#Wealth #management has historically been a good source of revenue for #banks, but it carried a significant cost, too. #Smaller banks, with fewer resources, often cannot afford the employees that deliver the revenue. A new #deal announced this week between wealth management firm #Personal Capital and BancAlliance, a network of 200Read More
Bank Innovation
Big bank comeback in mobile payments: Payment processing companies such as PayPal have long offered a nimbler and faster payment option to consumers. The downside has been cost as merchants typically pay a fee for using the service which is often passed on to consumers. US bank J.P. Morgan Chase seems willing to challenge nascent players head on with a payment solution of its own. The big bank maintains the upper hand in the battle as it can offer its services at a significantly discounted rate. The winner will be merchants, which have long complained of exorbitant transaction fees.
AmEx ventures into on-line loans: In more news of incumbents challenging new market players, AmEx has announced an on-line lending platform for small-business clients. Popularized by the likes of #fintech companies such as Lending Club, Square Inc. and On Deck Capital, on-line lending offers loans at significantly reduced turnaround times but at rates sometimes greater than those offered by financial institutions. AmEx is seeking to bridge that divide through quick funding and competitive rates.
Russian blockchain consortium sees daylight: Novel technologies face an uphill adoption challenge, comprehension of the concept being a major roadblock. Industry consortiums alleviate these concerns and promote further cooperation among members to accelerate adoption. With this in mind, a group of Russian #banks have announced their intention to form a consortium to explore #blockchain. Among the potential applications the consortium will investigate include KYC procedures as well as joint settlements. The news comes on the heels of a similar Chinese project recently announced and led by 31 financial and #technology firms.
Blockchain based FX clearing: Clearing trades is expensive and timely with the typical settlement time hovering around three days. Blockchain promises to cut that delay to mere minutes, if not instantaneously. As such, the application of distributed ledgers in clearing and settlements has garnered much attention in the past year. Enter FXCH, a startup Irish clearing house. It successfully cleared an fx-spot transaction using blockchain. Said Franck Mikulecz, founder of FXCH: “Streamlining steps to settle FX trades at a fraction of the current costs is brilliantly disruptive.” The successful transaction will surely give credence to the potential of blockchain in clearing and settling trades.
The Instagram bank branch: In an unconventional branding and marketing exercise, the Singaporean subsidiary of Malaysian bank CIMB has launched a new social media campaign to promote its offerings. Dubbed The Small Bank Theory, the bank has created an “Instagram branch” in the hopes of familiarizing potential clients with its products and services and to replicate, to the extent possible, the actual experience of visiting a physical branch.
Please contact me to discuss these and any other related topics.
Abraham A. Tachjian
[linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/abrahamtachjian” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”Abraham A. Tachjian”] is Legal Counsel at Standard Chartered Bank – FinTech/Blockchain Adviser and Speaker
A concrete approach to focus innovation efforts in the #insurance sector
The insurance sector, which is considered to be fairly traditional and resistant to change, is currently being overtaken by a macro trend of digital transformation. This is causing institutions with hundreds of years of tradition to rethink their insurance business models, by identifying modules within their own value chain that need to be transformed or reinvented with the help of #technology and data usage. #InsurTech represents a macro trend destined to take on an ever-growing relevance in a world which tends toward hyperconnectivity and the infiltration of technology into all aspects of society. The insurance business will become more InsurTech-oriented, and technology will have a decisive role in reaching strategic goals. This applies to insurance companies, reinsurers, intermediaries and newcomers. During 2015, InsurTech startups received around $2.5 billion in funding, according to LTP.
The number of innovative initiatives is growing exponentially, raising interest for all phases of the customer journey and all steps in the insurance value chain. This reveals a very crowded map of innovations that were introduced by the incumbents of the insurance sector or by startups. The innovations can be divided into seven macro areas: awareness, choice, acquisition, use, recommendation, Internet of Things (IoT) and peer-to-peer (P2P). One of the main challenges for analysts, incumbents, startups and investors is identifying the degree of relevance that these innovations represent for the insurance sector.
InsurTech: My way to answer to the question: “Should I invest on this?” [ Click to Tweet]
After many discussions with venture capitalists and insurance thought leaders, I’ve come up with my own answer for the following question: What is the potential of each InsurTech initiative? My approach is based on four axes related to the fundamentals of the insurance business:
These considerations refer to a specific innovation initiative and are not absolute. On the contrary, they should be customized to each specific market, line of business, and client segment. In a similar manner, an insurance company has to make these considerations by taking into account both the contribution brought toward the achievement of strategic priorities and the coherence with its distribution approach.
I am convinced that evaluating InsurTech opportunities based on this pragmatic approach clarifies the rationale behind each innovation initiative. It facilitates the prioritization of initiatives and ultimately helps focus investors’ and innovators’ efforts.
InsurTech: Connected insurance is here to stay [ Click to Tweet]
If we consider some connected insurance use cases, it easy to understand the reason why the World Economic Forum identified connected insurance as one of the main insurance innovation trends:
These insurance approaches suggest the use of sensors for data collection for different business lines. This data refers to the status of an insured risk, and to the telematics for remote transmission and informatics management, alongside the insurance value chain of the collected data. These approaches represent a great opportunity for connecting the insurance sector with its own clients and their risks.
