A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...

 
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A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018   www.bankingtech.com

A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE
To the rhythms of fintech
CASE STUDY: MYNT
Telco moves into micro-lending
SPOTLIGHT
AI to the core                                                                                 FINTECH FUTURES
A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
IN THIS ISSUE

   JOIN US FOR THE INDUSTRY’S
     PREMIER SUMMER EVENT
                              13 July 2018
               Silver Sturgeon | A 21st Century River Yacht
                                                                                         Contents
                                                                                         NEWS
                                                                                    04   The latest fintech news from around the globe:
                                                                                         the good, the bad and the ugly.

                                                                                    18   Payments commentary
                                                                                         Learning the B2Cs of e-commerce.

                                                                                    20   Food for thought: tenacity
                                                                                         The least glamorous life skill and the greatest
                                                                                         business asset.

                                                                                    26   Spotlight: cryptocurrencies
                                                                                         IMF’s even-handed approach to crypto-assets.

                                                                                    28   Case study: Mynt
                                                                                         Philippine’s largest telco moves into
   This July we will be recognising excellence in the use of IT in the payment           micro-lending space.
           industry worldwide, and the people who make it happen.
                                                                                    32   Stargazing
   Be a part of the spectacular celebrations! Book a seat or a full table for you        Banks classified as stars.
                     and your colleagues, partners or clients.
                                                                                    34   Mobile banking case study: RBC
    The lunchtime event will take place on a luxurious Silver Sturgeon yacht,            Cutting-edge tech can wait. Tackling everyday
                         embarking from central London.                                  issues customers have.

  What better way to celebrate summer and tech innovation than on a cruise          38   Spotlight
alongside the river Thames, enjoying spectacular views, gourmet food, celebrity          Core components of an AI programme.
host entertainment, company of outstanding industry figureheads and of course
                                                                                    40   Fintech funding round-up
                           the Awards ceremony itself.                                   Who got the dosh and who parted with it.
           We will be delighted to have you on board (pun intended)!
                                                                                         REGULARS
                                                                                    43   Appointments – the movers and the shakers.
                                                                                    43   Industry events – mark your calendars!
                                                                                    44   Out of office – a slice of satire.

   WWW.BANKINGTECH.COM/PAYTECHAWARDS
                   Get in touch to find out more and book your seat:
                                     Alec Gost
                  e: alec.gost@knect365.com, t: +44 (0)207 017 6122
                                     #PayTechAwards                                                        June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 01
A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
News sites can be confusing.
      There is too much going on in the world.
      Sometimes it’s difficult to spot the most
  important topics. Articles drag on and on before                            Managing Director & Editor-in-Chief
                                                                              Tanya Andreasyan
               they get to the point.                                         +44 207 551 9010
                                                                              tanya.andreasyan@knect365.com

           We don’t do that (intentionally).                                  Deputy Editor
                                                                              Antony Peyton
                                                                              +44 207 551 9010
 Every day we’ll send you a digest of the industry’s                          antony.peyton@knect365.com

top news and subjects so you don’t have to search for                         Design & Production Manager
                                                                              Kosh Naran
                updates anywhere else.                                        kaushik.naran@knect365.com

                                                                              Head of Sales

        Sign up to the FinTech Futures
                                                                              Jon Robson

                                                                                                                                                                      Editor’s note
                                                                              +44 203 017 3327

            free daily newsletter –
                                                                              jon.robson@knect365.com

   your go-to resource on all things tech.
                                                                              Business Development Executive
                                                                              Alec Gost
                                                                              +44 207 017 6122
                                                                              alec.gost@knect365.com

                                                                              Marketing Manager
                                                                              Irena Andrisevic                                   This month’s editor’s note comes to you                “However, technology on its own can
                                                                              +44 207 017 5379                                   from the Temenos Community Forum                   help, but it can take you only so far,” he
                                                                              irena.andrisevic@knect365.com
                                                                                                                                 (TCF) in Dublin, the banking tech vendor’s         continued. “On its own, it won’t change
                                                                              Subscriptions and Renewals                         biggest one yet, with nearly 1,500 people          the industry.”
                                                                              Tel: +44 207 017 5533                              from over 100 countries in attendance.                 Change must engulf two more areas in
                                                                              Email: telecoms.enquiries@informa.com
                                                                                                                                      The keynote was delivered by Ireland’s        addition to technology: cultural change
                                                                              Subscription for one year:                         prime minister Leo Varadkar, who stressed          and business model change. These are
                                                                              ■ £495                                             the country’s commitment to the European           “prerequisite” for success going forward.
                                                                              ■ €625
                                                                              ■ $795
                                                                                                                                 Union, free trade and securing a position              “Banks can be better platforms but
                                                                                                                                 as “a leader, not follower” among tech hubs        they also must become challengers
                                                                              Subscription for two years:                        worldwide.                                         themselves,” he suggested. He cited
                                                                              ■ £800
                                                                              ■ €880
                                                                                                                                      He emphasised the importance of               Openbank, Santander’s digital banking
                                                                              ■ $1,000                                           education (“key to transformation”),               subsidiary in Spain as an example (which
                                                                                                                                 digitalisation (which the government fully         is a T24 user).
                                                                                                                                 supports and “leads by example”, he said)              Other big brands engaged in similar
                                                                                                                                 and making sure the innovations benefit the        endeavours are RBS in the UK, which is
                                                                                                                                 people of Ireland (raising living standards,       building a digital bank for less financially
                                                                                                                                 provisioning good jobs, providing a work-          fortunate and savvy customers of its
                                                                                                                                 life balance, improving the infrastructure,        NatWest subsidiary; Virgin Money, which
                                                                                                                                 investing and healthcare and education etc).       is too building its own digital bank; and
                                                                              © Banking Technology 2018
                                                                              All rights reserved; Banking Technology material        The theme of TCF was “digital to the core”    Santander in the UK, which is creating a
                                                                              may not be reproduced in any form without          (clever pun!), and whilst Temenos is known         digital lending platform for SMEs (see p5).
                                                                              the written permission of the publisher.           for its T24 core banking system, its CEO David     Challenge the challengers! bt
                                                                              Banking Technology is published ten times a year   Arnott feels that the company has now
                                                                                                                                 moved beyond the core and is ramping up
                                                                              Address                                            its capabilities in payments, front office and
                                                                              Maple House
                                                                              149 Tottenham Court Road                           anti-money laundering (AML).
                                                                              London W1T 7AD                                          “In software, whoever is the biggest –

                   www.bankingtech.com                                        UK

                                                                              Printer
                                                                                                                                 wins,” Arnott stated in his opening speech.
                                                                                                                                      As for banks, software modernisation –
                                                                                                                                 front-to-back office – is “the future”, he said.
                             @FinTech_Futures                                 Hobbs the Printers Ltd
                                                                              Hampshire, UK                                           “The fundamentals of banking remain           Tanya Andreasyan
                                                                                                                                 unchanged,” Arnott noted. “Deep domain             Editor-in-Chief
       Interested in advertising and marketing opportunities? Get in touch:   ISSN 0266-0865
                                                                              www.bankingtech.com                                expertise and technology are paramount.            Banking Technology
                                   Alec Gost
             Tel: +44 207 017 6122 | Email: alec.gost@knect365.com
                                                                                                                                                                                       June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 03
A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
NEWS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         NEWS

