A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.
Search Payments News
August 2, 2018
On the web
India’s Payments Banks Trip On E-KYC Rules
BloombergQuint
“The Reserve Bank of India has barred at least two payments banks from accepting new customers. The reason, say officials in the know, is the lack of strict compliance with a couple of banking provisions – including not just banking-related Know Your Customer norms but also provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Fino Payments Bank has been barred by the Reserve Bank of India from adding new customers. That’s because some customer accounts were found to have more than the Rs 1 lakh deposit limit permitted to payments banks, said Fino in a statement to BloombergQuint.”
August 1, 2018
Top Post
Online Lenders And Payment Companies Get A Way To Act More Like Banks
The New York Times
“Online lenders and other so-called fintech firms — including the payment processor Square, the online lender Lending Club and the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase — have pressed for regulatory routes that would let them cut through the thicket of state and federal laws that govern financial businesses. Heeding those requests, the Treasury Department released a 222-page report laying out the Trump administration’s view on how nonbank financial companies should be regulated. Hours later, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a national bank regulator, announced a new kind of charter that would potentially free such companies from the state-by-state approvals they currently need to offer loans and other financial products.”
July 26, 2018
On the web
Starling Faces Payment And App Issues, Again
BankingTech
“This is not the first time that Starling experienced similar issues. Just under a month ago, we reported on declined payments for users, which it was understood to be caused by the company it outsources processing to. This company is Global Processing Services (GPS), which provides similar services to many fintech players and challenger banks, including Fire, U Account and Loot. There’s a good chance these issues have the same cause. Some other banks in the UK have also experienced issues with their systems. Earlier this month, the Faster Payments service experienced issues with its central infrastructure, causing delays to payments sent during that time. Not once, but twice.”
July 10, 2018
On the web
N26 Updates Its Web App
TechCrunch
“Fintech startup N26 wants to compete with traditional banks on all fronts. And it means providing a useful web interface to view your past transactions, transfer money and more. Most users likely interact with N26 through the mobile app. But it doesn’t mean web apps are useless. Contrary to Revolut, N26 has had a web interface since day one. It lets you control most things in your account. For instance, you can add a new recipient and send money. You can configure notifications, get a PDF with your IBAN number and download banking statements.”
June 29, 2018
On the wires
Small Businesses Access More Than $1 Billion Of Working Capital During Non-Banking Hours Through Kabbage
PR Newswire
“Kabbage, Inc., a global financial services, technology and data platform serving small businesses, reports its 145,000-plus small business customers accessed over 300,000 loans during non-banking hours, reaching a record total of more than $1 billion in funding. In total, Kabbage has now provided access to more than $5 billion in funding to its customers across America. The non-banking hour analysis illustrates how Kabbage’s fully automated lending solutions remove the age-old hurdle of normal business hours by offering companies 24/7 access to working capital online.”
June 21, 2018
Top Post
SoFi Rolls Out Mobile Checking Account Aimed At Millennials
Tearsheet
“The checking account, which is in beta, is called SoFi Money. It marks an important step for the company that started out as a digital lender seven years ago, then branched out to wealth management, personal loans and mortgages. SoFi is aiming at digitally native millennials; owning deposit relationships keeps customers within SoFi’s ecosystem and lets it cross sell other products.”
June 19, 2018
Top Post
Penta, The Bank Account For SMEs, Adds Multi-Card Support To Manage Expenses
TechCrunch
“Dubbed ‘Team Access,’ the new feature — which affords similar functionality to the likes of Pleo, Spendesk, and Soldo — lets business owners issue multiple MasterCards to employees who need to make purchases on a company’s behalf. Each card is linked to a business’ Penta account but can have custom rules and permissions per card/employee, in terms of how much money can be spent and where. More broadly, the feature is designed to cut down the time and cost of expense management for SMEs.”
June 18, 2018
On the web
Plum, The Fintech Chatbot That Helps You Save, Adds Theme-Based Investing
TechCrunch
“Plum, the fintech startup co-founded by early TransferWise employee Victor Trokoudes, is continuing its mission to help you manage your finances and save money. The AI-powered Messenger chatbot already offers savings functionality, including round-ups and regular savings, and today is launching an investment tool that lets you choose fund investments based on themes, such as ethical companies or technology.”
May 1, 2018
On the web
Banks and Fintechs: Adversaries or Partners?
Knowlege @ Wharton and SWIFT Institute
“Some fintechs will aggressively go it alone and challenge the legacy banks in their most lucrative markets. And recent rule changes in Europe, which force banks to transfer closely guarded customer information to fintechs upon customer request, will add new momentum to the upstarts.”
April 26, 2018
On the web
Digital banking startup Revolut raises $250M at a valuation of $1.7B
TechCrunch
“To put this into context, TransferWise — London’s undisputed fintech darling and on some features a direct competitor to Revolut — recently announced $280 million in Series D investment, giving the company a reported post-money valuation of $1.6 billion. The difference? It took TransferWise seven years compared to Revolut’s three. That’s testament to how much value investors are now placing on bank-disrupting fintech or perhaps signs of a fintech bubble. Or both. It is also worth remembering that these are private valuations with neither company yet to float on the public markets, even if TransferWise looks increasingly a candidate to do so.”
April 25, 2018
On the web
Royal Bank of Scotland takes aim at challengers with digital-only bank
Tearsheet
“RBS is moving in on challenger bank territory. The Royal Bank of Scotland reportedly plans to launch a mobile, digital-only banking platform in a beta testing phase in the third quarter. The experience is being designed as a “marketplace” for financial services that would recommend different financial products to customers, whether they’re from RBS or partner companies, which is similar to what Goldman Sachs’ Marcus and Citibank are planning with their mobile banking apps.”
April 11, 2018
On the web
Tandem adds fixed savings accounts
TechCrunch
“Tandem, the U.K. challenger bank founded by fintech veteran Ricky Knox, has rolled out its second banking product today with the addition of fixed term savings accounts. The new offering enables customers to get a guaranteed interest rate if they deposit their money with Tandem over one, two or three years, and follows the launch of the Tandem credit card in February.”
Payments News
Give us your email address or link to our RSS feed and we’ll push the daily Payments News headlines to you.
Top Stories from Payments News
Glenbrook Payments Boot camp®
Register for the next Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp®
An intensive and comprehensive overview of the payments industry.
Train your Team
Customized, private Payments Boot Camps tailored to meet your team’s unique needs.
OnDemand Modules
Recorded, one-hour videos covering a broad array of payments concepts.
Glenbrook Press
Comprehensive books that detail the systems and innovations shaping the payments industry.