Issue #373 - The Other Way Around July 21st, 2022

Mike Whitmire, CEO of the fintech company FloQast, analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence and automation on the job market. Inspired by the Benenden Health’s study, which assesses that around 63% of managers in the financial sector are considering quitting their jobs for burnout, Whitmire affirms that automation can lead workers to focus on less stressful, less repetitive, and more enriching tasks.

Open banking, backed by APIs, allows non-financial businesses to easily embed financial services and make people’s lives easier. That’s one of the strengths of fintech companies when compared to traditional banks, along with the offer of more accessible and flexible financial tools. But what are the risks involved – especially when it comes to possible debt spirals?

Dubai, one of the most important crypto hubs in the Middle East, launches its Metaverse Strategy, which could lead to over 40,000 jobs in less than 10 years.

While big crypto companies like Celsius and Voyager file for bankruptcy, many are the questions about the possibility of recovering crypto funds when such centralized companies fail. Crypto regulation is still under development, and this means that in these cases investors might not be able to recover their funds. Fortunately, people and businesses can take measures to protect their crypto funds – but also these solutions come with some risks.

Starling, the fintech company and largest online-only bank in the UK, withdrawn its European bank license application. The fintech backed by Goldman Sachs and Qatar’s wealth fund will focus on selling its SaaS product – as reported by the CEO Anne Boden.

Union Bank of India is joining the Metaverse: the banking company announced the launch of a Metaverse Virtual Lounge and Open Banking Sandbox during an event held in Mumbai.

The renowned British auction house, Christie’s, announced the launch of a new venture fund – Christie’s Ventures – focused on Web 3.0 and “art-related financial products”.

Igugu Global, the African climate fintech, launched the Green Finance Marketplace to share businesses’ climate-related data, in order to facilitate the flow of investments to sustainable companies and sectors.

The African technology company Cassava Technologies has raised $50 million dollars to create a network of cyber security operations centers (CSOCs) in Africa. The goal is to improve digitalization and economic inclusion in Africa, as well as providing space technology, cyber security and clean energy.

Fintech is not just a trend: it created a model that is sufficiently agile to recover after crises and offer solutions that can cope with an increased need for digitalization. Nathan Sinnott covers the main opportunities to leverage, and how these fintech’s key elements improved businesses.