BBVA team unveils Bahrain Benefit-s from national                                                                                                   PayPal to buy iZettle for                                                                            Santander UK to
mobile platform payment system                                                                                                                      $2.2bn ahead of IPO                                                                                  launch financing
in Mexico         Bahrain’s Electronic Network For Financial
                  Transactions (Benefit) has launched a
                                                                                                                                                    PayPal will acquire Stockholm-based small
                                                                                                                                                    business e-commerce platform iZettle for
                                                                                                                                                                                                        and mobile point-of-sale technology with
                                                                                                                                                                                                        PayPal’s global scale, online and mobile
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         platform for SMEs
BBVA has launched in Mexico the “first”           national electronic wallet payment system,                                                        $2.2 billion, giving it a payments boost in         payments leadership”.                            Santander UK says it is working on a
mobile banking platform developed                 BenefitPay, to allow consumers and                                                                Europe and Latin America.                               iZettle was founded in 2010 by Jacob         project “to build an open digital financial
globally by means of a coordinated effort         merchants to transact without the use of                                                             Dan Schulman, president and CEO, PayPal,         de Geer and Magnus Nilsson. It unveiled          services platform for SMEs”.
involving multidisciplinary teams from            cash or cards.                                                                                    says: “This is the largest acquisition in our       the “world’s first” mini chip card reader            The project is part of four so-called
Spain, the US and Mexico.                            User can download an app on their                                                              company’s history and significantly expands         and software for mobile devices. Today,          “speedboats” – innovative ventures within
    The new app is the first built on this        smartphones (iOS/Android) to either                                                               our in-store presence around the world.”            the company’s commerce solutions are             the broader Santander group – announced
global development platform, “unifying            send or accept payments as it attempts                                                               On 8 May, iZettle said it intended to            used by half a million merchants across 12       by the banking group last autumn.
user experience in all countries with             to encourage spending in the national                                                             proceed with an initial public offering (IPO)       countries and two continents.                        It is understood the technology for the
a single design and navigation logic,             economy.                                                                                          and to list its shares on Nasdaq Stockholm.             PayPal says it expects to close the deal     platform will be supplied on a hosted basis
adapted to meet the financial needs of               The BenefitPay app works by using                                                                 And as reported in April, iZettle took on        in the third quarter of 2018, at which time      by Mambu, which already has experience
customers in each geographical area”.             QR code scanning technology. There is a                                                           Square with the launch of its new platform          it will begin its integration plans.             with the UK’s SME banks – OakNorth is its
    BBVA CEO Carlos Torres Vila says the app      one-time step of the addition of the card,                                                        that will allow merchants to sell in-store              Once the acquisition closes, de Geer will    flagship customer in the UK.
is an “example of how a global approach           which is saved. Then a customer scans a                                                           and online.                                         continue to lead iZettle, reporting to PayPal        Banking Technology understands the
blends in with our digitisation process”.         QR code from the merchant app, enters                                                                In the latest deal, Schulman says the            COO Bill Ready.                                  system selection involved a number of
    According to the bank, other benefits         authentication, and the transaction occurs.                                                       combination “brings together iZettle’s in-              There was no word on Nilsson’s fate.         hopefuls, Thought Machine and Temenos
include reutilising different components,            Any customer of a participating bank                                                           store expertise, digital marketing strength                                          Antony Peyton   among them.
which in turn helps shorten time-to-market        can pair their debit card with BenefitPay.           Benefit – aka The Benefit Company                                                                                                                     No comment was available from either
across all geographical areas.                       Participating banks include Ahli United       (TBC) – is the nation’s switch for handling                                                                                                           Santander or Mambu on the bank’s choice
    These developments also “foster               Bank, AlBaraka Islamic Bank, Arab Bank,          ATM and POS transactions, and other              Payments firm Adyen plans €9bn IPO                                                                   of tech.
modularity, allowing the global product           Bahrain Islamic Bank, BMI Bank, Citibank,        services.                                                                                                                                                 “We are excited by opportunity to
to include local particularities”, such as        ICICI Bank, Khaleeji Commercial Bank,                It was established in 1997 with a special    Dutch payments firm Adyen has confirmed                 There was more good news, when it said       help more SMEs to prosper and we
payments by cheque in the US and utility          Kuwait Finance House, Mashreq Bank,              licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain         it’s planning an IPO with the listing of its        processed volumes increased to €108 billion      look forward to sharing more about the
bills in Latin America.                           National Bank of Bahrain, National Bank          as a “provider of ancillary services to the      shares on Euronext Amsterdam.                       in 2017 compared to €66 billion in 2016,         platform soon,” Santander says.
    To support its ambitions, BBVA’s CEO cites    of Kuwait, Standard Chartered, and State         financial sector”.                                    Adyen says the intended offering will          representing year-on-year growth of 63%.
some stats – and says as of the first quarter     Bank of India.                                                                   Antony Peyton    consist of a private placement of existing              In February, eBay gave PayPal the            SPEEDBOATS
of 2018, it had 24 million digital customers,                                                                                                       shares held by the selling shareholders to          boot and turned to Adyen as its primary          The aforementioned innovation
of whom 19.3 million operate using mobile                                                                                                           institutional investors in various jurisdictions,   processing partner.                              “speedboats” are global platforms based
devices. He adds that 37% of total sales are      Deutsche Bank Luxembourg turns to                                                                 including the Netherlands. This will give it a          Adyen’s customer base includes               on a start-up model, led by independent

