1. The document discusses the state of the fintech sector and challenges facing fintech firms in the UK. It notes the UK's strengths in the fintech space but says more must be done to support growth and innovation.
2. A panel of experts provides advice on alternative finance investing, noting the importance of diversification and due diligence given risks. They discuss how alternative finance is filling gaps by funding underserved businesses.
3. The panel sees alternative finance becoming more global and diverse in coming years, with new products like funds and convertible equity, and the potential for equity crowdfunding of public companies. Government support like possible alternative finance inclusion in ISAs is a major development.
Greg Carson of XBTO Humla Ventures, Venture Capital/Digital Asset fund manager at the marcus evans Private Wealth Management Summit 2022, and the Elite Summit 2022, discusses the financial markets transformation, and what investment opportunities investors must consider.
DealMarket DIGEST Issue 163 //21 November 2014CAR FOR YOU
The document summarizes several news items from the private equity industry:
1) A study found that several venture capital funds outperformed during the 2008 financial crisis, including Union Square Ventures, Avalon Ventures VIII, and Emergence Capital Partners II.
2) Many European entrepreneurs are founding startups in Southeast Asia for business opportunities and financial success, not just for better weather. Payments services are seen as attractive for expansion to other emerging markets.
3) Global M&A volume hit a seven-year high in 2014, with healthcare deals reaching a record level. Private equity accounted for over 20% of deal volume.
The document discusses the rise of financial technology (FinTech) and its disruption of traditional financial services. FinTech is using technology to meet customer demands and create new business models, challenging incumbents. Three key areas being disrupted are (1) payments through services like PayPal, (2) alternative lending platforms that compete with banks, and (3) crowdfunding and crowd-investing that could challenge investment banks. The FinTech sector is growing rapidly through new startups and investment. While Silicon Valley and New York have been leaders, Europe, Asia and other regions are gaining competitive FinTech hubs and startups of their own.
HK FinTech Steering Group inaugural report 2016Lapman Lee ✔
This document provides an overview of fintech and analyzes Hong Kong's potential as a fintech hub. It discusses the rise of fintech driven by technological advancements. Fintech applications include digital payments, financial platforms, peer-to-peer financing, cybersecurity, big data, and distributed ledgers. Hong Kong is well-positioned as a fintech hub due to its status as a financial center and strong ICT sector. The document examines Hong Kong's current fintech ecosystem and recommends ways to further develop the sector through promotion, facilitation, regulations, funding, and developing talent.
US-EU Meeting Alternative Finance PresentationGrow VC Group
Summary about alternative finance market in the US and EU, including API economy model, new finance instruments and cooperation of new and old finance models.
Innovate Finance’s booklet ‘Celebrating Diversity in FinTech’ shines a spotlight on leading FinTech firms and institutions closing the diversity gap in FinTech and promoting inclusion within the workplace.
The booklet features 10 member companies including some of the world’s most successful and exciting FinTech businesses such as Bankable, Neyber, remittance companies Azimo and World Remit, leading banks Lloyds Banking Group and RBS.
The document is a research report on crowdfunding market trends from 2012. It provides an overview of the report's methodology, which analyzed data from over 170 survey responses and 135 crowdfunding platform submissions. The report contains sections on market growth and composition, crowdfunding models, and the value proposition of crowdfunding platforms. It also thanks participating crowdfunding platforms and identifies sponsors who support crowdfunding industry research.
Greg Carson of XBTO Humla Ventures, Venture Capital/Digital Asset fund manager at the marcus evans Private Wealth Management Summit 2022, and the Elite Summit 2022, discusses the financial markets transformation, and what investment opportunities investors must consider.
DealMarket DIGEST Issue 163 //21 November 2014CAR FOR YOU
The document summarizes several news items from the private equity industry:
1) A study found that several venture capital funds outperformed during the 2008 financial crisis, including Union Square Ventures, Avalon Ventures VIII, and Emergence Capital Partners II.
2) Many European entrepreneurs are founding startups in Southeast Asia for business opportunities and financial success, not just for better weather. Payments services are seen as attractive for expansion to other emerging markets.
3) Global M&A volume hit a seven-year high in 2014, with healthcare deals reaching a record level. Private equity accounted for over 20% of deal volume.
The document discusses the rise of financial technology (FinTech) and its disruption of traditional financial services. FinTech is using technology to meet customer demands and create new business models, challenging incumbents. Three key areas being disrupted are (1) payments through services like PayPal, (2) alternative lending platforms that compete with banks, and (3) crowdfunding and crowd-investing that could challenge investment banks. The FinTech sector is growing rapidly through new startups and investment. While Silicon Valley and New York have been leaders, Europe, Asia and other regions are gaining competitive FinTech hubs and startups of their own.
HK FinTech Steering Group inaugural report 2016Lapman Lee ✔
This document provides an overview of fintech and analyzes Hong Kong's potential as a fintech hub. It discusses the rise of fintech driven by technological advancements. Fintech applications include digital payments, financial platforms, peer-to-peer financing, cybersecurity, big data, and distributed ledgers. Hong Kong is well-positioned as a fintech hub due to its status as a financial center and strong ICT sector. The document examines Hong Kong's current fintech ecosystem and recommends ways to further develop the sector through promotion, facilitation, regulations, funding, and developing talent.
US-EU Meeting Alternative Finance PresentationGrow VC Group
Summary about alternative finance market in the US and EU, including API economy model, new finance instruments and cooperation of new and old finance models.
Innovate Finance’s booklet ‘Celebrating Diversity in FinTech’ shines a spotlight on leading FinTech firms and institutions closing the diversity gap in FinTech and promoting inclusion within the workplace.
The booklet features 10 member companies including some of the world’s most successful and exciting FinTech businesses such as Bankable, Neyber, remittance companies Azimo and World Remit, leading banks Lloyds Banking Group and RBS.
The document is a research report on crowdfunding market trends from 2012. It provides an overview of the report's methodology, which analyzed data from over 170 survey responses and 135 crowdfunding platform submissions. The report contains sections on market growth and composition, crowdfunding models, and the value proposition of crowdfunding platforms. It also thanks participating crowdfunding platforms and identifies sponsors who support crowdfunding industry research.
This document outlines the key features and requirements for a proposed "Digital Bank of the Future" (DBF). It discusses how existing banks are hindered by legacy systems and culture, while new technologies allow for more digital and mobile-focused banking. The document defines three waves of digital banking - with the first being incremental changes to existing banks, the second being "digital hybrids" that still rely on legacy systems, and the third being "digital natives" designed around new technologies. It then summarizes requirements for DBF from the perspectives of customers, investors, and the bank itself, focusing on features like holistic digital experiences, biometrics, digital wallets, payments, financial planning tools, and data-driven personalized services
The fintech industry is experiencing rapid growth fueled by three key changes:
1) Strong economic conditions have boosted financial markets and lifted fintech startups.
2) Advances in cloud computing, mobile apps, social media, and APIs have lowered costs and accelerated product development cycles for fintech firms.
3) A new generation of consumers has grown up with the internet and mobile devices, demanding easy-to-use financial services that can be accessed anywhere instantly.
A guide to the local fintech startups, the VCs, the funding, the revenue and more. This is Volume 2 and shows year over year changes from 2014's slideshare.
1. The document summarizes a research report on crowdfunding market trends from 2012. It analyzes data from over 170 crowdfunding platforms regarding funds raised, operations, and key stakeholders from 2009-2011.
2. The report contains four sections: an overview of the research methodology, an analysis of market growth and composition, an overview of crowdfunding models, and an analysis of platform value propositions and functionality.
3. Over $1.5 billion was raised across 452 active crowdfunding platforms worldwide in 2011, with most platforms based in North America and Europe. Reward-based platforms were the largest category but equity-based platforms grew the fastest.
Chris Pitt explored the likely future and profitability of robo-advice at the Goodacre Securities Conference, considering current trends, lessons from the past and future forecasts. Watch the presentation on periscope: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1kvJpVyyoBLKE
How Robo Advisers, Fintech Are Revolutionising Wealth ManagementDinis Guarda
How Robo Advisers, Fintech Are Revolutionising Wealth Management. A Reflection and presentation about trends and ideas related with the topic and what is happening in the industry
Rise of the Robo Advisors: The Growing Trend of Automating Asset Allocation S...OurCrowd
Robo-advisors are automated online services that provide low-cost asset allocation and portfolio management with minimal human intervention. The emergence of robo-advisors began with a virtual investing game on Facebook that was later taken over by an entrepreneur. Wealthfront is now the largest robo-advisor, managing over $1.5 billion. Robo-advisors target the low-end of the brokerage and financial advisor market by automating asset allocation for lower fees than traditional financial services. Major asset managers and portfolio apps have entered the robo-advisor space, and traditional financial firms like Schwab and Vanguard are developing their own robo-offering services.
The document summarizes a report on the FinTech ecosystems in 21 global hubs. It describes the methodology used to evaluate and compare the hubs, which involved selecting representative hubs, calculating an index performance score based on their rankings in three business indices, and analyzing various indicators for each hub. The indices looked at were the Global Financial Centre Index, Doing Business report, and Global Innovation Index. Representative organizations from each hub provided insights into the local FinTech market. The goal of the report is to better understand and connect the global FinTech community.
- Funding Circle is an online peer-to-peer lending platform based in London that arranges loans for small businesses that have difficulty accessing credit from banks.
