Banks have historically been the dominant players in payments systems in Europe and around the world. However, with the advent of technology, one of the key challenges banks face is the disruption occurring within the payments sector, also known as the “rise of the FinTech”. As payments are of strategic importance as both the anchor for client relationships and as a platform for selling a range of other products, such as loans, credit cards, saving accounts and mortgages, banks need to stay ahead of the race to remain profitable.

After a successful year for the eSports scene, paysafecard, one of the global market leaders in prepaid online payment methods and part of Paysafe Group plc, has committed to continue its sponsorship of the eSports premiere league throughout 2016. The sponsorship of the ESL One Cologne 2016 involves one of the most significant events in the gaming community: the world’s biggest Counter Strike: Global Offensive event (8 - 10 July, 2016) - the official Valve Major in the gaming capital of Cologne.

Award-winning ONPEX, The Online Payment Exchange, is proud to announce a new partnership with Ethoca, a global collaboration-based technology company. It is focused on helping CNP merchants and card issuers increase card acceptance and stop ecommerce fraud and disputes.

New York-based financial magazine Global Finance announced The Innovators 2016 - Islamic Finance. The magazine has ranked Path Solutions a 2016 Innovator in Islamic Finance for its innovative iMAL Islamic banking platform.

“NetApp technology allows us to be nimble and react quickly to the often volatile changes in the energy sector,” said Hercu Rabsatt, director of infrastructure and service management, Mansfield Oil. “NetApp has been a key partner in helping us revolutionise our infrastructure for competitive advantage, tying our technology to our business strategy and remediating areas of risk. We’ve had zero downtime for our core business applications since moving them to NetApp ONTAP software. We can always service our customers.”

Suvidhaa Infoserve, a leader in the digital payments and remittances industry with 35 million unique customers, has entered into a tie-up with MobiKwik, India's largest independent mobile payments network that connects 30 million users with over 75,000 retailers.

The tie-up will enable customers of MobiKwik to recharge their mobile wallets from any of the 90,000+ Suvidhaa outlet across the country by depositing cash. This will overcome the barrier of recharging the wallet via credit/debit card or netbanking.

Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd, a Wirecard Group company, is the card issuer of Norwegian-based prepaid programme manager Paygoo. Paygoo have recently launched their first prepaid reloadable MasterCard following the previous launch of their MasterCard Gift Card programme earlier this year. The cards can be purchased and loaded throughout Reitan Convenience, one of Europe's largest convenience store chains including the retail brands 7-Eleven, Shell and Narvesan, offering instant issue at extensive point-of-sale outlets as well as online.

Canadian FinTech start-up ChangeJar, Inc., today launched ChangeJar Mobile, the first mobile app that lets users receive or pay with change from everyday transactions using their smartphones. Just launched at select Ottawa-area cafes and merchants, ChangeJar Mobile supports and improves – instead of replaces – cash transactions by making them simpler, faster and more convenient.

Raisin, the Pan-European online deposit marketplace, has launched www.raisin.fr for customers in France, in French language and with dedicated French customer support.

KinnerjaPay, a digital payment and ecommerce platform, today announced that it has partnered with Bitcoin Indonesia to accept the bitcoin currency for transactions conducted on its platform.

The partnership makes KinerjaPay the first ecommerce portal in Indonesia authorized to accept and transact Bitcoin across its platform, essentially enabling Bitcoin owners to convert the virtual currency to Indonesian Rupiah to pay their bills, transfer money, or make purchases in the Company's ecommerce market.