Payments news stories in April 2016 were dominated by the usual themes – fintech, mobile payments and blockchain technology. And of course, cyber-security continued to concern all players, particularly as details of the SWIFT based cyber-attack at Bangladesh Bank were unveiled. Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and AliPay continue their global deployments and interestingly this month everyone seemed to offer their thoughts on blockchain and various applications. Banks and financial institutions continue to talk about going digital, mobile and real time. Check out the following top payments news stories for April 2016:
1. Payments News – Cyber Security
- Qatar National Bank investigates alleged data breach
- Tangerine Bank in Canada launches a new mobile banking app which utilises biometric eye-scanning and voice authentication technology
- Reuters report on the security weaknesses and vulnerabilities at Bangladesh Bank which led to the SWIFT heist
- The masterminds behind SpyEye malware used to infect over 50million computers are jailed
- IBM X-Force Research reveals detail of the hybrid banking malware (GozNym) that has attacked banks across the US and Canada
- If you’re gonna rob a bank, dont wrap yourself in foil like these guys did in their Banco do Brasil raid
2. Payments News – Mobile Payments
- Turkey goes live with Troy – a national card payments system
- Barclays succumbs and supports Apple Pay
- ANZ Bank brings Apple Pay to Australia
- Xiaomi – the Chinese handset maker – launches Xiaomi Pay in China
- Samsung Pay will arrive in Singapore
3. Payments News: Digital / Crypto-currencies
- IBM launches blockchain services in IBM Cloud
- Matt Hancock (UK Member of Partliament) talks about the digital transaformation and potential applications of blockchain technology for the UK govenment
- ECB Board Member, Yves Mersch, talks about the potential of distributed ledger technology
- The European Digital Currency & Blockchain Forum (EDCAB) at the European Parliament embrace digital currencies and distributed ledger technologies
- The Federal Reserve’s Lael Brainard presents his view on the Use of Distributed Ledger Technologies in Payment, Clearing, and Settlement
- CapGemini looks to recruit 100 blockchain specialists into its blockchain practice within the financial services business unit
- Microsoft and the R3 Consortium hook up to provide cloud-based tools, services and infrastructure to R3 member banks and financial institutions, which they believe will accelerate the use of distributed ledger technologies
- R3 reveals details of a new distributed ledger platform for financial services – R3 Corda – that is currently in progress
- Axoni, DTCC, Markit and major banks successfully test blockchain technology
4. Payments News: Banks
- RBS outline IT challenges will delay the sale of challenger bank Williams & Glyn
- Deustche Bank is going Digital
- DBS Bank launches India’s first mobile-only banks
- Lloyds Bank cuts 625 jobs and shut 21 branches
- RBS to cut 600 jobs and shut 32 (NatWest) branches
- Reserve Bank of New Zealand appoints SIA to implement and support their real time gross settlement system (RTGS)
- Bank of America and Facebook collaborate to connect customers through Facebook’s Messenger App
5. Payments News: Fintech
- Visa opens its first Asian Innovation Centre in Singapore
- Mobey Forum launches Banking Disruption work group
- SkyNews break news of a MasterCard takeover of VocaLink
- Will payments happen via tattoo? Maybe…
- Instant Payments in Europe took a step forward with committment from 40 banks to support/fund the development and implementation
- A BBC radio 4 show about European Unicorns analyses the fall of Powa Technologies
- John Williams from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco expresses his excitement and concerns around fintech
- The EPC launches public consultation for SEPA instant payments
- Amazon Payments competes with PayPal to sign up small businesses
- Meanwhile is MasterCard going to work with Twitter and Facebook…?
- AliPay is coming to Europe
6. Payments News: SWIFT
- Following the Bangladesh Bank heist, SWIFT warns of the threats of malware and the need for customers to safeguard their environments
- SWIFT host the SWIFT London Business Forum – Finextra provide comprehensive coverage
- Switzerland embrace the ISO 20022 messaging standard for interbank messaging
7. Payments News: Reports
- Morgan Stanley release a report – Global Insight: Blockchain in Banking: Disruptive Threat or Tool?
- ANZ review 5 trends for digital success – and they all involve people!
- The World Economic Forum release a paper – Understanding the impact of technology-enabled innovation on financial stability
- SWIFT publish their thoughts on distributed ledger technologies
- The Co-op report – The way we pay – highlights how cash is the king of convenience right now, but contactless payments will soon take over
- Cap Gemini publish their annual World Retail Banking Report 2016
- Symantec unveil their Internet Security Threat Report – highlighting the evolution of the cyber-criminal
- Accenture publish their report of global fintech trends – i think i might have to read this !
That’s it folks! Let me know below if I missed anything important…