                                                  Avaloq for core banking tech revamp
generated through digital channels.                                                                                                                 valuation of up to €9 billion.                      Uber, Netflix, Facebook, Spotify, Etsy and       CEOs and sponsored by Santander’s
    Its current 5.7 million digital customers                                                                                                            The selling shareholders intend to sell        Vodafone.                                        country heads.
in Mexico account for 30% of the group’s                                                                                                            approximately 15% of the company’s                      Some of its famous backers include               They are:
total digital customer base.                      Deutsche Bank Luxembourg has                     banking clients and as the EU service            shares in the IPO.                                  cyborg impersonator Mark Zuckerberg                  ■ Super Digital – a digital account
    Eduardo Osuna, VP and CEO of BBVA             implemented Avaloq’s core banking system,        hub for the group’s international wealth              Pieter van der Does, co-founder,               and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey (and Square of         for the unbanked population in Latin
Bancomer, the banking group’s subsidiary          creating “a new, single cash ledger for its      management business. It is one of the            president and CEO, says: “We feel that we           course).                                         America;
in Mexico, says over the next five years,         various businesses”, according to the vendor.    largest foreign banks in Luxembourg              are still in the early stages of a remarkable           As of 31 December 2017, the company              ■ Openbank – a digital challenger bank
it will invest $300 million in platforms,             The new solution, Avaloq adds, will          and classed as a systemically important          journey. Our focus remains on building              had 668 employees globally, with its             initially serving the Spanish market acting
redesign of apps, and new (unspecified)           enable the bank to “to deliver the full          institution in the Grand Duchy. It is directly   new functionality and on helping our                headquarters in Amsterdam, and 14 other          as a blueprint for a new IT architecture.
products and services.                            range of services to clients while reducing      supervised by the European Central Bank          merchants grow. This offering provides              offices in the US (San Francisco, New York),     The bank is now also moving into
    The expansion of this project starts at       complexity, risks, costs, and paving the way     (ECB).                                           us with the freedom to keep building the            Latin America (Mexico City, Sao Paulo),          Argentina. Temenos is proving its T24 core
BBVA Bancomer over the next few months            for future growth”.                                 Luxembourg and Switzerland are the            company, while offering our shareholders a          Asia-Pacific (Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai)       banking solution for Openbank.
and will be extended to Uruguay and Peru,             Deutsche Bank Luxembourg and key             international competence and service             path to liquidity.”                                 and Europe (Paris, London, Manchester,               ■ One Pay FX – Santander’s blockchain-
prior to rolling out across the remaining         affiliate entities of the German banking group   centres in Europe for Deutsche Bank’s                 As part of its explanations, the firm cites    Berlin, Stockholm, Brussels and Madrid).         based international money transfer
countries in BBVA’s footprint.                    in Luxembourg decided to operate from one        cross-border wealth management                   its healthy financial status.                           In 2017, Adyen obtained a banking            service, launched in April for retail
    In March, Alipay, operated by Ant             cash ledger for all of its businesses and have   activities.                                           For the year ended 31 December 2017,           licence in Europe, enabling the company          customers in the UK, Spain, Brazil and
Financial, said it was expanding its footprint    now migrated “in one move” from their legacy        The Swiss operations have already been        Adyen says it generated net revenue of              to offer payment processing services with        Poland. The project is carried out together
in the Americas through a partnership with        tech to Avaloq Banking Suite.                    using Avaloq Banking Suite for a few years,      €218 million, representing 38% growth               direct settlement of funds to merchants          with blockchain tech provider Ripple.
Openpay in Mexico. (In April 2017, BBVA               Deutsche Bank Luxembourg serves              and so have the group’s subsidiaries in          compared to 2016, and adjusted EBITDA               from an Adyen account “instead of having             ■ An open digital financial services
Bancomer acquired Openpay.)                       as the group’s syndicated and bilateral          Hong Kong and Singapore.                         of €99 million, representing an adjusted            to rely on external banking partners”.           platform for SMEs in the UK.
                                  Antony Peyton   lending hub for corporate and investment                                    Tanya Andreasyan      EBITDA margin of 45.5%.                                                            Antony Peyton                                 Tanya Andreasyan

04 | www.bankingtech.com | June 2018                                                                                                                                                                                                                       June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 05
A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
NEWS

ABN Amro profits from digital revamp
ABN Amro has reported a net profit of €595        cross-country scale and enable our strong          Solutions and Finastra.
million for Q1 2018 due to cost savings           North-West European private banking                   The bank also highlighted some of its
through its IT overhaul.                          activities to grow”.                               recent developments.
    The profit is a decrease compared to Q1           Its IT transformation and digital innovation      As reported in March, Moneyou, ABN
2017, when it was €615 million. The bank says     programmes are “progressing well”.                 Amro’s digital banking subsidiary, was
it had a return on equity of 11.5% for Q1 2018,       Dijkhuizen explains: “We continue to           launching its Tikkie mobile payment app in
and its cost/income ratio improved from           execute the transformation plans of our core       the German market.
60.2% to 57.9%.                                   banking systems which we initiated in 2013.           In the same month, it was one of the
    ABN Amro is in the midst of a tech revamp.    We are confident in our current approach           investors in Germany-based Banking-as-a-
    Kees van Dijkhuizen, ABN Amro’s CEO,          where we continuously phase-in further             Service (BaaS) platform, solarisBank, which
says: “In recent years, private banking has       modernisations and we do not intend to             completed a Series B funding sound, raising
moved from a wider geographical footprint         initiate a new core banking replacement.”          €56.6 million.
to a franchise with strong local brands in core       The bank is in the process of standardising       Elsewhere in its financial results, ABN Amro
countries in North-West Europe.”                  its private banking and wealth management          says its net interest income remained “strong”,
    Its Asian activities have been divested       operations on the Temenos T24 platform             benefiting from loan growth especially in
and in February, BGL BNP Paribas revealed         (plus a number of front-end products from          Dutch SMEs and corporate loans. Its market
it was buying all the outstanding shares in       Temenos which form its WealthSuite offering),      share in new mortgage production was
ABN Amro (Luxembourg) and its fully owned         replacing the legacy Olympic core banking          around 20% for this period.
subsidiary ABN Amro Life as the latter sees       system from ERI. The project started in early         However, Dijkhuizen says its impairments
no future for its wealthtech business in the      2015 and is an extension of an existing deal       were “high this quarter due to charges for
country.                                          the bank has with Temenos (a number of its         specialised loans in a few specific sectors”.
    By 2020, Dijkhuizen says it will see          international locations already run T24).             The bank saw an increase in
“harmonised product and service                       ABN Amro is also on customer lists of a        impairments for commercial banking clients
propositions and platforms as well as             host of other core banking tech vendors,           (predominantly healthcare).
standardised processes” that “should drive        including SAP, Infosys Finacle, TCS Financial                                        Antony Peyton

ING unleashes developer portal
ING has opened a developer portal for API         corporate clients and fintechs who want to         new European Payment Services Directive
innovation and to work more closely with          partner with ING.                                  (PSD2).
external developers.                                 “We look forward to increasing choice              The initial simulation APIs offered
   This first version of the portal gives         and value for our customers through a              include account information services,
developers access to selected, simulated          collaborative developer ecosystem,” says           payment initiation, and payment request.
ING APIs they can use to jointly create new       Mark Buitenhek, ING’s global head of                  ING says it will continuously expand
solutions.                                        transaction services.                              the portal’s functionalities and the APIs it
   “In the spirit of open banking”, the              The APIs will be made available in a            offers. No details on that at present.
portal is available to developers from            sandbox for testing – and facilitate the                                           Antony Peyton

Lloyd’s of London launches lab for insurtech innovation
Lloyd’s of London has unveiled its new lab        Lloyd’s market participants”.                      Consulting Group.
as it looks out for insurtech innovation in an        It’s located in Lloyd’s building (i.e. Lime       It is open to applications from
“increasingly digital, data-driven world”.        Street, in London’s main financial district).      entrepreneurs, early and growth stage
    Coming in the second half of 2018 the             Lloyd’s names some specific areas where        companies operating in the insurtech
Lloyd’s Lab will focus predominantly on           it welcomes ideas. These include reduced           space worldwide.
designing technology-driven solutions.            expenses, improved premium retention,                 There are no specifics at present, but
    As you guessed, the lab will enable new       improved claims experience, brand                  participants will receive mentorship and
concepts, ideas and products to be tested         awareness and reduced cost of change.              guidance with the chance to trial and integrate
in a “fast-track, fast-fail environment with          The bank’s partners in the lab are             their technologies, products or solutions.
the support and active involvement of             investment firm L Marks and Boston                                                  Antony Peyton

