tests augmented reality app for hard-of-hearing

Lloyds Banking Group is trialing a mobile app that scans financial literature and translates it via augmented reality into British Sign Language for hard-of-hearing customers.

27 January 2017

News/Innovation

Scotiabank opens Digital Factory in Toronto

Scotiabank has opened a 70,000 square foot Digital Factory in downtown Toronto which will house 350 digital, design, engineering and agile experts working to improve customer experiences.

27 January 2017

Company update/Innovation

OSC announces fintech advisory committee members

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced today the membership of its new Fintech Advisory Committee (FAC), which will advise OSC staff on developments in the fintech space as well as the unique challenges faced by fintech businesses in the securities industry.

26 January 2017

News/Innovation

Chinese central bank tests digital currency system

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has completed a successful trial run of a digital bank acceptance exchange, moving it closer to becoming the first central bank in the world to research and test its own digital currency, according to media agency Caixin.

26 January 2017

Company update/Innovation

Credit China FinTech enters into US$30 million deal with Bitfury Group

Leveraging Blockchain Technologies to Transform its FinTech Platforms (26 January 2017, Hong Kong) The board of directors (the “Board”) of Credit China Fintech Holdings Limited (“Credit China Fintech” or the “Company”, stock code: 8207) and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) announced today that it has entered into a US$30 million deal with BitFury Group Limited (“BitFury”).

26 January 2017

Finextra TV/Innovation

Banks are waking up to real-time possibilities

Real-time payments in the US are discussed in depth by three industry experts: George Evers, Head of International Product Development, Immediate Payments, VocaLink, Simon Wilson, Sales Director, Immediate Payments, ACI Worldwide, and Steve Ledford, Senior Vice President, Product and Strategy, The Clearing House.

26 January 2017

News/Innovation

China's fintech dragons roar

2016 was the year that China's fintech dragons roared, dominating VC spending while investment in some previously feted leaders in other parts of the world wilted, according to a report from Citi.

26 January 2017

Company update/Innovation

Scotiabank ploughs $1 million into NextAI

As part of its growing leadership in the digital economy, today Scotiabank announced a three-year sponsorship of NextAI to support Canadian youth and entrepreneurship in the growing field of artificial intelligence (AI).

25 January 2017