Fintech News Issue #149 January 4th, 2018

FinTech Weekly talked to online identification provider IDnow about why identity management will be one of the most interesting areas to watch in 2018. Further, we discussed their highly interesting business, how opening bank accounts online can be safer than in a bank, and how even customers of 102 years old can use online identification.

Becoming a digital bank is no longer optional. The process goes far beyond a mobile app, impacting back-office operations, costs, revenues and the consumer experience. Setting digital banking resolutions will help your journey.

I usually start the new year by making some predictions, but so many others have been writing about 2018 trends that I’m not going to. There are four big things for 2018 from a FinTech viewpoint that are obvious to me however, which are:

Changes in regulation mean the tech giants will soon be able to access customers' bank account data, posing a challenge to the old-school banking system

If there is one thing I have learned in the last two years in the cryptocurrency world, it’s that things change so quickly in this sector, it can humble anybody. Anyone who says he knows what he is talking about, doesn’t!

Leda Glyptis shares a few ‘unpopular opinions’ about bitcoin, pointing a finger at the collective lack of imagination and understanding of its potential.

Everyone says the blockchain, the technology underpinning cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, is going to change everything. And yet, after years of tireless effort and billions of dollars invested, nobody has actually come up with a use for the blockchain — besides currency speculation and illegal transactions.

The post-Christmas, pre-New Year’s period is always one of my favorites. Every year, I take a couple of days to unplug from the internet, reflect on the past year, and look forward to the year ahead.

It’s been a wild year for many reasons. Among these has been the unprecedented uptake of mobile and digital payments — in the magnitude of hundreds of millions of new users — in one of the fastest growing consumer markets.

Fintech companies are slowly becoming marketplaces for buying, selling and lending financial products. This will improve their profitability and also attract more attention from financial regulators such as Sebi

Real estate deals on a blockchain are becoming real. The startup Propy recently sold an apartment in the Ukraine through its blockchain, and in the last week of December it began letting Californians buy and sell properties on its blockchain using bitcoin.

from prime time news slots to wall to wall coverage on business networks. Bitcoin was the story in financial services and fintech this year. 2018 will be the year Crypto has to grow up, it’s make or break time. Are you positioned to take advantage if it continues to grow?

The foundation of banking has changed little over the centuries. What has changed is the way consumers prefer to manage their finances and the ability for organizations to deliver personalized solutions in real-time.

Rumors have been swirling that an Amazon Bank may be imminent. Will banking be the next industry to feel the 'Amazon Effect'?

Employees don't always know where or how innovation is budgeted and managed. Banks aren't really minding the ethical concerns of artificial intelligence. It’s hard to tell what really goes on inside a bank.

As 2017 comes to a close, many people are focusing on the year ahead. The last 12 months present questions about the global economy, interest rates, AI and the impact of bitcoin and blockchain.

The first Blockchain system-Bitcoin-saw astronomical returns of over 1,300 percent in 2017. As we progressed through 2017, Blockchain technologies became hard to ignore and more of the corporate world took an interest in Blockchain technologies.

The growing involvement of third parties in business operations, increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks, and the fast-changing regulatory landscape are making the businesses look for a more strategic and structured approach to governance, risk and compliance (GRC).

The Financial Brand interviewed four fintech luminaries on the future of digital banking disruption, startup challenges and opportunities, and perspectives on what it will take to transform financial services in 2018 and beyond.

Everyone in European finance has been abuzz over an obscure acronym -- MiFID II -- that’s about to radically change how assets from stocks to commodities are traded and investors’ money is managed.