- It has arranged over £366 million in loans between 32,000 investors and 5,000 small businesses since its inception in 2009.
- Funding Circle and other financial technology ("fintech") startups are challenging traditional banks by using new online models and technologies to provide alternatives for borrowing, lending, payments and other financial services.
This document provides an overview and analysis of the FinTech sector in Canada, with a focus on British Columbia. It defines FinTech and outlines the major types of FinTech being developed globally and in Canada. These include payments, lending, investments, blockchain, insurance and more. The document also discusses bank innovation in FinTech and analyzes the FinTech landscape and opportunities in 16 other countries. Stakeholder views on developing Canada as a FinTech leader are presented. The conclusion is that Canada is well-positioned to become a global FinTech leader if the right steps are taken to support the growth and success of the domestic FinTech industry.
This document summarizes a 2nd Fintech Meetup event in Japan. It defines fintech as financial technology and discusses opportunities in banking, payments, lending, and other fintech areas. The global fintech industry has received over $7 billion in funding. While Japan has sophisticated technology consumers, its fintech industry is still early-stage, with opportunities for new entrants and growth. Issues discussed include expanding collaboration with incumbent players and moving towards a more risk-based regulatory approach. The meetup aims to expand the fintech industry through information sharing and support.
Money of the Future. Top fin-tech trendsMaria Bichl
The document summarizes major financial innovations in 2013 and trends for 2014. It predicts that investments in online financial startups will remain very popular for the next 3 years. It also notes that tablet-based financial services will see strong growth as post-PC devices dominate the market in 2015. Crowdfunding is evolving towards crowdinvesting and seeking opportunities outside the US. Bitcoin was a hot topic in 2013 but its future is uncertain due to volatility. PayPal remains the leader in e-wallets but similar services may succeed in other countries. Mobile-first banks are fostering new generations of financial service users.
The Empire strikes back. As the first wave of robo-advisers retreats, their technology innovation is used against them. They continue to be sold or morph into white-labeled B2B platforms. Retail giants such as Vanguard, Schwab and Fidelity use their scale to hoover up the low-end of the advisory market. Meanwhile, traditional wealth managers, such as Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and UBS, continue to move up-market, adopting robo technologies and evolving into cyborg-advisors. DOL's fiduciary ruling catalyzes a new era for wealth managers as their product-pushing brokers soon become extinct. Digital financial planning becomes fully integrated into a technology-rich private banking model covering assets and liabilities. Client engagement and advisory technologies define the new battleground.
Mercer Capital's Value Focus: FinTech Industry | Second Half 2016Mercer Capital
Mercer Capital’s newsletter, FinTech Watch, provides an overview of the FinTech industry, including public market performance, valuation multiples for public FinTech companies, and articles of interest from around the web. This newsletter focuses on FinTech segments, including payment processors, technology, and solutions companies, examining general economic and industry trends as well as a summary of M&A and venture capital activity.
- Equity crowdfunding has enabled individual investors to invest in real estate opportunities that were previously only available to large institutional investors, by taking advantage of regulations that allow general solicitation to accredited investors.
- Crowdfunding platforms provide transparency and access to high-quality real estate investment opportunities, as well as the ability for individual investors to diversify their investments across multiple properties and markets.
- As crowdfunding evolves, more institutional sponsors are expected to utilize these platforms to raise capital for larger real estate deals in excess of $100 million.
Startup Innovation as a Catalyst for Change in Mobile Finance & CommerceKickstartPH
"Bank tellers will be the telegraph operators of the 21st century when we look back in a 100 years.“ - DAN I. SIAZON, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, Kickstart Ventures.
Kickstart, the venture capital firm of Globe Telecom based in Manila, Philippines, shared during Mondato Summit Asia 2015 how risk-seeking approaches inherent to startups can be applied to banking and financial services.
Startups are beginning to influence mobile finance and commerce (MFC) by leveraging on the possibilities brought by telecommunications and banking, unhindered by preconceptions of what can or cannot be done.
For more key takeaways of Mondato Summit Asia 2016:
* View DAY 1 (Oct 20th) here: http://www.mondatosummit.com/blog/2015/10/21/mondato-summit-asia-2015-day-one
* View DAY 2 (Oct 21st) here:
http://www.mondatosummit.com/blog/2015/10/22/mondato-summit-asia-2015-day-two
#FinTech SuperCharger: The Accelerator's Key Milestones CFTE
The SuperCharger is hands down the world's most succesfull FinTech accelerator - have a look at the key facts. Presentation done during Demo Day 7th of April 2016
Loop Capital Markets surpassed $1 trillion in municipal finance underwritings, a monumental milestone for the investment bank. Since its founding 18 years ago, Loop Capital has participated in over 2,500 transactions across 49 states and Puerto Rico. The firm has experienced substantial growth across all business units this year, with its public finance, corporate banking, trading, and transition management divisions all increasing significantly. Loop Capital's Chairman and CEO expects the firm to exceed all previous accomplishments over the next three years through continued growth and expansion into new business areas.
DealMarket DIGEST Issue 107 // 06 September 2013CAR FOR YOU
1) Despite some large headline deals, M&A and exit activity in Europe remains below previous years according to data from Unquote and Zephyr. Private equity deal activity has remained strong however and is creating a record year for investment banking fees.
2) Crowdfunding is growing in usage and specialization, with new platforms emerging focused on specific industries like medical devices. It is also growing internationally, with new platforms launching in China.
3) Turkey has seen strong M&A activity so far in 2013 despite political unrest over the summer, with deal value up 15% from the previous year.
4) Venture capital activity in Europe has stronger momentum than in the US according to analysts at Go
DealMarket DIGEST Issue 117 // 15 November 2013CAR FOR YOU
The weekly Dealmarket Digest provides summaries of notable private equity news items from the past week. The document summarized includes articles on:
1) Cautious optimism for increased M&A dealmaking in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2013 compared to 2012, though activity remains well below 2011 levels.
2) Growth in assets of sovereign wealth funds, totaling over $750 billion since 2012, which may boost future private equity investments as these funds mature.
3) Increased private equity investment in the fashion industry, with several firms bidding on Versace, and the total value of retail apparel deals rising ten-fold in one year.
4) Large endowments like Yale monitoring private equity
Market Gravity's top trends for Financial Services in 2015. We've worked on a range of FS propositions in the last few months and during this time we've uncovered some interesting trends and precedents featuring some of the world's biggest companies, as well as a range of disruptive starts ups.
We'd like to share some of our favorites to serve as some 'Finspiration' for 2015.
- Neobanks
- Digital Investment Platforms
- Enhanced Customer Experiences
- Security & Authentication Alternatives
- Youthful Banking
- Alternative Scoring Mechanisms
- Improving the Back End
- Banking with Wearables
For more information, please get in touch.
Shareholding Disclosure: Are Financial Firms on top of this regulatory challe...Leigh Hill
With MiFID 2, Basel, 871(m) and other more talked about regulations making headlines firms have their hands full. However, as regulators begin to focus on systemic risk the accuracy of disclosures is gaining greater attention.
Join this webinar for a discussion on the following shareholding disclosure topics:
What the shareholder disclosure requirements are, and why all financial institutions need to address them
The current approach - how much is manual vs automated; the use of outside council and advisory services; and the software used to manage the process
The reference data that presents the biggest challenges in the reporting process
The issues that have led to financial institutions struggling to report and how to avoid them
Future areas of investment to get it right
Best practices for managing shareholder disclosure obligations
And there is more. During the webinar we will also discuss the results of a recent industry survey focused on how financial institutions are addressing their shareholder disclosure obligations.
This document outlines the key features and requirements for a proposed "Digital Bank of the Future" (DBF). It discusses how existing banks are hindered by legacy systems and culture, while new technologies allow for more digital and mobile-focused banking. The document defines three waves of digital banking - with the first being incremental changes to existing banks, the second being "digital hybrids" that still rely on legacy systems, and the third being "digital natives" designed around new technologies. It then summarizes requirements for DBF from the perspectives of customers, investors, and the bank itself, focusing on features like holistic digital experiences, biometrics, digital wallets, payments, financial planning tools, and data-driven personalized services
The fintech industry is experiencing rapid growth fueled by three key changes:
1) Strong economic conditions have boosted financial markets and lifted fintech startups.
2) Advances in cloud computing, mobile apps, social media, and APIs have lowered costs and accelerated product development cycles for fintech firms.
3) A new generation of consumers has grown up with the internet and mobile devices, demanding easy-to-use financial services that can be accessed anywhere instantly.
A guide to the local fintech startups, the VCs, the funding, the revenue and more. This is Volume 2 and shows year over year changes from 2014's slideshare.
1. The document summarizes a research report on crowdfunding market trends from 2012. It analyzes data from over 170 crowdfunding platforms regarding funds raised, operations, and key stakeholders from 2009-2011.
2. The report contains four sections: an overview of the research methodology, an analysis of market growth and composition, an overview of crowdfunding models, and an analysis of platform value propositions and functionality.
3. Over $1.5 billion was raised across 452 active crowdfunding platforms worldwide in 2011, with most platforms based in North America and Europe. Reward-based platforms were the largest category but equity-based platforms grew the fastest.
