Fintech News Issue #172 June 21st, 2018

The last mile of any distribution network is always the least efficient, and it is no different for financial services. This week JP Nicols and Jason Henrichs talk about the ways that fintech can help, and the hard work that still remains, with guests Michelle Tinsley, Founder of Tinsley Retail Insights and Mike Laven, CEO of Currencycloud.

As fintech firms and tech giants expand their digital financial services offerings, are traditional banking organizations losing their status as the primary financial institution (PFI)?

Last week, our good friend Dave Birch posted a great blog about the Amazonisation of Banking, most of which I agreed with. So I asked Dave if I could repost it here and he said “yes, of course”. Thanks Dave. Enjoy!

Our current banking systems lack accountability and transparency. The Financial Depression of 2008 could have been discovered and prevented only if our banks were more transparent.

I will say my piece today expecting to convince exactly zero people who don’t already agree with me but hoping against hope that I might.

From payments to lending to insurance to checking accounts, Amazon is attacking financial services from every angle without applying to be a conventional bank. In this report, we break down everything we know about Amazon’s foray into financial services, and where it's rumored to be looking next.

Open banking provides both a threat and opportunity for financial institutions in the future. Banks and credit unions can either sit on the sideline, or leverage the power of open APIs to compete with both small and big fintech providers.

Technology is starting to behave in intelligent and unpredictable ways that even its creators don’t understand. As machines increasingly shape global events, how can we regain control?

We know that there are lots of new bank start-ups out there, particularly in Europe where names like N26, Bunq, Fidor and Monzo stand out. In particular, the UK’s Monzo bank is notable

Fintechs have promised to make selling and buying a house more efficient. But they have yet to deliver (fully) on the promise. To be sure, the ‘old’ guards of the fintech real estate world, Zillow and Redfin, have armed a potential buyer or seller inventory, neighborhood, and comparable transaction information before they even contact a broker.

When you have spent the last ten years ensuring the continued health and stability of the global financial system and are about to hang up your superhero suit (or at least put it in for a dry clean and press), the appearance of a piece of kryptonite – like innovation can be irritating.

Taking Advantage of the Next Era of Trade Settlement Technology

A survey by Personetics shows that the financial services industry is getting closer to supporting conversational commerce, supporting projects that use chatbots to improve the overall customer experience.

Early this year FEI released an article predicting the top seven trends for corporate finance in 2018. It’s easy to see why broader adoption of BI was at the top of their list. When things don’t go according to plan, someone needs to figure out why and course correct.

Artificial intelligence is changing the world of retirement planning. By using improved datasets and algorithms to efficiently deliver solutions tailored to people’s needs, AI can help them save, invest and retire better.