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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
After 20 years as a player in the retail banking market of the Czech Republic, ING is calling it quits. The firm announced this week that it plans to withdraw from the country’s retail banking scene and is encouraging its customers to consider Raiffeisenbank Czech Republic as their alternative bank going forward.
ING expects to end its operations in the Czech Republic by the end of this year. The company has approximately 375,000 retail banking customers in the country and has worked with Raiffeisenbank to ensure the smoothest possible transition for ING customers to take advantage of the opportunity to transfer their savings and investments. This agreement is pending regulatory approval.
ING Group said that the decision in part reflects an assessment of whether or not operations “are likely to achieve the preferred scale in their market within a reasonable time frame. ING has more than 39 million retail and wholesale customers in 40 markets around the world.
We will stay in the CEE for this week’s Finovate Global Profile, which features payever, a German platform-as-a-service commerce solution for banks and insurance companies. Founded in 2013 and led by CEO Artur Schlaht, payever made its Finovate return last fall at our all-digital FinovateWest event. At the conference, the Hamburg, Germany-based company demonstrated its Commerce Infrastructure that enables banks and insurance companies to connect to hundreds of thousands of businesses – as well as million of consumers – online as well as at the point of sale.
Payever offers a variety of Business Apps that cover the entire sales cycle. The company’s Checkout solution gives customers wide access to a range of payment options without requiring the merchant to undergo complex integrations. With Shop, merchants can build their own online store in without needing any coding experience. The solution features design template as well as cloud hosting and support.
Payever’s PoS technology enables its partners to offer cashless payment acceptance using QR codes instead of expensive hardware. Other solutions offered by payever include a Studio to help merchants better display their wares digitally and Mail, an e-mail marketing solution for building newsletters, sending personalized offers and more – all without needing to code.
Check out payever’s demo from FinovateWest last year.
Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.
Central and Eastern Europe
Tinkoffcollaborates with oneFactor to put AI-powered predictive analytics to work in enhancing credit scoring.
South Africa embarks on the second trial of both a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) and a wholesale settlement token for interbank use. For more on the rise of CBDCs, check out our Finovate List Series Feature, Five Things to Know about CBDCs.
If the debut of FinovateFocus next week (Thursday, February 25th) is anything like its preview – shared in-house a few days ago – then fintech fans who have been craving a truly 21st century digital fintech experience are in for a treat.
Today we’re taking a look at the first half of the event – FinovateFocus Connect – which runs for an hour starting at 9am Central. Connect features a roster of more than nine top fintech analysts and innovation specialists who will share their top takes on creating an optimal digital experience for your customers. Each three-minute presentation will be followed by a brief networking opportunity to ask questions and make connections with your fellow digital attendees – all based on preferences you determine in advance.
Here’s a peek at next week’s FinovateFocus Connect agenda.
Personalization and customization with data in the banking and payments industry
Earning customer trust in the digital age
Wealth Management: Competing for affluent digital-native clients
What do customers want: Meeting customer needs
Chatbots, AI, and automation as platforms for revolutionizing CX
APIs and Open Banking: Putting the customer in the driver’s seat
Boosting CX in banking with AI: Conversation banking and exploring back-end technology
Customer Experience 2021: Using data to drive CX strategy, business outcomes, and flawless execution
Remember, FinovateFocus: Digital UX kicks off Thursday, February 25. The Connect component of the event will lead off at 9am Central. The FinovateFocus Roundtable event will follow at 10:30 am Central.
Cryptocurrency wallet provider Blockchain.com has picked up $120 million in funding. The Series A round featured participation from a sizable number of investors, including Access Industries, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and GV (Google Ventures) – among others. Blockchain.com’s total capital now stands at $190 million, and gives the London, U.K.-based firm a valuation of $3 billion.