Chris Pitt explored the likely future and profitability of robo-advice at the Goodacre Securities Conference, considering current trends, lessons from the past and future forecasts. Watch the presentation on periscope: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1kvJpVyyoBLKE
How Robo Advisers, Fintech Are Revolutionising Wealth ManagementDinis Guarda
How Robo Advisers, Fintech Are Revolutionising Wealth Management. A Reflection and presentation about trends and ideas related with the topic and what is happening in the industry
Rise of the Robo Advisors: The Growing Trend of Automating Asset Allocation S...OurCrowd
Robo-advisors are automated online services that provide low-cost asset allocation and portfolio management with minimal human intervention. The emergence of robo-advisors began with a virtual investing game on Facebook that was later taken over by an entrepreneur. Wealthfront is now the largest robo-advisor, managing over $1.5 billion. Robo-advisors target the low-end of the brokerage and financial advisor market by automating asset allocation for lower fees than traditional financial services. Major asset managers and portfolio apps have entered the robo-advisor space, and traditional financial firms like Schwab and Vanguard are developing their own robo-offering services.
The document summarizes a report on the FinTech ecosystems in 21 global hubs. It describes the methodology used to evaluate and compare the hubs, which involved selecting representative hubs, calculating an index performance score based on their rankings in three business indices, and analyzing various indicators for each hub. The indices looked at were the Global Financial Centre Index, Doing Business report, and Global Innovation Index. Representative organizations from each hub provided insights into the local FinTech market. The goal of the report is to better understand and connect the global FinTech community.
- Funding Circle is an online peer-to-peer lending platform based in London that arranges loans for small businesses that have difficulty accessing credit from banks.
- It has arranged over £366 million in loans between 32,000 investors and 5,000 small businesses since its inception in 2009.
- Funding Circle and other financial technology ("fintech") startups are challenging traditional banks by using new online models and technologies to provide alternatives for borrowing, lending, payments and other financial services.
This document provides an overview and analysis of the FinTech sector in Canada, with a focus on British Columbia. It defines FinTech and outlines the major types of FinTech being developed globally and in Canada. These include payments, lending, investments, blockchain, insurance and more. The document also discusses bank innovation in FinTech and analyzes the FinTech landscape and opportunities in 16 other countries. Stakeholder views on developing Canada as a FinTech leader are presented. The conclusion is that Canada is well-positioned to become a global FinTech leader if the right steps are taken to support the growth and success of the domestic FinTech industry.
This document summarizes a 2nd Fintech Meetup event in Japan. It defines fintech as financial technology and discusses opportunities in banking, payments, lending, and other fintech areas. The global fintech industry has received over $7 billion in funding. While Japan has sophisticated technology consumers, its fintech industry is still early-stage, with opportunities for new entrants and growth. Issues discussed include expanding collaboration with incumbent players and moving towards a more risk-based regulatory approach. The meetup aims to expand the fintech industry through information sharing and support.
Money of the Future. Top fin-tech trendsMaria Bichl
The document summarizes major financial innovations in 2013 and trends for 2014. It predicts that investments in online financial startups will remain very popular for the next 3 years. It also notes that tablet-based financial services will see strong growth as post-PC devices dominate the market in 2015. Crowdfunding is evolving towards crowdinvesting and seeking opportunities outside the US. Bitcoin was a hot topic in 2013 but its future is uncertain due to volatility. PayPal remains the leader in e-wallets but similar services may succeed in other countries. Mobile-first banks are fostering new generations of financial service users.
The Empire strikes back. As the first wave of robo-advisers retreats, their technology innovation is used against them. They continue to be sold or morph into white-labeled B2B platforms. Retail giants such as Vanguard, Schwab and Fidelity use their scale to hoover up the low-end of the advisory market. Meanwhile, traditional wealth managers, such as Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and UBS, continue to move up-market, adopting robo technologies and evolving into cyborg-advisors. DOL's fiduciary ruling catalyzes a new era for wealth managers as their product-pushing brokers soon become extinct. Digital financial planning becomes fully integrated into a technology-rich private banking model covering assets and liabilities. Client engagement and advisory technologies define the new battleground.
Mercer Capital's Value Focus: FinTech Industry | Second Half 2016Mercer Capital
Mercer Capital’s newsletter, FinTech Watch, provides an overview of the FinTech industry, including public market performance, valuation multiples for public FinTech companies, and articles of interest from around the web. This newsletter focuses on FinTech segments, including payment processors, technology, and solutions companies, examining general economic and industry trends as well as a summary of M&A and venture capital activity.
- Equity crowdfunding has enabled individual investors to invest in real estate opportunities that were previously only available to large institutional investors, by taking advantage of regulations that allow general solicitation to accredited investors.
- Crowdfunding platforms provide transparency and access to high-quality real estate investment opportunities, as well as the ability for individual investors to diversify their investments across multiple properties and markets.
- As crowdfunding evolves, more institutional sponsors are expected to utilize these platforms to raise capital for larger real estate deals in excess of $100 million.
Startup Innovation as a Catalyst for Change in Mobile Finance & CommerceKickstartPH
"Bank tellers will be the telegraph operators of the 21st century when we look back in a 100 years.“ - DAN I. SIAZON, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, Kickstart Ventures.
Kickstart, the venture capital firm of Globe Telecom based in Manila, Philippines, shared during Mondato Summit Asia 2015 how risk-seeking approaches inherent to startups can be applied to banking and financial services.
Startups are beginning to influence mobile finance and commerce (MFC) by leveraging on the possibilities brought by telecommunications and banking, unhindered by preconceptions of what can or cannot be done.
For more key takeaways of Mondato Summit Asia 2016:
* View DAY 1 (Oct 20th) here: http://www.mondatosummit.com/blog/2015/10/21/mondato-summit-asia-2015-day-one
* View DAY 2 (Oct 21st) here:
http://www.mondatosummit.com/blog/2015/10/22/mondato-summit-asia-2015-day-two
#FinTech SuperCharger: The Accelerator's Key Milestones CFTE
The SuperCharger is hands down the world's most succesfull FinTech accelerator - have a look at the key facts. Presentation done during Demo Day 7th of April 2016
Loop Capital Markets surpassed $1 trillion in municipal finance underwritings, a monumental milestone for the investment bank. Since its founding 18 years ago, Loop Capital has participated in over 2,500 transactions across 49 states and Puerto Rico. The firm has experienced substantial growth across all business units this year, with its public finance, corporate banking, trading, and transition management divisions all increasing significantly. Loop Capital's Chairman and CEO expects the firm to exceed all previous accomplishments over the next three years through continued growth and expansion into new business areas.
DealMarket DIGEST Issue 107 // 06 September 2013CAR FOR YOU
1) Despite some large headline deals, M&A and exit activity in Europe remains below previous years according to data from Unquote and Zephyr. Private equity deal activity has remained strong however and is creating a record year for investment banking fees.
2) Crowdfunding is growing in usage and specialization, with new platforms emerging focused on specific industries like medical devices. It is also growing internationally, with new platforms launching in China.
3) Turkey has seen strong M&A activity so far in 2013 despite political unrest over the summer, with deal value up 15% from the previous year.
4) Venture capital activity in Europe has stronger momentum than in the US according to analysts at Go
DealMarket DIGEST Issue 117 // 15 November 2013CAR FOR YOU
The weekly Dealmarket Digest provides summaries of notable private equity news items from the past week. The document summarized includes articles on:
1) Cautious optimism for increased M&A dealmaking in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2013 compared to 2012, though activity remains well below 2011 levels.
2) Growth in assets of sovereign wealth funds, totaling over $750 billion since 2012, which may boost future private equity investments as these funds mature.
3) Increased private equity investment in the fashion industry, with several firms bidding on Versace, and the total value of retail apparel deals rising ten-fold in one year.
4) Large endowments like Yale monitoring private equity
Market Gravity's top trends for Financial Services in 2015. We've worked on a range of FS propositions in the last few months and during this time we've uncovered some interesting trends and precedents featuring some of the world's biggest companies, as well as a range of disruptive starts ups.
We'd like to share some of our favorites to serve as some 'Finspiration' for 2015.
- Neobanks
- Digital Investment Platforms
- Enhanced Customer Experiences
- Security & Authentication Alternatives
- Youthful Banking
- Alternative Scoring Mechanisms
- Improving the Back End
- Banking with Wearables
For more information, please get in touch.
Shareholding Disclosure: Are Financial Firms on top of this regulatory challe...Leigh Hill
With MiFID 2, Basel, 871(m) and other more talked about regulations making headlines firms have their hands full. However, as regulators begin to focus on systemic risk the accuracy of disclosures is gaining greater attention.
Join this webinar for a discussion on the following shareholding disclosure topics:
What the shareholder disclosure requirements are, and why all financial institutions need to address them
The current approach - how much is manual vs automated; the use of outside council and advisory services; and the software used to manage the process
The reference data that presents the biggest challenges in the reporting process
The issues that have led to financial institutions struggling to report and how to avoid them
Future areas of investment to get it right
Best practices for managing shareholder disclosure obligations
And there is more. During the webinar we will also discuss the results of a recent industry survey focused on how financial institutions are addressing their shareholder disclosure obligations.
The document summarizes a BIMA breakfast briefing on robots. It lists the speakers which included directors from Mando, IBM, Goldsmiths University of London, and DigitasLBi. The speakers discussed topics like the explosion of robots, how robots can carry out complex actions automatically, how robots are given agency, and how they are better able to cope with new situations compared to humans. Things to consider with robots included habit, coordination, and accountability.
