Fintech News Issue #122 June 14th, 2017

I’m not sure what’s left for Gemma to accomplish in her career. She is a successful company founder (her company Moola just launched as we were doing the interview), has a new show on “Eat, Shop, Save” on ITV, has been an advisor to Arnold Schwarzenegger on The New Celebrity Apprentice, has a degree in quantum physics, and the list goes on and on.

Jonathan Larsen of Chinese insurance giant Ping An says it’s partly customers, partly technology and partly regulators

Personalization and automation will be the driving forces behind the evolution of financial services, several digital banking executives said Tuesday in laying out their visions for the future.

Better customer service comes from disruption within, not from trying to change consumer behavior, according to Yolande Piazza, CEO of Citi Fintech.

The urgent business model choices facing retail and commercial banks: what style of shoe do you want?

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has revolutionised Indian Payment Industry and has removed friction.

Finance and trade is one of the oldest skills that mankind has developed after shaping the most preliminary forms of community. Since then, finance has been undergoing developments and revolutions to match the evolution of the human society.

It used to be that a typical CPA firm did their clients’ taxes, and prepared their P&L and financial statements, and that was that. These days, there are few “typical” CPA firms left.

What’s next for the rapidly evolving world of money, banking and finance? The first article in the WIRED / J.P. Morgan Re-Think Business series explores the big trends in fintech’s future

With the rise of peer-to-peer payment services like Venmo, splitting the check with friends or reminding your sibling to pay you back isn’t as tiresome as it once was.

Talking boldly, and publicly, about a possible future enabled by bitcoin, ether and cryptocurrencies is suddenly very much in vogue.

Since 2012, the top ten US banks by assets under management have participated in 72 rounds totaling $3.6B to 56 fintech companies.

For FinTech startups globally, ‘Open Banking’ and APIs are providing a wealth of golden opportunities for tech visionaries to develop pioneering solutions for SME banking customers.

Alternative investments are on a tear, and no asset class has seen more growth than private equity. According to a recent study by eVestment, Assets under Administration (AUA) grew 44% from 2015 to 2016. This influx of capital has caused major ripple effects across the entire private equity landscape, with fund managers competing intensely to attract investor capital.

Think of getting blockchain up and running in banking as a journey, not a destination.

In the world of payments, consumers want transactions to work securely and seamlessly within their daily lives. This is true with bill pay, person-to-person (P2P) payments and even with checks. These preferences extend to mobile wallets as well, according to a consumer preference study from Fiserv.

While tech giants tend to hog the limelight on the cutting-edge of technology, AI in banking and other financial sectors is showing signs of interest and adoption – even among the stodgy banking incumbents.

Disruptive technology applied to the insurance industry is finding its way into the mainstream of a previously traditional business

Unlike the ups and downs of FinTech and the financial markets, EdTech – the use of technology in the form of products, apps and tools to enhance learning – remains constant.