To that end, ING Group said it has agreed to pay 775 million euros — about US$900 million — to settle investigations by Dutch authorities over money laundering and other illicit activities. Financial crime is drawing scrutiny — and fines — at large financial institutions. Drilling down a bit, Bloomberg noted that the settlement is comprised of a 675 million fine. The remaining 100 million is a disgorgement. MORE

In June 2018, the CFPB announced that it planned to reconstitute three of its advisory groups, the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), the Community Bank Advisory Council (CBAC), and the Credit Union Advisory Council (CUAC), and disbanded the three groups. Last week, the CFPB announced the appointment of new members to those groups. The CFPB has announced that the three groups will have meetings on September 27. ” CFPB General CFPB Monitor advisory group CFPB MORE

As Priceline Group focuses in on its hotel and home rental business, the online travel company announced it had changed its name on Wednesday (Feb. It is now known as Booking Holdings, according to CNBC reports. As a result, the company will change its NASDAQ ticker from PCLN to BKNG. Priceline grew during the dot-com era, when it ran advertisements promoting its “name your price” feature for booking flights, then went on an acquisition binge following the dot-com’s crash. MORE

Every group of friends has a social director, Fevo CEO Ari Daie told Karen Webster in this week’s Matchmakers conversation – that one person who organizes the cats and gets a group of otherwise passive adults organized for a game, concert or weekend trip. They have to organize the group, figure out when everyone is free, what they want to pay for tickets and then how to purchase that block of tickets for the group. [link]. MORE

is looking to buy NSO Group, an Israeli company that sells military-grade technology, for around $1 billion. In 2016, researchers at Citizen Lab — a group that investigates surveillance technology — revealed that they discovered NSO software in a link sent to the phone of a human-rights activist in the United Arab Emirates, and that the software was being used by foreign governments to spy on citizens. software company Verint Systems, Inc. MORE

Facebook announced that it is testing out subscriptions with a small number of groups to support group admins who lead the communities. Group admins build safe and supportive communities that people come back to every day,” wrote Alex Deve, Product Director, Groups, at Facebook. “We The groups will then share input and feedback with the social media giant. With this new subscription service, reports say that the group admins will be allowed charge $4.99 MORE

The group appointed Simon Walker to lead the review, which will specifically look at the way banks handle complaints filed by small business borrowers. Reports said the group aims to develop alternative solutions to dispute resolution and to address the needs of both banks and small businesses when mitigating. MORE

The Times reported that yet another organization, the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group, has said that more than half of local government authorities were, in fact, using funds for their own aims — where the monies had been owed to entities up and down their respective supply chains. It’s summer, so the heat is on outside. And heat of a different sort is on, with controversy still swelling in the United Kingdom. No, not Brexit, though that is a given. MORE

Mastercard has announced the list of startup companies chosen to participate in its Mastercard Start Path program, a group the company is calling its “most diverse class” ever. Mastercard revealed the list in a recent announcement, including startups that span a range of verticals. Those partaking in the program, which aims to support later-stage FinTech and technology startups, total 11 firms selected from five countries. MORE

Booking a group trip on Airbnb just got easier: Users now have the ability to split payments with their fellow travelers. A recent poll from Airbnb found that 43 percent of users have lost $1,000 or more in repayments from group trips, 18 percent say they’ve lost $10,000 or more from not getting repaid after group trips and 29 percent have fought with a friend over group trip repayment. MORE

(The Paypers) US-based Seko Logistics and Denmark-based DSV Group have each made recent moves to expand their international ecommerce capabilities MORE

A representative of Fosun Group, which, at $13.1 Commerce Corporate Cryptocurrency Exclusive Insurance Payments Security Startups Antshares BlockChain cryptocurrency Fosun Group Onchain technology MORE

Separately, Facebook said it is also rolling out Stories for Groups and Events , which will enable users to add posts that the rest of the group can view. Users will see Stories on their Event and Group pages, as well as at the top of their News Feeds, and will also be able to post while inside Events and Groups. Facebook’s Groups are focused on specific topics, such as hobbies, professions and locations. MORE

Created in 2017, the API Standardization Industry Group has begun developing an application program interface (API) standardization “playbook” to help enhance support for payments and the business needs of financial institutions, companies, FinTechs and other industry stakeholders and participants. NACHA and the Industry Group believe one of the biggest challenges is a lack of standardization. MORE