This document discusses the evolution of technology and its impact on regulation. It notes that mobile messaging platforms like WeChat and WhatsApp now connect over 3 billion active users and are exploring ways for businesses to communicate with customers through these channels. As attention and intent coordination platforms continue advancing and connecting more people, governments will need to transition from "Regulation 1.0" focused on firms to "Regulation 2.0" focused on massive multiparty computing and ensuring user privacy and data protections as these networks grow to 5 billion people by 2035.
The document provides an overview of AML/KYC regulations in the EU, including details on the 4th EU AML directive. It discusses key requirements such as enhanced due diligence for politically exposed persons, information on beneficial owners, and data protection. It also includes a case study on customer due diligence and beneficial ownership, and summaries of regulatory fines against financial institutions for AML failures.
Anthony Thomson, Atom Bank @ "How to Start a New Bank" SeminarFiserv
Anthony Thomson of Atom Bank discusses the landscape for starting a new bank in the U.K. - and how it's changed since 2010. From the "How to Start a New Bank" seminar hosted by Fiserv.
This document discusses know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. It provides an overview of key AML laws and regulations including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, European Union directives, and Luxembourg's AML laws. It also discusses money laundering and predicate offenses, the definition of a business relationship, applying a risk-based approach to KYC, and the obligations to identify customers, monitor transactions, and cooperate with authorities.
Using Machine Learning & AI to Enhance Fraud DetectionWhite Clarke Group
This document discusses how machine learning and AI can transform the auto finance and car purchasing process. It notes that currently, many customers find negotiating car financing difficult and stressful. The document suggests that machine learning models could help automate and improve the car financing process by predicting when customers are likely to purchase a new car, enabling customers to manage financing online, and providing personalized offers. It emphasizes the importance of using granular customer data and integrating cross-channel information for effective machine learning models in auto finance. Overall, the document argues that AI and machine learning can help optimize the customer experience for car purchasing and financing.
How do you combine comprehensive analysis running on large amount of data with the demand for responsiveness of today's api services?
This talk illustrates one of recipes that we currently use at ING to tackle this problem. Our analytical stack combines machine learning algorithms running on hadoop cluster and api services executed by an akka cluster.
Cassandra is used as a 'latency adapter' between the fast and the slow path. Our api services are executed by the akka/spray layer. Those services consume both live data sources as well as intermediate results as promoted by the hadoop layer via cassandra. This approach allows us to provide internal api services which are both complete and responsive.
Real-Time Anomaly Detection with Spark MLlib, Akka and CassandraNatalino Busa
We present a solution for streaming anomaly detection, named “Coral”, based on Spark, Akka and Cassandra. In the system presented, we run Spark to run the data analytics pipeline for anomaly detection. By running Spark on the latest events and data, we make sure that the model is always up-to-date and that the amount of false positives is kept low, even under changing trends and conditions. Our machine learning pipeline uses Spark decision tree ensembles and k-means clustering. Once the model is trained by Spark, the model’s parameters are pushed to the Streaming Event Processing Layer, implemented in Akka. The Akka layer will then score 1000s of event per seconds according to the last model provided by Spark. Spark and Akka communicate which each other using Cassandra as a low-latency data store. By doing so, we make sure that every element of this solution is resilient and distributed. Spark performs micro-batches to keep the model up-to-date while Akka detects the new anomalies by using the latest Spark-generated data model. The project is currently hosted on Github. Have a look at : http://coral-streaming.github.io
IBM Watson: How it Works, and What it means for Society beyond winning Jeopardy!Tony Pearson
Here are some key facts about conjunctivitis (pinkeye):
- Conjunctivitis, commonly known as pinkeye, is inflammation or infection of the transparent membrane (conjunctiva) that lines your eyelid and covers the white part of your eye.
- Common symptoms include redness of the eye, eye discharge (watery or pus-like), itching, burning, or irritation. You may also experience increased tear production, sensitivity to light, and crusting of eyelids after sleep.
- Pinkeye is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Allergies can also cause conjunctivitis.
- Viral conjunctivitis is highly contag
GECKO Governance - Start Up Next - Week 6 - 18th May 2016Andris Macs
The document discusses a real-time fund regulation and compliance platform called Gecko Governance. It lists over 30 different regulations and reporting requirements across various jurisdictions. It then summarizes Gecko's features for providing a single view of all regulatory requirements, how it helped one client increase compliance efficiency by 20% and save over $200,000 per year. It provides Gecko's pricing of $1,000 annually per user and website. It also briefly outlines Gecko's history, awards, partnerships and is seeking advice on business development, pricing strategy, and white-labeling opportunities.
The document discusses machine learning, artificial intelligence, and IBM Watson. It provides an agenda that includes what IBM Watson is, the benefits for business, and how to get started. It then discusses how IBM Watson is used in different industries and technologies like cloud computing, analytics, and cognitive systems. The document outlines when cognitive computing should be used and not used. It also provides examples of how organizations have used IBM Watson and the benefits they achieved. Finally, it provides recommendations on how to get started with cognitive technologies and resources for learning more.
This document provides an overview of machine learning techniques that can be applied in finance, including exploratory data analysis, clustering, classification, and regression methods. It discusses statistical learning approaches like data mining and modeling. For clustering, it describes techniques like k-means clustering, hierarchical clustering, Gaussian mixture models, and self-organizing maps. For classification, it mentions discriminant analysis, decision trees, neural networks, and support vector machines. It also provides summaries of regression, ensemble methods, and working with big data and distributed learning.
Machine Learning (ML) for Fraud Detection.
- fraud is a big problem (big data, big cost)
- ML on bigger data produces better results
- Industry standard today (for detecting fraud)
- How to improve fraud detection!
20 most innovative companies in Fintech IndustrySumit Roy
Global fintech financing has more than trebled in the past three years to an estimated US$3 billion annually and the level of innovation in the financial services sector has been unprecedented over the past 12 months. The level of spend and intensity of focus will – and already has – led to the development and release of products and solutions that will change the way customers view and interact with their financial services
SproutChange is a digital peer-to-peer lending platform that allows retail investors to invest small amounts in local socially responsible businesses. It addresses the problems of limited investment options for average investors and lack of financing for local businesses. By connecting investors directly to borrowers, it offers higher returns than traditional options and supports socially responsible growth. The target market is millennials and students who want to interact with and influence how their money grows. SproutChange will promote itself through social media, videos, and university partnerships to acquire its first customers and establish itself in the emerging Canadian peer-to-peer lending market.
The document discusses how FinTech (financial technology) is failing to connect with its key constituency of 18-35 year olds, known as Millennials. A recent poll showed that 92% of Millennials have never heard of FinTech, despite being interested in the types of financial services that FinTech companies provide. The document explores some of the reasons for this disconnect and discusses ways that FinTech companies can better promote their services and connect with consumers outside of the "FinTech ecosystem".
These are the slides that accompanied the Q1 2021 Quarterly Investment Briefing for West of England on 25th March. The event included lightning talks from Richard Cobb Michelmores MAINstream, Oliver Woolley CEO Envestors and Gaurav Singh JPIN Venture Catalysts.
Slides 68-70 include information about those 17 companies that are actively raising investment in Q1 2021. Check out the disclaimer - these aren't recommendations, just information.
CommerzVentures: the rise of the robo advisors from an investor’s perspectiveCommerzVentures
Over the course of the last few years, the so-called robo advisors have gained significant media coverage in the financial technology (Fintech) space. Invested assets in automated investment services more than doubled from 2014 to 2015 and no Fintech conference has taken place without a newly established robo advisor. Additionally, there have been inflows of hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital backing into the start-ups behind the robo advisors. Betterment, for example, one of the most famous and largest robo advisors, raised USD100m venture funding in March 2016. We have also started to see the adoption of automated advice by traditional banks and investment managers. This article serves as an introduction to CommerzVentures and our view on the rise of the robo advisors.
The development of it in economic growth in usa & bangladeshRafi Afnan
This document is an assignment submitted by Rafi Afnan to Jewel Kumar Roy on the topic of fintech and its potential to disrupt traditional financial institutions. It summarizes findings from a World Economic Forum report that identified 5 key characteristics of fintech innovators that make them more threatening to incumbents than past innovators. These include highly focused products, automating processes, strategic use of data, platform-based models, and collaborating with incumbents. The document concludes that while brands may survive, fintech will force changes that benefit consumers. It then briefly previews emerging technologies in 2019 like 5G that could enable further fintech innovations.
This document summarizes the business plan for SproutChange, a peer-to-peer lending platform focused on impact investing. It outlines SproutChange's vision to revolutionize investing by allowing people to earn returns while supporting socially responsible companies in sectors like renewable energy, farming, and healthy living. The plan details SproutChange's target market of millennials, competitive advantages over traditional platforms, and one-year goals to achieve $20 million in assets under management by attracting 20,000 investors. The founders aim to create a global marketplace where investors can directly interact with and support borrowers.
Innovating banking: Lessons from the world’s leading innovators Pauline Mura
Banking is at a crossroads. Banks today are confronting increasing regulation and compliance
costs, an alarming rise in security and fraud, and more ardent customer demands – all as a
result of innovative new technologies and the emergence of aggressive, non-traditional
competitors. For many banks, profits are stagnating.
1
Regulators are stepping up enforcement across a number of areas, including consumer
protection, anti-trust, money-laundering, foreign-exchange trading and sanctions violations.
