Fintech Innovations Overshadow Banks In Africa
Our expert Brandon Kostinuk, Communications Lead at Vanbex Group, analyses the role of the world’s unbanked in Fintech innovations and technological advancement. Each week headlines spotlight millions of dollars in fintech funding for the development and trialing of cutting-edge technology like the distributed ledger, digital currencies or their deploying platforms. It is easy to lose sight of the core, perhaps altruistic, driving force of creating technology, which is advancement. Brandon Kostinuk makes reference to President and CEO of the San Francisco Federal Reserve John C. Williams’....
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African banks, behind the times with fintech, could actually become pioneers in developing new financial technologies like the blockchain and bitcoin. Because these banks largely left it up to telecom companies to assume the role of financial service providers in parts of Africa, the banks are now investing in digital currency startups, according to Quartz Africa. The question is how long will it take. Mbwana Alliy, a managing partner at the Savannah Fund, a technology venture company, said a headwind of fintech disruption is blowing from Europe and Silicon Valley into Africa. Blockchain....
A recent report by CR2 on Africa’s fintech transformation suggests traditional financial institutions can still be a part of the fintech financial revolution if they leverage one of their most significant assets: client trust.
Partnerships Between Banks and Fintechs
The report urges financial institutions that wish to accelerate their advance to success in the fintech space to forge partnerships with fintech startups and technology companies. Having such partnerships, as well as their longstanding client networks and more defined regulatory environment, means financial....
A new report suggests that China could push the U.K. off the FinTech top spot as Chinese companies overshadow U.K. firms. The report, from KPMG and H2 Ventures, found that compared to 2015 there were only 13 U.K. firms in the yearly FinTech 100 report. In 2015, that number is reported to have been 18. However, only one U.K. firm, Atom Bank, was reported to be in the top ten. Compared this to Chinese companies and while the report detailed that there were eight firms listed in the top 100, four of them made it to the top five. These are Ant Financial, Qudian, Lufax, and ZhongAn. Of course,....
Analysis of the biennial Payment Innovations Report 2015 from June 17 has described an increasingly successful FinTech sector in Asian and African countries that they say is likely to take the lead in digital payment startups and new businesses, while they criticize NFC payments as a “solution still looking for a problem.” Looking at the future of payment innovation, the report seeks to identify the greatest opportunities in the sector, as well as dispel “overhyped” concepts. The strongest theme underlying the report is of the shift in FinTech innovations from the West to Asia and Africa.....
India’s second biggest private bank by assets, ICICI, is showing plenty of interest in the development of blockchain applications, according to the banking institution’s managing director and chief executive, Chanda Kochhar. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Kochhar states that the bank is prepared for a technological revolution bought on by innovations like the blockchain. While the narrative is increasingly seeing Fintech as the banking industry’s biggest threat and disruptor, the chief executive confirms that her bank is ‘constantly looking’ at blockchain technology.....