- Fiinu, a UK start-up building a ‘blockchain-friendly’ bank, has appointed Andy Briscoe, chair of The Money Advice Service, as chairman. It has also appointed Bank of England and Santander veteran David Hopton as a non-executive director. Fiinu is currently applying for a full UK banking licence.
- First Data has announced a partnership with Asda through which the retail chain will sell corporate gift cards through an Asda branded website powered by First Data’s B2B eCommerce storefront solution
- Monese has announced a collaboration with PrePay Solutions that will enable the launch of an upgraded mobile-only banking account and provide users with a contactless Mastercard and full direct debit functionality. The current account service will be accessible in 20 European countries, in eight languages.
- Challenger banks have warned that they are facing fresh headwinds, with the market becoming crowded and some lenders taking higher risks for lower returns as well as profit margins being squeezed and capital and funding pressures. The rapid growth of consumer credit and a slowdown in the housing sector are further areas of concern highlighted in the Financial Times article
- FCA has reported that there were 89 cyber attacks against banks and lenders in 2016, compared with 5 in 2014. Separately, security firm ThreatMetrix said that the attacks cost consumers an estimated £8bn last year, up 122% on 2015
- ING chief executive, Ralph Hamers, has warned that London would ‘shoot itself in the foot’ if it forced banks based elsewhere in Europe to set up separately capitalised operations in the UK after Brexit.
