Investing in Financial Plumbing — Five Degrees and AvidXchange
Two fintech startups that focus on the plumbing of the financial system drew nearly $30 million in separate investments, it was announced this week. Five Degrees of the Netherlands says it raised a...
View ArticleVisa to Acquire CardinalCommerce for Smoother Authentication
Visa is set to acquire e-commerce payment authentication company CardinalCommerce, which provides data to card issuers for increased online transparency, it was announced today. “At Visa our goal is...
View ArticleTech Veteran To Lead Starbucks Into ‘Digital World’
Starbucks is about to get even more digital. The coffee giant announced a major executive shift yesterday: longtime CEO Howard Schultz has stepped down, and will turn his focus to “innovation, design...
View ArticleIn Blockchain News: R3 Releases Corda, Chris Larsen Talks Ripple
Welcome to another crazy week in cryptocurrency! There’s been a lot for blockchain enthusiasts to digest this week, but let’s start with consortium news. The R3CEV blockchain consortium of banks opened...
View ArticleAmazon Go Stores Will Not Have Checkout Counters [VIDEO]
Amazon released a video today promoting its Amazon Go stores and their “Just walk out” technology. Users check in with their apps at the door and then fill their shopping bags and leave. For now there...
View ArticleTop 3 Fintech Rounds:, Lemonade, MoneyLion, KKday
Fintech funding seems to have picked up steam this week, with home-selling platforms, online insurance carriers, personal finance apps, and e-commerce companies all getting a healthy boost of capital....
View ArticleGoogle Gets Festive with #ShopTapReward in UK
Are you getting into the holiday spirit yet? Google certainly is, at least in the U.K. The company unveiled a new holiday-themed campaign this morning: starting today until the end of the year, each...
View ArticleCustomers Don’t Prefer Chatbots Over Humans Yet—But They Will, Says Survey
Consumers aren’t quite at the point where they prefer chatbots to humans—but according to a new study conducted by enterprise software company Aspect, that could very soon change. According to the...
View ArticlePPRO Group, Vantiv Partner on Alternative Global Payments for Merchants
Cross-border payment provider PPRO Group has just partnered with payment processor Vantiv in order to enable U.S. merchants to offer the perfect method of payment for international e-commerce...
View ArticleMeet INV Fintech’s New Class of Startups
INV Fintech, the sister accelerator to this site, is pleased to announce its second class of startups, in its Fall session, which begins this week. The five companies, selected from more than 100...
View ArticleFor Aggregation Service, Lloyds May Use PSD2
Regulation — yes, regulation — appears to pushing European banks to innovation, but perhaps not in ways anticipated by regulators. Lloyds Banking Group is considering an account aggregation service...
View ArticleFiserv, SapientNitro, Kasisto Sponsor Bank Innovation ’17
Fiserv, a leading banking technology company, has signed on as the headline Diamond sponsor of Bank Innovation 2017. Bank Innovation 2017 is this blog’s annual gathering on ideas and opportunities in...
View ArticleChina is the Global Center for Fintech Innovation, says Report
China has outstripped fintech hubs like London, New York, and Silicon Valley, and is now the global leader in financial innovation, according to a new report released by financial service firm EY and...
View ArticleCircle Cedes Bitcoin Trading to Coinbase, Expands Messaging Functions
Still want to buy some bitcoin? It’ll currently cost you about $764, and your options for places to do so are dwindling. The currency exchange service Circle will no longer facilitate the buying and...
View ArticleSquare Virtual Cards Now Work with Apple Pay
Users of Square’s virtual payment cards can now link those cards to their Apple Wallets, expanding the company’s reach in the payments sphere once again—this time with Square Cash leading the way. The...
View ArticleWells Tech Will Move Faster, CEO Says
Wells Fargo has had a rough several month. While the bank is focused on “the hard work that’s necessary to restore trust in Wells Fargo,” it is not planning to slow down on new product launches, Tim...
View ArticleSmart Contracts Have to Grow Up Before Entering Mainstream Financial Services
During this week’s Smart Contracts Symposium in NYC, 250 attendees—including members of the blockchain-trading group the Chamber of Digital Commerce—listened as the potential benefits of the technology...
View Article60% of U.S. Bank Transactions Are Digital, COO Says
U.S. Bank’s transactions are now 60% digital, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Cecere said at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference this week. But that doesn’t mean the Minneapolis-based...
View ArticleKey to Mobile Wallet Adoption: Partnerships, According to Chase
Despite the rapid rollout by many large FIs and retailers, mobile wallet adoption among customers hasn’t gained much traction. So players like JPMorgan Chase chose a different strategy: partner with...
View ArticleBankMobile Partners with Vasco for Safer Mobile Transactions
BankMobile, a mobile-first U.S. bank, has partnered with digital identity security firm Vasco Data Security for more secure mobile transactions through the use of multifactor authentication. BankMobile...
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