Below i have recapped what i think are noteworthy Payments News stories in April. Some interesting picks include the Lithuanian chap who scammed both Google and Facebook, JP Morgan leaving R3, various FinTech developments coming from both startups and incumbents and quite a few SWIFT stories. I haven’t had a chance to read all of the indicated reports that were published this month – but there are some interesting looking reads there! Check out the following top payments news stories that caught my eye during April 2017:
1. Payments News – Cyber Security
- Kaspersky Lab researchers outline the lessons learnt from the compromise of a Brazilian bank
- Lloyds partner with Microsoft to deliver facial recognition banking
- Two clued up prisoners conduct an incredible hack!
- BankBot Trojan extends its reach hitting many financial apps
- Google and Facebook fall victim to an email phishing scam
2. Payments News – Mobile Payments
- Android Pay has teamed up with many mobile banking apps
- Ant Financial push mobile payments into Indonesia
3. Payments News: Digital / Crypto-currencies
- BNP Paribas partners with AXA IM to deliver a next generation digital fund distribution platform
- European Commission is laying the foundation for a EU Blockchain Observatory / Forum
- BBVA conducts a a real time international money transfer using Ripple
- Emirates NBD initiates “Cheque chain” leveraging blockchain to allow better customer authenticity and reduce fraud
- JP Morgan leaves R3
4. Payments News: Banks
- Deutsche Bank enables mobile payments via its “Deutsche Bank Mobile” app on to Android devices
- OCBC Bank launches “Emma“, a home and renovation AI powered chatbot
- JP Morgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon releases his annual letter to shareholders
- ECB survey reveals that cash is still the most popular payments method in the euro-area
- FT reports that in the US banks are more popular than fintech companies!
- Bank of England launches its FinTech Accelerator to explore applications of FinTech innovation in central banking
- Bank of Japan deputy governor talks about Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
- BBVA buys OpenPay
5. Payments News: Fintech
- WhatsApp is reportedly going to launch peer to peer payments in India
- Visa and UK banks back Amazon Business in a bid to help corporates streamline expense management
- Amazon launch Amazon Cash
- Facebook Messenger AI assistant will maie several suggestions, including making payments
- UK Chancellor says “Fintech will transform the way we live and do business”
- TransferWise react to Brexit uncertainty and indicate they will move its HQ to mainland Europe by 2019
- Facebook messenger bot attracts Western Union, MoneyGram, MasterCard and Amex
- Orange is planning to launch an online banking service from July 2017
- Fintech startups TransferWise and Revolut talk Brexit
- The Financial and Commodities Ecosystem (FinComEco) launched last week aims to improve farmer livelihoods through an ecosystem initiative
- Canada’s ATB Financial launches Pepper tests to verify the robots ability to assist customers
- CB Insights data highlights a spike in European fintech-startup investment
6. Payments News: SWIFT
- Russia based Kaspersky link North Korea to the SWIFT related hack at Bangladesh’s central bank
- Ripple hires former SWIFT Business Director from the GPI (global payments initiative) group
- SWIFT announce new payment controls to prevent fraud and cyber crime controls
- SWIFT and EasyNets Bureau respond to NSA hack reports
- SWIFT will partner with key global banks to develop a proof of concept test distribute ledger technology to reconcile nostro accounts in real time
- SWIFT Chairman speaks at the SWIFT Business Forum London
- Check ot Finextra’s SWIFT Business Forum live blog
- SWIFT launch several videos on cybersecurity
7. Payments News: Reports
- Citi and Imperial College London report: The March Towards Digital Money: Bringing the Underbanked in from the Cold
- R3 publish: CAD-coin versus Fedcoin
- PwC: Global Fintech Report 2017
- Deloitte: A Tale of 44 Cities – Connecting Global Fintech: Interim Hub Review 2017
- European Central Bank: Technological innovation – Distributed Ledger Technology – challenges and opportunities for financial market infrastructures
- Financial Conduct authority (FCA): Innovating for the future: the next phase of Project Innovate
- Simmons and Simmons: Hyperfinance – Accelerating Digital Innovation in Financial Services
- UN Report – Social Networks Growth of Digital Payment Ecosystems in China: What it Means for Other Countries
- ING – Cashless Society is Coming
- Verizon – Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR)
That’s it folks! Let me know below if I missed anything important…