Latest Innovation News: Finextra Research

Switzerland gets new fintech accelerator

A Zurich-based accelerator co-founded by a former UBS IT manager is looking to establish Switzerland as a hotbed for fintech innovation.

30 September 2015

News/Innovation

Banks face choice to collaborate or compete as fintech disruption hots up

Up to $1 trillion in profits is in play as the world's banks battle to fend off competition from as many as 12,000 fintech startups globally, according to a report by McKinsey.

30 September 2015

News/Innovation

More global banks back blockchain collaboration plan

An initiative to create a set of global standards for the use of distributed ledger technology in financial markets has picked up momentum, with another 13 major banks - including BofA, Deutsche Bank and HSBC - throwing their weight behind the plan.

29 September 2015

News/Innovation

MBank sponsors three-year degree course in digital banking and finance

The University of Lodz in Poland has welcomed the first 100 graduates to a new degree course in 'Digital Banking and Finance'.

29 September 2015

News/Innovation

Digicash integrates payments and loyalty accounts for mobile top-ups

Shoppers at Luxembourg supermarket chain Auchan will soon be able to top-up their loyalty points at the checkout using bluetooth and NFC beacons, in the latest iteration of the Digicash mobile payments scheme.

29 September 2015

News/Innovation

Iran joins fintech revolution

The fintech revolution continues to spread across the globe, reaching former pariah state Iran in the form of a digital finance conference next month.

28 September 2015

News/Innovation

Finextra Q&A: Jeff Dennes, chief digital officer, BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass has developed a reputation as one of America's most forward-thinking banks. Last year Jeff Dennes joined the team to lead its charge into the digital era. He talks to Finextra about what being a chief digital officer entails and the bank's relationship with the fintech community.

28 September 2015

News/Innovation

Ledge taps Venmo for P2P lending app

US startup Ledge has launched an app that lets people borrow and pay back money from groups of friends and family through Venmo.

25 September 2015

News/Innovation

Contactless payment ring launches on Kickstarter

Former Ukash CEO David Hunter has joined wearable payments startup Kerv as chairman as the firm kicks off a crowdfunding campaign for the launch of its first product, a contactless payments ring.

25 September 2015

News/Innovation

Blockchain and bond market trading win out in BBVA London startup contest

Two London-based fintech start-ups - Everledger, which uses the blockchain to record ownership of valuables, and Origin Markets, a platform which directly connects corporate bond issuers with institutional investors - have won the 2015 BBVA Open Talent Europe final.

24 September 2015

News/Innovation

Swiss fintech incubator Fusion ignites with first intake

Swiss fintech incubator Fusion has selected the first ten startups to join a 12-month accelerator scheme, having ploughed through over 100 applications from aspiring companies working in traditional Swiss strongholds such as asset and wealth management, insurance, and commodity trading.

24 September 2015

News/Innovation

Visa peers into the future of wearable payments with graduate design scheme

Managing loose change digitally, categorising purchases with a simple hand gesture and integrating fashion, social media and payments into a brooch are three of the wearable design concepts to emerge from a collaboration between Visa Europe and Central Saint Martins College in London.

24 September 2015

News/Innovation

Santander's Botin calls for level playing field with new tech rivals

Santander Group chair Ana Botin has called for a level playing field between banks and the raft of new tech firms looking to muscle their way into the financial services industry.

24 September 2015

News/Innovation

BofA files for cryptocurrency-based wire transfer system patent

Bank of America has filed a US patent application for a system and method that uses cryptocurrency technology for wire transfers.

22 September 2015

News/Innovation

Visa rings the changes at London Fashion Week

Visa's promise to weave together the worlds of haute couture and payments at London Fashion Week boiled down to a contactless ring for front row celebrities to buy this season's must-have fashion items straight off the catwalk.

21 September 2015

News/Innovation

Meet the 50-year old millennials

Forget millennials, banks should be focusing their efforts on a new breed of 'digital natives' who transcend age boundaries and have fundamentally different expectations about their financial services needs, according to a study conducted by innovation agency Claro and Anthemis on behalf of six top banks.

21 September 2015

News/Innovation

Mobile-first Monese opens in the UK

Monese, a London-based digital banking service targeting immigrants that have trouble opening accounts with traditional high street players has opened for business in the UK.

21 September 2015

News/Innovation

BofE's Haldane suggests ditching cash for cryptocurrency

The Bank of England's chief economist has floated the prospect of abolishing paper cash and replacing it with a state-backed digital currency as a way of facilitating negative interest rates.

18 September 2015

News/Innovation

AIB enters tech innovation partnership

AIB has entered a five year partnership with Galway City Innovation District (GCID) to support start-ups and tech businesses in the West of Ireland.

18 September 2015

News/Innovation

UK banking revolution begins as Fidor opens for business

Innovative German bank Fidor has opened its doors for business in the UK, beating home-grown challengers from the likes of Atom, Mondo, and Starling to the punch

18 September 2015