Contactless, or “tap and go,” is an increasingly popular way to pay around the world. But in the U.S., only 3 percent of cards are contactless. Why? CNBC’s Elizabeth Schulze reports.

The unbundling of the bank has begun.

Just 10 years ago, the average consumer had very few financial relationships and interacted with just one or two institutions to fulfill all of their financial needs. But fintech companies are breaking up the old guard by focusing on specific things that banks have done and simply doing them better. As a result, the average consumer now has numerous financial relationships, each with a clear-cut purpose.

The fintech revolution started after the 2008 financial crisis, and was driven largely out of frustration with the existing establishment.

The ‘Neo-Banks’ Are Finally Having Their Moment
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/technology/finance-start-ups-neo-banks.html

After the financial crisis 10 years ago, unhappy customers were expected to flee the megabanks for smaller competitors.

It didn’t happen. And the big banks became even more entrenched.

Now another wave of alternative banks are at it again, and they say they’ve learned from the mistakes of the upstart banks that tried — and failed — before them.

Chime, the biggest new name to pop up, has opened two million fee-free online checking accounts and is adding more customers each month than Wells Fargo or Citibank.

Sweden’s Push to Get Rid of Cash Has Some Saying, ‘Not So Fast’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/business/sweden-cashless-society.html

Cash is disappearing in the country faster than anyone thought it would. Now, officials are trying to slow its demise as they determine the societal costs.

The bank says that 75% of staff will be expected to move into new IT-based roles

Lloyds banking group is planning a major overhaul to its workforce by pushing its digital operations with 2,000 new IT-based positions.

As part of the plan, 6,000 jobs will be cut in order to create 8,000 new digital roles and Lloyds said that 75% of the affected staff will be expected to move into these new positions.

Some specialist roles will also be recruited externally, such as data scientists and software engineers.

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Cum-ex tax scandal cost European treasuries €55 billion
18.10.2018

Most people will stare blankly when they hear of the “cum-ex” scandal, but the latest reports are that this tax evasion scandal is a continental-wide one, robbing taxpayers of at least €55 billion of state money.
The scale of the financial damage caused by the so-called “cum-ex” tax scandal is much higher than previously thought, according to information provided to Reuters, ARD, Die Zeit and several other news organizations.

The main unanswered question after closure of ABLV is allegations of the corruption.

The end of ABLV, Latvia’s third largest bank, was fast and brutal.

On February 13, 2018 the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) at the US Treasury proposed to ban ABLV from having a correspondence account in the United States due to money laundering concerns. The agency accused the lender of institutionalising money laundering as a pillar of the bank’s business practices and failing to implement effective anti-measures, allowing its clients with ties to North Korea anti-ballistic program to circumvent the United Nations’ sanctions.

Berlingske, the Danish newspaper that first reported allegations that Danske Bank A/S was being used to launder billions of dollars in dirty money, revealed the identity of the whistle-blower who helped bring the case to the public’s attention.

Danske Chairman Says ‘Large’ Part of $234 Billion Can Be Suspicious

The Danske scandal has engulfed the bank and dominated the political debate in Denmark, where lawmakers have scrambled to enforce much tougher penalties for money laundering. The bank is now the target of multiple criminal investigations and faces hefty fines.