US Central Bank Chair: Blockchain Could Have ‘Significant’ Impact
The Federal Reserve isn’t working on any #blockchain applications of its own at this time, according to Fed #chair Janet Yellen.
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investiere.ch Closes Financing Round: Zürcher Kantonalbank Becomes a Significant Minority Shareholder
The Swiss investment #Fintech platform for start-ups, investiere.ch, has successfully closed another #financing #round. With a substantial participation in the capital increase, Zürcher Kantonalbank has become a new #minority #shareholder of investiere.ch. The financing round represents the largest fintech investment in Switzerland this year to date.
investiere.ch announced that it has successfully closed a Series B financing round totalling CHF 3.5 million. This capital increase will enable investiere.ch to further develop its investment platform with services and tools related to start-up financing and to drive the platform’s growth. At the same time, investiere.ch has gained an important shareholder in #Zürcher #Kantonalbank, which is a leading provider of start-up financing and has many years of experience in this field. Existing shareholders and other experienced business angels also participated in this financing round.
Image from Zürcher Kantonalbank Facebook
“With Zürcher Kantonalbank, we have acquired an ideal partner as an investor,” Steffen Wagner, co-founder and CEO of investiere.ch, explains. “Zürcher Kantonalbank has repeatedly demonstrated its innovative strength and its expertise in the area of venture capital and has for many years shared our mission of providing professional financing for start-ups.”
Martin Scholl, CEO of Zürcher Kantonalbank, commented: “We decided to invest in investiere.ch based on the team and #technology behind the platform. The digitalisation of the venture capital market offers attractive growth potential and also creates opportunities for the further development of our own financing activities in areas such as SME financing.”
investiere.ch and Zürcher Kantonalbank are among the most active venture capital providers in the Swiss market. Zürcher Kantonalbank has long been investing in young companies. More than a decade ago, it launched its ‘Pioneer’ initiative and since then the bank has invested more than CHF 100 million in start-ups with new and innovative business ideas. This has resulted in the creation of almost 1,000 jobs. #investiere.ch has already provided over CHF 17 million in funding for start-ups in more than 40 financing rounds. There will be no changes to the activities conducted by Zürcher Kantonalbank as part of its ‘Pioneer’ initiative. At the same time, investiere.ch will retain full independence with regard to the development of its business.
Featured image: Pixabay
The post investiere.ch Closes Financing Round: Zürcher Kantonalbank Becomes a Significant Minority Shareholder appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
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Fintechs Gain Significant Traction Notably in Emerging Markets
63% of customers across the globe are using #fintech products or services, according to Capgemini and Efma. Most particularly, penetration is the highest in #emerging #markets and among millennial population, but is also expected to increase in all geographies and ages, the firms claim in a report.
The report, which draws on one of the industry’s largest customer surveys with responses from over 16,000 customers across 32 countries and 140 industry executives, found that fintech ventures are increasingly attracting referrals, new customers, and gaining trust.
Users claim that fintech ventures are providing products that are easy to use (82%), services that are faster (81%), and an overall good customer experience (80%).
Customers said they would rather recommend fintech providers (55%) to their friends and relatives, rather than their own bank (38%). Only 15.9% of customers said they are likely to purchase another product from their bank, “pointing to the need for more innovative product development,” the report says.
In reply to the increasing competition, #banks in more than 85% of countries have improved customer experience. That said, younger generations remain the most unsatisfied, raising concerns about the ability of traditional banks to meet the higher expectations of these segment.
While over 90% of banking executives believe that change is accelerating towards digital banking, only 12.9% say they have the systems in place to support the change.
&8220;Banks are underestimating the value fintech firms provide in delivering a good experience and efficient service, as well as their potential influence on all areas of banking,&8221; the report says.
Findings suggest that banks are struggling to respond to &8220;increasingly aggressive fintech competitors.&8221; 65.3% of banking executives said they view fintech firms as partners and pointed out that the most appropriate ways to partner with these ventures are through collaboration (45.5%) and investment (43.6%).
&8220;Banks and fintech firms will need to work together and leverage each other&8217;s strengths to create the best possible future ecosystem,&8221; the report advises. &8220;By being proactive, banks can reduce the risk of being marginalized as the ecosystem evolves.&8221;
The report argues that APIs are essential to the future of banking as they offer the ability to take advantages of fintech assets such as speed and creativity. While some have embraces the open architecture of APIs, the industry as a whole still has a long way to go.
Additionally, regulation such as the EU&8217;s Directive on Payment Services 2 (PSD2), which aims at establishing the legal foundation for the creation of an EU-wide single market for payments, will further pressure banks to expose banking core ledgers openly and transparently to third-party solution providers.
&8220;Today&8217;s partnerships are a stepping-stone toward a much bigger role banks are expected to play in creating a digital banking ecosystem. In the emerging ecosystem, existing bank infrastructures and new fintech #technology will both play strong parts,&8221; the report claims.
By teaming up with fintech ventures, banks can be &8220;better equipped to meet rising customer expectations for enhanced experiences and innovative services,&8221; it states.
&8220;They can explore ways of generating revenue from #fintechs that want to tap their expertise in traditional banking areas like risk management and payments. Putting a price on assets like geo-enhanced data, customer authentications and money transfers could held banks generate new revenue streams.&8221;
Capgemini and Efma&8217;s ‘World Retail Banking Report 2016&8216; echoes previous papers released that advise for more collaboration between the banking and the fintech sectors.
The Economist Intelligence Unit issued a report in December last year, arguing that banks and fintech startups have more business interests in common than issues that divide them.
Another document, by Deutsche Bank, claims that banks and fintech ventures should collaborate rather than compete against each other.
Finally, in Accenture&8217;s &8216;Fintech and the evolving landscape&8217; report, the consultancy firm argues that banks should consider fintechs as enablers, urging them to assess, adapt and adopt new technologies.
The post Fintechs Gain Significant Traction Notably in Emerging Markets appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
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Apple’s iOS 10 Offers Significant New Platforms for Payments
The #payments news from Apple seemed sparse compared to other flashier offerings at today’s Worldwide Developers Conference, but #significant new payment platforms within the iOS were quietly announced. Ben Brown of the bank consultancy First Annapolis tweeted: WWDC payments news in a tweet: Apple Pay in/coming to 9 markets, comingRead More
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