                                                                                                        June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 07
A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
NEWS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           NEWS

Julius Baer live with Temenos wealthtech                                                                                                               SIA buys First Data European card processing for €375m
Private banking group Julius Baer has                 The project commenced in early 2015,            Asia, which is our second home market,”          Italian paytech vendor SIA will acquire First       Frank Bisignano, chairman and CEO of         White & Case as legal advisor and PWC as
completed the migration to Temenos’               following a lengthy selection process               comments Nic Dreckmann, COO of Julius            Data’s card processing businesses in parts      First Data, adds: “This transaction aligns       tax and accounting due diligence advisor.
WealthSuite platform at its subsidiaries in       to find a new core banking solution                 Baer.                                            of Central and Southeastern Europe for          with our focus on portfolio management.
Hong Kong and Singapore.                          to harmonise the bank’s operations                     “Temenos’ WealthSuite is laying the           €375 million.                                   While these are solid businesses, aspects of     ARRIVEDERCI
    WealthSuite consists of Temenos’ flagship     worldwide. Temenos beat rival Avaloq to             operational and technical foundation                  In 2017, these businesses generated a      their operations are no longer core to our       In May, Arrighetti announced his
core banking system – T24 – at the back           the deal at the final stage.                        for our growth in the region. After last         combined revenue of approximately €100          strategy, and this sale allows us to deploy      resignation for “personal reasons”. He will
office, and a range of front-end applications         T24 replaced ERI’s Olympic core                 year’s integration of the T24 platform in        million for First Data.                         the proceeds to create value in line with        remain in office up to 15 June.
such as portfolio management (which stems         banking system. Incidentally, ERI was               Luxembourg, this is the second major step             According to SIA, this acquisition         our capital allocation priorities.”                 SIA said: “With regret, the chairman
from Odyssey Financial Technologies, a            not part of the selection process at Julius         in our effort to harmonise our IT landscape      provides card processing, card production,          First Data is focusing on its European       and directors accepted the decision
wealthtech vendor acquired by Temenos in          Baer.                                               around the world.”                               call centre and back-office services,           issuer processing business, “primarily” with     taken by Dr. Arrighetti, and expressed to
2010), channels and analytics.                        “We are pleased with the go-live in                                         Tanya Andreasyan     including 13.3 million payment cards,           its VisionPLUS platform.                         him their sincere thanks for the work he
                                                                                                                                                       1.4 billion transactions, in addition to the        The agreement includes the transfer of       has performed during the eight years of
                                                                                                                                                       management of POS terminals and ATMs.           about 1,400 First Data employees into SIA.       his tenure in office, a period which saw
Bank of England’s digital currency pushes ahead                                                                                                             These businesses are primarily located
                                                                                                                                                       in seven countries: Greece, Croatia, Czech
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Neither firms make it clear if this involves
                                                                                                                                                                                                       redundancies.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        SIA constantly grow in size to become a
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        leading player in Europe in infrastructures
The Bank of England (BoE) has unveiled                                              Bank of England   CBDC at commercial banks (“and therefore by      Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and              The deal is expected to close in the third   and innovative payment services.
a cunning plan for its central bank digital                                                           implication at the central bank”).               Slovakia.                                       quarter of 2018 and is subject to normal            “During the same meeting, the board of
currency (CBDC) in its never-ending quest                                                                 Finally, the central bank issues CBDC             Massimo Arrighetti, CEO of SIA, says       closing conditions.                              directors resolved to delegate the powers
for financial stability.                                                                              only against eligible securities (principally    it is “further strengthening its position           Deutsche Bank and K&L Gates were             to deputy CEO of the company, Nicola
    In the bone-dry, 54-page “Staff Working                                                           government securities).                          in the e-payments international market,         respectively financial advisors and counsel      Cordone, who shall take them on at the
Paper No. 725, Central bank digital                                                                       The bank makes it clear that the final two   increasing its market shares in e-money         to First Data on the transaction.                time of Dr. Arrighetti’s departure.”
currencies – design principles and balance                                                            principles imply that households and firms       high-growth countries”.                             HSBC acted as financial advisor to SIA,                                     Antony Peyton
sheet implications”, BoE sets out to explain                                                          can freely trade bank deposits against CBDC
its desires and ambitions.                                                                            in a private market, and that the private
    While it does a lot of analysis, it says it   the risk of a system-wide run from bank             market can freely obtain additional CBDC
“does not currently plan to issue CBDC”.          deposits to CBDC is addressed.”                     from the central bank, at the posted CBDC        Temenos on M&A trail to grow US business
This paper is part of this research agenda.          There are four core principles.                  interest rate and against eligible securities.
    The bank states: “We find that if the            CBDC pays an adjustable interest rate;               That is pretty much it in a nutshell. The    Temenos is keen to make it a success            previously COO) at the start of this year.       an external specialist as being fully US
introduction of CBDC follows a set of core        and CBDC and reserves are distinct, and             rest of the paper explains BoE’s plans and       in the US, and is looking for more                  Mossman says the potential AML               compliant, Mossman adds.
principles, bank funding is not necessarily       not convertible into each other.                    principles, which we’ve just summarised, in      acquisitions to complement its existing         and fraud tech purchases will add                    There are currently two known takers of
reduced, credit and liquidity provision to           Next, BoE says there is no guaranteed, on-       a very Spock-like and logical manner.            offering to the US market.                      to the vendor’s existing compliance              T24 in the US: Ally Financial and Commerce
the private sector need not contract, and         demand convertibility of bank deposits into                                          Antony Peyton       In an interview with Banking                capability, which also came via an               Bank.
                                                                                                                                                       Technology at the recent Temenos                acquisition. Temenos bought Trinovus                 Ally Financial also signed for Temenos
                                                                                                                                                       Community Forum (TCF) in Dublin, Jay            in 2013, which came with a portfolio of          Payments Hub (TPH). The project at Ally
                                                                                                                                                       Mossman, chairman, the vendor’s North           compliance products and 800+ users in            is known to have experienced some
New holding firm Syncapay looks for paytech acquisitions                                                                                               America advisory board, says the areas of       the community banking space.                     difficulties, but is progressing.
                                                                                                                                                       focus are anti-money laundering (AML),              This portfolio continues to be                   At Commerce Bank, T24 will support
A number of venture capital firms                     She is also a long-standing board               investments and support.”                        fraud and wealth management. For the            developed and marketed, Mossman                  customer accounts and deposits.
have joined forces to launch Syncapay,            member and audit committee chairman                    Its first acquisition – Swift Prepaid         latter, trust accounting is especially of       confirms, as well as Akcelerant’s own            Mossman says deposits are “a sweet
a new holding company focused on                  of Cardtronics (the world’s largest ATM             Services – was made late last year.              interest, as it’s specific to the US.           lifecycle solution (used by around 600           spot” for Temenos in the US. The bank
high-potential payments solutions. The            owner/operator) and served as a board                  “Syncapay plans to acquire payments               He adds that the opportunities are          financial institutions in the US). “It is        will be migrating from the legacy Trisyn
backing comes from Bain Capital Ventures,         member of the Network Branded Prepaid               companies with innovative or emerging            ample for these areas as there are plenty       actually exceeding our expectations,” he         core system provided by US-based Infor.
Silversmith Capital Partners, MissionOG,          Card Association (NBPCA).                           technology and solutions and leverage            of interesting firms and products.              notes.                                           (Trisyn is a very old system – it was actually
and Nyca Partners.                                    “The US payments industry continues             the many synergies between them to                   Mossman himself joined Temenos as               In the core banking space, Temenos           sunsetted a number of years ago and now
    Syncapay is based in Dallas, Texas.           its rapid growth, but few opportunities             accelerate growth,” the company explains.        a result of an acquisition – his company,       targets top 120 banks and credit                 has less than ten banks left still using it;
Industry veteran Juli Spottiswood is              exist for high-potential companies to                  “The investment focus is on companies         Akcelerant Software, was purchased by           unions in the US (over $10 billion in            among these was Zions, which has now
chairman and CEO. She co-founded                  leverage industry knowledge or shared               that provide, facilitate or issue business-to-   the banking tech vendor in 2015. He             assets). Below that threshold, Temenos           moved to TCS Bancs.)
Parago in the late 1990s, which focused on        services and tackle the market together,”           business (B2B) and business-to-consumer          then became regional CEO for Temenos            is “opportunistic”, Mossman says, i.e.               Cognizant is assisting with the
consumer promotions and incentives tech.          says Spottiswood.                                   (B2C) payments in growth markets around          in North America, and has recently              it has to be a progressive, forward-             implementation at Commerce Bank.
It was acquired by Blackhawk Network                  “The Syncapay vision is to build                the world.”                                      moved to the chairman role.                     looking financial institution to engage              Mossman confirms the project is “fully
for $291 million in 2014, and Spottiswood         a powerhouse portfolio of disruptor                    It intends to house an array of payments          Emily Steele, who also comes from           with Temenos for the T24 core banking            on track” and in line with the original
continued with Backhawk Network until             payment solutions that can accelerate               brands that serve multiple needs.                Akcelerant, was appointed president             system.                                          timelines that “have not been moved”.
2016.                                             growth and success through our                                                    Tanya Andreasyan   of Temenos North America (she was                   T24 has now been certified by                                             Tanya Andreasyan