In a blog post discussing the strategic financing, Blockchain.com CEO and co-founder Peter Smith highlighted the “immense optimism” toward cryptocurrencies displayed by a growing number of “serious, institutional investors.” He noted that the presence of major macro investors such as Louis Bacon’s Moore Strategic Ventures and Kyle Bass in Blockchain.com’s recent funding, and said it was “further proof that institutions are taking a serious look at their crypto strategy.”
And at Blockchain.com’s crypto strategy, as well. Smith noted that when the company began its Series A in 2014 – the same year it debuted at our developers conference, FinDEVr Silicon Valley – the company was powering “just over” two million bitcoin wallets. Today Blockchain.com powers more than 67 million wallets, representing more than $620 billion in transactions. Since 2012, Smith wrote “28% of all Bitcoin transactions … have occurred via Blockchain.com.”
Founded in 2011, Blockchain.com began by offering a blockchain information service, Explorer, and soon after introduced an open source bitcoin wallet to make it easier for investors to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. The company also unveiled Blockchain APIs that helped give a generation of bitcoin businesses the ability to provide services ranging from bitcoin wallet building to transaction verification.
Blockchain currently supports a cryptocurrency exchange, as well as an “exponentially growing” institutional business of digital asset trading, lending, and custody. Smith added that while the wallet remains “at the core” of Blockchain.com’s business, “our Institutional business is now significant enough to cover the entire operating cost of the business globally” in addition to providing further operating profits.
By now you’ve likely heard of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). With consumers’ lives taking place increasingly online and the recent boost in cryptocurrency usage and value, much of the global economy is ready to move from discussing CBDCs to formally implementing a CBDC strategy.
But though there has been some progress in this area, there is still a lot of confusion in the broader banking and fintech community. If you’re feeling a bit behind on the CBDC discussion, here are five things to know that can help you catch up:
Six countries are currently piloting CBDCs
While much of the world is struggling to wrap their heads around CBDCs, some countries are ahead of the game and already have pilot programs in place. Of these, the most well-known is China, but Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, Sweden, and Uruguay are also actively piloting CBDCs. Additionally, Brazil reports it plans to formally launch its CBDC next year.
A handful of countries, including Canada, Venezuela, Cambodia, South Africa, and the UAE have made key developments with their CBDC programs.
Other countries are still in the research phase or have had no development.
Check out this interactive map from the Atlantic Council to learn more about each country’s progress.
CBDCs don’t necessarily need the blockchain
Many people associate CBDCs with Bitcoin, which can be a helpful way to think of distinguishing Central Bank currencies from fiat money in digital form. But while Bitcoin leverages the blockchain, CBDCs don’t necessarily need to.
That’s because blockchains are used when there is no central party to provide trust. When central banks serve as the trustworthy authority, however, this decentralization is no longer necessary.
In fact, according to a survey conducted last February by the U.K.’s Central Banking Magazine, only one reserve bank said that they planned to use a blockchain for the structure of distributing their CBDC.
There are two types of CBDCs
Many people don’t know this, but there are actually two types of CBDCs– wholesale and retail. Wholesale CBDCs facilitate clearing operations between the central bank and its member banks, while retail CBDCs are for the general public to use, taking the place of the bank note.
There will still be room for cash
CBDCs will work alongside cash, or fiat currency. While there are both negative and positive aspects to paper money and coins, there will still be a cash economy. CBDCs simply combine the convenience of a cryptocurrency with the stability and regulation of fiat currency.
CBDCs won’t harm banks
As Chris Skinner highlighted in a blog post recently, CBDCs have the potential to disrupt banks to the point making them obsolete. Because CBDCs are issued digitally, they could technically circumvent banks.
Skinner concludes, however, “The true role of banks, whether in a digital currency or cryptocurrency world, is to store and exchange value with trust. That’s why they’re regulated the way they are and why they exist the way they do. And that isn’t going away anytime soon.”
Have you fallen into debt and can’t get up? Fortunately, there’s a new fintech on the scene that has dedicated itself to helping Americans build credit and savings – and get out of debt.
