ABN AMRO, together with 14 of the world’s largest financing, trading and production institutions, has launched Komgo SA. This venture digitalises trade and commodities finance processes through a blockchain-based open platform and will transform the way these operations are processed.
ABN AMRO has once again demonstrated its position as a frontrunner in digital transformation among large Dutch companies. This was the outcome of the second annual survey held by Vlerick Business School and Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad (FD), published this past weekend.
ABN AMRO launched a pilot earlier this year in which 500 clients were asked to make payments using wearables. Of these clients, an impressive 78 per cent now prefer the wearables, and only 19 per cent prefer their debit cards. On average, clients make six payments a week for amounts under 25 euros. ABN AMRO is extending the pilot to test new functionalities with this pilot group.
A European directive called PSD2 will become national law in the course of 2018. The new law opens up the digital payments system for parties other than banks. This means opportunities for entrepreneurs, freedom of choice for consumers and innovation in the market. However, due to the uniquely private nature of payment data, privacy and security are a concern.
According to the latest figures published by MasterCard earlier today, contactless payments surged by 145% in 2017. Almost a quarter of consumers in Europe stated an interest in using wearables for payments. In the Netherlands, almost 80% of payment terminals are compatible with contactless payment, and more than 50% of card payments are now contactless.
ABN AMRO’s Digital Impact Fund (DIF) has purchased an interest in US cybersecurity firm BehavioSec.
ABN AMRO and payment service Payconiq have decided to end their talks to explore potential for collaboration. Since April 2016, ABN AMRO has been a party to a joint initiative of Dutch banks to set up and launch Payconic as a new payment service for Dutch consumers and shops.
Ajax is to become the first Dutch football club to partner with the payment app Tikkie.
Last week, nine major players in the energy supply trading chain announced that they have joined forces to build a shared 'smart' blockchain platform. With completion projected for late 2018, the platform will help to accelerate and improve administrative procedures for energy trading processes. Development of the blockchain platform will be handled by an independent company that is financed through participations by all the parties involved.
Last year ABN AMRO started an innovation initiative called Gradefix, a service used for making analyses and risk assessments of clients.
ABN AMRO has won the ‘Enterprise Architecture Award 2017’. two American research platforms, Forrester and Infoworld, shortlisted companies that stood out in their architecture approach supporting the development of technology and business infrastructures. The winner was chosen by a jury of companies that had won the award in previous years.
At the Beyond Banking Days last Friday, ABN AMRO and InSpark launched a Serious Mixed Reality Game to help customers find out just how well insured they are. Participants come to realise whether their existing insurances suit their personal situations. After this test drive, further experiments are in the pipeline to explore the possibilities Mixed Reality has to offer.
The enormous potential of blockchain technology is widely recognised, but how exactly does it work? And what is ABN AMRO doing to explore blockchain’s potential for various kinds of banking activities?
Torch has been selected as one of eight finalists for the NRC Live Fintech Impact Award. The Impact Award is NRC Live’s challenge to the financial sector to pursue innovation.
On Wednesday, 5 April, with startups and scale-ups waiting to pitch their ideas, ABN AMRO’s Frans Cuppen kicked off the ‘Celebration of Innovation’. This inspirational afternoon event revolved around innovations arising from ABN AMRO’s partnership with HighTechXL, given shape through the Econic innovation hub in Eindhoven.