Italy is today one of the most advanced ecosystems of connected insurance, encompassing 4,9 million auto insurance contracts, which include a box provided by the company, and almost 50,000 home insurance contracts, which are characterized by the use of sensors communicating with the company. In this context, the Connected Insurance Observatory was born: a think tank dedicated to spreading the culture of insurance innovation. I put together the Observatory at the beginning of 2016 with the support of the Italian National Association of Insurance Companies (ANIA). The Observatory has made it possible to unite 30 primary Italian and international insurance groups and some 15 other interested players to bring a contribution to the InsurTech story in the making.
Matteo is Principal in Bain & Company’s Financial Services and Digital Practices, Founder and Responsible of the Connected Insurance Observatory, Thought Leader in InsurTech, Top 50 InsurTech Influencer.
JPMorgan #Chase & Co. building a peer-to-peer payment app featuring its QuickPay service, which is tied into the clearXchange network, CEO Jamie Dimon announced yesterday. Dimon did not say when the app would be launched, only that it “will be rolled out shortly.” Interestingly, Dimon seemed to indicate that JPM would make theRead More
Bank Innovation
#Ether #prices surged this week, outshining #bitcoin as the Ethereum community made progress toward a #hard #fork for The DAO.
fintech techcrunch
A UK House of Lords committee will meet next week to hear testimony from academics and representatives of the #blockchain industry.
fintech techcrunch
The panel will frame appropriate regulatory responses to enhance #FinTech opportunities and manage risks.
FinTech – Finance Magnates | Financial and business news
While SAP has been exploring #blockchain for over a year, it’s only recently decided to become more vocal about its work.
fintech techcrunch
#Fintech ventures have long been praised for providing products that suit consumers’ changing behavior and expectations, but also for providing financial services to demographics that have been so far excluded.
Whether it is for rural populations in developing countries or SMEs struggling to get a business loan, #fintechs are smart in the way they target specific niches and markets, focusing on one product range, optimizing processes and leveraging #technology and digital platforms to cut costs, and thus, prices.
One demographic that has become more and more appealing to entrepreneurs is #women. This is mainly because women clients are finding that financial institutions are not meeting their specific needs. A Boston Consulting Group survey found that of all the industries that affect their daily lives, women feel most dissatisfied with the financial services industry, and this, on both product and service levels.
Image credit: Juan Nel via Shutterstock.com
Investing in particular is an area where women substantially differ from men. Studies have found that women are more conservative when it comes to investing and more insecure regarding their ability to invest. Other researches have suggested that women are actually better investors than men, preferring a more long-term approach, trading less frequently and sticking with their asset allocations.
As automated investment services – so called #robo-advisors &8211;, continue to expand into niche offerings, #online financial advice and portfolio #management is becoming more accessible to a broader variety of investors, including women.
Miss Kaya will be Southeast Asia&8217;s very first woman-focused robo-advisor. Founder Gina Heng, who simultaneously serves as CEO and co-founder at Marvelstone Group, has worked as a venture partner at Yozma Ventures, and co-founded asset management firm One Asia Investment Partners and Leonie Hill Capital in Singapore.
In a recent interview with the Singapore Business Review, Heng explained what pushed her to launch this particular venture.
“The types of online based #wealth management services in Asia today are still limited to financial education and product comparisons,” Heng said.
&8220;We want to bring a new wave of innovation by providing a robust, automated, algorithm-powered, wealth management platform. Miss Kaya, by being the first women-driven robo-advisory platform in Asia that caters to their very needs, serves to empower them to achieve longer-term financial goals and allow them to pursue their dreams.&8221;
Gina Heng, Miss Kaya
The company plans to pre-launch its website some time this month, starting with offering financial education materials and a beta version of its personal portfolio management services. Later, it will offer full financial advisory services for women to manage their own finances, Heng said.
Miss Kaya follows the likes of Ellevest, Worth Financial Management (WorthFM), SheCapital and Women Investor Now (WIN), which are all offering woman-centric financial services.
Sallie Krawcheck, Founder of Ellevest, at TechCrunch&8217;s Disrupt NY 2016, via https://techcrunch.com/
Ellevest, which launched in May, was founded by former Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck and works much like more-established players such as Betterment and Wealthfront. Ellevest creates financial portfolios made of exchange-traded funds based on a user&8217;s timeline and risk tolerance. It also offers investment products such as Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs and investment accounts, and makes money by charging users a fee as a percentage of assets managed.
Ellevest takes into account female professionals&8217; unique needs such as the fact that women live longer than men and the fact that they tend to earn less than men.
Ellevest raised US$ 10 million in a funding round led by Morningstar in September 2015.
WorthFM, a digital investing platform by DailyWorth, was designed to engage and educate women as their investments grow. Launched in private beta in March, the platform builds one&8217;s portfolio by taking into account the client&8217;s personality, strengths, fears and sabotage patterns.
SheCapital, which launched in 2015, targets female investors and aims at closing the gender gap in financial advice. The platform was designed to act as a one-stop shop for women who are looking to invest.
Similarly, WIN aims at acting as an all-in-one platform integrating financial planning, investing, real-time money management tools, Robo and custom investment portfolio management, and curated content.
For Switzerland we haven&8217;t yet spoted a similiar Fintech Startup.
Featured image by Andresr via Shutterstock.com.
The post Women Take Center Stage As Fintechs Eye Untapped Opportunity in Online Wealth Management appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
Two former BNP Paribas employees have launched their own #blockchain startup and are working to create a prototype to serve #clearinghouses.
fintech techcrunch
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