Fintech News Issue #52 January 27th, 2016

[german only] Ihr wolltet es hören, wir liefern. Auf Wunsch vieler Hörer heute ein Interview mit der Geschäftsführung von paydirekt über den Status, den Weg bisher und die Zukunft.

One of the frustrations with retail banking is the sense that all services are too expensive for the poor who could most benefit. Part of this stems from the banks being product oriented. One of the revolutions of fintech disruption is the creation of the services for the traditionally underserved, sometimes called the underbanked.

Fintech was every banker’s buzzword at the World Economic Forum, as leaders of the world’s largest financial companies both touted the potential of new innovations and leaned on regulators to control the startups threatening parts of their business.

Santander recently announced that monthly charges on its popular 123 account would more than double. This move illustrates how the retail banking industry is changing, in response to the European Union capping interchange fees, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority considering whether to end the era of free bank accounts.

Jake Chambers proffers advice about the true meaning of innovation when it comes to creating new business initiatives in 2016.

MRC Vegas is the industry's premier conference and trade show with more than 1500 attendees, including over 450 companies from over 30 countries, expected at our 2016 event.

High valuations aside, can we believe anything we read about the so-called fintech unicorn? Story by Chris Skinner.

In my last research note I discussed the role of WebBank in the triangle of Lending marketplaces in the US. The function of this regulated entity is clear and brings to the forefront the roles and responsibilities left to the unregulated Lending platforms.

Recent estimates put the number of people without access to mainstream credit at around nine million in the UK. The net effect is more and more people turning to high-cost loans from payday and doorstep lenders. Whilst the barriers to mainstream credit are varied, this article will set out to define four major categories, or as I’m calling them, “fallacies of consumer credit”.

Pioneer business models are under threat from new entrants when it comes to robo-advice, says Bartosz Golba, and Snapchat has surprised us all.

While the banking industry agrees that investment in digital initiatives are required, determining the prioritization and ROI of these investments is less certain.

George Samman breaks down the implications of living in a deflationary world, where banking and financial services are the latest victims.

FinTech is an interesting market to keep an eye on these days, even though there is still a lot of education and guiding that needs to take place in the years to come. Tackling the financial sector head-on is not an easy feat, and the process is underestimated by a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs. At the same time, a new report shows that European startups are doing fairly well in this market, which is good news for Bitcoin as well.

Back in September 2007 I attended a startup pitch event held in a London university lecture theatre. The surroundings weren’t plush. The slightly musty lecture theatre didn’t hint at the ambitions of the people present. But when Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Skype walked in, and joined in a panel of other seasoned tech entrepreneurs, everyone knew something important was happening.