HSBC looks to become the first major UK based bank to comply with open banking; the bank plans to launch a new app that centralizes information about customers’ accounts; the current plan is set for release in the first week of May and the app will be named Connected Money; HSBC’s UK head of retail banking and wealth management Stuart Haire said the new challenger banks have been have been making progress on customer insight; there is still healthy skepticism about how fast open banking will catch on as incumbents have been slow to comply. Source.
News Roundup
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U.K. based personal financial management app Emma recently launched in December and has struck data sharing deals with Starling Bank and Monzo; the app also works across 17 banks to screen scrape data as the banks work towards compliance with open banking; Emma is a budgeting app that helps customers avoid overdrafts and sees a big opportunity with the open banking regulations; “We’re building a tech company, and we understand that the data [play] goes beyond just overdrafts — it’s about understanding when certain events happen, money can be saved or invested,” said Emma founder and CEO Edoardo Moreni to TearSheet. Source.
- WeChat: the real Beast from the East
- 10 key findings: Sexual harassment in the professional workplace
- Eastern Bank-created fintech Numerated lands two new bank clients
- Asia-based investors are piling into direct lending
- U.S. Fintech FinFit Announces $35 Million Senior Credit Facility With Ares Management
- Start-up to stardom, Bondora turns 10 years old
- Last China P2P Company Delists Domestically, foreseeing New Tide of Listings Abroad
BioCatch is a behavioral biometrics company that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to combat fraud; the company monitors over 5 billion transactions per month and focuses on detection through behavior as opposed to endpoint security; the round was led by Maverick Ventures; American Express Ventures, NexStar Partners, Kreos Capital, CreditEase, OurCrowd, JANVEST Capital and other existing investors also participated in the round. Source
Lend Academy Article: MoneyLion Plus Takes An Innovative Approach to Encourage New Investors to Save
Fintech platform MoneyLion is on a mission to change consumers' behavior when it comes to saving. Source
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is considering creating standards to boost blockchain development; the China Electronics Standardization Institute wants to help form a committee surrounding the issue and try to keep the country ahead of the curve; China has also participated in international efforts on blockchain technology focused on authentication and smart contracts. Source.
Wall Street trading firm TrueEx is launching a derivatives platform for cryptocurrency and they have also entered into a partnership with ConsenSys; the partnership with ConsenSys will focus on building a benchmark for ether; the derivatives marketplace is pending review by the CFTC and is looking to list non-deliverable forward contracts for cryptocurrency. Source.
Conversational AI provider Clinc has launched a new self service platform for banks called Spotlight; Spotlight will help financial institutions train and deploy conversational AI at their firms; the platform is available in more than 80 languages and can be integrated into contact centers, mobile apps, Alexa, Google and Facebook Messenger; they are already working with USAA and Isbank in Turkey. Source.
Banks have started to utilize new technology like AI as a tool to help build efficiency into their processes; one issue that has arisen is regulators questioning whether or not the bank is missing suspicious activity when using new technology; Cathy Bessant, chief operations and technology officer at Bank of America, thinks if the technology is better explained to regulators it could help solve this issue; AI driven providers like ThetaRay, ZestFinance, Merlon Intelligence, QuantVerse and Attivio all have products that can help bring down time spent on malicious activity and better identify issues. Source.
Leaders at the Federal Reserve, the OCC and the CFPB spoke at the Consumer Bankers Association annual conference about the need to be more flexible when applying oversight to bank & fintech partnerships; “We need to do a better job of educating our supervision staff, in some cases, in terms of interpretation of the guidance,” said Dan Quan, who leads the CFPB’s Project Catalyst, as reported by American Banker; they also talked about better coordination to ensure consistency in oversight. Source.