Curated Articles

Great example of Banking 2.0: Fidor

Fidor TecS enables disruptive banking Fidor combines a full banking license with its own technology: a strong focus on APIs ensures meeting the demands of the …

When innovation will make you pay more for your insurance

“With healthcare costs rising across the developed world, many arguethat the rise of wearable technology as a way to determine health insurance premiums is inevitable–and one company in Switzerland is putting the idea to the test.”

A Unicorn was sold at a 50% discount…

So much for that IPO, I suppose. Good Technology, a long-time IPO candidate with reams of public financial data, was snapped up by BlackBerry this morning..

Trends in Fintech Startups: Data, Payments, Lending and SMEs

Fintech hackathons and competitions occur globally. In January 2012, Swift launched theInnotribe Startup Competition as an initiative to bring together disruptive startups and incumbents in financial services…

Five Legal Threats for Fintech Startups

“Nearly 20 years ago, the launch of online payments giant PayPal shook the financial services industry. Now, a new generation of financial technology or “fintech” companies is once again breaking down the oversized doors of the conservative banking business…”

Why did Blackrock pay $200m for FutureAdvisor?

Source: www.ftpartners.com It seems like I could start writing a series around this theme, after “Why did Northwestern Mutual pay $250m for Learnvest”. FT Partners – who were the advisors of Blackrock in the transaction – produced an excellent document that not only summarises the transaction, but also lists all the main transactions (M&A and funding)(…)

SoFi: a Fintech that uses Techniques from Traditional Investment Banks

“SoFi, a marketplace lender, announced it has priced a securitization of $417.6 million in refinanced student loans. It also announced SoFi was considered the first fintech company to receive an “AAA” rating from DBRS and an “AA2″ from Moody’s for the senior notes, which equaled $387.3 million.”

Fintech in Asia is taking off

Available from today, local growth-stage start-ups and mature-stage global FinTech companies can apply for a co-working space within the SuperCharger.

As part of the TusPark network, companies benefit from: access to TusPark’s Global Network, which includes 30+ co-work spaces around the world, 100+ Venture Capital Firms and angel investors, media coverage, as well as experience gained from incubating over 1’500 companies….”

Is more data good or bad for finance? And society?

A standard line you hear from fintech promoters is that innovative digital technologies can liberate the world by bringing financial services to the financially excluded.

Yet, as we’ve noted on numerous occasions, there’s something disingenuous about this claim.”

Singapore Financial Regulator Launches Fintech Group

The central bank has formed a new work group to develop strategies and formulate regulation around the use of new technologies in financial services.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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We both caught the Coronavirus

My wife and I were both ill with the symptoms of COVID-19. While we were ill, we were looking for information about other people’s experience of COVID to understand how our symptoms could evolve. This is our experience, and this blog is written both by Tram Anh and me. The context We live in London, and are co-founders of(…)
How can bankers think like entrepreneurs?

2 weeks ago, I was chairing the stream about “How can banks innovate” at Money 20/20 Singapore. The audience was mainly professionals in banks and Fintech entrepreneurs, and I asked them the following question : “What is the biggest challenge for bank innovation?” What would be your answer ? Have a think then see below how(…)
What will be the most successful bank in a Fintech world?

A few years ago, many banks were not convinced that Fintech* would impact them. Or rather, many banks were convinced that Fintech would NOT impact the industry, because of regulations, customer behaviour, etc. Fast forward to today, and this sentiment has totally shifted. From new challenger banks acquiring 8,000 new customers per day to Alibaba having(…)
How has Fintech transformed finance?

The “Fintech” trend started 5 years ago.* Since then, we’ve heard about new startups, the emergence of tech competitors in finance, and also banks investing in technology. But what has been exactly the impact of technology in finance? Is there a real impact, is it too early to say, or is it just hype? My(…)
Alibaba becomes Top 10 Global Bank

A few years ago, I wrote about the inexorable rise of Google and Amazon in finance. The conclusion from the piece was “if you prefer fast action and major Fintech disruption from tech powerhouses, then forget Amazon, Google or Apple, and watch Alibaba or Tencent…. Ant Financial, the finance arm of Alibaba, is valued $50bn.” This was 2.5 years ago, and(…)
Why SME Banking is a huge untapped market

When I started The Disruptive Group last year, one of my first tasks – like any entrepreneur – was to open a bank account. Being a fervent proponent of Fintech, I looked at the different options available in the UK, including the different Fintech startups. My requirements for the ideal bank? – Easy onboarding. We(…)
What are the skills for Finance 2.0? At the Singapore Fintech Festival

Skills for finance are changing. And this is happening today already: “NAB will make 6,000 job cuts over then next 3 years with its digital banking revamp… NAB is hiring 2,000 people with different capabilities” says Banking Technology. After a very fast paced trip in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Vietnam (more on this later, but(…)