08 | www.bankingtech.com | June 2018                                                                                                                                                                                                                       June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 09
A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
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                                                      Central Bank of Sri Lanka readies                                                              New SME
                                                      fintech regulatory sandbox                                                                     challenger bank
                                                      The payment and settlement department          without the risk of infringing on regulatory    preps for launch
                                                      of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka is looking    requirements.
                                                      to set up a fintech regulatory sandbox.           The regulator hopes it will help create
                                                          The bank says the rapid growth             “robust and sustainable” innovations
                                                      of fintech innovations in the country          resulting in more efficient financial
                                                      has created “the need to provide an            intermediation, greater financial
                                                      environment that nurtures and promotes         inclusion, and “a less-cash society through
                                                      their advancement whilst maintaining           digitalisation”.
                                                      appropriate regulatory standards”.                The central bank is calling on all
                                                          The objective of the sandbox initiative,   relevant stakeholders involved in fintech
                                                      it adds, is “to encourage and enable           innovations at entrepreneurial, academic,
                                                      fintech initiatives that promote efficiency    investor, government, non-government
As sector experts we are constantly in touch with     and increase access to financial products      and multi-lateral agency levels, including
the best minds in the payments industry.              and services”.                                 banks, and non-bank financial institutions
                                                          The sandbox will provide “a safe space     and incorporated entities to share their
                                                      in a controlled environment” for selected      views on this initiative.
We take time to understand your requirements fully    firms to test their products and services,                                  Tanya Andreasyan
and take the pain out of your recruitment process.

Let us find you the right people to help drive your   KBC in instant payments project
business forward.
                                                      with Temenos                                                                                   Jason Oakley, the former MD of Metro
                                                                                                                                                     Bank, is readying his new SME challenger
                                                      Belgium-based banking group KBC is               Users of EBA’s instant payments system,       bank to enter the extremely crowded UK
                                                      working with Temenos and its Temenos           RT1, will be able to access the platform via    market.
                                                      Payments Hub (TPH) to build instant            SwiftNet Instant, Swift’s instant payments          These are early days but Oakley says
                                                      payments functionality for its clients. The    messaging solution, from November 2018.         its SME banking licence application is
                                                      announcement was made at the Temenos                                                           “going well” and the new entity will be
                                                      Community Forum (TCF), the vendor’s            HIGH AND LOW                                    called Recognise.
                                                      annual event, held this year in Dublin,        TPH is an evolution of Temenos Payments             He says the name is designed to
                                                      Ireland.                                       Solution (TPS), which was originally            “reflect the lack of recognition and
                                                          KBC is already a client of Temenos,        unveiled in 2012 as a joint development         dedication to SMEs from the big banks”
                                                      with its flagship T24 core banking system      between Temenos and ABN Amro. The               and “no relationship, no contact, no
                                                      running at the group’s subsidiaries in         Dutch bank uses the solution for high-          recognition of the vital role they play in
                                                      Ireland and Bulgaria, and the roll-out         value, low-volume payments in the               our economy”.
                                                      underway in Hungary and Slovakia. All          corporate banking space across a number             It seems every new bank has to make
                                                      this is part of a group-wide technology        of European locations.                          a sarcastic reference to the old order.
                                                      transformation at KBC.                             TPS/TPH is now being sold as a                  According to Oakley, who is currently
                                                          TPH will be rolled out across KBC’s        standalone solution, competing with the         the MD of Echo Financial Services, he
                                                      European network of subsidiaries in            offerings from FIS, Finastra and Fiserv.        took Metro’s commercial and mortgages
                                                      Bulgaria, Hungary, Ireland and Slovakia.           Among the known takers are Ally             lending business from £60 million to over
                                                      Belgium and Czech Republic are not in          Financial in the US, and Citco, an              £2.5 billion. He worked at Metro for three
                                                      the scope of this project.                     international group of independent              years.
                                                          KBC is working with other                  financial service providers that specialises        Oakley adds that Recognise aims to be
                                                      participating banks in Belgium and             in corporate, fiduciary, financial and fund     trading under restriction by the middle
                                                      Europe on instant payment capabilities.        management services.                            of next year.
                                                      The go-live is planned for November                The Citco project started in 2015 and           He is also the founder and majority
                                                      2018, in line with the European                also includes the implementation of T24.        shareholder in Acorn to Oaks Financial
                                                      regulations around instant payments and        The new payments hub is set to cover six        Services Limited. This company was set
                                                      the relevant initiatives by pan-European       countries.                                      up in 2008 and offers financial advice.
                                                      industry bodies.                                                            Tanya Andreasyan                                 Antony Peyton

                                                                                                                                                      June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 11
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NEWS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         NEWS

