Britain leading the way in fintech adoption, report shows
Britain is leading the way in fintech adoption in the developed market, according to a new report from professional services and Big Four firm EY. EY’s fintech adoption index showed that 42 per cent of consumers in the UK are now using fintech services. However, there has been growth worldwide when it comes to the adoption of financial technology, with usage rates being high in emerging markets such as South Africa, China, India, Brazil and Mexico. Highest Emerging markets topped the fintech adoption index, with China having the highest adoption rate at 69 per cent, followed by India at 52 per cent. The report, which was based on findings from […]
Visa buys stake in fast-growing fintech group Klarna
Visa is taking a stake in Klarna in a sign of the Swedish fintech’s growing presence in online payments. A week after Klarna became the largest European fintech to receive a banking licence, Visa said it was making a strategic investment through the purchase of a stake of less than 10 per cent as well as offering a future partnership. The price paid by Visa was not revealed. Klarna has become a big participant in Germany and the Nordics for online payments, allowing its 60m customers to buy goods on the internet quickly and pay only after receiving them. It is looking to make a similar splash in the UK […]
Japan casts a wider net with its latest fintech initiatives
Japan’s fintech efforts have largely focused on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, but now the country seems to be taking a broader approach toward the industry, as two new developments last week indicate: Japan and Australia signed a fintech cooperation agreement. The Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) signed a collaboration agreement to enable the agencies to refer promising fintechs to each other, as well as share information regarding fintech innovation, regulatory changes, and economic developments more easily. Australia has been active in supporting a wide range of fintech segments recently, so it’s likely Japan hopes to gain a more holistic overview of the […]
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 […]
Why India’s Fintech startups are flocking to disrupt the UAE
India’s technology startup ecosystem has grown exponentially in recent years and now appears to have caught the eye of startup enthusiasts in the UAE. The Middle East nation is keen to elevate disruptive Indian fintech startups by providing them an international platform and financial support. UAE’s affinity for disruptive fintech According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry in India (ASSOCHAM), India now stands third after the UK and USA in fostering the growth of technology startups. With the UAE aspiring to be a technology hub, there has been considerable interest in identifying appropriate Indian technology startups that could address the nation’s immediate needs across sectors, especially finance. Sandeep […]
A new way to raise money: The Initial Coin Offering
The digital currency ecosystem has had a crazy year. The Bitcoin market capitalization has grown from $11 billion on June 5, 2016 to almost $47 billion USD on June 5, 2017. Negative news during that time included a 120,000 BTC heist from Bitfinex, worth $65m then and $350m now. The Winklevoss twins sought to create an exchange traded fund dealing in Bitcoin, but they were denied. Positive events were much broader, including Japan recognizing the coin as a legal payment method, Russia reversing their prior stand against Bitcoin, and Australia adjusting its policies to remove a double taxation problem for those accepting digital currencies. Now a new phenomenon is sweeping […]
New force among Fintech Hubs
In almost no time, a former hedge-fund manager has built the world’s biggest fintech hub – Lattice80. He is convinced that his strategy will work in other financial markets too, including in Switzerland. The location is a dream for fintechs, both for entrepreneurs and for visitors: the banking district of Singapore, close to UBS, Deutsche Bank, DBS and OCBC. Lattice80 takes up the best of 3,000 square meters of office space on two floors, providing space for work stations and events alike. Lattice80During a visit of finews.com at Lattice80, there’s a nice buzz about the place. Since its foundation in November of 2016, Lattice80 has attracted 85 fintech startups to […]
How Thailand could become Southeast Asia’s next Fintech Hub
Increased adoption of blockchain technologies, Big Data and artificial intelligence would enable Thai fintechs to enhance the products and services available to existing customers but also to serve the country’s under- and unbanked consumers as well. Omise, a payment management platform founded by Jun Hasegawa and Ezra Don Harinsut, is Thai fintech’s greatest success story to date. In 2016, it raised a $17.5 million Series B round and currently operates in Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore. It’s an aspirational story that is indicative of the possibilities for other fintech startups in Thailand, given the right conditions. “Fintech startups have the potential [to] stimulate innovation across not just the Thai financial services […]
