Fintech News Issue #138 October 19th, 2017

Match borrowers with lenders directly and there is no need for intermediaries anymore. So when digital disruptors squeezed their way into financial services industry, one could think banks were doomed.

On January 13, 2018, the UK's big banks will be forced to show startups their most precious data. But is Open Banking too revolutionary for its own good?

Future banking innovations aren’t going to depend on what technology financial institutions are using, but on what data is underlying that technology, according to Dave McKay, president and CEO for the Royal Bank of Canada.

Future Digital Finance West, our West Coast conference for digital finance innovators, addresses the challenges that financial executives are facing when looking to solve customer problems using digital and omni-banking strategies, as well as help their organizations become more digitally fit overall.

Artificial intelligence, especially machine learning, will overhaul big industries, including manufacturing, finance, and healthcare, potentially adding up to $126 billion to the US economy by 2025.

The Financial IT magazine unveiled the Digital Only Bank Ranking in their latest special magazine for Sibos & Money 20/20.

What's it take to succeed at digital? Banks need to give customers a highly customized experience, some of the industry’s veteran digital bankers advise.

The question of whether – and in what form – banks will survive in the future depends largely on how the forces of changing customer behaviour, technology and regulation will play out on different types of banks.

Two out of five people who try to open an account online with a bank or credit union simply give up. It's totally unacceptable, and must be fixed.

Financial technology (FinTech) is steadily gaining traction, with new technology and services becoming available every day. Blumberg Capital’s annual FinTech survey examined American attitudes towards traditional banking institutions, FinTech companies and new financial technologies. Contrary to popular belief that big banks and FinTech companies are locked in a zero sum battle, American consumers want the best of both.

"Be careful. Think." Said by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, best known for inventing the World Wide Web, this statement of caution cut to the heart of his whirlwind talk at Ripple's Swell conference in Toronto today.

Money and the idea of its exchange through payments have evolved a lot from the time of its inception. From goods to grain, from metal coins to paper, from bank accounts to e-wallets, money has taken various shapes, sizes, and forms.

It can often feel like cybercriminals are two steps ahead. The result is that security professionals are constantly creating and updating their security protocols to match the volume of equally sophisticated malware attack vectors being directed at them.

A data-driven deep dive on the evolution of the blockchain landscape — and how VCs, token sales, and consortia are shaping its future.

An identity is a difficult thing to lose. Fortunately, technology is on the cusp of a major paradigm shift in the field of identity. Blockchain will create a major revolutionary transformation in this area — but many questions of how still remain unanswered.

After 2 moderate quarters, VC investment into InsurTech startups was strong in Q2’17, with $745.4 million invested across 60 deals. Despite quarterly fluctuation in deal size and volume, the overall picture is one of increasing interest and investment in InsurTech innovations.

Ever since bitcoin began to generate appeal from more than just the libertarian anarchist "cypherpunk" crowd, it's been rife with criticism.

An active investor in dozens of early stage Fintech firms including the Vice Chairman role at Credible, Suber has spent years evangelizing on the need to improve upon existing analog financial services.

The cryptocurrency market has been experiencing exponential growth throughout 2017. With Ethereum making the jump from $40 to $320 at the time of writing, and Bitcoin shattering previous records with all-time highs, plus eight other cryptocurrencies with a total market capitalization over $1 bln, the entire ecosystem has reached a market value of over $170 bln.