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

Scaling for the next generation with APIs in the cloud

Today’s generation of consumers expect a digital-first experience from their providers. Whether they’re shopping online, streaming content or interacting with financial institutions, anything less than on-demand is no longer acceptable. However, when considering the US, retail banking is not yet fully digital, and customers must still visit a branch to fill out paperwork when opening an account.

16 August 2019

News/startups

Funding Circle hits $10bn lending milestone

Funding Circle, the listed peer-to-peer lender, has reached a cumulative global lending milestone of over $10 billion.

16 August 2019

News/retail

Curve to embark on Crowdcube campaign

Curve, the UK consumer fintech, is set to embark on a seven-figure crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube this coming September.

16 August 2019

News/Non-bank competitors

Tandem Bank leverages Open Banking to offer competitive mortgages

Mobile bank Tandem is developing the UK’s first crowd-designed mortgage for those hoping to get on the property ladder, allowing priced-out consumers to share their personal mortgage must-haves with the digital challenger.

13 August 2019

Company update/inclusion

Accenture encourages women to apply for 2020 Fintech Innovation Lab

Today Accenture opens up applications for its eighth Fintech Innovation Lab London. In addition to the Lab’s overall goal of helping fintechs from all areas and backgrounds to excel, this year Accenture is also aiming to improve the number of female founders taking part in an effort to narrow the gender gap in fintech.

13 August 2019

Company update/retail

Google exec joins N26 as chief banking officer

N26 today announced the appointment of Thomas Grosse as Chief Banking Officer. The newly introduced role is yet another step towards realizing N26’s ambition to become the first truly global and fully digital retail bank. As Chief Banking Officer, Thomas will oversee the set-up of regulated N26 banks and bank partnerships within the N26 Group, thus ensuring the highest standards in product, processes and customer experience across all markets.

13 August 2019

Company update/retail

Australian neobank appoints John Pountain as CTO

Xinja Bank, an independent Australian neobank built from the ground up for mobile, has appointed John Pountain Chief Technology Officer.

13 August 2019

News/Non-bank competitors

Venmo rolls out instant transfers to bank accounts

Hot on the heels of the US Federal Reserve’s real-time payment and settlement system announcement, Venmo has launched a feature that supports instant transfers to US bank accounts.

13 August 2019

News/regulation

Indonesian regulator OJK shuts down 826 fintechs – Bloomberg

The Indonesian Financial Services Authority, known as OJK, has shuttered a staggering 826 fintech startups operating without a license in this year alone, despite the increased appetite for the industry in the Southeast Asian nation.

02 August 2019

News/Non-bank competitors

Circle CEO claims current financial system is 'failing 99% of the time'

Testifying before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Circle co-founder, chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire highlighted that the existing financial services system is in dire need of being completely overhauled.

30 July 2019

News/retail

Taiwan issues three digital banking licences

In a first for the island, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has issued virtual banking licences to three consortiums – the latest development in the battle between Asian internet firms and the region’s legacy banks for a stronghold over consumer finances.

30 July 2019

News/devops

How developers can leverage retail banking open APIs

Developers are now able to tap into the potential of PSD2 and open banking with no prior core banking experience and leverage open APIs to build retail banking applications. Anand Subbaraman, VP and general manager of retail banking, at Finastra believes that the potential for open APIs is limitless, and we are now in the fourth generation of banking.

30 July 2019

Company update/Non-bank competitors

N26 makes mobile transfers available to UK users

N26, Europe’s largest digital bank, has introduced MoneyBeam for its UK users, allowing them to send money instantly to fellow N26 users.

20 June 2019

News/payments

EBAday 2019: A 'Universal' approach to P27 and regional payment areas

Closing EBAday 2019 with a lively debate on what is expected from fully integrated, open-access infrastructures for domestic and cross-border payments, banking executives and technology innovators discuss how regional initiatives fit into the pan-European context, while keeping P27 in mind.

19 June 2019

News/Non-bank competitors

Regulators and politicians respond to Facebook's crypto plans

Regulators, politicians and other crypto players have all responded to yesterday's unveiling of Facebook's Libra project and suggested that the social media giant's digital currency plans may face several challenges.

19 June 2019

News/Non-bank competitors

BoE issues cyber attack warning

Banks would struggle to defend themselves against a state-sponsored cyber attack that corrupted their records over a period of months, according to a Bank of England (BoE) official.

19 June 2019

News/payments

EBAday 2019: Is cashless across Europe attainable?

The message is clear at EBAday 2019: Sweden does not accept cash. While the ABBA Museum may prefer card or mobile payments, Frantz Teissedre, head of interbank relationships at Société Générale, believes that a purely cashless society across Europe may be ambitious.

19 June 2019

News/Non-bank competitors

EBAday 2019: What’s more likely, JPMorganEats or UberPay?

Are Instant Payments and Open Banking a match made in heaven? The resounding answer was yes at an EBAday 2019 session on the current status of real-time payments and open banking initiatives in Europe.

18 June 2019

News/Non-bank competitors

Facebook reveals digital wallet plan

Social media platform Facebook has unveiled further details of its much-anticipated digital currency offering, which it hopes will transform financial services.

18 June 2019

Company update/Non-bank competitors

APAC mobile wallet market to exceed $140bn by 2024 - report

Global APAC Mobile Wallets Market is set to grow from its current market value of more than $35 billion to over $40 billion by 2024; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.

17 June 2019