Crédit Agricole Payment Services and Wirecard announced today that they have signed a letter of intent to enter into exclusive negotiations to conclude a partnership to offer an innovative and differentiated service offering based on a high-performance technology in the field of electronic payment acceptance and acquiring.

Digital banking is growing in popularity with 53% of consumers using or willing to move to an online or mobile only bank — 27% have moved already, while 26% are considering the switch. This is according to research commissioned by Relay42, the leading data management platform (DMP) company that empowers marketers to orchestrate customer journeys. 

Stress tests approached in the right way can play an important strategic role and contribute to a bank’s business performance. That’s according to Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk & Reporting experts from across EMEA, APAC and North Americas. Here Sarfaraz Ahmed, Xavier Dubois, Bart Everaert, and Jeroen Van Doorsselaere) explain for Financial IT how devising the right technology infrastructure can ensure stress tests are used strategically.

Aeon Bank Ltd., a Japanese new style bank, has announced that they had introduced a whole new biometrics authentication system to their ATMs and teller windows, which allows the customers to do any bank transactions without using a bank card nor entering PIN number. 

Nanopay Corporation, a real-time payment platform that provides instant settlement across a variety of currencies, is announcing a new solution to enable international trading partners to easily and securely process B2B payments between bank accounts. 

Mastercard today unveiled Kionect, a digital ordering system that empowers small kiosk owners in Nairobi to order and pay for products from wholesalers via SMS. Orders submitted via a feature phone helps create a digital record for kiosk owners to get access to micro-loans to stock inventory and grow their business. 

• Africa may just have the first fully crypto-currency country

Following in the successful footsteps of M-Pesa in Kenya, there is a possibility that an African country may embrace crypto-currency as an official currency for their nation. Due to its convenience and protection, it could be an alternative to cash, particularly in the fight against fraud. The infrastructure within Africa lends itself to this development more so than anywhere else, the only question will be, which country will be the one to go for it first?