It’s Fintech Friday and we’ve got fintech news highlights to keep you ahead of the curve. UK Starling Bank launched mobile banking for small businesses including business accounting and linked invoicing. UK insurer Aviva acquired Robo-investment advisor startup Wealthify.
SalaryFinance which provides employee benefits including salary advance loans raised $52.4 million for business growth. A group of Singapore banks pioneered a new decentralized, interbank payments platform built on blockchain technology. The Drum explores why Apple Pay isn’t taking off.
According to Worldpay research, shoppers are interested in using voice-activated devices but 75% are concerned about getting hacked. Accenture research shows Brits don’t trust social media and banks with personal data. Amazon’s one-click shop and pay patent expired and e-commerce companies are rushing to develop their own.
PwC says 20% of holiday shoppers will pay by mobile phone and 10% will use a smart watch. Deloitte reports online holiday shopping will be up 18 to 21% this 
year and identifies six ways bots will try to commit fraud. Javelin Strategy and Research shows online retailers are spending 8% of annual revenue on fraud management.
UK companies are losing up to $42.5 million on invoicing and payment scams annually. Featurespace, a leading machine learning fraud prevention company, raised $21.6 million for global expansion.
Starling Bank Opens Mobile-Only Business Account
UK challenger Starling Bank is continuing its mobile banking momentum with the launch of business accounts for small businesses and small traders, the bank announced today. Starling’s business banking accounts will include features like business accounting services and linked invoicing, as well as real-time international payments. Starling is part of the real-time Faster Payments network, a service that will also be available to its business account users. Via bankinnovation.net
Orange to launch online banking service on Nov. 2
French telecoms group Orange plans to launch an online banking service on Nov. 2 as it seeks to add another source of revenue to its core services. The move highlights the heightened competition in retail financial services, with mobile telecoms network operators seeing increased smartphone ownership and reduced use of bank branches as an opportunity to compete with traditional lenders. Via reuters.com
Aviva succumbs to allure of robo-advice with Wealthify purchase
UK insurer Aviva has acquired a majority stake in a startup robo-adviser for an undisclosed sum. The purchase goes some way to fulfilling a promise made earlier this year by chief executive Mark Wilson who said: “We want to turn Aviva into a fintech.” The robo-advisor, which offers retail investors access to a number of savings and investment plans for as little as £1, will be integrated into Aviva’s online portal MyAviva, alongside other digital products. Via finextra.com
SalaryFinance Raises £40m ($52.4m) Funding Round
SalaryFinance, a London U.K.-based innovative financial wellbeing employee benefits company, completed a £40m ($52.4m) funding round. The company is using the funds to launch its Financial Wellbeing Hub, a suite of financial education, products and services, and expand internationally. In the last quarter, SalaryFinance has agreed launches with organizations employing over 600,000 staff, including the employees of Legal & General. Via finsmes.com
Singapore consortium claims breakthrough in DLT payments project
A consortium of banks and technology vendors led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have successfully developed software prototypes of three different models for decentralised inter-bank payment and settlements with liquidity savings mechanisms. Via finextra.com
Why isn’t Apple Pay taking off?
Google, Apple, Facebook (GAF)* are all trying to crack mobile selling. Recently there have been reports of cash disappearing in Chinese cities as people use their phones to pay for everything. Every few months there’s a new attempt to get us to save our card payment details on our phones. Via thedrum.com
Shoppers use voice-activated devices, but worry about their privacy and security
Just because shoppers are using those devices that feature digital assistants doesn’t necessarily mean they trust them. 75% of consumers in a study conducted by payment processing vendor Worldpay in conjunction with market research consultancy Opinium, say they’re concerned that such a device could get hacked, and 51% say they’re uncomfortable sharing their personal information with a voice-connected personal assistant or a chatbot. Via digitalcommerce360.com
Brits don’t trust retailers and social media platforms with personal data
As the revised Payments Service Directive (PSD2) nears, research from Accenture suggests that banks still have a strong trust advantage over third-party providers, with a clear majority of Brits unwilling to share their financial data with the likes of retailers and social media platforms. Via finextra.com
E-commerce platforms rush to develop their own one-click ordering tools
One-click online ordering may soon become a lot more common. Amazon.com Inc. had held a patent on the technology, which stores a shopper’s preferred payment and shipping information to enable a shopper to complete a purchase with a single click. Since 1997, Amazon, No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500, has been one of two major retailers to offer the service. Via digitalcommerce360.com
Consumer markets 2017 Holiday Outlook: PwC
Almost 90% of consumers are shopping in store this holiday. Almost 20% of consumers told us they will use their smartphone to pay for in-store purchases this holiday season while close to 10% will use a wearable device such as a smartwatch. Uptake for young consumers aged 13-16, who’ve grown up around smartphones and wearable devices, is higher — at close to 30% for in-store smartphone payment and almost 15% via smartwatch. Via pwc.com
Six ways bots will attack e‑commerce sites this holiday season
E-commerce sales during the holiday season are expected to ring up healthy 18 to 21 percent gains over last year and could peak at $114 billion, according to Deloitte. Few online retailers have adequate anti-bot protection. Malicious bots have already hit online retail hard. Taking just one area, the Association of National Advertisers estimates that digital advertising fraud by bots will surpass $6.5 billion this year. Via digitalcommerce360.com
Costs of managing online fraud increases to 8% of retailer’s annual revenue
Online retailers are spending 8.0% of their annual revenue to prevent and manage fraud, according to a new study from research consulting firm Javelin Strategy and Research LLC. The study “2017 Financial Impact of Fraud Study,” which fraud and payment provider Vesta Corp. sponsored, surveyed 497 e-commerce merchants that generated $1 million or more in annual sales within the past 12 months. Of these e-retailers, 155 sold only physical goods, 142 sold only digital goods or services, and 200 sold both. Via digitalcommerce360.com
Mandate Fraud Increasing In UK
U.K. companies are losing a collective $42.5 million because of mandate fraud, which, like the business email scam, involves a scammer emailing a supplier or business to trick them into making a payment into a fraudulent account. RSM found that more than 1,500 businesses a year are tricked, making the crime the third-most common way criminals defraud a company. Fraudulent bank cards and internal employee fraud are the top two tactics, according to reports. Via pymnts.com
Featurespace raises £16.5 million ($21.6m) to drive international growth
Featurespace, the leading machine learning company for fraud prevention, has raised £16.5 million ($21.6 million) from a funding round led by Highland Europe, the venture capital firm that invests in growth businesses. Featurespace’s real-time, ARIC™ platform uses Adaptive Behavioural Analytics to detect anomalies in individual behaviour for fraud and risk management. Via cambridgenetwork.co.uk
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