NFC mobile payments continue to grab headlines, but to really drive uptake and ensure full market coverage, combining contactless cards with next-gen mobile banking apps is surely the right way to go for 2016’s challenger banks, says Paul Underwood, managing director, Thames Card Technology.

2016 has started off with a big bang in the product innovation sector with the launch of new technology, gadgets and even robots disrupting the marketplace, But how do you get into a career in this fast-paced, challenging industry – especially as a woman? 

Challenging is one thing, but gaining a firm foothold in the UK banking sector is another, especially as the number of new entrants grows.  From 2013 to mid-2015, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) granted 11 new banking licenses, which included several challenger banks.  And many more license applications have been made and are pending approval over the coming months.

SCORPEO, the financial technology company and market leading service provider for capturing value from corporate actions are today demonstrating their Value Analysis™ service for Pensions Funds and Investment Managers at the PLSA Investment Conference in Edinburgh. SCORPEO are taking part in the Innovation Zone at the conference.

Misys, the leading financial software company, has been named as the National Public Champion for the UK in this year’s European Business Awards.

Almost 160,000 votes were cast by the public to choose the winner for their country. The public voted after watching the video entries posted by companies at www.businessawardseurope.com. Misys won after receiving the highest number of votes for the 32 UK entries.

FICO, the predictive analytics and decision management software company, today announced that Shop Direct, the UK's second-largest pure-play online retailer, has had great success fighting multiple types of credit fraud using FICO technology and FICO analytics. The FICO fraud solution provides Shop Direct with further protection against first-party and third-party credit fraud, including application fraud.

MyCheck, a leading mobile payment technology platform, today announced a new innovative fintech product called the MyWallet SDK, that allows developers to enable the secure and convenient management of multiple payment methods across various native apps and websites with a single integration.

Based on analyses of Chinese tourists' overseas spending, UnionPay International is rapidly and accurately expanding QuickPass business overseas. Nearly 180,000 POS terminals in Hong Kong, Macao,Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore accept UnionPay chip cards with "QuickPass" signage and various mobile QuickPass-enabled products. The overseas transaction volume of UnionPay QuickPass grew 8 times in 2015, and is growing rapidly this year.

 iMeigu Capital Management Ltd. ("iMeigu") , announces that today has submitted a preliminary non-binding proposal ("Proposal") to acquire all of the outstanding Class A common shares ("Class A Shares"), Class B common Shares ("Class B Shares", together with Class A Shares, the "Shares") and American depositary shares ("ADSs", each representing five Class A Share) of E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc (NYSE: DANG, the"Company") in an all-cash transaction forUS$8.8 per ADS or US$1.76 per Share.

Today, Village Capital, the venture development organization that finds, trains and funds entrepreneurs working to solve global challenges, and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:PYPL), the global technology platform and payments leader, announced an expanded global relationship to support entrepreneurs focused on democratizing access to financial services for low-wealth individuals, families and small businesses.