SeedFi, launched in private beta in 2019, announced today that it has raised $15 million in new equity – along with $50 million in debt financing. The Series A round was led by Andreessen Horowitz. Flourish, Core Innovation Capital, and Quiet Capital also participated.
“Our goal is to address the root cause of the problem and leave our customers better off than we found them,” SeedFi CEO and co-founder Jim McGinley explained, “so we’ve structured all of our products to generate savings and build credit.”
SeedFi COO and co-founder Eric Burton explained the savings/debt dilemma for many Americans in a conversation with Crunchbase News. He noted that the lack of savings in the event of an emergency is often the pre-existing condition that can lead to serious debt problems, which in turn, make it more difficult to save. “The insight we’ve learned is to combine savings with credit to address the immediate need for credit in a way that will leave them better off and down the path to a better financial future,” Burton said.
The San Francisco, California-based company plans to put the new capital to use growing its customer base and – with its bank partners – bringing products to market across the country. SeedFi also plans to add to its product offerings, which currently include two solutions: Credit Builder and Borrow and Grow.
“SeedFi is creating a suite of plans to address borrowers at various financial points in their lives,” Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Angela Strange wrote on the company’s blog earlier today. “Customers can start by saving as little as $10 a paycheck through SeedFi’s Credit Builder Plan, which enables them to build credit while they save. For those in need of money, SeedFi’s Borrow and Grow Plan gives customers the cash they need now and sets them up to save for the future.”
Many financial commentators are boasting about the high savings rates many Americans are achieving due to limited spending opportunities during the COVID crisis. Our “K-shaped” economic recovery means that many people are surviving – or even thriving – financially during the pandemic. But there are a significant number of Americans for whom COVID-19 has meant major financial hardship – including loss of income and an increase in consumer debt. For those Americans, fintechs like SeedFi are increasingly part of the solution.
Opera, one of the top internet browsers, announced a suite of in-browser cashback and payment tools for ecommerce. The release of the tools coincides with the launch of Dify, Opera’s new digital wallet.
Dify is a standalone mobile app that will enable users to open a Dify checking account and make purchases using a free, virtual Mastercard debit card. The account also features a special shopping mode, which protects users’ data while they shop by disabling third party extensions.
“Every day millions of people shop online and make their payments using Opera browsers,” said Opera EVP Browsers & EEA Fintech Krystian Kolondra. “Opera has a track record of growing audiences and then improving their experiences to make them more engaging. We think this is one of the highest-potential areas: With Dify, we are making the browser and a superior wallet work better, together, to improve users’ shopping experience and also make it financially rewarding.”
At launch, the main incentive to opening a Dify account is the cashback feature. Shoppers will receive cash back for purchases made on Opera’s partner websites accessed through its browser and will receive additional cashback on purchases made using their virtual Dify Mastercard.
Opera has a larger vision for Dify’s future, however. The company plans to enable more wallet services like savings management, credit products, investment opportunities, and instant cashback.
Dify is currently available to users in Spain in beta. Opera says it plans to expand to more European markets in the future.
Today’s launch follows a recent expansion of online shopping. According to research from J.P. Morgan, last year ecommerce activity reached $863 billion (€717 billion). The bank’s reports indicate that many countries in Europe will continue to have double-digit growth this year.
Australia-based financial comparison website Mozo has agreed to be acquired by British Media company Future PLC.
Future anticipates the purchase will fuel its global growth by creating a new revenue stream, adding a new financial services content arm in Australia, and growing Mozo’s market share.
Founded in 2008, Mozo is a B2C site that helps consumers compare offers on home loans, credit cards, and personal loans, as well as compare banking and insurance products. In total, the company compares more than 1,800 products from over 200 banking, insurance, and energy providers.
Monzo is also known for its personal finance resources. The company offers financial calculators and creates content to help guide readers through financial decisions and build their awareness of the finance world.
