University of Malta offers a Master’s degree in blockchain
The University of Malta now offers a master’s degree in blockchain. The “Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology” course, which accepted its first cohort this month, is a multi-disciplinary degree offered by the University’s Centre for Distributed Technologies. It costs 13,400 euros a year, and lasts three semesters. The master’s degree, which is offered on a full-time or part-time basis, will, according to a prospectus, arm people from different industries with a multi-disciplinary approach to crypto. “Programmers will require knowledge of regulatory and legal frameworks within which smart contracts are being proposed, and similarly lawyers would be required to understand obligations laid out within smart contracts,” reads the prospectus. To read […]
London Fintech Yordex adds smart cards to suite of software
UK fintech Yordex is making it simple for fast-growing companies to control business spend by adding company cards to its smart spend management solution, giving businesses complete visibility and authority over their current and future finances. Expense management currently takes up a disproportionate amount of time and money within most organisations; on average, it costs in excess of $20 in people power to process every invoice or expense claim, while expenses only account for less than 6% of total company spend. In addition, firms struggle to get a real-time picture of their financial health, as their existing software platform only provide a historical view of spend. It takes an average […]
Fintech startups: why Bulgaria is a hotbed for financial software development
With more than 60 financial technology companies, half of which have been established in the past three years, Bulgaria is becoming a leading center for new financial technology companies in the south-east of Europe. The growth of the sector has been rapid. Last year, Bulgarian fintech companies realized a turnover of 212 M € (234 M $). Their net income has more than doubled compared to 2017. According to some information, operating income should exceed € 300 million ($ 331 million) in 2019. While the success of the fintech industry has many reasons, its ecosystem is characterized by its ecosystem of resources. According to Gergana Stoitchkova, Director of the Bulgarian […]
Cambodia’s Central Bank tests out digital wallet to reduce cross-border payment fees
Cambodia’s Central Bank wants to curtail the cost of cross-border payments and is examining its in-house digital wallet, the Hyperledger Iroha-powered Bakong. Last week, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) signed an agreement with Malaysia’s Maybank. The banks will work together to cut down the remittance fees of their respective digital payment platforms – Bakong and Maybank2u. H.E. Chea Serey, Cambodia’s chief central banker, told the Khmer Times that the remittance fees can range as high as 30%. Chea Serey also stated that the partnership can reduce the fees. He said: “The introduction of Bakong system will provide more possibilities in enhancing payment system at both domestic and regional level” […]
China’s cryptocurrency plan has a powerful partner: Big Brother
When Facebook announced plans this year for a cryptocurrency called Libra, it said its goal was to reinvent money for the internet age. What the company probably didn’t imagine was that its efforts might spur China to get there first. China wants to start replacing the cash that people carry with a digital currency soon, a long-discussed project that went into overdrive after Libra was unveiled in June. Facebook has been fighting to defend its initiative against skeptical regulators, and key corporate partners have pulled out of the project. But Beijing’s ambitions appear to be moving ahead at full speed. The system emerging in China looks very different from bitcoin […]
UK pumps £10 million into the Kenyan Fintech scene as it aims to increase financial inclusion for low-income and underserved consumers through technology
The Lord Mayor of the City of London Peter Estlin, on Thursday announced £10 million (Sh1.154 billion) of UK Aid support towards the Catalyst Fund during a visit to Nairobi. His visit comes ahead of the first UK-Africa Investment Summit next year, which will bring together businesses, governments and international institutions to encourage investment in a range of sectors, including fintech. The Catalyst Fund supports business development and investor opportunities for early stage fintech companies in emerging markets. With support from the UK Department for International Development, the Catalyst Fund will help connect a further 30 local fintech companies with international investors and mentors, including Kenyan fintech companies. “Today’s announcement […]
The Russian fintech scene in the spotlight
The Russian fintech market has been growing significantly for the past two years in terms of both the number of deals and the volume of investment. The market has several particularities: Russia is a leading global supplier of IT specialists and some areas such as P2P lending, crowd investment and cryptocurrencies have yet to be regulated. According to some fintechs the key hurdles facing the Russian market include the low interest of external investors, the low spending power of the public, geopolitical risk and the inflexibility of the tax authorities. In 2018 the Russian Central Bank created a regulatory sandbox in order to encourage new financial services and technologies such […]
Japan’s Cryptocurrency Business Association releases new guidance
The Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA), an organization that fosters the responsible development of the crypto asset industry in Japan, has released new guidance on the regulation of crypto asset management. The guidance is the result of a consultation process with crypto exchanges, custodians and other parties and takes their viewpoints into account. The guidance seeks to encourage a crypto asset system that balances user protections with stable market development. Crypto custody The topic for the guidance was the newly added crypto asset management clause for crypto asset exchanges in amendments to Japan’s Payment Services Act announced on May 31 of this year. In the amended Payment Services Act, crypto […]
