Fintech News Issue #67 May 11th, 2016

The possibilities that digital currency create with payments, ledgers, contracts, and the transparency to rebuild trust are momentous. On the show today, Brett is hosting people who dare to re-imagine how banks and payments interact, who the middle man should really be, or if a middle man is needed at all.

Over the past ten years, I’ve seen analysts’ forecast of the number of devices connected to the internet grow from 2 billion to 50 billion. The reality is we simply don’t know and the ever-spiralling number is a sign of just how big the potential for this new technology is. It seems it will soon be possible to connect anything and everything

Another week, another report on how the demands of the millennial generation are disrupting long-established companies and industries. This week it’s the turn of Oracle, who have produced a report on banks’ urgent need to redesign themselves for the future.

Core systems used by retail financial institutions are sorely overdue for a major upgrade. Many have been nursed along for decades with little more than bandaids, duct tape and some chicken wire. If you're going to compete in the Digital Age, it's time to bite the bullet and get serious about a core conversion.

When you think of fun, I'm sure the secure delivery of your financial data isn't the first thing that comes to mind - but why are the two mutually exclusive? Now that we’ve mastered accessing financial information through FinTech applications, we need to focus on the next generation of FinTech.

Over $100 billion fines were paid in US for non-compliance since 2007! More than $2.5 billion in 2015 alone was a result of incomplete and inaccurate data used for complying with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. It’s not just financial institutions, but most firms are sitting on a ticking time bomb. How? Dr Seth Rao, CEO of FirstEigen, explores the issue.

An annual study on expectations and experiences in the banking industry reveals the complex challenges financial marketers face when trying to forge new relationships with consumers. People detest having their time sucked by the complexities of banking. Banks and credit unions must find ways to make managing finances easier.

Advancements in digital lending technology are now available for banking organizations of all sizes, leveling the playing field in a marketplace crowded with new non-banking start-ups.

Some pretty powerful words were shared at this year’s NACHA Payments 2016 conference. In a world where faster payments are coming, forget about thinking big. It’s all about creativity.

Forget Brexit and all the rest. The European threat that U.S. bankers should start taking more seriously is the potential spread of tough new privacy standards across the Atlantic.

Here we go again. A few weeks ago, PaymentEye covered a report by The Co-op that predicted mobile payments will account for 65% of all transactions in 2025. A new report from Prepaid International Forum (PIF) of UK consumers is bound to kick this conversation off again, finding that the majority of respondents under the age of 44 believe mobile will soon replace cash as their main payment method.

One of the gating factors to financial inclusion is the mobile network itself. It sounds simple to say that all of Africa can have access to mobile money, and they can, but if each telco has different wallet structures, charges and fees, then the ease of usage falls sharply. This is why interoperability is a key factor and Tanzania leads the way in this regard.