The Week in Review

The Week in Review

Friday March 9, 2018 –

Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.

Amazon is considering offering something like checking accounts, report says

Amazon is in talks with Chase and Capital One about a checking account product.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amazon-checking-account-20180305-story.html

The New ID Theft: Millions of Credit Applicants Who Don’t Exist

Synthetic-identity fraud is one of the fastest growing forms of identity theft—and the hardest to spot and combat.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-id-theft-thousands-of-credit-applicants-who-dont-exist-1520350404

Citi developing digital-only bank, CFO says

Citigroup is planning to introduce an online bank that will be marketed on a nationwide scale.

https://www.americanbanker.com/news/citi-developing-digital-only-bank-cfo-says

Co-op partners Mastercard to trial in-aisle mobile payments

The Co-op has teamed up with Mastercard to trial a new app at the retailer’s support centre in Manchester ahead of a wider rollout this summer.

https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31776/co-op-partners-mastercard-to-trial-in-aisle-mobile-payments

Ripple develops blockchain-powered payment app with 61 banks to speed up transactions in Japan

Ripple has developed a payment app that settles transactions instantly, in partnership with a consortium of 61 Japanese banks.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/07/ripple-develops-blockchain-payment-app-with-japanese-bank-consortium.html

US looks to loosen Dodd-Frank crisis-era banking rules

The US Senate is poised to loosen banking rules instituted in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43321236

Atom Bank raises £149m from shareholders

Atom Bank receives new investment from BBVA and Toscafund.

https://www.ftadviser.com/investments/2018/03/07/atom-bank-raises-149m-from-shareholders/

Banks Want a Bigger Piece of Your Student Loan

Private lenders are pushing to break up the government’s near-monopoly in the $100 billion-a-year student-loan market.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/banks-look-to-break-governments-hold-on-student-loan-market-1520418600

FinTech: Commission takes action for a more competitive and innovative financial market

The European Commission unveiled an Action Plan on how to harness the opportunities presented by technology-enabled innovation in financial services (FinTech).

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-1403_en.htm

BBVA, Visa and ABN Amro join investment in German fintech group

solarisBank receives funding from BBVA, Visa, and ABN Amro.

https://www.ft.com/content/5f99de8c-22bc-11e8-add1-0e8958b189ea

Swift say blockchain not ready for mainstream use

Swift say that progress is needed before blockchain can handle bank cross-border payments.

https://www.ft.com/content/966f5694-22c6-11e8-ae48-60d3531b7d11

Five banks open up trillion-dollar gold club

The five banks (HSBC, Chase, Scotiabank, UBS, and ICBC Standard) that settle every transaction in London’s $6.8 trillion a year gold market are changing the rules of their clearing house to make it easier for newcomers to join.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/08/five-banks-open-up-trillion-dollar-gold-club.html