From this recording of the live event, in cooperation with Emeritus, hosted by Rudolf Falat, founder of the Voice of FinTech podcast, you will learn: DEMYSTIFY key terms and frameworks in Financial Technology (FinTech) LEARN how to formulate and communicate key questions that can be addressed through the use of FinTech HEAR real-world applications of FinTech through case studies DISCOVER opportunities to advance FinTech skills

1. DEMYSTIFYING
FINTECH
RUDOLF FALAT

2. MY PROFILE - RUDOLF FALAT
• I am a start-up mentor, adviser, business angel, executive
education coach, founder and host of the Voice of FinTech
podcast
• I am also a senior Corporate Finance and Strategy
professional with a strong international profile and
extensive experience in Financial Services. I have led
strategic M&A transactions for Credit Suisse and
Deutsche Bank in the Financial Services sector worldwide
for more than ten years and worked in HSBC's Consumer
and Leisure Investment Banking after INSEAD MBA
• Before MBA, I worked in various Finance roles in Kraft
Foods and Philip Morris in the US, Austria and Switzerland
2

3. WHAT YOUWILL LEARN
• DEMYSTIFY key terms and frameworks in Financial
Technology (FinTech)
• LEARN how to formulate and communicate key
questions that can be addressed through the use of
FinTech
• HEAR real-world applications of FinTech through
case studies
• DISCOVER opportunities to advance FinTech skills
3

4. ORIGINS OFTHE FINTECH BOOM
DISTRUST OFTHE FINANCIAL
SYSTEM
After the financial crisis of 2008, the public in many
countries has mainly been disappointed that the
banks and bankers got off relatively lightly. That’s the
fundamental motivation behind the rise of
cryptocurrencies, not controlled by central banks or
influenced by governments in any way. Coupled with
the increased privacy awareness of course and pre-
existing desire for freedom.
At the same time, with the increased bandwidth and
internet access, technological companies, with their
genuine customer-first-focus, have “spoiled”
consumers around the world. People began to expect
and demand accessible online services, personalized
to them, regardless of their wealth. While banks, after
the financial crisis, have undergone massive cost-
cutting and capital raising to attempt to de-risk
themselves. With the vast majority of their IT budget
devoted to regulatory requirements, they have only
increased their technical debt.
LACK OFTECHNOLOGICAL
INNOVATION
4

5. 5
VENTURE CAPITAL
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Global VC Funding
Global VC Funding 2016 - 2021
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
EUR billion
References: https://dealroom.co and https://news.crunchbase.com/news/global-vc-funding-unicorns-2021-monthly-recap/
“This increase in large exits in the past five years signifies a real change in the private markets”. Larger institutional allocators are
recognizing this, “which leads to more capital flowing into funds that invest in private companies, and directly into private
companies”
Ben Savage of Clocktower Technology Ventures
5

6. FINTECH FUNDING
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Total funding: VC, PE, M&A
Global FinTech funding 2020-21
2020 2021
6
Reference: https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/fintech-funding-
2021#:~:text=Fintech%20funding%20spiked%20in%202021.&text=Global%20fintech%20funding%20hit%20a,from%20%2423.2%20billion%20in%202020.
https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/state-of-fintech-2021-report/
“Overall investment in FinTech surged to a record high in
the first half of 2021 as investors (RF: and continued in
2H 2021), particularly corporates and VC investors,
made big bets on market leaders in numerous
jurisdictions and across almost all subsectors.
Large funding rounds, high valuations and successful
exits underscore the thesis that digital engagement of
customers that accelerated during the pandemic is
here to stay.”
Ian Pollari
KPMG’s Global Fintech Co-Lead
USD billion

7. 7
• Categorized by the financial services value chain
activities on the right, FinTechs typically focus on a
particular pain point in the process (problem solvers)
or delight customers
• Their solutions usually lead to a handful of products,
which may or may not lead to a sustainable business
model. Often loss-making for a few years, they are
funded by VC or other investors, aiming for a 10x
return on their money. However, 90%+ of start-ups
fail to become sustainable businesses
Payments
Investments
Deposits
Infrastructure
FINTECHVERTICALS (1/2)