Worldline to acquire SIX Payment Services for €2.3bn                                                                                             Danske Bank Spiir-ed into first fintech investment
Worldline has continued its                                                                              million). It also gets €100 million     Danske Bank has invested “millions” in Danish-    automatically perform reconciliations with a         Lars Malmberg, head of commercial
acquisition spree and will buy                                                                           revenue from financial processing       based budget app Spiir, thus becoming co-         bank”.                                           excellence in group development in Danske
Switzerland-based SIX Payment                                                                            services to about 180 banks and         owner of a fintech company for the first time.        Dankse says the investment in Spiir          Bank, says he sees a potential in Spiir’s work to
Services (SPS), a division of SIX,                                                                       financial institutions, in particular       According to the bank, more than              “supplements” its work to meet the               develop its platform, the Nordic API Gateway.
for €2.3 billion.                                                                                        to the Swiss banking community.         200,000 Danes use Spiir to manage their           requirements of the new Payment Services             In practice, this could mean Danke’s
    The move is part of Worldline’s                                                                          The transaction comprises a         budget, monitor their spending and find           Directive II (PSD2), which obligates banks to    customers could view their accounts with
plan to strengthen its operations                                                                        ten-year commercial contract with       less expensive alternatives for their fixed       make customers’ bank data available to third     other banks, or if they have accounts with
in Europe. SIX will become a 27%                                                                         SIX to deliver a range of processing    expenses.                                         parties.                                         several banks, he says they will soon be able
shareholder of Worldline, with                                                                           services to the Swiss banking               With the investment, of which exact               The bank explains that it is also a step     to view these accounts in its new Danske
Atos retaining a majority stake of                                                                       community.                              details were not disclosed, Danske says it now    towards opening up more for partnerships         Mobile Banking app.
51% in Worldline.                                                                                            In that context, Worldline has      has access to Spiir’s technical platform, which   and making it “simpler and more efficient for        Spiir was founded in 2011 by Mai and
    Thierry Breton, Atos chairman                                                                        undertaken in a related transaction     includes data retrieval from other Nordic         our customers to manage their day-to-day         Gudmundur Hreidarsson for the “purpose of
and CEO, Worldline chairman,                                                                             to become a 20% shareholder in          banks.                                            finances”.                                       making personal budgets both fun and easy
says this means it’s the “perfect long-         billion. Closing is expected at the end of Q4   TWINT (the Swiss bank owned mobile and               Rune Mai, CEO at Spiir, says: “With               In April, it was reported that Sweden-       to understand”. Good luck with that.
term payment partner for the European           2018, and a consolidation as of 1 January       P2P payment scheme and solution) for a           Danske Bank to back us, we now have the           based start-up Minna Technologies’ personal          The two founders are currently CEO
financial industry in these times of deep       2019.                                           €25 million investment, alongside SIX and        opportunity to accelerate the development of      finance management (PFM) solution for            and CTO in the company, respectively, in a
regulatory and digital transformations of           SPS has done numerous cross-border          other banking actors.                            both Spiir and Nordic API Gateway.”               subscription management will be integrated       business which consists of 15 employees and
the sector”.                                    acquisitions in the past, such as Paylife in        Last year, Worldline bought 100% of              He adds, as an example, that consumers        into Danske Bank’s mobile banking app later      is backed by a number of private investors,
    According to Worldline, the acquisition     Austria in 2013, Cetrel in Luxembourg in        the share capital of First Data’s fully owned    benefit via this data deal – “imagine liquidity   in 2018. But Danske says the investment in       including entrepreneur Lars Kolind.
gives it a +30% group revenue increase,         2014, and in 2017 a subsidiary of VÖB-ZVD       subsidiaries in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia       management or accounting solutions that           Spiir “nevertheless stands out”.                                                  Antony Peyton
and a +65% increase in merchant services        in Germany and Aduno, its competitor in         (aka First Data Baltics or FDB) for around
business attaining over €1 billion annual       Switzerland.                                    €73 million, financed by available cash.
revenue. In addition, it makes it “number
one” for payment market positions in
                                                    According to SPS, it will have around
                                                €530 million for its 2019 estimated net
                                                                                                    Also in 2017, Worldline signed a
                                                                                                definitive agreement to acquire 100%
                                                                                                                                                 Nubi turns to Mambu for core banking tech
Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and a          revenue, and currently 1,600 staff. There       of the share capital of Stockholm-based          Nubi, a company in Argentina linked to            domestic SMEs and entrepreneurs who sell         best fit as it has the flexibility, scalability,
“major reinforcement” in Germany.               are no details on what will happen to these     Digital River World Payments (DRWP), an          Banco Comafi, has selected Mambu to               services and products abroad to withdraw         and innovation required for our next
    The transaction is mostly paid in shares    employees.                                      online global payment service provider           underpin its digital services, including          international payments, and deposit them         releases in the local market. Mambu
with a cash component of €0.28 billion              In terms of more stats, 81% of SPS’s        from Digital River.                              online processing of surcharges and               in their local bank account, both in ARS         supports our digital business strategy
valuing SPS at an enterprise value of €2.3      turnover is in merchant services (c. €430                                        Antony Peyton   payments. The vendor will supply its              and USD.                                         in real time as part of our cloud-native,
                                                                                                                                                 cloud-based core banking system to                    “We strive to promote financial              composable API-driven architecture.”
                                                                                                                                                 Nubi.                                             inclusion and democratisation of electronic          Mambu already has a handful of clients
                                                                                                                                                    Nubi provides businesses and                   commerce in Argentina,” states Martin            in Argentina, including Wenance, Banco
Poland is world’s first for banking records on blockchain                                                                                        consumers with prepaid services for               Borchardt, CEO of Nubi.                          Macro and Ualá.
                                                                                                                                                 international purchases and also enables              “To do this, Mambu’s technology is the                                     Tanya Andreasyan
Billon and the Polish Credit Office (Biuro      the financial sector. Our solution will             Billon says this would be “more than
Informacji Kredytowej – BIK), the largest       soon be expanded to include electronic          sufficient for even the largest institutions
credit bureau in Central and Eastern
Europe, will implement blockchain for
                                                delivery with active confirmation and
                                                remote signing of online agreements. It
                                                                                                to move to paperless customer service”.
                                                                                                    The solution has been approved
                                                                                                                                                 Deutsche Bank to cut 7,000 jobs
storage and access to sensitive customer        is also important that the solution meets       following consultation with the Polish           Deutsche Bank is axing more jobs with             its “most significant clients globally”. In      corporate and investment bank of over
information.                                    legal requirements of a durable medium          Office of Competition (UOKiK) and Data           7,000 people set to go from its equities          prime finance, the bank says it will reduce      €100 billion.
    According to Billon, its blockchain         of information, as well as the EU GDPR          Protection Regulator (GIODO), making it          sales and trading business.                       leverage exposure by a quarter, equivalent           Deutsche Bank says it will accelerate
technology will benefit the bureau through      requirements.”                                  one of the “world’s first regtech compliant         As reported in February, the bank said it      to a reduction of approximately €50 billion.     the pace of cost reduction across the
security, integrity and immutability of data.       BIK is owned by various banks active        blockchain solutions”.                           would cut up to 500 investment banking jobs.           “We remain committed to our corporate       organisation. In 2018, as it already
    The GDPR compliant solution                 in Poland – including Pekao, ING, mBank,            In April, Billon partnered with Igoria          In the latest cull, its global headcount       and investment bank and our international        announced, the bank envisages adjusted
guarantees “total visibility, trackable         Santander and Citi. It tracks nearly 140        Trade to let users make payments in 150          will fall from 97,000 to well below 90,000.       presence – we are unwavering in that,” says      costs not to exceed €23 billion.
history and full data integrity for any         million credit histories of over one million    currencies.                                      There is no information on regions or             Christian Sewing, Deutsche Bank’s chairman           For 2019, the management board plans
client-facing document” including banking       businesses and 24 million people.                   Igoria Trade will provide its IgoriaCard,    breakdowns, but Deutsche Bank says                of the management board. “We are Europe’s        to reduce adjusted costs to €22 billion with
records, loan agreements, insurance claims,         The BIK-Billon partnership saw eight        which uses the Mastercard network to             “associated personnel reductions are              alternative in the international financing and   “no further significant disposals currently
telephone bills and terms and conditions.       Polish banks participating in trials,           deliver an internet transaction system for       underway”.                                        capital markets business. However, we must       planned”.
    Mariusz Cholewa, president of BIK, says:    which established that Billon’s scalable        managing limits, payment history, and               It aims to reduce headcount in                 concentrate on what we truly do well.”               In its latest Q1 results the bank revealed
“Our cooperation with Billon is long-term.      blockchain architecture could publish           enabling currency exchange, in both a            this equities sales and trading area by                According to Deutsche Bank, these           a net income of €120 million, versus €575
We believe that blockchain technology           over 150 million documents every                plastic and virtual form.                        approximately 25%. In cash equities, it will      business reductions will contribute to           million in the prior year period.
will transform client communications in         month.                                                                          Antony Peyton    concentrate on electronic solutions and           a decrease in leverage exposure in the                                             Antony Peyton

