Google bank (aka project Cache): Joining Apple, Facebook and a growing list of big techs entering banking is working to offer checking accounts next year with in partnership with Citigroup and Standard Federal Credit Union. Can big techs self-regulate?
JP's Fade to back office: Far from fearing the rise of tech in banking, JP Morgan is facilitating the relationship with big tech. After all, some tech companies can do a bunch of things better than banks. Although what banks can help tech with, is managing what the consumer doesn’t see.
Unintended consequences: When you take some fresh thinking, mix it in with some new tech and tackle financial services, some interesting things happen. Like pyramiding leverage between options and equities like a futures trade. At Robinhood, it looks like creative comes from the client side too.
Entrepreneurial spirit: The University of Calgary is taking steps to help their startups with their own crowdfunding platform. With a plethora of talent and world class research in our post secondary institutions, crowdfunding can help transform ideas into commercial reality.
What's happened so far? Research on the state of Open banking in the UK
Farmers getting paid: A blockchain based parametric weather insurance product has made its first payouts, after severe weather impacted smallholder farmers. “We are proud to have real-world, on-the-ground success from a blockchain solution for microinsurance”
Libra by Visa and Mastercard: When it comes to payments, credit card plastic may not be forever. But their networks are the fastest way to scale a fintech payment play as Zuck may be about to find out.
Recession crashes HK's fintech party: Months of political unrest is hitting small businesses the worst with the financial centre's economy shrinking 3.2% in Q3. Despite sentiment, HK Fintech week kicked off with a major announcement including the formalized regulatory framework for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). Earlier this year HK authorities issued 8 virtual bank licenses to companies like Tencent.
Harmonizing EU investment CF rules: EC Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted “willingness to move forward and find compromises, hopefully still this year” (on investment crowdfunding). Long time advocate and leading voice ECN is seeking €8 million caps, a new investor classification and more.
Quotes: Techcrunch asked leading VCs where they see the most opportunity and how they see the market evolving over the long-term.
- Greycroft: Our fintech portfolio is more global than other sectors we invest in because there are opportunities to achieve billion dollar outcomes in fintech, even in countries that are much smaller than the United States. That is not true in many other sectors. - Ian Sigalow
- Bessemer Venture Partners: In 2020, we anticipate continued entrepreneurial activity and investor enthusiasm around the infrastructure and middleware layers within the fintech ecosystem that are enabling further rebundling and a rapid convergence of product themes and business models across the consumer fintech landscape. - Charles Birnbaum
Strictly Legal Podcast: Who owns the blockchain?
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