8. 8
FINTECHVERTICALS (2/2)
• You can then further drill down their
categorization. As you can see, FinTechs are often
very narrowly specialized vs. universal banks
(incumbents)
• Most of them subscribe to the Lean Startup
Methodology to prove Product-Market fit and then
achieve scale as soon as possible to be self-
sufficient businesses
• FinTech, InsurTech, RegTech, WealthTech are the
most common terms
Further sources: https://www.voiceoffintech.com/all-episodes

9. 19
• While B2C FinTech gets more prominence in
the media, B2B FinTechs have been steadily
raising more funds and growing in
importance as they fill the gap where the
banks lag in technological innovation
• 2/3 of the FinTech funding in 2021 went to
B2B FinTechs!
WHAT IS B2B FINTECH?
Reference: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patriciakemp/2020/08/18/what-is-b2b-fintech/ , https://thepaypers.com/expert-opinion/b2b-fintech-in-focus-ready-for-prime-time--1250496, https://dealroom.co/a
15
9
9 9

10. 10
FINANCE 2.0
Reference: Microsoft Stock
Smart
Contracts
dApps
DeFi
Crypto

11. 11
CRYPTOCURRENCIES (1/2)
• Please have a look at market cap of these
currencies – still nascent market!
• Useful for payments? Consider the following:
• Speed: Transactions per second: Bitcoin 4.6 vs.
Visa 1,700 (2019)
• Energy consumption: Bitcoin 1,810 kWH vs.
Visa 148 per 100k transactions
References: https://towardsdatascience.com/the-blockchain-scalability-problem-the-race-for-visa-like-transaction-speed-5cce48f9d44 https://www.statista.com/statistics/881541/bitcoin-energy-consumption-
transaction-comparison-visa/ https://www.coinbase.com/price

12. 12
CRYPTOCURRENCIES (2/2)
• Is there a way to understand Bitcoin movements? Technical analysis or an oracle?
References: https://www.forexcrunch.com/bitcoin-technical-analysis-short-medium-and-long-term/ Adobe Stock

13. 13
CRYPTOCURRENCIES: BITCOINVS. ETHEREUM (2/2)
1) Bitcoin – digital gold
2) Ethereum – protocol on which you can build
smart contracts and other blockchain based
apps
3) Solana?
Which cryptocurrency will be
the winner?
Reference: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/happened-bitcoins-transaction-volume-172321434.html#:~:text=For%20the%20majority%20of%202021,transactions%20on%20a%20typical%20day.
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/01/19/jpmorgan-says-ethereum-is-losing-nft-market-share-to-solana/

14. 14
STABLECOINS
• Stablecoins potentially could qualify as money as they
are supposed to represent a claim to fiat money
• However, disclosure rules are still emerging and it turns
out that even a stablecoin claims to be backed by the
US Dollar, it may not be (fully) backed the USD!
Tether reserves composition
Reference: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2021/05/13/tether-publishes-two-pie-charts-of-its-reserves/

15. 15
CBDC
• Keep the monetary control
• Diminishing role of paper money currency
• Private sector adoption of blockchain
Reference: Adobe Stock
• Needs to bring tangible benefits
• Interoperability
• Over 80 countries are exploring the possibility of issuing their own CBDCs, including Brazil, Canada, the EU,
Japan, Nigeria, S. Africa, S. Korea, Sweden or the UK

16. 16
MAIN BLOCKCHAINTYPES – WHAT’S BELOWTHE HOOD (1/2)
• The Proof of Work (Bitcoin, Ethereum 1.0) consensus
mechanism is among the most widely utilized methods in
blockchain, and was popularized first by Bitcoin (BTC), requires
mining
• The Proof of Stake is the second most popular consensus
mechanism and solves many of the disadvantages found on
PoW blockchains like lack of speed, poor scalability, inefficient
energy consumption, and high barrier to entry
Reference: https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/blockchain-types-pow-pos-private#section-blockchain-types

