Latest Innovation News: Finextra Research

Switchless buys South African bitcoin exchange

Switchless, a South African-based outfit which develops bitcoin-related software for financial institutions, has bought local bitcoin exchange BitX. Financial terms were not disclosed.

25 October 2013

News/Innovation

RBA looks to jump-start innovation with new Australian payments body

Frustrated by the slow pace of innovation in the Australian payments industry, the country's central bank has moved to establish a new industry co-ordination body, the Australian Payments Council.

25 October 2013

News/Innovation

ASB taps Google Street View for virtual office tours

New Zealand bank ASB is inviting people to take a virtual tour of its new head office and innovation lab via Google Street View.

25 October 2013

News/Innovation

Funding Circle scores $37m investment for US launch

Funding Circle, a UK-based online marketplace for business loans, has set its sights on the US market after securing a merger deal with local player Endurance Lending Network and closing a $37 million financing round.

24 October 2013

News/Innovation

TransferWise launches money transfer app

UK-based international money transfer start-up TransferWise has launched a free iOS app, enabling users to send money overseas from their phones.

23 October 2013

News/Innovation

Sweden's homeless turn to mPOS as cash payments dry up

Sweden's equivalent of the Big Issue is equipping homeless vendors with mobile phones and chip and PIN card readers from iZettle to accept payments by debit card from passersby.

18 October 2013

News/Innovation

RedBottle demos Google Glass app for buying instore items with bitcoins

An app that lets people use Google Glass to check-out items in high street stores and pay using Bitcoin has been released in the US.

18 October 2013

News/Innovation

BB&T turns to gamification for employee leadership training

US financial institution BB&T has developed a mobile gaming app designed to teach players valuable leadership skills.

18 October 2013

News/Innovation

Sabadell prepares for Google Glass through 'Open Apps' platform

Spain's Banco Sabadell is inviting third party developers to generate fresh ideas for mobile banking through an 'Open Apps' innovation programme, with an ATM location application for Google Glass first off the production line.

17 October 2013

News/Innovation

WestPac NZ preps Sony Smartwatch app

The New Zealand arm of Oz bank WestPac is poised to launch an app for the Sony SmartWatch, enabling customers to check their balances from their wrists.

16 October 2013

News/Innovation

Square launches e-mail P2P payments service

Following an invitation-only test, Square has opened up its free e-mail-based person-to-person payments service, Square Cash, to the American public.

16 October 2013

News/Innovation

Capital One closes commemorative bitcoin coin maker's account

A Texas-based firm that makes privately minted medallions claims that Capital One shut down its merchant account after it began making commemorative bitcoin coins.

14 October 2013

News/Innovation

Money2020 stirs up cashless society debate

While much of the chatter at the Money2020 conference in Las Vegas centred on schemes to eliminate hard cash, former Citibanker Jay Bhattacharya took a contrarian approach, brandishing a newspaper clipping from 1972 that confidently forecast the arrival of a cashless society by the end of the 1970s.

11 October 2013

News/Innovation

Dwolla kills support for bitcoin

Payments firm Dwolla is severing its ties with bitcoin exchanges and services, cutting off a major route for moving funds between the virtual currency and its fiat cousins.

11 October 2013

News/Innovation

Level launches money meter app; raises $5m

With $5 million in funding in the bag, US start-up Level has launched a money meter iOS app aimed at millennials bidding to keep track of their finances.

10 October 2013

News/Innovation

Indian central bank sets up mobile banking committee

The Reserve Bank of India has set up a Technical Committee on Mobile Banking to examine the feasibility of introducing encrypted SMS-based funds transfers across all mobile handsets.

10 October 2013

News/Innovation

UK government creates payments watchdog to boost competition

The UK government is setting up a utilities-style payments regulator in a bid to make it easier and cheaper for new entrants to take on the high street banks.

10 October 2013

News/Innovation

Digital currency trading platform Kraken inks EU deal with Fidor Bank

Payward, the US firm behind digital currency exchange Kraken, has set its eyes on the European market through an exclusive partnership with Germany's Fidor Bank.

09 October 2013

News/Innovation

Wired tablet edition showcases in-app payments from MasterCard

The November tablet edition of Wired is to feature new technology from MasterCard which enables readers to purchase items direct from advertising and editorial pages without leaving the app.

08 October 2013

News/Innovation

Live Blog: World Retail Congress

There is no such thing as a 'one size fits all' customer experience, according to MasterCard. At this year's World Retail Congress in Paris, the card payments processing provider hosted a series of events examining innovation, insights and interaction in the retail payments space.

08 October 2013