Your next wallet may be your #hand. Unless you’ve been on a Buzzfeed-less streak in the past few days, you&8217;ve probably heard of a Buzzfeed news reporter&8217;s mission to spend a month without a wallet — a journey that led him to implant an NFC-enabled #chip inside his own hand. Tech reporter Charlie WarzelRead More
Bank Innovation
A new report from #Goldman #Sachs Investment Research projects #blockchain #technology #could #save billions across industries.
fintech techcrunch
TWO years ago Swedbank, Sweden’s biggest retail bank, moved from its offices in the centre of Stockholm to a drab business park outside the city. Employees fretted about leaving their prime location, a few doors from the Riksbank, the central bank, and a stone’s throw from Parliament. The move, which has saved $25m-odd a year, was symbolic not only of the bank’s thrift, but also of its desire to retreat from the exciting but risky end of banking. Instead, much like the Scandinavian furniture in its office, it is returning to something simpler and more straightforward. That strategy has made Swedbank not only one of the safest #banks in Europe, as judged by the thickness of its cushion of capital, but also one of the most profitable.
European banks are struggling. Economic growth is low; regulators demand ever more capital, and negative interest rates, which most banks do not dare to pass on to depositors, squeeze margins. All this, bankers tell aggrieved shareholders, has inevitably pushed returns far below their pre-crisis levels. Yet Swedbank has defied the inevitable. It is nearly twice as profitable as the average European bank, despite holding twice as much capital on a risk-weighted basis (see chart). Last month it announced profits for the first quarter of SKr4.31 billion ($510m), well above market expectations and virtually the same as last year (SKr4.32 billion), before Sweden and the euro zone adopted negative rates. This was doubly unexpected given the sudden departure of the bank’s CEO in February, amid criticism of his policing of suspected conflicts of interest among the staff.
Underlying the bank’s success is the idea that in the post-crisis world, running a retail bank is not that different from running a utility. The business strategy is simple: sell lots of dull, low-risk products while keeping operating costs as low as possible. Of its 8m customers, 7m are households. Mortgages make up 60% of its loan book. Although there is plenty that banks cannot control, Swedbank focuses relentlessly on what it can: cost and risk.
“Hard and sweaty work” is the only way forward, says Goran Bronner, the bank’s CFO. Swedbank has cut its staff by a third since 2009; slashed the number of branches in Sweden (it also operates in the Baltic states) from over 1,000 in 1997 to 275 today, and made all but eight of those completely cashless. Discipline on spending pervades the bank, from procurement (switching phone companies recently reduced its telecom bills by 58%) to staffing (it is moving part of the workforce to the Baltics, where wages are up to 70% lower). It is over halfway through a two-year plan to reduce group expenditure by SKr1.4 billion. The $1.6m salary of the new CEO, Birgitte Bonnesen, is modest for the industry.
As a result of this frugality, Swedbank has a cost-to-income ratio of 43%, meaning that 57% of the money it takes in can be distributed to shareholders or reinvested. This is over 16 percentage points more than the average for the EU as a whole. The Baltic branches are even more efficient, thanks in part to even greater use of digital banking than in Sweden.
The bank’s efforts to move customers from branches and phones to websites and apps are crucial to its success. In the future people may well only visit a branch once every five years, suggests Ms Bonnesen, who believes “extreme efficiency”, abetted by #technology, is the nub of retail banking. Across the road from Swedbank’s headquarters, in a converted warehouse, 200 developers and business managers flit from breakout areas to meeting pods, planning this lean but customer-pleasing future. One of their most popular creations is the “shake for balance” function on Swedbank’s app, which allows users to shake their phones to find out how much money they have in their account. It is used 30m times a month.
#Deloitte is assembling a team of 50 #blockchain experts in Ireland to help lead the company’s global expansion into the blockchain business.
CoinDesk
While #Switzerland is a global leader in many sectors, the country is #lagging #behind on #digitalization, according to a new #study.
In a new report released today, the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (#EPFL) – on behalf of Swisscom and SIX &8211;, explores Switzerland’s current digital landscape and details how it can benefit from future technological developments.
The document, entitled ‘Switzerland&8217;s digital future &8211; Facts, challenges and recommendation,&8217; suggests that although Switzerland is recognized as one of the world&8217;s most competitive economies, the country is lesser known for its information #technology sector or for its influence in the digital economy area.
“The EPFL study clearly shows that although Switzerland is well placed globally, we are not in an overly strong position either,” Urs Schaeppi, CEO of Swisscom, commented on the research findings. &8220;We need to take action today so that we do not miss the opportunity to harness the technologies of the future.&8221;
The report focuses on five current trends in digitalization: digital infrastructure, startup ecosystem, data governance, the digitalization of the public sector, and societal trends. It aims at identifying Switzerland&8217;s strengths and weaknesses in the global landscape.
Findings suggest that Switzerland has a strong and highly competitive ICT infrastructure, but at the same time, is constrained by strict regulatory requirements and costs regarding mobile broadband.
The report also points out that there are still untapped opportunities in relation to data management as Switzerland has an excellent reputation globally for responsible data management and effective data protection. Therefore, it is ideally positioned to become a global &8220;safe haven for data&8221; and a prime location for &8220;big data&8221; centers.
