FinTech Rising

Reports at the intersection of money, banking, securities, and payments with digital technologies

Brexit Business

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FINTECH ARTICLES OF THE WEEK 07/10/16
It’s been a little more than two weeks since the Brexit vote, and it seems to me that the analyses are getting less shrill and more realistic. The links below provide Brexit perspectives on technology in general and financial technology in particular. Meanwhile, banks continue with the trials and tribulations of digital transformation, with change in the CIO office and collaboration with firms lumped under the tag “disruptors.” This week’s Blockchain Watch continues the Q2 2016 review posts.

Brexit and the businesses of financial services and technology

A good number of articles I’ve read in the financial media suggest that British voters “did the unthinkable” with the vote to leave the European Union. United Kingdom leaders are still in turmoil, especially those who figured the Brits could have their U.E. single-market trade cake and eat independence from its regulations, too. Here are a few articles focusing on FinTech that I’ve found enlightening:

Brexit vote has already hurt tech, but the next step could be worse. Giving up the ability to offer financial services in exchange for limiting immigration, as some U.K. leaders plan, could prove damaging to tech companies that rely on such immigration freedom to fill in the gap left behind by the U.K.’s lack of technological education investment, according to The Guardian.

Brexit’s impact on the future of FinTech. The U.K. and the European Union will survive Brexit, but it’ll be a pain in everyone’s ass, according to Elizabeth Lumley in a FemTech Leaders post. “London has been an international trading hub for 500 years,” Lumley said. “London is open for business. And will be for some time to come.”

“We had a gem here and I think we’ve just smashed it up.” Despite the eye-catching quote, the entrepreneurs interviewed by Business Insider generally agree. Business will go on, and it will be more difficult. Costs will increase, and some firms will leave for Berlin or Amsterdam, depending on which article you read.

Post-Brexit FinTech – don’t just sit there, do something. Just as things were finally starting to calm down in the FinTech community, the Brexit vote throws a new set of worries into the FinTech frenzy, writes Leda Glyptis in a post for Banknxt.com

The Daily Fintech Index post Brexit. The initial numbers tell you a lot.

The transformation of the digital banking CIO

To meet customers’ needs in a changing market and compete with FinTech firms, retail banks and credit unions are expanding the duties of the CIO beyond sprucing up the front-office and back-end office functionality, according to Jim Marous in a post for The Financial Brand. Today’s CIOs are leading the charge for digital transformation, but they also feel that organizational culture has been a barrier to further improvement, Cognizant’s survey results show.

Why FinTech disruptors are good for big banks

Though the banking industry has recovered, banking’s reputation hasn’t. But even though millennials are dissatisfied with the traditional banks’ product offerings, FinTech firms aren’t without their problems. The two can work together in order to strengthen one another, argues Peter Longo in a post forVenture Clash. This piece provides a good overview of some lesser-known consumer and small-business FinTech firms.