Things seem to be hotting up after the summer, with plenty of  Payments News stories. The key themes that jump out most are the various developments in the blockchain space and the digital transformation journey that most banks are talking about. Its getting interesting out there… Check out the following top payments news stories for September 2017:

1. Payments News – Cyber Security

• Equifax breach affects 143 million US customers and the CEO steps down
• ING go live with the itsme app. a joint authentication initiative launched by Belgian Banks
• The Apple iPhone X launches FaceID – it might be super-annoying
• UAE banks collaborate to share cyber security intelligence
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) confirms outsourcing plans amid concerns over cybersecurity

2. Payments News – Mobile Payments

• Zelle launches new mobile payment app competing directly with Venmo, Apple Pay and Square Cash
• Google introduces Tez – mobile payments in India
• HSBC enable payments via a Selfie!
• UK supermarket – Costcutter – trials payments using the vein patterns in your finger – FingoPay!
• MasterCard and Swarovski launch a VR shopping app
• Ant Financial and CK Hutchinson form a JV to deliver a mobile wallet in Hong Kong

3. Payments News: Blockchain / Digital / Crypto-currencies

• China Central Bank bans Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
• World Federation of Exchanges – Blockchain – Challenges in Financial Sector Use
• Blockchain startups R3 and Ripple battle it out
• JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon, describes Bitcoin as a “fraud”
• ZF, UBS and IBM will develop Car eWallet solution – a payments platform for cars based on blockchain
• SBI Ripple takes it’s blockchain solution for cross border payments to South Korea
• AXA launches Fizzy – a blockchain based insurance product
• Commerzbank, Kfw and MEAG complete a transaction via blockchain
• Japanese big banks plan launch of a digital currency, J-Coin
• R3, TradeIX and 12 banks join forces to overhaul open account trade finance
• Dubai Economy signs a MoU with a UK firm to launch a digital currency – emCash

4. Payments News: Banks

• FT reports that a US equity firm is in looking to acquire the Scandinavian payment processor
• JP Morgan awarded stupid patent of the month award for interapp permissions
• Deutsche Bank CEO – John Cryan – warns firm that a “big number” of workers will suffer job losses due to tech
• Citi launch  Citi Bot – the banks chatbot on Facebook Messenger and will respond to customer bank inquiries
• European Union banks shut 48,000 branches since 2008
• JPMorgan invests in Bill.com to eliminate cheque and paper based payments
• ECB launches consultation draft guidesto bank licensing and fintech bank licensing
• BBVA Chief Francisco González speaks about banks ”doing new things that we couldn’t even have imagined with the previous technological infrastructure.”
• BBVA launches Urban Discovery – using big data to analyse card data to draw maps of urban areas
• HSBC launches Beta app and prepares for open banking

5. Payments News: Fintech

• European Union Banks, under pressure from fintech companies, may be able to invest more in software due to a potential EU accounting rule change
• AliPay enables facial recognition payments in Hangzhou, China – including at KFC!
• Square applies for a banking license in the US
• Intel’s €1 billion fine for antitrust behaviour in 2014 will be reviewed – this is being closely watched by other US tech giants
• European Commission to develop reforms that foster fintech and stronger coordination of supervision across the EU
• Timex to enable contactless payments via a Barclaycard bPay chip inside the watch strap
• Singapore based InstaReM to setup their European HQ in Vilnius, Lithuania

6. Payments News: SWIFT

• SWIFT will shine a light on the Canadian Fintech scene at Sibos
• Follow Finextra at Sibos

7. Payments News: Reports

• Verizon - 2017 Payment Security Report
• ACI Worldwide and Aite - Global Consumer Survey: Consumer Trust and Security Perceptions
• Juniper Research - The Future of Blockchain: Key Vertical Opportunities & Deployment Strategies 2017-2022
• EY, HM Treasury, Innovate Finance – UK FinTech Census 2017
• European Central Bank - BOJ/ECB joint research project on distributed ledger technology
• Finextra – How smart is your blockchain?
• Deutsche Bundesbank - Bundesbank sees benefits in blockchain technology
• WorldPay – Key Findings from Worldpay Consumer Behaviour and Payments Report
• WorldPay - Research Reveals Lack of Trust Among Brits for Connected Devices
• Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) -  Discussion note – Reducing the risk of wholesale payments fraud related to endpoint security
• Norman Chan, Chief of Hong Kong Monetary Authority – A New Era of Smart Banking
• Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director – Central Banking and Fintech—A Brave New World?
• JP Morgan – Disrupt, or be disrupted

That’s it folks! Let me know below if I missed anything important…

The post The Big Payments News Stories in September 2017 appeared first on SEPA for Corporates.