Plaid puts out a ‘request for startups’ in nine underserved fintech sectors
Plaid wants to make it easier for financial services companies to serve consumers and businesses, but it also sees significant holes in the fintech ecosystem. As a result, the company has issued a Y Combinator-like “request for startups” to tackle particular issues where it believes significant innovation is lacking. In case you don’t know, Plaid is a kind of picks-and-shovels tool provider for the fintech developer community. Like Yodlee before it, Plaid enables startups and other tech companies to more easily connect with banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions, both to authenticate consumer accounts and access their financial data. Basically, if you’ve ever used a third-party mobile app […]
Kasikorn Bank creates $30 million Fintech Fund
Kasikorn Bank has opened up a $30 million fund to invest in to Fintech startups, thus exemplifying the banks attitude to embrace disruptive technologies. The rapid technological developments within the financial industry has opened up new dimensions in the market, changing how customers think. People are moving towards more digital options in an attempt to improve both the quality and ease of different services. Governments are moving to acclimate laws to better encompass these new methods for business. As a result, consumers are now experiencing faster, cheaper, more secure, and more convenient services than ever before. Kasikorn Bank realizes that in order to survive in this new market, they must […]
Credit Suisse develops Robo Advisor
Digital development is gathering pace at Credit Suisse under the guidance of Anke Bridge. Switzerland’s second-largest bank is working on a service that will be based on advice provided by robots. It wasn’t just the sheer size which kept UBS and Credit Suisse (CS) apart, but also their respective approach to innovation – with UBS seen clearly ahead of its cross-town rival. Under the leadership of Anke Bridge, appointed as CS head of digital solutions in December 2016, CS is catching up. Bridge told Le Temps newspaper that CS was a very innovative bank, but agreed that the company should become more active in communicating its current projects. CS Invest […]
FinTech and the positive transformation of Banking in Africa
The unique environment for financial services in Africa is fertile ground for innovative FinTech players who are capitalising on the opportunities to disrupt or leapfrog established business models to make financial services more affordable, accessible and profitable across the continent. Due to their potent blend of trail‐blazing technology and disruptive innovation, FinTech players have the ability to accelerate the digital transformation of financial services in Africa and, in turn, further spur the major existing banks to rapidly ramp‐up their own innovation initiatives to meet the financial needs of under‐served markets across the continent. FinTech players are increasingly becoming an important part of the fabric of Africa’s financial services ecosystem and […]
Fintech startups impress big banks
Big banking groups are increasingly collaborating with exciting fintech startups to reshape the industry. Spain’s Bankia group announced this week the names of the young companies selected to join its inaugural international programme, which was launched late last year. The standard of applicants to the ‘Bankia Fintech by Innsomnia‘ platform was so impressive eight were picked, three more than initially planned. The plan is to collaborate with the new starts to build a a client-supplier relationship that can harness the potential of the services being developed by the startups drawn from Australia, France, Israel, the UK and America. They will join the accelerator, based at the Port of Valencia, in […]
Japan lender Mizuho to launch fintech venture
Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group will start a venture next month to create new businesses using “fintech,” an executive said, joining a global race in financial technology that threatens to unsettle traditional players. Japan’s second-largest lender by assets said there were already 20 projects in the pipeline for the venture, utilizing blockchain technology and artificial intelligence programs in areas such as farming and travel. Daisuke Yamada, Mizuho’s chief digital innovation officer, said the challenges were cultural as well as technological, as truly new business models required a break from Japanese banks’ conservative, overly risk-averse attitudes. For that reason, he said the bank would limit its stake in the yet-to-be named venture […]
Three regional fintech winners unveiled at Citi Tech for Integrity Challenge in Dublin
Citi has unveiled three winners from its regional Tech for Integrity Challenge (T4I) Demo Day held in Dublin last week, garlanding Aid:Tech, Paycode and Pole Star with the T4I Award for innovation. The global program aims to promote accountability and transparency in the public sector and beyond by supporting the effective use of financial technology (fintech) solutions and monitoring technology. It is run by Citi’s internal fintech team, treasury and trade unit, and Citi Ventures, its technology accelerator, investment and collaboration arm. Facebook, IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft and PwC are some of the other partners involved in judging the competition. The idea is to support small start-up companies’ applications on beneficiary […]
Skandiabanken allows Norwegians to handle Bitcoin through Internet Banking
Norwegian Skandiabanken now enables customers to handle cryptocurrencies over its internet banking application.Increasing demand for Bitcoin and other altcoins can no longer be ignored. The cryptocurrencies have already made inroads to the conventional financial system, both directly as well as indirectly. As banking institutions continue to adopt blockchain technology, a Norwegian online bank — Skandiabanken has gone a step further to recognize Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies as an investment class. In order to facilitate the use of cryptocurrency among its customers, Skandiabanken has recently announced a new feature that enables users to buy and store Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ether on its online banking platform. The bank is offering the […]
