Latest Innovation News: Finextra Research

Australian government pledges support for Asia-Pacific fintech push

The Australian Government has pledged $150,000 to Sydney-based fintech accelerator Stone & Chalk to champion the nation's startup economy in the Asia-Pacific region.

26 February 2016

News/Innovation

RBC tests distributed ledger for remittances and loyalty programme

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is the latest financial services giant to go public with its distributed ledger progress, confirming that it is working with Ripple on cross-border payments and experimenting with a blockchain-based loyalty platform.

26 February 2016

News/Innovation

Registrations soar for Finextra challenger bank event

Advanced registrations for Finextra's forthcoming NextGen banking event at London’s Level39 in Canary Wharf have topped the 500 mark, as Britain's new wave of challenger banks set out their plans to take on the nation's biggest financial institutions.

26 February 2016

News/Innovation

HK Government goes all in on fintech

Hong Kong's financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah reserved a special mention for fintech in his budget speech on Wednesday, promising to pump cash into the startup ecosystem and create a dedicated space to support up to 150 new financial technology companies over the next five year.

25 February 2016

News/Innovation

Number26 adds in-app access to TransferWise API as startups gang up on banks

The great rebundling of financial services products has begun, as German smartphone-only bank Number26 partners with TransferWise to add direct in-app access to the London-based company's P2P currency exchange platform.

25 February 2016

News/Innovation

Emirates NBD launches global challenge for fintech startups

Middle East banking powerhouse Emirates NBD is inviting fintech startups from around the world to take part in a competition to design digital financial services tools for the chance to win cash prizes.

25 February 2016

News/Innovation

Payments competition body says banks should sell stakes in VocaLink

The UK's Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) says banks should sell their stakes in VocaLink to help increase innovation and competition in the nation's critical payments infrastructure.

25 February 2016

News/Innovation

Oz central banker floats digital dollar; govt sets up fintech advisory group

Australia could introduce a digital version of its dollar, a senior exec at the country's central bank says, although any state-backed digital currency is in the distant future and likely to circulate in parallel with old fashioned notes and coins.

25 February 2016

News/Innovation

500 Startups launches $25m fintech fund

Early-stage venture firm 500 Startups is launching a $25 million fintech fund focussed on investing in startups building "financial services for the rest of us".

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

Stripe cuts red tape for startups entering the US

Payments processor Stripe has launched a service which lets entrepreneurs incorporate a US company, open a bank account and start accepting payments within days, sidestepping the bureaucratic red tape that small companies must navigate when expanding into new markets.

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

Corporate venture investment behind 2015 surge in UK fintech deals

UK investment for financial technology firms increased by 35% to $901 million across 72 deals in 2015, with lower deal volume indicating a trend for larger funding rounds globally, according to statistics compiled by Innovate Finance.

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

FCA to extend Innovation Hub; advance research into blockchain tech

The Financial Conduct Authority has so far had 413 fintech startups apply to its Innovation Hub scheme, providing support and advice to 52% of these budding businesses as they bid to break into the UK's financial technology market.

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

Deutsche Bourse opens up to fintech startups

Deutsche Bourse is to open up its offices to financial technology startups in Germany as part of a Government-sponsored initiative to create a fintech cluster in Frankfurt.

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

Former UKTI man Ben Brabyn appointed head of Level39

Ben Brabyn, former COO of UKTI Innovation Gateway, has been named as the new head of Europe's largest tech accelerater, Level39.

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

Former Simple exec joins BBVA as head of Open API

Shamir Karkal, a former co-founder and CFO of Simple, has joined the neobank's parent company BBVA in a newly-created role as head of Open API.

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

BuyCo.io brings distributed ledgers and smart contracts to procurement marketplace

Collaborative procurement platform BuyCo.io is to use permissioned distributed ledgers and smart contracts to lower the costs of currency conversion and money transmission for buyers on group purchasing marketplaces.

24 February 2016

News/Innovation

JPMorgan tests blockchain for dollar transfers; strikes Starbucks deal

JPMorgan Chase is testing the use of distributed ledger technology to move US dollars between London and Tokyo, working with about 2200 clients on the trial ahead of possible live transactions later in the year.

23 February 2016

News/Innovation

Fed staffers put a downer on mobile payments party

While the crowds at Mobile World Congress in Barcleona lap up the latest innovations in mobile payments and biometric security, party-pooping staff at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta have cast a more sober eye over the potential for mass-market uptake of new-fangled payment methods.

23 February 2016

News/Innovation

Mondaine adds contactless payments to new smart watch

Swiss luxury watch maker Mondaine is to introduce contactless payments capabilities into its latest Helvetica smart watch.

23 February 2016

News/Innovation

Iosco steps up focus on blockchain and robo-advisors

International securities regulators are stepping up their research into the disruptive potential posed by the development of distributed ledgers, robo-advisors and cybersecurity threats.

22 February 2016