Investment money continues to pour in, major publications cover blockchain technologies (as major banks adopt it), and new sectors catch startup interest. Even bitcoin gets a break. As @IRenwood quoted Jamie Dimon on successful #fintech startups, “It’s not the technology, it’s how they reduce pain points, front end and back end.”
The Money20/20 Recap: Top Five Trends in the Payments Industry to keep in mind for building your 2016 strategies
Two trends that came out of the Money20/20 were the shift from business model innovation to technology innovation and recognizing identity verification as an issue. Read Let’s Talk Payment.
Venture Investing in Financial Technology
FinTech development for lending and payments have experienced a flood of cash from venture investments. Remittances and consumer banking, not so much. Take a look at Venture Scanner’s infographic to see which FinTech areas are financially booming or busting.
We don’t save for the future, because we lie to ourselves. This app might change that.
Have a hard time saving for a rainy day? Meet Qapital, the app that helps you save. Quartz has the story on the Swedish-based company, why we fail to save or spend effectively, and how FinTech apps like Qapital may offer ways of changing consumer behavior. That is, in the end, the idea behind nifty technologies.
The blockchain gets big media coverage
Nothing gives legitimacy to a trend or technology than major media. Last week’s cover story in The Economist was as notable for where it appeared as for what it said. Though the blockchain technology used to track bitcoin transactions raised eyebrows in the beginning, it could prove to be useful in securing transactions for otherwise broken or inefficient systems. The Financial Times weighed in as well with its overview of how banks, insurers, and the large technology consultanties are attempting to work out in its simplest form, give consumers and suppliers to connect directly and form online networks, removing the need for a middleman.
Bitcoin surges, emerging from a lull in interest
As the blockchain gets positive media and business attention, so, too, does bitcoin. As bitcoin comes out of the shadows, bitcoin traders are seeing an upswing. Now, financial firms and banks are paying close attention to its drastic price fluctuations and its comeback. The New York Times has more here.
Introducing the insurance technology startup ecosystem
Is insurance on track for a tech boom? Venture Scanner is tracking 311 companies around the world with a total of nearly $3 billion in funding. See their findings here.