Every week we bring you global thought leadership, in the form of recent opinion pieces, background information behind recent news and content analysing the bigger trends. We believe this will help you get a grip on the bigger picture, and different ways of looking at developments, to be prepared to write your own future. Happy reading!
Synthetic Identity Fraud & New Challenges
According to Joe Bloemendaal, head of strategy at Mitek, Covid-19 has facilitated the rise of fraudulent activities. In addition, Action Fraud reported that since June this year, over £16 million was lost to online shopping fraud during lockdown. In its latest form, synthetic identity fraud posits new challenges for the current anti-fraud measures. As part of the solution, a multi-layered approach involving physical biometrics, link analysis, and backup defense created by the human workforce can bring numerous benefits. Read more
Sustainability & Challenger Banks
Emma Olsson, fintech reporter at Bobsguide.com, emphasizes the issue that comes with sustainability and challenger banks. According to the analysis, fintech experts argue that the business model of challenger banks should focus on longevity and sustainability rather than profits. One such example is Monzo bank, whose customer deposits increased £930.7m in the 12 months leading to February 2020, while its gross lending increase was only £124.7m. Read more
Digital Businesses
According to Chris Skinner, independent commentator on the financial markets, the digital environment is on the rise, bringing new changes in the financial behavior of consumers. Companies and businesses which pre-Covid-19 were focused on mobile orders via apps and internet services have been prosperous in the last period, while the others are struggling to adopt new innovations and catch up with the trends. Thus, a need for friction-free immersion in the customer journey and the digital touchpoints has become essential. Read more
How insurance CIOs can navigate through Covid-19
When it comes to insurance, Andrew Jenkins, Principal in the CIO & Technology Officers Practice at Odgers Berndtson, explains future obstacles that CIOs will face over the next 12 months and how to navigate through Covid-19 times of uncertainty. Due to the fact that the insurance sector has always been lacking behind in terms of digitalization, the pandemic further enhances the technology implementation obstacles. The analysis highlights the importance of adopting agile transformation in a remote environment, changing the cultural mindset about the customer journey, adapting the business models, implementing technology and imposing new leadership traits. Read more
Payment firms and access to payment systems
Nick Catino, Head of Policy at TransferWise (Americas), argues that the US should not only allow depository institutions (like banks) to be part of the payment systems, but also payment firms. On the one hand, by giving direct access to payment firms, consumers can benefit the most, experiencing lower costs and better services. On the other hand, the financial ecosystem can gain numerous advantages, profiting from more innovation and competition. Read more
Egypt and the Fintech Ecosystem
In a recent interview hosted by The Fintech Times, Noha Shaker, the founder and Secretary General of the Egyptian FinTech Association, as well as the elected vice-president of the Africa FinTech Network, speaks exclusively about Egypt and its fintech ecosystem. For the last decade, the Egyptian fintech ecosystem has had high penetration rates when it comes to mobile phones, laying the grounds for reach and accessibility to digital financial services. See the full interview here
Investment services
According to Thomas Pintelon, co-founder at Capilever, the existing investment services and products for consumers have recently seen an increase in terms of choices and customization offerings. As such, the most common investment services so far are discretionary management, advisory management and execution-only, while the investment products are varying from stock, interest-bearing instruments, funds to non-liquid investments and are strictly dependent on the wealth of the customer and the time spent by the customer. The analysis conducted highlights a growing trend for the evolutions in investment software and also the important role of APIs. Read more
Venture Capital Trends
In a recent analysis from TechCrunch, series A funding for fintech is at the crossroads. With one of the big milestones for any startup being to raise a Series A from an institutional investor, this is also a critical funding stage in the innovation economy. As a first shock, the Covid-19 imposed lower investment amounts, typically below $10 million. However, investors have started to adjust to the new market conditions and thus, are more open to a virtual diligence process. Read more
Digital Transformation in Insurance
According to Insurance Innovation Reporter, when it comes to the insurance sector, digitalization and adoption of new technologies are remaining behind. The main obstacles that insurers face when it comes to going digital are brought by concerns regarding compliance, stakeholder resistance, scalability issues, and legacy IT systems. The analysis offers solutions and advice in order to tackle each of these challenges. Read more
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