Deutsche Bank has once again partnered with the European Investment Bank (EIB) as Sole Lead Manager to increase the EIB’s Australian dollar Climate Awareness Bond (CAB) by 150 million.

Cognizant today announced it has acquired Code Zero Consulting, a privately-held provider of consulting and implementation services for cloud-based Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) and billing solutions.  The acquisition further strengthens Cognizant's cloud solutions portfolio and Salesforce CPQ and billing capabilities. Financial details were not disclosed.  

Sensibill announced that digital banking veteran Tom Shen has been appointed chair of the board. Shen is joined on the board by Corey Gross, co-founder and CEO of Sensibill, David Unsworth, general partner at Information Venture Partners, and Benji Sucher, general partner at Radical Ventures.

If you think about it, financial services have traditionally been disconnected from their customers’ goals. For instance, when we want to buy a vehicle or house, or purchase inventory for a manufacturing process, we typically begin by researching and evaluating our options, then making a purchase decision. Only then do we look at the financial services necessary to complete the transaction.

The nature of how firms communicate with their customers has changed phenomenally over the past decade and there is almost no sector unaffected by the advent of digital marketing and social media. For the Financial Services industry in particular, changes to the way entities communicate with customers have not come without regulatory implications, which naturally presents firms with new and complex challenges.

The Payment Request API is a web standard to make it easier for web developers to build low-friction and secure payment flows.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has written to credit card firms telling them to review their approach to borrowers who are stuck in persistent debt, where they are paying more in interest, fees and charges than they are paying of their balance.

Japan's SBI Holdings has invested $20 million in OpenLegacy Technologies, an American software firm that smooths API integration of core banking systems.

Accenture has agreed to buy Mudano, a data consultancy that works with UK financial services firms. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The figures* speak for themselves: 1 in 3 finance start-ups that are founded in Germany have their head office in the capital. There are now more fintechs in Berlin than in Munich, Frankfurt and Hamburg put together. Hamburg-based Varengold Bank AG, which has placed its strategic focus on fintech financing – and primarily online credit platforms – since 2015, is acknowledging this fact by opening its FinTech Hub in Berlin in the near future.