“We’re delighted to be adding Mozo to the Future family,” said Future CEO Zillah Byng-Thorne. “We are seeing the increasing convergence of content and price comparison and this acquisition supports our global growth ambition in this area.”
Mozo has raised $1.4 million (£1 million) via one round of funding. The company’s team of 45 employees works out of Sydney, Australia.
With new vaccines helping stoke confidence in a post-COVID summer, if not spring, what has the pandemic – and the work-from-anywhere movement it accelerated – revealed about the security of our increasingly digital world?
What is the biggest takeaway from your report on fraud?
Christina Luttrell: As COVID-19 drove 84 million Americans online for services that were previously carried out in person, businesses faced an influx of new customers to onboard. In response, many appeared to loosen fraud controls in an effort to reduce friction and simplify onboarding, particularly for digital “newbies.”
With this loosening, combined with COVID-19 factors such as dispersed fraud teams, remote work, stimulus checks, and sophisticated phishing and synthetic identity fraud (SIF) schemes, it’s easy to understand why fraud attempts surged to a four-year high. Also not surprising is the emergence of mobile as the most targeted channel, evidenced by an astounding 89% increase in fraud attempts likely due to an increased reliance on mobile devices during the pandemic.
In the report each year, we’ve seen businesses struggle with the challenge of balancing fraud with customer friction. Businesses drive revenue by greenlighting customers, which includes removing barriers and minimizing effort during the onboarding process to avoid unnecessary “friction.” Yet they must do so while deterring fraud. This challenge is exacerbated by current events and the state of fraud and, as a result, verification of identities was cited as the top challenge to fraud deterrence among businesses. Many have come to the conclusion that, at its core, fraud is an identity problem and 86% firmly view digital identity verification is a strategic differentiator across all industries.
When it comes to the future, 79% of businesses expect fraud to increase in 2021. With the COVID-induced shift to digital, fresh collection of more Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from 2020 and potential economic conditions, this is likely to be a “bust out” year for fraud.
How quickly have fraudsters followed the migration to digital channels during the COVID-19 crisis?
Luttrell: From our study, The COVID-19 Effect on Identity, Fraud and Customer Onboarding, we know that between March and July of 2020, 37% of Americans online activated an online service that was done offline prior and 46% said they have used their smartphone more often to sign up or apply for a new service. As a result, one-third of businesses experienced a customer shift of 50% or more to digital channels. In 2020, the number of new accounts opened with a mobile phone increased 43%. Fraudsters tend to follow the masses and the money and, in 2020, as those consumers went digital, criminals were quick to follow, employing rapidly shifting tactics, which was reported as a top challenge to fraud deterrence for 40% of businesses.
Mobile fraud attempts surged 89% in 2020 with increases across all fraud types, from spoofing and cloning to porting. With more consumers relying on digital information sources and businesses sending a higher number of customer communications, 56% of businesses reported phishing attacks as one of the most prevalent forms of fraud in their industries.
The pandemic provided a prime opportunity for fraudsters to take advantage of distracted Americans, the increase in digital communication between businesses and consumers and government relief efforts. Our research shows that 84 million Americans reported experiencing a phishing attack attempt in the months following the pandemic’s start, with an average of four attempts per person between March and June.
How have cybersecurity professionals effectively responded to this shift?
Luttrell: It appears cybersecurity professionals responded rapidly to this shift as best they could, but COVID-related disruption and distraction, such as remote working and government relief checks, put a wrinkle in plans and added a new layer of complexity to fraud detection and the consumer experience. Fraud is an identity problem, making identity verification the essential “digital handshake” and element of establishing trust. We expect to see more companies rely on the orchestration of blanketed layers of identity attributes, artificial intelligence, and integrated verification methods to remove friction and deter fraud.
Successfully onboarding new customers and building long-term loyalty in today’s rapidly shifting fraud landscape will require businesses to act quickly. On the back end, they will need to understand how identity verification attributes are performing so they can make adjustments to attributes that pinpoint fraud on an extremely granular scale while streamlining the verification process for real customers.