12 | www.bankingtech.com | June 2018                                                                                                                                                                                                                    June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 13
A SUBLIME ETERNAL TUNE - To the rhythms of fintech - The definitive source of news and analysis of the global fintech sector | June 2018 - FinTech ...
NEWS

                                                                                Capital One buys digital identity start-up Confyrm
                                                                                Capital One has acquired San Francisco-            Confyrm was founded five years ago           privacy-preserving identity alerts providing
                                                                                based digital identity start-up Confyrm as it   and offers help against online fraud.           detection of digital identity risk. The
                               13 July 2018                                     seeks to capture the market for consumer           According to Nash, identity systems are      system works by providing notifications of
                Silver Sturgeon | A 21st Century River Yacht                    identity services.                              becoming more and more complex as they          suspicious account activity with providers
                                                                                    Financial details were not disclosed,       are progressively more distributed, federated   across the ecosystem.
                                                                                but as part of the deal Andrew Nash,            and outsourced. He says digital identity            Nash has previously worked as director
              ALIGN YOUR BRAND WITH                                             founder and CEO of Confyrm, has become          systems are becoming core to trusted online     of technologies at RSA Security, and
            EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION                                           managing vice-president of Capital One’s
                                                                                consumer identity services. No word on
                                                                                                                                transactions for governments, companies and
                                                                                                                                consumers alike.
                                                                                                                                                                                served on the boards of the Open ID
                                                                                                                                                                                Foundation, Open Identity eXchange, and
                                                                                what happens to the rest of the staff.             Confyrm works by sharing security            the Information Card Foundation.
    EXPLORE SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES                                               Nash says: “Start-ups are formed for        alerts using “privacy enhancing”                    Capital One is staying active in the
         WITH PAYTECH AWARDS 2018                                               many reasons – sometimes it is because
                                                                                there is a challenge that needs to be
                                                                                                                                distribution methods to “increase safety
                                                                                                                                while avoiding impacting privacy or brand
                                                                                                                                                                                fintech space. Back in March, it was
                                                                                                                                                                                reported that Amazon was talking to JP
                                                                                tackled, and it requires a scrappy little       trust”.                                         Morgan Chase and Capital One about a
                                                                                start-up to prove that we can make a               The firm offers its Confyrm Event            checking account-like product.
Take a step further and raise your brand’s awareness with PayTech Awards!       difference.”                                    Warning System, a platform of shared                                             Antony Peyton
A great opportunity to make headlines and position your brand in front of
industry leaders:
                                                                                Deutsche Bank buys Indian start-up Quantiguous
 Access an engaged audience of the senior executives in the paytech community
                                                                                Deutsche Bank has acquired Quantiguous          Bank’s transaction banking platforms and        out of the transaction bank’s global API
 Benefit from our extensive marketing programme                                 Solutions, a Mumbai-based software              services.                                       programme.
                                                                                company, as it seeks to strengthen its             John Gibbons, Deutsche Bank’s head               The bank and Quantiguous didn’t
 Network with the most influential names in the industry                        transaction banking franchise.                  of global transaction banking, says: “The       disclose the value of the transaction.
                                                                                   With the help of Quantiguous,                injection of this high-quality talent pool          In a separate development, Deutsche
 Present the award category of your choice and hand over the trophy to          the bank says it will accelerate the            from Quantiguous into the bank’s digital        Bank recently teamed up with the
 a deserving winner                                                             development of its open banking                 franchise will help us go to market faster.”    International Air Transport Association
                                                                                platform that forms the core for                   As part of the acquisition, Deutsche         (IATA), the trade association for the world’s
                                                                                developing client applications and              Bank will take over all employees of            airlines, to test “a disruptive new payment
                                                                                connecting corporate clients, fintech           Quantiguous, who will join the core team        model” (see p18).
As a sponsor, you will benefit from:                                            firms and partner companies to Deutsche         responsible for the development and roll-                                         Antony Peyton