Cyber security has risen to the top of the risk agenda at financial institutions of all sizes, with
banks’ integral role in payment ecosystems leaving them entangled in the often messy
aftermath of security breaches and consequent economic and reputational loss.
To redress challenges in financial performance, banks continue to seek operational
efficiencies – simplifying operations, searching for scale efficiencies and rationalizing branch
networks. But cost savings are not enough. Generating new revenues will depend upon much
better understanding of customer demands, with banks needing to embrace novel ways of
penetrating deeper into the lives and habits of both retail and business customers
Wharton FinTech - Launching a FinTech Venturewhartonfintech
The document provides an overview of the current FinTech market and opportunities for FinTech startups between 2015 and 2020. It discusses how a lack of innovation in traditional financial services and the financial crisis created problems that FinTech startups have addressed with new technology solutions. Examples of successful current FinTech companies like Pave, Second Market, and QuarterSpot illustrate different startup strategies. The document also discusses focusing a startup while staying open to new opportunities, the need for operational profitability and proper capital structure, and the potential for social impact FinTech startups focused on underserved markets like small business lending and financial needs of older populations.
This document provides an overview of a product called Leyline that aims to connect accredited investors to private investment opportunities. It summarizes that currently less than 5% of accredited investors participate in private markets due to barriers like a lack of education, access, and transparency. Leyline's solution is to build an investor-centric platform that provides a single point of access to opportunities, education resources, and community tools to help more accredited investors participate in private markets. It outlines Leyline's team, marketing strategy, revenue model, competitive landscape, and potential exit strategies for investors.
DealMarket Digest Issue 131 - 7 March 2014Urs Haeusler
SEE WHATS NOTEWORTHY IN PRIVATE EQUITY THIS WEEK /// ISSUE 131 - March 7th, 2014:
- How New European Rules Affect Private Equity Teams
- PE outlook for Europe
- EY’s Top 10 VC Dealmakers Worldwide
- Global Telecom M&A Hits 13 Year High
- PE Drives Robust Returns for Ontario Pension Fund
- Quote of the Week: Venture Capital? Make Way for Geek Guilds
Small And Medium Enterprise In BangladeshSheri Elliott
This document discusses small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh and provides recommendations to support their growth and development. SMEs are recognized as engines of economic growth and provide many benefits like job creation and entrepreneurship development. However, SMEs in Bangladesh face challenges accessing financial services like loans and venture capital. The document recommends establishing a uniform definition of SME categories, improving access to seed money, leasing, venture capital and long-term loans, and creating a specialized lending corporation to support SME financing.
Fintech - New World of Financial ServicesJaiveer Singh
FinTech firms are applying new business models and technologies to financial services like banking, lending, payments, and investments. They are democratizing access to services, cutting out middlemen, and improving customer experience through mobile apps. This is disruptive to traditional financial institutions. FinTech attracted $4 billion in investment to Asia in 2015, mostly in payments and lending startups. The author hopes this growth of FinTech innovation will continue to transform financial services for the better.
The document discusses disruptions driving investment in the FinTech market. There is significant capital flowing into FinTech startups looking to challenge traditional financial institutions. The market is attracting attention due to tech-savvy millennials distrusting banks, the large size of the financial services market, and renewed interest from banks in innovating. The FinTech landscape can be divided into front office/consumer services and back office/legacy system modernization.
The Changing Relationship Between Investors and Investments OurCrowd
Take this opportunity to meet OurCrowd’s new president, Anthony DeChellis, who brings to the discussion his extensive experience in the private banking and institutional finance world. Anthony previously served as CEO of Private Banking Americas at Credit Suisse, headed Private Wealth Management at UBS, and held a range of leadership positions at Merrill Lynch, including Manager of the European Private Banking Business.
Crowdfunding Industry Report- Infocrowdfunding 2012Uttopy
The document provides a summary of a research report on crowdfunding market trends from 2012. It analyzed data from over 170 survey responses and 135 crowdfunding platforms. Key findings include:
- The global crowdfunding market raised nearly $1.5 billion in 2011, with over 1 million successful campaigns.
- North America was the largest market but Europe was gaining share.
- Donation-based and lending-based platforms contributed most funds but reward-based platforms grew the fastest.
- The number of active crowdfunding platforms grew from 138 in 2009 to over 450 in 2012, with most based in North America and Europe.
- Reward-based represented the largest category by number of
1) The rise of FinTech has been enabled by a "perfect storm" of increasing customer expectations for digital services, expanded venture capital funding, reduced barriers to entry, and faster technological advancement.
2) While customers are embracing FinTech providers, with over 50% using at least one non-traditional firm, traditional firms still hold advantages in areas like convenience and service quality.
3) Both traditional and FinTech firms struggle to meet customer expectations on important interactions like digital transactions, transparency, convenience, and proactive updates. Improving these "moments of truth" is key to boosting customer experience and revenue potential from influential younger customers.
2. 2 · ukfintech.com AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MEDIAPLANET
CHALLENGES
The current state of the fintech sector
L
ast year Innovate fi-
nance visited the US
with the Mayor of Lon-
don, to foster greater
trade and investment
connections between
New York and London -
the world’s biggest and most impor-
tant financial epicentres. Innovate
Financehelpedtoselectadelegation
of leading fintech firms,whichwere
ideally placed to expand into US
markets,to connect with American
investors and large banking organ-
isations, and to foster an introduc-
tion to an ecosystem of influencers,
within the US.This was also an im-
portantopportunityforInnovateFi-
nance to connectwith a similar eco-
system of key stakeholders,within
theglobalfintechmarketplace.
Branching out
There are many reasons why the
global fintech movement has
emerged from the UK - our geo-
graphical location provides unri-
valled international connectivity;
our leading academic talent pool is
world-class; we have prime inves-
tors and impressive business facil-
ities; we promote global thought-
leadership on emerging digital so-
lutions;andwecanprovideasimple
regulatorysystemthatbalancesrisk
andinnovation.Butourjobisnotdo-
ne.Fintech firms both big and small,
face major innovation and growth
challenges.We need to increase our
exposure to great fintech opportu-
nities and encourage smart, active
investors to enter the fintech sec-
tor within the UK. It’s imperative
that we continue to foster leader-
shipskillsandtalent,andweneedto
ensure that those skills are retained.
We need to continue examining
the conditions necessary to create
greater competition,to open up the
fintech sector to new players, and
ensure our SMEs have good access
to the capital needed to grow their
business.It is vital that we continue
to develop and connect the fintech
sector in the UK,including acceler-
ators, investors, academic institu-
tions,code clubs,policy makers,big
techandbeautifuldesign.Thepower
of international corporations, need
tobeexploited.
Global investment
Last year alone over £500 million
waspouredintofintechfirmsbyway
of investment.So being open to for-
eign influencers is essential.Indeed,
American investors drove signifi-
cant growth in the UK fintech sec-
tor - recent heroic funding rounds
include TransferWise (£58million);
Nutmeg (£32million); Funding Cir-
cle(£40million).Morerecentlyhow-
ever,Digital Shadows our local suc-
cess,grew from two people on Lev-
el39,toover30,andisnowlaunching
in the US via Passion Capital after
having raised £5.2million in their
latestfundinground.
This raises an interesting question
about the US v UK financial services
sector. The recent ‘Bootstrap to IPO’
event,hosted byInnovate Finance,ex-
plored the different sources of financ-
ing, from angel investors, to venture
capitalistsandalternativeinvestment.
It also highlighted the cultural differ-
ence – the attitude towards risk and
theconfidencetodominateinaglobal
marketplace.Itwassaidthatthatthere
is no lack of entrepreneurial talent or
technological innovation when we
comparethetwomarketplaces.Butthe
industry -- entrepreneurs, investors
andconsumersalike--hassomewayto
go.We need to champion the huge so-
cialandeconomicimpactofthesector.
Weneedtogetbehindthesenewhigh
growth fintech companies, who are
bringing greater choice,diversity and
resiliencetothefinancialservicessec-
tor.This isn’t just the responsibility of
the entrepreneur,or the investor.This
is the responsibility of all us, as con-
sumers,to ask for and make sure this
changehappens.
Thesearesomeoftheconcernswe
hope to address at our Global Sum-
mit on March 9th at the Guildhall.
This historic gathering will explore
the impact of fintech on society and
theeconomy,andtogetherwithover
700delegateswewilldiscusshowwe
can overcome challenges to make
UK fintech bigger and better - and,
crucially, help build a global sus-
tainable banking sector that means
somethingforeveryone.
AstheUK’sindependentvoiceofthefintechsector,InnovateFinanceisbearing
witnesstothetransformativeinnovationsthatarereformingthefinancial
servicessector.
