Fintech News Issue #115 April 27th, 2017

By using linear regression on cash usage data1 from 2004 - 2014, which saw a drop from 71% in 2004 to 53% in 2014, and Payments UK prediction for 2024 (34%), the year 2043 was revealed to be the year which the number of cash transactions reach 0%.

With fintech startups threatening the traditional banking industry, some financial institutions are refusing to play the role of helpless victim by launching their own innovation hubs. However, most of these idea labs aren't found in the U.S.

Carla walked alone on a cold Friday night. She was relieved: it was payday. With her salary in her purse, she made plans: pay rent, buy food and – if there was any money left – bring her three children to McDonald’s! Suddenly though, her relief turned into tragedy. She was punched and stolen. Her monthly income was gone.

PwC, one of the “Big Four” auditors along with Deloitte, EY and KPMG, revealed in its new study that banks and financial institutions are experiencing major losses in revenue due to the emergence of Fintech companies and service providers.

The idea of a universal, tamper-proof digital identity becomes increasingly relevant in the face of political, economic and other uncertainties around the world. Massive groups of the global population are undocumented nowadays with numbers growing at a blink of an eye.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is more than just a buzzword and has experienced rapid growth over the last decade.

On 8 April 2015, Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan, wrote to shareholders with the following caution: “Silicon Valley is coming”. This warning is often cited by those predicting the “imminent demise” of traditional banks and the rise of “FinTech”.

It’s easy to think that Public API’s are just about regulation, such as PSD2 in Europe, driving open banking. Certainly regulatory driven open banking will force banks to have Pubic API’s, but they are not the only type of API’s.

The recent and unprecedented spike in the number of millionaires in the US has spurred the creation of ever-more Family Offices (FOs) as people of wealth are turning to Single Family Offices (SFOs) and Multi-Family Offices (MFOs) to help them manage their wealth. Many of these offices offer a full suite of solutions including investing, budgeting, insurance, charitable giving, tax & legal services, and more.

A comprehensive, data-driven look at global financial technology investment trends, top deals, active investors, and corporate activity.

At a time of volatile household incomes and widespread economic insecurity, the latest innovations in financial technology may help bring some peace of mind and a little stability to financially stressed American families.

As both fintech startups and incumbent banks wake up to the lending opportunity presented by the unbanked, alternative credit scoring methods have been on the rise. One such method is psychometric testing, which generates credit scores based on personality and behavior, rather than credit history.

Matteo Carbone has shared his bold view about insurtech for some time, and he’s doubling down on his beliefs.

Psychology research shows people mistrust those who make moral decisions by calculating costs and benefits – like computers do