Fintech, Finance, Technology, Banking Highlights – 15 November 2017
Ally Bank plugs into Alexa
Ally Bank today announced the launch of the Ally Skill for Alexa providing customers a quick and easy way to access and manage their Ally Bank accounts using an Amazon Alexa-enabled device.
The Ally Skill functionality further simplifies everyday banking tasks such as checking account balances, tracking recent transactions and deposits, transferring money, and accessing deposit product interest rates. The new skill is available to Ally Bank’s deposit customers with Alexa-enabled devices such as the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot products.
“In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, our customers are looking for easier, individualized ways to manage their banking needs, which is why we are so excited to be working with Amazon to launch the Ally Skill,” said Diane Morais, president of Consumer and Commercial Banking Products at Ally Bank. “Amazon’s Alexa has stayed at the forefront when it comes to leveraging innovative technology, and through this skill we’re continuing to do right by our customers by giving them the freedom to bank on their own terms.”
Ingenico closes Bambora acquisition
Ingenico Group announced the closing of Bambora’s acquisition, after obtaining approval from the relevant regulatory and antitrust authorities.
The acquisition of this fast-growing player in payment services represents a key milestone in Ingenico Group’s strategy as it:
Enables the Group to accelerate the development of its Retail division through a direct-to-SMB channel in the Nordic countries and to deploy the successful model of Bambora in new markets.
Enhances the full-service offer with a modern and efficient acquiring platform which will bring greater flexibility and speed in the boarding of new merchants.
Mashreq Bank opts for NCR’s SelfServ ATM
NCR Corporation a in omni-channel solutions announced, that Mashreq Bank, one of the leading financial institutions (FIs) in the UAE, has added the innovative NCR SelfServ 82 ATM, which is part of the NCR SelfServ 80 Series family that helps financial institutions redefine the banking experience and change the way consumers interact with the ATM forever.
The first SelfServ 82 ATM was deployed at the Deira Branch, Head Office of Mashreq Bank in October.
Designed for ease-of-use and delivering an exceptional consumer experience and capable of handling the highest possible transaction volumes the SelfServ 80 series delivers the omni-channel experience whilst ensuring reliable and secure access to cash for consumers.
Emirates NBD goes digital in Dubai
Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the region opened its first paperless digital branch at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
Inaugurated by H.E Hesham Abdulla Qassim, Vice Chairman of Emirates NBD Group and H.E Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO of DWTC, the new branch embodies the bank’s tech-plus-touch ethos by offering both self-service and assisted banking solutions, powered by digital technology.
The branch would feature convenient banking and payment solutions that will allow customers to carry out on their own a variety of transactions as well as apply for new products, and will be open 24 x 7.
Bango targets Google Play users in Nigeria
Bango, the mobile payments company, announces that it has launched operator-billed payments for Google Play users with 9mobile in Nigeria.
Through the 9mobile 9pay wallet, customers in Nigeria can pay for the wealth of media, games, apps and digital content in Google Play, with one-click, without the need to own a credit card or bank account.
Nigeria is one of the most mobile-centric countries in the world. The scale is enormous, with around 150 million subscribers, a penetration rate of over 80% (GSMA Intelligence, 2017), and more mobile internet users than any other African country (Business Insider, 2016). 76% of all online traffic in Nigeria is from mobile devices (Africa Business Communities, 2016). Smartphone adoption is growing, particularly Android which accounted for over 60% of the mobile Operating System (OS) market share in Nigeria in 2016 (StatCounter). With the Google Play store pre-installed on all Android devices, millions of Nigerian consumers are now able to participate in the m-commerce experience.
