Fintech News Issue #198 January 3rd, 2019

We've got a roundtable of some of the most beloved fintech podcast hosts there are. They're all ours. Sarah's takes David, Simon, Jason, Ross and Leda through what we think's going to happen in fintech in 2019.

There is a lot of discussion about becoming a 'digital bank'. Unfortunately, there was much more talk than action in 2018. As we look forward to 2019, the importance of making both the back office and front-facing customer experience 'digital' has never been greater. Setting digital banking resolutions is a good place to start.

One year on, and it hasn’t been simple. As firms continue to make sense of its 30,000 pages, contention remains around whether MiFID II still has the potential to deliver on its objectives. As we look back over the past year, what have been the biggest challenges for firms?

‘Tis the season for decking halls, lighting candles, spending time with family and friends, reflecting on 2018 and thinking ahead to 2019 and new trends in the global Fintech market.

We predicted that in 2018, the fintechs would prove to be the more relevant disruptors and their equity value would continue to outpace the incumbents.

Artificial Intelligence is poised to excel in fields dealing with excessive amounts of data and a need for identifying patterns in data flows (curiously enough, ability to identify patterns is the key metric in IQ – our measurement system for human intellect).

2012 and 2016: What do they both have in common? Bitcoin underwent what is referred to as the “halving,” where the yearly bitcoin inflation was algorithmically reduced by 50 percent. This is part of bitcoin’s deflationary monetary policy and why Austrian economists refer to bitcoin as “hard money.”

2019 is set to be a year defined by collaboration in the insurance sector. In an October Capgemini survey, 96% of respondents said they were looking to collaborate with insurtech firms in some way. 77% said that “partnering to develop a new solution” was their preferred approach. When asked of the impact fintechs might have in the market, 67% said new entrants would “redefine” the customer experience.

It's no longer enough for banks to offer customers a sleek mobile banking app; in fact, they expect it.

Earlier this year, the total value of all crypto assets reached an all-time high of over $800 billion, driven by a flood of retail customers looking to capture opportunities in a new market.

The first service of an GDPR notice — to analytics firm AggregateIQ for its controversial use of voter data — reinforced the severity and significance of GDPR for organisations worldwide. Though the May 25, 2018 deadline for compliance may initially have been treated as a one-off, box-ticking exercise, the reality is that GDPR brings heightened, long-term scrutiny to the way in which organisations collect, use, and store data.

My 2018 began with desperate angst at the massive throngs of scammers still HODLing on from December’s highs. As a public-facing educator at a small community commons, I was relieved when the prices dropped in February: we could breathe and take a break from telling all these noobs not to burn themselves on the stove.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, driven by large investments, lots of startups, all established technology vendors, and enterprises big and small experimenting with what it can do for their bottom line. 120 predictions for AI in 2019 did not exhaust the subject, so here are 20 more.

My thoughts on the state of crypto in 2018 and where we’re headed

The low penetration of banking services brings ASEAN countries to the forefront in the development of financial technologies

Earlier this week, Business Insider Intelligence revisited the fintech predictions we got right for 2018. Now it's time to take a look at the ones that didn't quite turn out the way we expected them to:

As evidenced by the last several years, technology is disrupting the commerce industry. One area of interest is e-money, with Google just granted a Payment License that will allow it to operate throughout the European Union.

Investors could be set to benefit from another bumper year of equity fundraisings in the peer-to-peer lending sector.

Highlights from articles this year show the progress that has been made in reinventing the insurance landscape—and suggest more disruption to come.