17. 17
MAIN BLOCKCHAINTYPES – WHAT’S BELOWTHE HOOD (2/2)
• A private blockchain is a blockchain controlled by a
centralized entity which determines who can interact with
the blockchain, verify transactions, and who can view the
information recorded on the blockchain
• A consortium blockchain is a distributed ledger controlled
by several entities, each of which operates a network
node, participates in consensus, and has permissions to
view certain types of data. Given the lack of
decentralization in these networks, this type of blockchain
technology is often referred to as Distributed Ledger
Technology.
Reference: https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/blockchain-types-pow-pos-private#section-blockchain-types

18. 18
ENTERPRISE BLOCKCHAIN PROTOCOLS
References: https://www.chetu.com/blogs/blockchain/5-key-blockchain-protocols-you-need-to-know.php, https://medium.com/brandlitic/top-5-enterprise-blockchain-protocols-you-must-know-4e9903d812aa

19. 19
DEFI
• DeFi is an ecosystem that allows users to utilize financial products and services without relying on a traditional financial institution
• These financial services and products are built via DApps using Ethereum or other platforms such as Solana, Cardano and Polkadot
Reference: Defi Pulse

20. 20
SMART CONTRACTS
• A smart contract is a code programmed onto a blockchain,
which defines the terms of a particular transaction. Upon the
receipt of a given input, the smart contract will execute and
perform its assigned tasks (similar to escrow)
• Use cases: Insurance, Supply Chain, Logistics, Tokenization or
Modeling!
Reference: https://www.voiceoffintech.com/episodes/modelmanagement, https://medium.com/coreledger/what-are-smart-contracts-a-breakdown-for-beginners-92ac68ebdbeb

21. 21
QUANTUM COMPUTING RACE AND BLOCKCHAIN
• Quantum computation represents a threat to many
cryptographic protocols in operation today. It has
been estimated that by 2035, there will be a
quantum computer capable of breaking the vital
cryptographic scheme RSA2048.
• Blockchain technologies rely on cryptographic
protocols for many of their essential sub-routines.
Some of these protocols, but not all, are open to
quantum attacks
References: https://semiengineering.com/the-great-quantum-computing-race/, https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/ibm-new-53-qubit-quantum-computer-is-its-biggest-yet/,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2020/12/21/heres-why-quantum-computing-will-not-break-cryptocurrencies/?sh=21ae5bed167b,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590005621000138

22. BLOCKCHAIN PROS AND CONS: CONCLUSION
Optimistic view: Blockchain will be part of
mainstream Finance, just like Derivatives
are standard now
22
Pessimistic view: It’s a fad that will go
away
Photo by Piret Ilver on Unsplash

23. WHERE CAN FINTECH ADDVALUE?
23
FINANCIAL LITERACY
Digital banking will be a new norm – neobanks to displace paper / brick & mortar
banking
Bitcoin rise enthusiasm fueling the entire ecosystem, including exploding NFT market
References: https://masschallenge.org/article/fintech-trends , https://www.netguru.com/blog/top-7-technology-trends-in-fintech-in-2021, https://www.techfunnel.com/fintech/fintech-trends-in-2021/
DIGITAL PAYMENTS
AUTONOMOUS FINANCE
DIGITAL ONLY BANKS
FINTECH AS A SERVICE
BLOCKCHAIN & CRYPTO
New business models tried and tested
A recent survey revealed that over 70% of Gen Z respondents believed knowing more
about finances could have helped them manage their money better throughout the
pandemic.
According to Razorpay, digital payment transactions in India have grown up to 76% for
the past 12 months with several first-time digital payment users.
Automation wherever possible: AI and ML to improve user experience
Sustainability, impact investing and Green FinTech or Finance are mainstream
SUSTAINABILITY