P4-5: The alternative
finance expert panel
EDITOR’S PICK
FINTECH
2ND EDITION, FEBRUARY 2015
Managing Director: Carl Soderblom
Content and Production Manager:
Cary Hastings
Designer: Vratislav Pecka
Business Developer: Alex Williams
Responsible for this issue
Project Manager: James Grant
Phone: +44 (0) 7789 936829
E-mail: james.grant@mediaplanet.com
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E-mail: info.uk@mediaplanet.com
FIND EXCLUSIVE ONLINE
CONTENT AT:
MEDIAPLANET UK
#FINTECH
ukfintech.com
Claire Cockerton
CEO/ FOUNDING DIRECTOR
INNOVATE FINANCE
“Last year alone
over £500 million
was poured
into fintech
firms by way of
investment”
3. The token you can’t forget
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PANEL OF EXPERTS
Investing in businesses canbeenjoyable,andbacking“thenext
bigthing”hasthepotentialtoproducelife-changingreturns. How-
ever,it’s important to create a diverse portfoliowhen looking at eq-
uitycrowdfunding.Investinginsmallandearly-stagebusinessesis
highrisk,andthemajoritywilllikelyfail.Thosethatdosucceedwill
potentially deliver spectacular returns—which can far more than
makeupforthelosses—butthatonlyhelpsifyou’veinvestedinthe
winners.This is why diversification is crucial.Invest across a large
numberofbusinessestoensurethatyourportfolioasawholehasthe
bestprospectsforproducingmarket-beatingreturns.
Traditionally, banksdon’tlendtoyoungbusinesseswithlittlecol-
lateral,venture capital requires traction, and angel investment is
scattered and inefficient.Without wealthy friends or family able to
invest large amounts of high-risk capital,entrepreneurs have had
fewoptions.Equitycrowdfundingchangesthat.Bymakingitsimple
for anyone to invest online,ambitious businesses can access capital
fromawiderrangeofinvestorsthaneverbefore.Andtheycanreceive
morethanjustinvestment,like:mentorshipandadvicefromabroad
investor base; long-term engagement with existing and potential
customers;andinternationalexposureandproductvalidation.
1
Jeff Lynn
CEO AND
CO-FOUNDER,
SEEDRS
Investing as an individual in alternative finance (P2P) is a bit
like ISA investments in shares.Firstly,you need a provider that
gives you access to the stock market. Secondly,you need to de-
cideonthecompaniesyouwishtoinvestin.TheUKhasnowcirca
50 alternative finance providers,mostly platforms,that are very
transparent about the way they operate and how they help you
managetheriskofinvestinginloansdirectly.So,thereisnoshort-
age of options,but I’d recommend to diversify your investments
acrossP2P,cashandshares.
Alternative finance providers are filling a gap created by tradi-
tional banks who (had to) reduced lending to “high risk business-
es”.Theyaddressanunderservedmarket,andatthesametimeuti-
lisebettertechnologytoassesscreditriskbasedontheoftenmin-
imal track record and security on offer from SMEs (such as build-
ings,machinery or equipment).With approx.£2bn lend last year,
alternativefinancewillcontinuetoimprovetheUKfundingland-
scapesobusinesseshaveamorehealthyrangeoffundingchoices,
asisthecaseintheUSforexample.
Rainer Plentl
CEO, FINPOINT
From my experience, both from working in compliance and
beinganinvestorinalternatives,Ibelievetherearetworulesyou
should always follow when looking to invest,especially in alter-
native investments.Number 1,do your due diligence on the firm
andontheinvestment.Neverfeelunsureaboutaskingquestions,
it is your money and your risk.Number 2 is don’t invest in what
you don’t understand. The people that don’t understand what
they are investing in or how it works are the people that run the
risk of losing their investment bymaking thewrong decisions.If
you can invest feeling safe inyour understanding then go for it,if
youcan’tthendon’t.
Alternative investments allow companies to raise capital in a
climate where banks aren’t lending,meaning businesses with no
track record and little funds can get going more easily(just look at
crowdfunding).Butitshouldbenotedthedegreeofriskinessthese
newinvestmentsrepresentcomparedtootherassetclasses.Firms
that are arranging finance for new businesses in this way should
always be open about the inherent risks and only target those in-
vestorswhohavetheabilitytounderstandit.
James Dingwall
DIRECTOR, THISTLE
INITIATIVES GROUP
1 What would be the first advice you would offer to
individuals looking to become alternative finance
investors?
2 How do you see alternative finance changing the
funding landscape for new businesses?
Consider the security provided. Alternativefinancecoversa
wide range of investment opportunities and,as with any invest-
ment,balancing the security and the reward to suit your portfo-
lio is essential.Equity crowdfunding provides the least security
and the highest potential returns,though arguably some losses
are inevitable with funding focused on start-ups and early stage
businesses.Converselymarketplacelendinghaslowdefaultrates
butreturnsstartfromamoremodest4percent.
The big changehas alreadytaken placewith disintermediation
havingopenedupmultiplesourcesoffunding.Asthesectorgrows
itwillbeinterestingtoseeifthe‘hiddenexperts’withinthecrowd
are motivated to support young business in other ways; perhaps
providing sector expertise,business acumen or even introducing
business opportunities.Platforms will need to encourage and fos-
tercommunication.
Angus Dent
CEO, ARCHOVER
Business Loans | Factoring | Invoice Discounting
Money for the real economy.
www.finpoint.co.uk
Asset Based Lending | Commercial Mortgages
Trade Finance | Alternative Finance Platforms
5. ukfintech.com · 5AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MEDIAPLANET
ThistleInitiativesFinancial compliance experts
As the market matures and investors start to anticipate
successful exits,investors are assigning greater importance
to investor protection.We believe that all investors,however
small their investment,should be able to realise maximum
returns on their investments.We’ve always prided ourselves
on leading the way on this,which is why we operate a nomi-
nee structure for each deal,include professional protections
and rights in all investment agreements, and ensure that
each investee company keeps their investors up-to-date. It’s
nolongeraboutmakingintroductionsbutsharinginsuccess.
3 What has been the biggest development in the
alternative finance space in the last year?
For me the single biggest difference is the fact that
the UK Government is proactive about bringing alternative
finance (P2P) into the ISA fold.Research by RateSetter found
nearlya third of people (31 per cent)would put their own sav-
ings into a P2P platform, if they could do so through a new
ISA.The outcome of the ISA consultation may translate into
making P2P investments ISA-eligible as early as April. Irre-
spectively,this will be beneficial for the sector and for inves-
tors,providing lower associated risk than stocks but higher
returnsthancash.
The world of alternative investment, a vast market al-
ready,has seen great growth in the areas of Crowdfunding and
Peer to Peer Lending.Our firm has helped numerous clients in
these two spaces and with them being disruptive industries
the accompanying regulations are also developing and chang-
ing.Thepastyearhasseenanexplosionwithinthemarket,with
thesetwonewproductsleadingtheway.Ithasbeenaveryinter-
estingyearwith‘older’regulationsbeingshakenupthroughthe
foundation of Crowdfunding.The greatest change is not these
twoplatformsbutratherthewayweinteractwithinvesting,reg-
ulationandtheimplementationoftheoneintotheother.
Our vision is to build a platform that allows businesses with
international aspirations to raise capital from investors any-
where;tobeaglobalplatform.Businessfinancehasbeenrather
slow to adapt to globalisation,and outdated regulations in cer-
tainjurisdictionshavehamperedtherateofglobalisation,toan
extent.However,we have a bright team,andwe have beenvery
successfulatdevelopingamodelthatisincreasinglyglobal.After
launchingintheUKin2012,weopenedacrossEuropein2013.In
2014weacquiredaUSbusinessandwillbeopeningtoaccredited
USinvestorsin2015.
4 Is alternative finance a truly global phenomenon and to
what degree are alternative finance providers bound to
their national/ local areas?
5 In the coming years, do you see forms of alternative
finance and investment becoming more diverse?
The industry has matured, some of our recent innova-
tionsinclude:
●Funds,whichmakeitpossibleforinvestorstospreadasin-
gle investment across multiple businesses chosen by an ac-
celeratororthroughacompetition.
● Convertible equity,which offers a way to raise and invest
moneynow,while deferring the need to place avalue on the
companyuntilthefuture.
●Fundingpublicly-tradedcompaniesthroughequitycrowd-
funding,whichwebelievewillbecomeincreasinglypopular.
Absolutely!Alternativefinanceisatrulyglobalphenomenon
that has caught the attention of many stakeholders: business
borrowers who were let down by traditional banks,individual
investors wanting a better return for their cash,venture capi-
talfirms,financialservicesregulators,etc.
The UK is probably the best place right now to be running a
FinTech business,thanks to the tremendous support from or-
ganisations such as Innovate Finance and the attention we
have from UK authorities, wishing to support this thriving
sectorinternationally.
I’d say that the UK alreadyhas averydiverse alternative
finance sector, which enables P2P-lending to individuals
as well as to businesses.From working with the alternative
lendersontheFinpoint-panel,wecanseesomearethinking
of adding new,complementary finance options to their ex-
isting product range.On the other hand,we have tradition-
al banks on our panel,interested to wanting to get involved
with alternative finance,either by investing in a business,
by co-lending or through referral partnerships. So, watch
thisspace!
The new question is how we take our investments global.
Global accesswill provide a greater platform of clients and op-
portunities,but with this has come age old regulatory ques-
tions of who is responsible, how to assess the risk and how
muchinfluencetheycanhaveintheglobalcircuit.Wehavere-
viewed the international market place and how we can make
offerings to those based overseas,and have found a range of
differentrequirements.Certaincountrieswillallowthesepro-
vidersaccesstopotentialinvestors,withlimitedrequirements
and oversight from the home regulatory bodies but certain
streamsareprovingmoredifficult.
