Business and regional bodies say improved connectivity can drive productivity growth in the digital sector across much of the UK. This can contribute to closing the gap between the best and worst performing areas, according to a new study published by HS2 Ltd.

Amman, Jordan: ICS Financial Systems Limited (ICSFS), the global software and services provider for banks and financial institutions, announced that AL-Thiqa Islamic Bank has gone live on the multi-awards winning system ICS BANKS ISLAMIC.

AL-Thiqa Islamic Bank chose ICS BANKS ISLAMIC to stay in the top of the list in this highly motivated banking market. the project was accomplished in a record break time of two months, the implementation process was smooth, swift and transparent.

Royal Bank of Scotland is closing 259 branches – one in four of its outlets – with an increasing amount of customers choosing to bank online or via mobile.

The UK banking sector is unprepared to handle the potential disruption of AI that will ensue, compared to its neighbours in established markets, according to research by UBS. It is ranked seventh out of the top nine countries, behind the US, Spain, Japan and Hong Kong.

The result points to a resistance to automated banking services and AI-assisted processes such as chatbots in the country.

Following a review of the RBS branch network a decision has been taken to close 62 Royal Bank of Scotland branches, and 197 NatWest branches. As a result of this process, there will be around 680 redundancies, and we will seek to manage this process on a voluntary basis.

For many involved in the European banking sector, PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2) and the RTS (Regulatory Technical Standards) have loomed large for some time. And the same probably holds true for the wider eCommerce industry. PSD2 came into force in January 2016 and should be transposed into the national legislation of EU member states within two years of that date. In parallel, EBA (European Banking Authority) was empowered by European Commission to deliver the RTS that will translate PSD2 into technical requirements.

As the May 25, 2018, deadline approaches for complying with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), much of the focus has been on the weight of the regulatory burden it imposes and the size of the penalties it exacts for failing to comply with the specified data protection principles. But that’s a somewhat narrow view; look beyond it, and you can see that commitment to GDPR compliance may also be a greater differentiator than many may have imagined.

Financial Risk Solutions (FRS), a Dublin-based provider of unit-linked investment administration and compliance oversight software, is pleased to announce the opening of two offices in Asia; Hong Kong and Malaysia. These are the first offices outside of Europe for the business.

Ensenta, a payments technology provider, announced today that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (“Live Oak”) (NASDAQ: LOB) is fully integrated with Ensenta’s Multi-Check API for Business Mobile to offer seamless multi-check remote deposit capture (RDC) capabilities to its small business customers.

Coinsource, the world’s largest bitcoin ATM network, has today announced their single largest installation to date, by deploying 20 new machines in the southern state of Georgia. 

Finastra has successfully completed connectivity testing with SIA, the European leader in payment infrastructure and services, to provide connectivity to the European instant payments infrastructure systems via SIAnet.