Small business group SME Alliance spoke to the House of Commons select committee to discuss small firms’ ongoing challenges in seeking bank loans. Traditional banks remain reluctant to lend to small firms, the group said, using their size to gain a legal advantage over SMBs that file complaints with FIs. small businesses continue to struggle with access to bank funding, according to reports in Financial Times on Friday (March 30). MORE

Citizens Financial Group joins the latest band of established FIs in launching its version of a digital-first bank called Citizens Access. MORE

A second hacking group is targeting banks through the Swift Inerbank Messaging system, according to a report out from cyber-security firm Symnatec yesterday (Oct. The group is leveraging similar but distinct tactics from the group that orchestrated an $81 million hack of Bangladesh’s Central Bank earlier this year. Odinaff, on the other hand, appears to be a financially motivated criminal group, according to Symantec. MORE

Exchange operator CME Group has announced plans to launch bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter. Cryptocurrency Exclusive Online Payments Bitcoin bitcoin futures CME Group cryptocurrency futures MORE

More than 20,000 members strong, there is a Facebook group dedicated to Walmart employees, who swap similar stories, experience, questions and answers. Retail app labor labor group social media walmartJust in time for the holidays, Walmart employees are being lured to download a smartphone-based social media app aimed at advocating for better pay and labor benefits. But Walmart reps say it is advocating against employees logging on to the platform. MORE

Facebook just made splitting the check at dinner easier with the announcement that Messenger can now support group payments. According to TechCrunch , the free service, which for now is only available on Android and desktop, will allow users to pay either everyone in the group or individual members through a simple click of the payments icon (aka the dollar sign). A message will appear in the group chat to show who has paid. MORE

Question: I am currently considering joining a networking group. This group limits members to one from each industry, however, when I attended the first introductory meeting there were three other bankers who wanted to join. Q&A on Networking Groups. MORE

Today Lloyds Banking Group confirmed it has banned customers from buying bitcoin with their credit cards. EXCLUSIVE – Add one more to the mix. The move comes only days after U.S. banks including Bank of America, Citi, and JPMorgan Chase have done the same. MORE

A coalition of consumer groups are planning to file a complaint with the U.S. The groups contend the technology violates the privacy of the social media platform’s users, Reuters reported. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over Facebook ’s use of facial recognition to tag photos. The scanning of facial images without express, affirmative consent is unlawful and must be enjoined,” Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said. MORE

Gene Ludwig, the CEO and founder of Promontory Financial Group , recently sat down with Bloomberg Law in a wide-ranging interview to discuss his predictions for the future of RegTech, blockchain, and where he sees the markets going in the next three to five years. MORE

A group of progressive advocacy groups, including MoveOn and Demand Progress, is calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to break up Facebook in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The groups contend that by doing so, they will gain the ability to communicate across social networks while also having strong privacy rules in place to protect consumers. MORE

Demographic groupings make sense. They offer insight into what consumers are buying so pitches can be customized, helping to avoid unnecessarily selling apparel and accessories to demographic groups that don’t buy them. Millennials are branching off into two groups: younger consumers just starting out, and “bridge” consumers who have entered their prime spending years. MORE

Discover Global Network, the unit of Discover Financial Services, announced Wednesday (May 24) it has entered into an agreement with Desjardins Group, the cooperative financial group in Canada, through its Monetico payment solutions to expand acceptance in Canada. Payment Methods canada credit card Desjardins Group Discover discover global network News What's Hot MORE

With a partnership between TransferWise and Groupe BPCE , customers of the European banking group will be able to use TransferWise’s international money transfer service directly through the company’s app. In addition, TransferWise will have access to the banking group’s 15 million retail clients, Reuters reported. The pairing marks the first time that a large banking group in Europe will offer TransferWise’s service directly through its own app. MORE

It was announced today that Visa Europe Collab, part of Visa Inc, will be partnering with the world’s first publicly listed blockchain company, the BTL Group, in order to test out a proof of concept on running interbank settlements through blockchain. MORE

Coverage includes Indonesia- based Salim Group’s investment in Singapore- based Youtap. Indonesia- based Salim Group has taken up a minority stake in Singapore- based Youtap, Deal Street Asia reported. Youtap provides financial services and contactless payments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA and Asia), while Salim Group operates in several sectors in Indonesia and the Philippines. Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. MORE