This has already started, with the diversification of
what is being offered and the range of platforms that are be-
ingbuiltinwhichweexploretheseopportunities.Themarket
anditsprovidersisdevelopingeveryday.IntheUKwearesee-
ing the development,with platforms such as Crowdfunding
merging with P2P platforms.The diversity is only limited by
our abilityto implement the changes into the structures and
howweimplementtherequiredoversight.Allnewentrantsto
thefinancialmarketsneedtoprovethattheyunderstandthe
regulations.Although this too can also add to growth as pro-
vidersandinvestorslookforwaystodevelopwithintherules.
Growth and diversification; the phenomenal growth of
the sector and the increase in institutional investment has
led to alternative finance lending appearing in the UK Gov-
ernment quarterly figures for the first time.What really ex-
cites us is the diversification of offerings from innovative
platformschallengingpre-existingfinancemodels.
From Moscow to Brazil and a thousand platforms in-be-
tween crowdfunding is already truly global.However,it is not
yet globalized,as legislation is still playing catch-up in many
markets which means that platforms are often contained
within their jurisdiction.As legislation develops it is inevita-
ble that platforms will expand their operations and become
moremultinational.
Yes. Both investor demand and the desire to be noticed by
fundraiserswillseemanynew‘splinter’platformsdevelop-
ingawayfrombehemothcatchallcrowdsitesthatwerefirst
to market.Already specialist investment sites in technolo-
gy,pharmaandeducationappealingtospecialistcrowdsare
uponusandnewlendingmodelssuitedtospecificbusiness-
esarecroppingupconstantly.
6. 6 · ukfintech.com AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MEDIAPLANET
INSPIRATION
Bringing fintech innovation
to the insurance market
2015hasbeendeemedtheyearoftechnologytransformationintheinsurance
sector.Thespeedofchangeinanindustrylongcharacterisedasaslowadaptorof
technologyisgatheringpace.
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LISA MOYLE
info.uk@mediaplanet.com
T
he fintech story in recent
years has concentrated
on consumer facing ser-
vices, but the same dy-
namics that have been
driving this change - le-
veraging new technolo-
gies and disruptive business models to
lower costs and barriers to entry - are
enablingdevelopmentofnewproducts
and services for previously underser-
ved insurance markets.
According to Swiss Re,the UK popu-
lation is significantly underinsured,
with a total protection gap of £2.3 tril-
lion.Only 1 in 3 households with inco-
mes below £20,000 have life insuran-
ce, one third of households have no
contents insurance,rendering vulne-
rable households exposed.
The insurance sector shares chal-
lenges with banking in the provision
of affordable, appropriate products.
Incumbents are hindered byoutdated,
inflexible legacy systems and pricing
mechanisms too complex to adapt to
the underinsured.The typical product
offering is too expensive for low-inco-
me groups. The pricing of risk, using
standard models,cannot assess these
market segments.
Technology is creating the poten-
tial for insurance companies to ser-
ve low income consumers. Advances
in a range of technologies; data ana-
lytics, biometric identification, psy-
chometric testing and the rise of mo-
bile are now being applied to the insu-
rance sector, broadening the range of
consumers to whom it is profitable to
supply insurance products and enab-
ling the creation of new,personalised
insurance products.
At the heart of insurance is pricing
risk. A number of online platforms
that use big data analysis to calculate
risk are broadening the pool of people
who can be assessed and provided
with suitable products.Using both av-
ailable and unorthodox sources of da-
ta,platforms can analyse pools of data
that allow for more accurate,targeted
pricing of risk.
Driving change in finance
The data generated by telematics al-
lows for a finer assessment of risk
and reduces insurance premiums.
Discounts in life or health insuran-
ce can be offered to those who are ab-
le to demonstrate healthy lifestyles
using wearables, rewarding and in-
centivising low risk behaviour.
The growth of fintech will continue
to drive change across financial servi-
ces,and the insurance sector will not
be immune from disruption.The need
to meet changing customer demand
will force the challenges of legacy
systems to be addressed. Potenti-
al competitors, spurred by the evo-
lution of technology, may emerge.
A Forrester Research report Trends
2014: European Digital Insurance,
noted that European companies are
falling behind and startups and com-
panies in the manufacturing, utility
and telecoms markets could take bu-
siness from traditional insurers.
With that disruption comes the
opportunity to meet the additional
challenges of incorporating millions
of would be clients into the financial
system and provide them with insu-
rance products that have the potenti-
al to protect them from the impact of
life changing shocks.
The need to
meetchanging
customer
demand will
force the
challenges
of legacy
systems to be
addressed
Lisa Moyle,
HEAD OF FINANCIAL
SERVICES
& PAYMENTS
PROGRAMMES
AT TECHUK
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7. ukfintech.com · 7AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MEDIAPLANET
INNOVATION IN FINANCE
The innovators in fintech
have made drastic changes
to finance services.
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
Written by Julie Lake and Nicky Cotter,
Founders, The FinTech50
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NEWS
How is fintech
innovation benefiting
payment services?
Payments is a hot space in
European FinTech. And it’s
getting hotter.
Payment innovators account for just
under 25 per cent of this year’s Fin-
Tech50 and VC investment in Euro-
pean payments and transaction pro-
cessing companies reached an all-
timehighin2014.
In fact, such is the abundance of
innovation,it’sbecomingsomething
of a challenge to find a space that is
not being disrupted bythe ingenuity
ofFinTechpioneers.
Fintechrevolutionisingpayments
According to Index Ventures’ Jan
Hammer,“Payments is moving from
the domain of the banks to next gen-
eration platforms that can combine
acquiring, processing and payment
gateway services under one roof,
acrossallchannelsglobally.”
Indeed.Not only are fintechs revo-
lutionising cross-border payments,
stripping out costs, time and com-
plexity,they are also giving consum-
ers unwilling or unable to secure
credit card services access to elec-
tronic payments.They are assuming
credit and fraud risk for e-stores and
they are transforming the multi bil-
liondollarglobalremittancemarket.
They are also being viewed as the
solution to financial inclusion. In a
world where millions of people do
not have access to traditional finan-
cial services, mobile solutions and,
increasingly, digital currencies, are
transforming not just the way in
which money is transferred,but the
natureofmoneyitself.
A recent feature in CityAM ex-
plored the impact FinTech can have
(is having) on the distribution of
international aid,with its potential
to reach thousands, without the
need for bank accounts,internet or
even power.
Payments have always been about
trust, convenience and simplicity
- how to reliably transfer value be-
tween two unknown parties,” says
payments expert Roy Vella. “Tech-
nology is now deeply embedded in
our daily lives and it is allowing that
transfer to happen more seamless-
ly than ever and granting entry to
many new and interesting compa-
nies. As such, FintTech has become
the space to watch where the speed,
agilityandinnovationofstartupsare
challenging and transforming the
statusquo.”
8. 8 · ukfintech.com AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MEDIAPLANET
NEWS
AssetManagement:
Thenextfrontierforfintech?
In regards to asset management,
the UK is the largest fund manage-
mentcentreinEuropeandthesecond
largest globally, accounting for over
£6.2trillionnofassetsundermanage-
ment.Furthermore,ofthetotalassets
under management, some £2.2 tril-
lionarenowmanagedonbehalfoffor-
eign clients,making the UK the lead-
ingglobalcentrebythismeasure.
Globally, the UK is fast becom-
ing recognised as the fintech capi-
tal of the world.According toAccen-
ture,the UK and Ireland is now the
fastest growing region for Fintech
investment with deal volumes here
having been growing at 74 per cent
a year since 2008,compared with 27
per cent globally and 13 per cent in
SiliconValley.
The Cloud
Cloud-based service providers have
helpedlowerbarrierstoentryacross
many industries by reducing opera-
tional costs and seed capital needed
tostartabusiness.
Investment management is no
different and even in this highly
regulated environment there are
many opportunities to improve op-
erational efficiencies by moving ac-
tivitiestothecloud.
Advances in various academ-
ic fields like behavioural sciences
have created an opportunity to in-
troduce performance enhancing
techniques into the investment de-
cision making process.In much the
same way as athletes training pro-
grammesarenowsupportedbydata
analysis,ground-breakingdatadriv-
en tools developed by companies al-
low managers to track, measure
and improve on their performance
taking into account input across
multipledimensions.
Big Data
Big data and powerful analyt-
ics tools have also helped a new
breed of real time investment
strategies appear.
Theage-old-artofsectorresearch
and analysis is complemented by
tools that can analyse anything
from the number of specific job ad-
verts on global online job boards,to
the price movement of hotel rooms
in New York as a proxy for the
health of a sector.
Investmentopportunitiesandstrat-
egies which not long ago were only
available to high-net-worth individu-
alswithaccesstoprivatebankingser-
vicescannowbereachedonone’sown
smartphonedevice.
Developments in fintech
As the second largest global market
for assets under management,situ-
ated alongside what is probably the
hottest hub for the development of
fintech businesses, UK Trade & In-
vestment — the economic devel-
opment arm of the British Govern-
ment — anticipate further growth
inthissegment.
Developments in financial tech-
nology, and the innovation pio-
neered by the companies compris-
ing the sector,have the potential to
make a big difference to investors
and long-term savers. Increased
competition will bring lower costs
across the investment process.Cou-
pled with better distribution and
greater efficiency,one could argua-
bly expect that to be translated into
highernetreturns.
The UK is a leading global
financial services centre,
and the most internationally
focused financial
marketplace in the world,
with more overseas financial
institutions and investors
choosing to do business in,
and with, the UK than any
other country.
