Fintech News Issue #63 April 12th, 2016

Today, Brett speaks with Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion to get an update on Money 20/20 in Copenhagen. Then John Hucker and Alexandre Gaillard from the Swiss Finance and Technology Assn. join to discuss their goals and plans to assist fintech startups in Geneva. Nicolas Mackel of Luxemburg for Finance will talk about the movement in Luxemburg to stay at the top of the investment space. And Harriet Wakelam from Medibank will join to talk about UX in the Insurtech space, and what to expect in insurance disruption.

Duena Blomstrom reviews Money2020 Europe and finds wooden language and jargon aplenty.

Writing anything about Bitcoin or blockchains is a challenge. It's not the easiest technology to understand – not because it's particularly complex, but because it's grown into something of a confused mess of different technologies and applications. It also "looks" strange compared to most technologies that we're used to. Plus, it tends to be quite emotive because although it's all open source and open standards, it's all about "money," and that gets everyone excited.

Mark Barnett, the boss of MasterCard in the UK and Ireland, believes that in five years time cash will be practically extinct in Britain and Ireland — and in 30 years it will seem as old fashioned as the horse and cart.

Join What the FinTech?! #3 on April 14 in Cologne. New insights into the banking industry and disruptive startups. Register now!

Only few more days left until the European FinTech Awards. Meet 400 hand picked entrepreneurs, bankers, investors and advisors, extend your network and develop business. Buy your tickets now via FTW.

The challengers aiming to take on the traditional high street banks are themselves facing an enormous obstacle if they are to disrupt the banking market significantly, observes Zehra Chudry, organiser of the “Challengers versus Legacy Banks” debate at PayExpo Europe 2016. This hurdle is building consumer trust.

A lot of people ask us how we define Fintech. The really short answer is “broadly”. The slightly longer answer is “the reinvention of Financial Services through digitization“. This note gives a more complete answer and defines the different segments within Fintech.

The best way to generate a new idea? Assemble a lot of new ideas, a gaggle of talented developers and challenge them to put their skills to the test to determine how those ideas can be — or if they should be — brought to market.

As digital currencies and the technology behind them become more widely adopted by incumbents and startups with a global presence, the need for consistent laws and regulations governing them is ever more apparent.

The U.K. Government is ramping up its efforts in supporting the country's fintech industry, announcing Monday initiatives to create a fintech strategy unit and information hub for startups.

Investors see a sunny future for marketplace lending, according to a survey released today by Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP (RKO) and Wharton Fintech.

Daniel Latimore on how Amazon Echo is a vision of the next step on the road to complete seamlessness and ambient responsiveness in your financial life.

It’s no secret that Silicon Valley is always on the lookout for the next big thing. It’s that drive to test, innovate, and explore that keeps the technology sector hurtling forward at breakneck speed.

Chris Myers argues that "The best fintech companies will be the ones that figure out how to make banks better, not destroy them."