 Official awards sponsor status
 Mention on marketing collateral promoting the awards before and                Virgin Money gets £1.6bn takeover offer from CYBG
 after the event                                                                The UK’s Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire          and SME customers a genuine alternative         the second half of this year.
                                                                                Bank (CYBG) has made a takeover bid for         to the large incumbent banks”.                     In addition, 10x Future Technologies,
 Branding on the website along with a dedicated sponsor page
                                                                                Virgin Money, valuing it at £1.6 billon.            Both of them make a lot of noise about      the start-up founded by former Barclays
 Your logo on invitations sent out to attendees                                    If the deal goes ahead, the combined         being “challenger banks”, yet Virgin Money      CEO Antony Jenkins, is building the bank’s
                                                                                entity will have six million personal and       was founded in 1995. It expanded in 2011        core banking platform.
 Branding at the awards evening including ceremony backdrop screen              business customers and a balance sheet of       when it bought the remnants of Northern            CYBG has been a long-standing user
 and event signage                                                              between £60 billion and £70 billion.            Rock for £747 million.                          of Misys’ (now Finastra) Equation core
                                                                                   CYBG says it will keep the Virgin Money          In turn, CYBG is a holding company that     banking system.
                                                                                brand, subject to an agreement with             owns Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank and           There is no word yet on what will
                                                                                Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.                 the app-based bank B. It was formed by          happen to these two different platforms.
                                                                                   Virgin Money has confirmed the               National Australia Bank in February 2016.          By the way, the UK’s Financial Conduct
WWW.BANKINGTECH.COM/PAYTECHAWARDS                                               preliminary approach and its board is “in           On the day of the announcement, Virgin      Authority (FCA) was looking into a 15%
                                                                                the process of reviewing this proposal”. It     Money’s share price rose by 7.7% to 336.6       increase in the value of Virgin Money’s
        Get in touch to find out more about the sponsorship opportunities       adds that there is “no certainty” a formal      pence while shares in CYBG 1% to 321.4          shares, which rose from 271 pence on 27
                                                                                offer will be made.                             pence.                                          April, to close at 312.4 pence on 4 May.
                          or to book your seat at the event:                       CYBG says the two combined                       As reported in February, Virgin Money          The FCA said at the time: “We don’t
                                   Alec Gost                                    businesses “would create the UK’s leading       was moving closer to the launch of its          comment on specific cases.”
                                                                                challenger bank offering both personal          digital bank with beta testing expected in                                     Antony Peyton
                e: alec.gost@knect365.com, t: +44 (0)207 017 6122
                                  #PayTechAwards                                                                                                                                   June 2018 | www.bankingtech.com | 15
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NEWS

                                                                                                                                                                                              M A G A Z I N E

Volt Bank powers up Down Under
Sydney-based Volt Bank has been given
Australia’s first new restricted banking
                                                     example, it is recruiting staff and is calling
                                                     for investors.
                                                                                                           For instance, Weston worked at Barclays,
                                                                                                       while Bunbury was group service executive
                                                                                                                                                                        Attending Sibos in Sydney?
licence and is now working towards                       It doesn’t go into a lot of specifics on      for St. George Bank.
becoming a fully licensed bank.                      its website, just the usual stuff about               By the way, in a separate development,
    Volt joins Xinja and Judo Capital as             “using the latest technology, we’re here to       in May, the 2018-19 Australian budget gave
they all prepare to take on the big four of          challenge the way banking is done!”.              fintech a boost.
ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac. This is all part              However, for its core banking system,             The nation’s government plans to
of the Australian Prudential Regulation              Volt has selected Temenos’ T24.                   introduce open banking reforms from
Authority’s ambition to open up the nation               The bank was founded by Steve Weston          mid-next year. There were also funding
to more innovation and competition.                  (CEO) and Luke Bunbury (deputy CEO),              measures for blockchain, artificial
    Right now, the bank says it is “mobile           who have both worked in banking and               intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
first” and is in the early stages of its life. For   financial services.                                                                Antony Peyton

Indian lending start-up Finwego preps for launch
Chennai-based lendtech start-up Finwego              working for its employer partners.                    This crunches a variety of employment
has won an innovation challenge and is                  The company explains: “Millions of             related data such as length of employment,
readying for launch.                                 lower-middle class customers working              time-in/time-out attendance data, leave
    Shiv Vadivelalagan, co-founder and CEO           for small and medium businesses don’t             pattern, salary increments, bonus payouts
of Finwego, says: “After four fulfilling years       have a decent option for short-term credit        and other performance related variables to
in the US, I’ll be moving back to where I            despite a stable job and a regular salary.        create a picture of the individual.
belong – India – to build a fintech venture,         To solve this problem, Finwego partners               The firm is still in the hiring phase – such
backed by Harvard Innovation Lab.”                   with small and medium businesses and              as looking for a loan operations officer.
    The firm has got some momentum                   uses employment data to underwrite                    Pavee Ramanisankar is the other co-
as it has just won a $25,000 award at the            short-term credit for their employees.”           founder and a “serial entrepreneur” who
Harvard President Innovation Challenge.                 Loan applications are made online and          has owned companies in manufacturing
It was chosen from a “whooping” (maybe               the firm accesses employment data from            and education.
they were noisy, but he probably means               the employer. Finwego says all data and               Vadivelalagan has around eight years of
‘whopping’) 430 applications from across
all nine Harvard schools.
                                                     documents are taken directly from the
                                                     employer.
                                                                                                       experience in payments, microfinance and
                                                                                                       consumer lending.
                                                                                                                                                            Make your
    Lending firms are rapidly springing up
all over India (and the rest of the world) as
                                                        It charges a 2% processing fee on all
                                                     loans and its interest rates range from
                                                                                                           Finwego is the consumer brand of
                                                                                                       Meitrail Financial Services. The latter is an
                                                                                                                                                            voice heard!
bright minds scent money to be made.                 18% to 24%.                                       unlisted private company incorporated on
    Finwego joins this heaving throng and               Finwego says these interest rates are          9 March 2018. The registered office of the           Explore digital and print opportunities
acts as a “financial access platform” that           entirely based on its artificial intelligence     company is also in Chennai.                          with Daily News at Sibos,
provides personal loans to employees                 (AI) powered algorithm.                                                                Antony Peyton   the conference’s flagship and
                                                                                                                                                            only daily publication:
Blockchain firm Zonafide shuts down                                                                                                                         › Interviews and Q&As
UK-based blockchain company Zonafide                 and we cannot afford to wait.”                    updating personal details with a bank.               › Analysis and thought leadership
shut down in May due to ICO costs and the                As reported in February, European IT              Ivo Luijendijk, group industry director data     › Videos

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   See you
unexpected freeze of a major deal.                   services company Atos turned to Zonafide to       analytics, IOT and blockchain at Atos, said in
                                                                                                                                                            › News and announcements

                                                                                                                                                                                                              down
   On Twitter the firm said: “A major                help combat identity theft and cybercrime.        February: “Discussions with Zonafide have
engagement we had expected was put                       The deal would have seen Atos assist their    been greatly appreciated by our clients and          › Advertising

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  under
on hold. With the ICO costs the company              clients in the use of Zonafide’s blockchain-      we have already identified a prospect. I think       › Sponsorship
became insolvent and our personal resources          based technology in “processing life events       this will be a fruitful partnership for both Atos
were expired. Very sad.”                             such as marriage and deaths”. Atos’ clients       and Zonafide.”                                       › And more!
   Banking Technology contacted                      span a lot of industries and sectors, including       Zonafide was founded in 2014. Paul
Zonafide to see if this was a reference to           £3 billion of UK Government contracts.            Worrall, its founder, is also the founder of
the Atos deal. It replied: “Yes, we had an               At that time, Zonafide said its mobile        Interition, a semantic web technology firm for
engagement with a client that used Atos              app helps prevent fraud and cybercrime by         enterprise software.
for BPO. That client has delayed the project         securing activities – such as payments or                                             Antony Peyton

16 | www.bankingtech.com | June 2018
                                                                                                                                                                                               Contact Alec Gost
                                                                                                                                                                             Tel: +44 207 017 6122 | Email: alec.gost@knect365.com
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