SHAUL DAVID
info.uk@mediaplanet.com
ABOUT
UK Trade & Investment is the
Government Department that helps
UK-based companies succeed in
the global economy and helps
overseas companies bring their
high-quality investment to the UK’s
dynamic economy, acknowledged
as Europe’s best place from which to
succeed in global business.
Shaul David
Fintech
Specialist, UKTI
Financial Services
Organisation
PHOTO: THINKSTOCK
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you may get back less than you invest. Eligibility to invest in a pension depends on personal
circumstances. Tax rules may change in future. If you need help with pensions, seek
independent financial advice. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Launching today at nutmeg.com
10. 10 · ukfintech.com AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MEDIAPLANET
BCS DATA CENTRE SPECIALIST GROUP
info.uk@mediaplanet.com
NEWS
Data centres at the heart
T
heUK,mainlyinand
around the M25, is
home to more than
50 per cent of Eu-
rope’s data cen-
tre estate. Much of
which is operat-
ing systems and applications for
the Financial Sector. Businesses
are no different from the popula-
tion at large when it comes to ‘al-
ways available, instant service’
and so data centres are designed
and built with high levels of re-
dundancy so that even very bad
events cannot easilydisrupt the IT
service in question. Things such
as grid blackouts are shrugged off
even by the lowliest facility with
batteries and diesel generation
standing by to supply all the ener-
gy that the user needs.
Data centre energy
effectiveness
Of course data centres consume
ever increasing amounts of power that
hasattractedthecriticalattentionofgov-
ernments,both national and European
–althoughthemaindriveristhepopu-
lations’ demand for social networking,
gaming,gamblingandphoto/videoser-
vices.Mindyou,thegovernmentsofthe
world haven’t yet woken up to the fact
that rolling out ever-faster broadband
onlyservestoacceleratepowerdemand,
butthatisanothermatter.
So data centre energy effective-
nesshasbeengettingbetteroverthe
lastfewyearswiththelikesofGoogle
publishing their PUE (an energy
metric describing the ratio of ICT
energy to facility input energy) as
if it is some kind of marketing cam-
paign. They now run at 1.12 – so the
electrical and mechanical systems
thatpowerandcooltheICTloadrep-
resent 12 per cent of the ICT energy
itself. Clearly ‘1.0’ would be perfect
butlevelsofsecurity,availabilityand
maintainability without shutting
offtheservicemakethatimpossible.
The financial sector has some
very special needs that make
a Google-like PUE target of 1.12
almostimpossible–however,thisshould
notbeanexcuseforeitherenergyorfi-
nancialinefficiency.InLondonaPUEof
1.25isaperfectlyreasonabletarget,even
for a bank and growing cost efficiency
pressuresareslowlycuringthehabitof
runningevendevelopmentserversasif
theyarecritical trading platforms.
DataCentresareattheheartoftheUKeconomy–toalargeextentbeingourfactoriesforthe
digitalage—andmost,ifnotall,largebusinessescannotoperatewithoutICTand,asadirect
consequence,adatacentre‘somewhere’.
DATA CENTRES: CRUCIAL TO LARGE
BUSINESSES
PHOTO: THINK STOCK
11.
12. ukfintech.com · 12AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MEDIAPLANET
New entrants to the market, new
business models,changing custom-
er expectations and fragmentation
oftraditionalservicesareallcontrib-
uting to put traditional banks under
pressure. Metro, mBank and others
are all demonstrating that focusing
on the newexperiences and needs of
their customers is driving increased
loyalty and revenue.Meanwhile ser-
viceslikeBarclays,PingItandPaypal
demonstrate that disruptive servic-
es can significantly move customers
awayfrom traditional banking offer-
ings.Theappetiteforsuchservicesis
clearly there, and the maturity and
takeup of them can only move on an
upwardtrajectory.
Indeed, changes are afoot and
the physical manifestation of these
changes is apparent.At a macro lev-
el, the branch appears to be in de-
cline with most established brands
reducing their footprint. Cash is no
longer king,mobile payments are in-
creasing in popularity and no longer
is the current account the onlything
one uses to manage money. Bank-
ing is becoming more democratised
by technology and new services are
changing the way we think about
banking,our moneyand the applica-
tionandcapabilityoftechnology.
So is the branch dead? Well who
knowsforsure,butthereceivedwis-
domandtheempiricalevidencecer-
tainly indicates that the purpose of
the branch is changing. With tra-
ditional branch banking services
moving online,the high streets are
seeing branches of the most estab-
lishedbanksdisappear.Infact,2,000
branches have been wiped off the
map over the last decade and many
moreclosureswillfollow.
The good news is that this is not
thedeathknelloftheindustry,more
anevolutionthatseesthefocusshift
from the noun to the adjective,from
banks to banking. One where cus-
tomer satisfaction, convenience
and new services will feature more
prominently. Where the commit-
menttodigitalbankingandthesup-
port for new channels and services
make it easier for financial institu-
tions to build relationshipswith the
customer.
Differentiation through
added value services
So howwill the banks compete in
this new world of banking? The an-
swer is in how they deliver servic-
es and products.No longer will it be
competitive to just show account
balances on a page or to provide on-
linefacsimilesofpaperapplications.
Customerswant a more holistic and
engaging experience that can span
channels and be supported in by
themall.
Customerswillexpecteverything
that can be done in the bank to be
available online or through mo-
bile — they will see no reasons to
be forced down any particular route.
Customers will increasingly look for
personalised products that have a
simple application and acceptance
mechanismsuchas‘oneclick’tobuy.
Additionally, customers will in-
creasingly look for value added ser-
vices,to help them manage their fi-
nances and to help them to under-
stand their spend. There will be a
need to deliver tools that offer ad-
ditional budgeting services and run
alongside the capabilities they al-
ready have at their disposal to man-
age their finances.For example the
establishment of the newchildren’s
banking service from Halifax is
just one indicator of the direction
in which banks are heading. They
are gearing their services towards
a more expectant, tech savvy cus-
tomer base with growing numbers
ofdigitalnatives.
Forthehighstreetbanksthatwill
continue to operate in traditional
bricksandmortarsettings,theneed
for a free flow of services between
channels is hugely important. Om-
ni-channel retail banking will see
customersinteractingwithservices
in branch butwill be given access to
information and services they can
research and interact with further
while they’re on the go.Tablets and
mobiles will be the delivery system
but the services they will use will
need to be user friendly, genuine-
ly useful and provide full fidelity of
service.
The right strategy, people
and innovation will drive
success
The majority of established banks
already have the platforms to de-
liver new services — the challenge
is in the exploitation.The abilityto
join the product centric thinking
into a more customer centric and
focused set of offerings will chal-
lenge traditional operating mod-
els. It requires the skills of an IT
department that takes a holistic
approach to change.
The first consideration should be
the needs of the business to better
serveitscustomers,whichisinclud-
ed in the brand strategy and digital
strategy.The last thing a bank needs
in this new age of banking is a glut
of tech-led solutions that leave cus-
tomers puzzled and frustrated. It’s
the reason why the technology im-
plementations driven by Avanade
begin with the vision of the compa-
ny.The exploitation of banking plat-
forms to do more should be a posi-
tiveexperiencethatprovidesvalue.
From our experience,we see that
the most successful banks are deliv-
ering a range of channels offering
a full spectrum of services.In addi-
tion,they’re starting to expose new
services to drive innovation and dif-
ferentiation.Examples include Bar-
clays,which recently enabled some
of the Barclays PingIt application
programmable interfaces (APIs) to
be used by third party developers in
theprovisionofbankingservices.As
aresult,customersweregivenmuch
more functionality and the base of
potentialuserswasexpanded.
Todeliverinthisnewera,success-
ful banks are looking outside of the
traditional banking fraternity.They
are hiring designers, customer ex-
perience professionals, retailers
and innovators who have an under-
standing of customers’ needs and
expectationsfromnon-bankingsec-
tors.Thisstrategycoupledwithflex-
ible product innovation is providing
a formula for success in traditional
banking environments which if fol-
lowed will enable banks to compete
with the new entrants and disrupt-
ersinthemarket.
In a customer-led era of banking,
Avanadeworkswithitsclientstode-
velop the strategy that helps banks
reach their desired end goal of im-
proving interactions theyhavewith
their end customers.We work with
firms to help define the customer
experiences,the journeys and tech-
nologytodeliverthenewexperienc-
esneededtosucceed.
Today’s digital customers have
higher expectations than ever.To be
fruitful,companies need to harness
new innovative approaches to at-
tract and retain customers through
highly relevant and personalised
experiences across multiple chan-
nels.Although customers now have
the freedom to switch banks more
quickly than ever,it’s the job of the
banks themselves to unlock added
services and ultimately put the cus-
tomers firmly at the centre of what
they do.Working with the suppliers
that can get them there is a positive
steptowardsthisgoal.
Frombankstobanking
—aneweraofcustomer
focusedinnovationin
financialservices
Nic Merriman
info.uk@mediaplanet.com
Bill Gates once said that
banking will always be
needed but banks as we
know them could easily
disappear. How profound
this statement proves to be
will become clearer over the
coming years, however the
current landscape certainly
appears to support the
sentiment.
COMMERCIAL FEATURE
Nic Merriman
UK CTO OF FINANCIAL SERVICES,
AVANADE UK
“The majority of
established banks
already have the
platforms to deliver
new services — the
challenge is in the
exploitation”