What kinds of fraud are increasingly prevalent – especially compared to the pre-COVID-19 period?
Luttrell: Aside from COVID-related fraud, such as vaccination schemes, the fundamental methods of remain relatively unchanged. Instead, the shift has occurred in the sophistication and amount of fraud which, as I mentioned, is rising across the board compared to pre-COVID numbers.
Credit, debit, and prepaid fraud were reported as the most prevalent by 63% of businesses, followed by phishing, account takeover, ACH/wire and first-person fraud. ACH/wire fraud spiked by 15% – presumably because of rising P2P usage due to social distancing and first-party, specifically “friendly or know fraud,” increased 28%. This may be attributable to chargeback fraud schemes as many Americans were unemployed, underemployed or suffering in shape or form financially, thereby increasing their pressure and rationalization of committing fraud.
Your report mentions the issue of synthetic fraud in the PPP lending program as specific challenge. Can you elaborate on this problem and what should be done?
Luttrell: A range of fraud schemes were used to exploit PPP in 2020, one of the most concerning being synthetic identity fraud (SIF). According to McKinsey, this is the fastest growing type of financial crime in the U.S. A recent report by Aite Group revealed that among 47 financial institutions surveyed, 25% experienced an increase of 10% or more since the start of the pandemic. Our own research also underscores the SIF problem, which hit an all-time high, with a 43% increase in SIF reported by respondents to the IDology Fraud Report.
SIF continues to trouble businesses, especially given the challenges associated with decentralized fraud teams working from home and the need to interpret and apply once-in-a-lifetime changes in consumer behavior and the swings and noise they create. There are also the problems created by the never-ending stream of data breaches, and the use of personally identifiable information gathered from phishing attempts and other scams that continue to thrive in the COVID era.
To quickly issue PPP loans and prevent fraud, lenders should reconsider the importance of Know Your Customer (KYC) measures. Placing a focus on strong KYC is not only best business practice, it also will help lenders prevent fraud and maintain integrity. To easily and securely ensure a borrower is who they claim to be and provide a smooth experience while battling fraud, such as SIF, the identity verification process supporting KYC should include multiple layers, control of the entire identity verification process and the flexibility to make and automatically deploy configuration changes and machine complimented with human intelligence.
How would you characterize the business world’s response to these new threats, especially in financial services?
Luttrell: The business world, as a whole, responded admirably. Consider the massive logistical shifts that needed to happen in months, if not weeks, from the mass migration of working from home to customer engagement and the shift toward digital. On a human scale, it’s a breathless achievement. Eighty-seven percent of businesses feel their organization is equipped to some degree to make the necessary changes to stay ahead of rapid digitization and COVID-19 fraud trends, indicating they recognize and perhaps, have a higher than expected sense of confidence.
Although two-thirds of Americans feel companies could be doing more to protect their identities, confidence in organizations being able to protect their data actually increased in comparison to pre-COVID-19 levels. Our data shows that financial services organizations are stepping up, forecasting larger anti-fraud investments and budgets for 2021, and leaning into a multi-layered approach to identity proofing as well as using diverse sources and types of data. Eighty percent of financial institutions expect to increase budgets on fraud deterrence in 2021, with 45% saying significantly, more so than any other industry. Though the investment varies by sub-sectors such as fintech, lenders and prepaid, prepaid firms appear to be most aggressive.
How do you think the post-COVID cybersecurity landscape will differ from the pre-COVID cybersecurity landscape?
Luttrell: The cat and mouse saga continues and the chase maze has become significantly more complicated. The lesson for many, in hindsight, is that strong, thoughtful and comprehensive digital identity verification is mission-critical. The digital handshake is essential in establishing trust.
