Lot’s of payments news stories flying about this month. Unsurprisingly Open Banking is hitting the headlines, a focus on fintech in the UK, innovation and talk of the Kodak moment in financial services. Check out the following top payments news stories for March 2018:
1. Payments News – Cyber Security
- Equifax to notify another 2.4 million US customers that they were affected by the hack
- UK Finance shine a light on payment fraud in the UK, highlighting £236 million was lost through authorised push payment scams (APP or authorised bank transfer scams)
- Mastermind behind the Carbanak and Cobalt malware attacks responsible for €1 billion bank robbery is arrested
- Swiss watchdog Finma reports that cyber attacks pose the biggest risk for banks in 2018
2. Payments News – Mobile Payments
- WorldPay analysis indicates that mobile payments are reaching a tipping point
- MasterCard and the Co-op trial an app that allows shoppers to shop-scan and go by paying in the aisle
- Telenor Group partners with Ant Financial to enable mobile payments and digital financial services in Pakistan
- Nordea launches contactless payments for Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches
- Barlays – bPay partners with 7 watch brands to deliver contactless payments
- Wagamama launches “walk out and pay” with Mastercard
3. Payments News: Blockchain / Digital / Crypto-currencies
- Credit Suisse and ING complete a security lending transaction using R3’s Corda blockchain platform
- Fleetcor and Ripple partner to modernise payments using blockchain
- ‘Japan Bank Consortium’ to launch a mobile app “MoneyTap” which uses Ripple to settle transactions instantly 24-7
- US Judge says cryptocurrencies are commodities
- Coinbase through Barclays gets access to UK’s Faster Payments Scheme
- Financial Stability Board (FSB) publishes letter to G20 setting out the FSB’s priorities, and the need for strong and sustainable growth
- Swiss based Saga Foundation looks to launch non-anonymous, reserve backed, blockchain based digital currency
- China’s central bank governor talks of the development of a digital currency as “inevitable”
4. Payments News: Banks
- RFi Group research shows digital banks are losing appeal over globally
- Deutsche Bank is on Instagram
- BBVA embarks on “invisible payments” strategy
- Bank of America enables its customers to add their credit/debit cards to their Paypal account through the BofA app
- HSBC partners with Paypal to allow corporate customers to make payments to beneficiaries with PayPal accounts
- Barclays online and mobile banking services will be unavailable Saturday 23:30 – Sunday 15:30 in order to meet regulatory requirements
5. Payments News: Fintech
- WSJ reports that Amazon talking to other major US banks with a view to creating a checking account
- Fintech firm TrueLayer links up with Starling Bank to access account data at held by Starling Bank via a secure API
- Revolut introduces Euro direct debits
- Bank of England to establish a Fintech Hub
- Uber Technologies has applied to the Dutch Central Bank for a European Payments processing license
6. Payments News: Europe – SEPA, PSD2, Open Banking
- European Banking Authority (EBA) publish Fintech Roadmap
- Open Banking Europe signs up 30 financial institutions and industry service providers
- EY survey reveals Open Banking is a big opportunity for UK fintechs
- European Commission proposes cheaper cross border payments and improved currency conversions
7. Payments News: SWIFT
- Swift Business Forum takes place in Helsinki
- Swift completes Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Proof of Concept
- Swift Business Forum moves to Toronto, Canada
- Swift launches universal real time payment tracking via gpi Tracker
8. Payments News: Reports
- Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor, speech: The Future of Money
- World Economic Forum – Innovation-Driven Cyber-Risk to Customer Data in Financial Services
- European Commission – Fintech Action Plan
- Bain & Company – Banking’s Amazon Moment
- Andrea Enria, European Banking Authority, speech: Designing a Regulatory and Supervisory Roadmap for FinTech
- UK HM Treasury – Cash and digital payments in the new economy
- Bank for International Settlements – Central bank digital currencies could impact payments, monetary policy and financial stability
- Yes Bank – India Fintech Opportunities Review (IFOR) – read the report here
- BBVA – Can Banks be a threat to Big Tech?
- Financial Conduct Authority – Regulating innovation: a global enterprise
- UK City Minister speaks at Innovate Finance Global Summit
- UK government launches Fintech Sector Strategy or see the summary
- Malaysian Central Bank’s Deputy Governor speaks of the Kodak Moment at the Asian Banker Digital Finance Convention 2018
That’s it folks! Let me know below if I missed anything important…