Sageworks User Groups provide an increasingly rare opportunity to be in a room full of peers, industry experts and staff from a critical vendor. The intersection of these groups allows for three distinct and valuable learning experiences. A group conversation specific to Sageworks usage is a powerful way to provide feedback and enhancement requests (and is greatly appreciated by the Sageworks staff!). MORE

The aim of the group is to “support fair, responsible and transparent lending practices for small businesses,” the ILPA noted, adding that the three new members are joining the group to further that initiative. The Innovative Lending Platform Association (ILPA) has added three members, according to an announcement made on Monday (Sept. MORE

Access Group Education Lending, the student loan servicing company, has been the subject of a data breach. The data breach occurred on March 23 when Nelnet, a vendor that processes student loans for Access Group, sent out the files. Access Group said it learned of the incident on March 28, and that the receiving vendor said they deleted the files and did not keep copies. Access Group told Associated Press that the exposure was limited and has ended. MORE

Question: I am currently considering joining a networking group. This group limits members to one from each industry, however, when I attended the first introductory meeting there were three other bankers who wanted to join. Q&A on Networking Groups. MORE

The J-pop group contains eight girls, each of whom represents one of the larger digital monetary formats. The group’s first single, “The Moon and Virtual Currencies and Me,” is about the importance of proper online security and the risks of fraud. Further evidence that bitcoin and all associated digital currencies are entirely serious competitors to fiat currency: Japan’s latest pop sensation is Kasotsuka Shojo, a band whose name translates to Virtual Currency Girls. MORE

In an effort to capture a younger audience of travelers, Priceline has announced it will acquire Momondo Group for $550 million. Meta-search site Momondo Group’s core focus is a two-brand strategy to help attract a younger travel demographic. In Priceline’s press release, the Priceline Group’s CEO, Glenn Fogel, said, “Meta-search is appealing to consumers, and we’re keen to expand our global footprint. Retail Acquisition Momondo Group Priceline MORE

zSpace, an education company that brings mixed reality experiences to computing, announced Wednesday (March 1) that it is joining the Khronos Group’s OpenXR working group to define a cross-vendor, royalty-free open standard for access to modern virtual reality (VR) devices. Payment Methods The Khronos Group’s OpenXR virtual reality VR devices What's Hot zSpace MORE

According to reports, the group is taking a cautious approach to the technology. But the group also acknowledges that blockchain technology is not yet sufficiently developed to actualize its effect in the corporate finance space. The U.K. Financial Reporting Council’s Financial Reporting Lab has released a new report on the potential applications of blockchain in the corporate accounting space. MORE

Australian Finance Group said Monday (Aug. Announced during Australian Finance Group’s financial earnings report, the solution will initially roll out in the second quarter of 2018 to help companies access commercial mortgages. “We’ll be building an initial panel of up to 10 lenders aimed at the core [SMB] market,” said Australian Finance Group chief executive officer David Bailey in a statement. MORE

A multi-billion dollar social media platform saying it is sorry simply is not enough,” Andrea Jelinek, chair of the group of EU data protection authorities, said in a statement, according to Reuters. This is why we are creating a Social Media Working Group. The group still has to create a long-term strategy, but did not include any details on what steps it was going to take. MORE

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Security Group, the debt collector, $5 million in the first fine against a company since it hit Wells Fargo with a $1 billion penalty in April. The Wall Street Journal , citing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, reported that the CFPB charged Security Group with making “improper in-person and telephonic collection attempts” and “physically preventing consumers from leaving their homes and visiting and calling consumers’ places of work.” MORE

According to reports , the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) — a trade group representing a host of global brands — has sent an appeal to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) formally requesting that Alibaba and its eCommerce platforms be returned to the agency’s list of Notorious Markets. Counterfeiting has been a contentious topic in 2016, especially as it relates to China’s most powerful e-Commerce player, Alibaba. MORE

Three people associated with the hacking group FIN7 — also known as Carbanak — were arrested in Europe and are facing charges in the United States. The group was able to steal $1.2 Europol contended that the group has been operating since 2013 and has members in 40 countries around the globe. In a U.S. court filing, Fedir Hladyr, Dmytro Fedorov and Andrii Kolpakov were arrested between January and June of this year. Hladyr is already in U.S. MORE