24. 24
• Start-ups that achieve USD 1 billion valuation
are called unicorns: 900+ worldwide, of
which 200 are Fintechs (and 30 are
decacorns)
• Do they make money? How?
• A typical dilemma: profitability vs scale
• How do VCs that back them think about it?
• Most common solution? Marketplace model
CASE STUDIES - FINTECH UNICORNS (1/2)
References: https://www.cbinsights.com/research-unicorn-companies, https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/10/fintech-giant-klarna-raises-639m-at-a-45-6b-valuation/,
https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/18/challenger-bank-n26-raises-900-million-at-9-billion-valuation/, https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/15/revolut-confirms-a-fresh-800m-in-funding-at-a-33b-valuation-to-
supercharge-its-financial-services-superapp/, https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/04/as-buy-now-pay-later-startups-keep-raising-capital-a-dive-into-klarna-afterpay-and-affirms-earnings/,
https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/19756/why-neobanks-have-refocused-from-skyrocketing-growth-to-reaching-profitability

25. 25
Here are some of the ones featured on my podcast, Voice of
FinTech, from B2B to B2C:
CASE STUDIES - FINTECH UNICORNS (2/2)
References: https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/24/crypto-wallet-and-exchange-company-blockchain-com-raises-300-million-at-5-2-billion-valuation/ https://riabiz.com/a/2021/6/18/nearing-3-trillion-of-aua-addepar-
accepts-another-150-million-of-unsolicited-pe-money-because-the-price-was-right-a-217-billion-valuation https://www.socure.com/blog/socure-is-officially-a-unicorn
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/09/09/digital-bank-varo-raises-510-million-at-25-billion-valuation/ https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/13/argentine-fintech-uala-lands-350m-at-a-2-45b-valuation/
https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/26/nium-crosses-1b-valuation-with-200m-riverwood-capital-led-round/

26. "When people think about cognitive technologies, mainly they
think about robots, devices, and algorithms. When I think about
cognitive technologies, I think about the human being. About how
cognitive technologies can support us and can augment the
human brain.“
26
Christine Ciriani
Finantix
Clara Durodie
Cognitive Finance Group
Dalith Steiger-Dablinger
SwissCognitive — The Global AI Hub
Dorian Selz
Squirro
David Bloch
Legartis
Evelyne Pflugi
Singularity Group
Pascal Allot
IBM
Michele Bezzi
SAP
Claudia Bolliger-Winkler
Lionstep
AI in Finance (2/2)
Penny Schiffer
Raized.ai
Pahal Patangia
Nvidia
Dennis Gada
Infosys
Reference: https://www.voiceoffintech.com/all-episodes
CASE STUDIES - AI IN FINTECH
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27. HOWTO ADVANCEYOUR FINTECH SKILLS
27
Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
Books
Blogs and social media
Conferences
Lean Startup; Hard Thing about Hard Things; Venture Deals; Innovator’s Dilemma; Entrepreneurial Finance; The
Customer-Funded Business: Start, Finance, or Grow Your Company with Your Customers Cash
Henri Arslanian’s Crypto Capsule
Lendit, Finovate, FinTech Talents
Courses Wharton or Imperial FinTech course

28. 28
FINTECH CAREERS – HOWTO PICKTHE RIGHT FINTECH FOR
YOU
• It can be a life-changing opportunity: Klarna made 75 employees millionaires!
• Start with self-assessment – what are the transferable skills you have that would
help you flourish at FinTech?
• Educate yourself on various FinTech verticals and business models
• Try to see through the media hype and look for the weak points
• Most FinTechs (start-ups) fail – think ahead if you develop transferable skills there
for potentially another start-up after
Listen to https://www.voiceoffintech.com/episodes/team8 to find out more
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
Do your due diligence on the founders and the company – talk to as many employees as you can, as well as
investors, clients, or former employees

29. 29
KEYTAKEWAYS
• FinTech’s funding is at all time high
• Whether you talk about B2C FinTechs well covered by the mainstream media, or B2B
FinTech (which attracted 2/3 of the funding this year), these are times of tremendous
opportunity for FinTech companies
• Several B2C FinTechs are reaching scale where they also turn profit
• B2B is filling the technological debt created by banks
• Blockchain leads another wave of innovation which is likely to be revolutionary
• DeFi can disrupt many industries built on the role of a central counterparty or intermediary

30. THANKYOU!
INFO@VOICEOFFINTECH.COM
WWW.VOICEOFFINTECH.COM