Friday June 15, 2018 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Standard Chartered says it will apply to operate a virtual bank in Hong Kong
Standard Chartered plans to apply for a virtual bank licence in Hong Kong to operate purely online without physical branches.
HSBC chief John Flint promises return to ‘growth mode’
HSBC to invest $15 – $17 billion in ‘growth and technology.’
https://www.ft.com/content/c57d888c-6d55-11e8-852d-d8b934ff5ffa
Wells Fargo in Trouble, USAA Accuses for Patent Infringement
USAA is suing Wells Fargo for violating four of its mobile remote deposit capture patents related to check deposit via mobile devices.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wells-fargo-trouble-usaa-accuses-132401609.html
Citi issues stark warning on automation of bank jobs
Citi’s investment bank has suggested that it will shed up to half of its 20,000 technology and operations staff in the next five years.
PayPal rival Adyen surges 90 percent in IPO with valuation topping $15 billion
Adyen went public with a valuation of nearly $16 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/13/adyen-ipo-shares-rise-on-first-day-of-trade.html
UK launches £2.5bn startup initiative
The UK government is investing £2.5 billion in a broad set of initiatives designed to bolster the fintech sector.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/32246/uk-launches-25bn-startup-initiative
Banks unlikely to process payments with distributed ledgers for now, says Ripple
According to Ripple, scalability and privacy issues are impeding bank adoption of distributed ledgers for cross-border payments.
Bitcoin’s Price Was Artificially Inflated, Fueling Skyrocketing Value, Researchers Say
According to an academic paper, a concentrated campaign of price manipulation may have accounted for at least half of the increase in the price of Bitcoin and other big cryptocurrencies last year.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/technology/bitcoin-price-manipulation.html
Microsoft is developing its own cashierless store technology, report says
Microsoft is working on sensor, camera, and AI technology to support automated payments in a retail environment – similar to Amazon Go.
Alior to launch pan-European digital bank with solarisBank and Raisin
Alior Bank is collaborating with solarisBank, Raisin, and Mastercard to develop a pan-European digital bank.
Thousands of Bank Branches are Closing, Just Not at These Banks
Small banks are opening branches – between 2012 and 2017, 1200 banks have expanded their branch network.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-bank-branch-is-dyingjust-not-at-these-banks-1529055000
BBVA aims to convert half of its customer base to mobile banking within the next year
BBVA has set a target of moving 50% of its customers to app-based services by 2019.