Fraud knows no borders and the world is small and inter-related, as is identity verification. Address verification as part of identities is not only critical for accurate verification, but also for the delivery of essential items and resources. Americans have migrated much of their lives to digital, forever.
Identity collaboration between businesses and with customers will be more sought after, and technology, such as artificial intelligence, will need to be supplemented with high-touch layers of human intuition, proactive detection, fraud expertise, and consortium intelligence from other organizations. This is especially important as COVID introduces novel fraud schemes that can fool pre-COVID identity proofing methodologies. As was the case with major events in the past, the outcomes and unintended consequences of the pandemic are unknown but we know that fraudsters are harvesting data, scheming, probing new defenses, partnering with nation states and utilizing artificial intelligence to scale fraud on a global basis.
In a round led by Warburg Pincus, data-driven personalization and customer engagement solution provider Personeticshas raised $75 million in new funding. The round brings the company’s total funding to $93 million.
“The financial services industry is reaching a tipping point in mobile adoption and setting a new standard in Smart Personalized Engagement,” Personetics CEO and co-founder Davis Sosna explained. “Personetics has set out down this path and has launched its vision of Self-Driving Finance. We are looking to quickly expand our global footprint with new partners and clients, and support our existing customers with innovative business solutions. We are very excited to be partnering with Warburg Pincus on this journey.”
Personetics teams up with banks and other financial institutions to help them better engage their customers, and to make it easier for them to understand and make the financial decisions they need to improve their lives. The company’s automated financial wellness programs help users reach long-term financial goals by leveraging technologies like AI-driven chatbots to provide personalized, relevant, and timely financial advice and recommendations.
A Finovate alum since 2016, Personetics customers include leading global banks such as U.S. Bank in the U.S., RBC in Canada, Metro Bank in the U.K., UOB in Singapore, and MUFG in Japan. More than 95 million bank customers around the world are using solutions and services enhanced by Personetics’ technology; the company claims its customers are recognizing gains of as much as 35% in their mobile app engagement and a 20% increase in customer account and balance growth.
Last fall, the company announced a partnership with Santander UK to leverage AI-driven personalized insights to boost engagement and enhance the customer digital experience. Together, the two firms launched a new digital solution called My Money Manager that offers cash flow analysis, payment reminders, and other personalized financial insights. In August, Personetics teamed up with Israel-based Discount Bank to launch its auto savings solution, Smart Save.
A new year brings a new roster of guests to the Finovate Podcast. Hosted by Finovate VP of Strategy Greg Palmer, the Finovate Podcast showcases the latest in fintech thought leadership, with innovators, analysts, bankers, and entrepreneurs sharing their insights into the future of fintech today.
From the Fintech in Extraordinary Times series documenting fintech’s response to COVID-19 to discussions on future tech and financial inclusion, the Finovate Podcast is a great way to get up to speed on the conversations in fintech that count.
Check out Greg’s guests from 2021 so far. And be sure to catch the show every week.
Raul Rodiguez, Managing Director, Innovation Accelerator, Charles Schwab – Lessons on what it takes to build and foster a culture of innovation at a large-scale financial institution. LinkedIn
Mark Goldberg, Partner, Index Ventures – Data privacy is going to be a massive concern for fintechs and banks in the next few years. Mark Goldberg of Index Ventures shares his thoughts on how privacy will evolve, and what banks and fintechs need to do now to prepare. LinkedIn
Srinivas Njay, Founder and CEO, Interface.ai – Finovate Best of Show winner Interface.ai joins us to talk through turning your call center from a cost center into a revenue generator, and how financial institutions can go about picking the right organizations to partner with. LinkedIn
Bhavin Turakhia, Co-founder and CEO, Zeta – FinovateWest Best of Show winner Zeta Technologies talks about the influence of neobanks and the future of banking. LinkedIn
Jim Van Dyke, CEO, Breach Clarity – FinovateWest Best of Show winner Breach Clarity talks about the aftermath of data breaches, creating individualized responses, and helping consumers safeguard their identities. LinkedIn
In a Series D round led by existing investor Coatue Management, Indian financial services company BharatPe has secured $108 million in new funding. The investment, which also included participation from all of the firm’s current institutional investors, boosts the company’s total to $268 million and gives BharatPe a valuation of $900 million.
The company highlighted that the oversubscribed round in its statement was “one of the fastest round closures for any startup in India.” But the company’s co-founder and CEO Ashneer Grover was quick to underscore what part of the news deserved the most attention. “We, at BharatPe, do not celebrate fund raises – it is akin to procuring raw material. We are super excited though to have returned INR 125 crores of capital to angels and all ESOP holders, earning them one of the highest returns on investment.”
Grover added that the company has experienced 5x growth in its payments business and 10x growth in its lending business in the last 12 months. “This growth reiterates the trust that the small merchants and kirana store owners have showed in us.” He said BharatPe remains committed to the goal of building “India’s largest B2B financial services company” and a “one-stop destination for small merchants.”
Founded in 2018, BharatPe was launched to bring better financing and payments services to Indian SMEs. The company was the first to offer a UPI interoperable QR code, first to offer a ZERO MDR payment acceptance service, and first to provide a UPI payment backed merchant cash advance service. More than five million merchants rely on BharatPe’s platform, which handles an annualized total payment volume of $7 billion.
For this week’s FinovateGlobal Reports, we turn to a 2021 forecast of fintech in the Middle East published by Finextra earlier this month. The report features contributions from a number of sources, including S&P Global, Findexable and its Global Fintech Index, the WEF Global Competitive Report, as well as a 2019 analyst overview published by Clifford Chance, Fintech in the Middle East – Developments Across MENA.
“Fintech continues to transform the delivery of financial services across the region and remains high on the agenda of industry participants and governments seeking to develop and modernize and, for GCC governments, to diversity from natural resources,” the report noted. Among the key takeaways on a region that (according to Accenture) is expected to see its fintech market grow to $2.5 billion in value by 2022 are:
Public and public institutions are helping reinforce a “collaborative approach to fintech.”
Regional leadership in fintech remains seated in the UAE “both in respect of the number of participants and forward-thinking approaches.”
Wariness toward cryptocurrencies and digital assets remains even as some regions, such as Dubai, have begun to “embrace blockchain” technology.
Embedded fintech products into governmental services and banking have improved efficiencies and increased opportunities for fintech innovation.
Cryptocurrencies have dominated the fintech headlines this week- from Mastercardagreeing to allow merchants to accept payments in cryptocurrencies to BNY Mellon’s announcement that it will begin custody of cryptocurrencies.
Today, after bitcoin reached an all-time high of over $48,000, marketing services company Kasasaunveiled plans to help its bank and credit union clients provide bitcoin wallets to their consumers.
The new capabilities will be powered by a partnership with New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a technology and financial services firm dedicated to Bitcoin. The collaboration will help Kasasa’s bank clients stay ahead of the rapidly growing bitcoin adoption.
“Clearly, Bitcoin is here to stay, and consumers are demanding that Bitcoin offerings be made through their trusted financial institutions,” said Kasasa CIO John Waupsh. “With this new partnership, we’re looking across the product and services that Kasasa currently offers, as well as future product and service ideas. With NYDIG we can evaluate new offerings such as a buy-sell-hold wallet while also incorporating Bitcoin into our core rewards business.”
This partnership will be a major selling point for Kasasa, especially as consumer interest in cryptocurrencies rise. According to NYDIG, more than 22% of U.S. adults over the age of 18 own Bitcoin today.
This interest, combined with the creation of formal regulation like the OCC’s recent ruling that banks may use stablecoins for payment facilitation, is bringing cyrptocurrencies into the forefront of banks’ agendas. With today’s partnership, Kasasa is better positioned to help small financial institutions compete with larger players when it comes to cryptocurrencies.