When it comes to the entrepreneurial spirit, however, the study found that Swiss people are lagging behind the likes of the US, for instance, which has a strong startup culture. The Swiss startup ecosystem has not emerged yet, the report #says. It notes that changes in funding and taxing startups would help make the country more attractive to creative, tech-oriented companies.
The report also suggests that current legal framework is holding back digital progress. It notes that the country&8217;s relatively high level of regulation can pose a barrier to digital process. Additionally, e-government is relatively underdeveloped is Switzerland and represents an untapped opportunity for the Administration and the economy.
Some of the barriers to achieving success and becoming a major player in digitalization, are not specific to Switzerland, though. For instance, the report notes that digital literacy and readiness should be promoted through dedicated programs.
The report also lists a number of recommendations in order for Switzerland to fully benefit from technological developments.
Among these recommendations, the document suggests an increase in private and public infrastructure investments in mobile broadband. It also advises for the promotion of the attractiveness of Switzerland&8217;s infrastructure for finance-oriented digital infrastructure.
Switzerland should further improve and promote its position as a secure trusted center of corporate and individual data.
Furthermore, new funding mechanisms must be introduced to fill the gap between seed money and large investments.
&8220;Switzerland&8217;s digital future will depend on citizens, policy makers, and entrepreneurs at the local and global level,&8221; the report concludes.
Featured image: Man holding social object by chanpipat, via Shutterstock.com.
The post Switzerland Is Lagging Behind on Digitalization, Says New EPFL Study appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
#Blockchain #startup ShoCard has developed a proof-of-concept focused on digital #identity in partnership with a #major #airline IT #firm.
CoinDesk
#ShoCard and #SITA, the IT company for the air transport industry, have been working together on an interesting project. They’ve been looking at ways to #store your ID #details on the #blockchain to manage traveler identification. More generally, ShoCard has been working on a seamless service that lets you store your identity onto the #bitcoin blockchain. This way, anyone can retrieve and… Read More
If a doctor only treated the symptoms of your illness, rather than the root cause, you could be looking at a hefty medical bill at the end of the year, not to mention repeated trips to the surgery. Such an analogy could well be applied to the rise of invoice finance as a remedy for…Read more #Polite #persistence #pays – #SMEs #harness #fintech to get #paid on #time
Bank Innovation
After months of rumours, #TransferWise, the London headquartered #money #transfer startup and #fintech darling, has confirmed that it has raised a #further round of funding. Read More
Two of Europe’s biggest players in digital and #blockchain payments, Nets and Coinify respec=vely, are joining forces where Coinify will develop integrated blockchain solutions for Nets.
Nets has entered into a partnership with #fintech company Coinify by establishing a ‘Blockchain Development Lab’ in order to iden8fy business opportunities in the field of blockchain #technology. The partnership involves cooperating with internationally renowned experts in this field of technology with the intention to develop a number of proof of concepts as the basis for developing specific products and services.
Coinify ApS is the largest facilitator of blockchain payments in Europe and supports more than 20 payment service providers reaching over 100,000 online businesses. Coinify payments support up to 17 blockchain currencies and offer payouts to their customers in local currencies. At the same time, Coinify also provides consumer and corporate trading of digital currencies, such as #bitcoin. As such, Coinify is the leading provider of blockchain payment services in Europe and Asia, and is among the top four worldwide in this field.
“We see potential in blockchain technology, so obviously we need to gain a thorough understanding of it and the possibilities it offers. Coinify is a leader in the development of products based on this technology and we believe they are the right partner to help us inves8gate the possibilities of developing customer-oriented products and services based on it,”says Jan C. Plenge, Senior Vice President with responsibility for Digital innovation at Nets.
Blockchain is a decentralised technology which can be used, among other things, as documentation of direct bilateral digital transfers, or to document ownership of contracts, deeds, etc. By joining forces, Nets and Coinify seek to clarify how this technology could be applied commercially and within existing regulatory frameworks, particularly within the same high-level security requirements that Nets already applies to other value transactions.
“It is important for Nets to closely monitor new digital technologies to be aware of the possibilities, even if that means blockchain technology could poten8ally challenge parts of our exis8ng business. For many years, we have been the ones delivering the latest payment solutions to #banks, and we intend to keep it that way, going forward,” Jan C. Plenge continues.
Regarding the partnership, CEO and Co-founder of Coinify Mark Højgaard comments: “Nets is the leader when it comes to digital payments in the Nordic region and we are delighted with this new partnership, and believe that, together with Nets, we will be able to develop a number of first-class products and services that will ultimately benefit both merchants and consumers.”
About Coinify
Coinify ApS operates as a blockchain payment service provider with focus on extending blockchain currency payment processing and trading services to merchants and consumers respectively. Coinify serves global Payment Service Providers, online businesses, physical shops, and individuals. The company incorporated in 2014 and is backed by a multimillion dollar capital injection from SEED Capital (funded by the Danish government) and Accelerace. Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Coinify is a leading blockchain payment service provider (bPSP) with strong presence on the European and Asian markets.
Visit http://www.coinify.com for more information.
About Nets
Nets’ ambi8on is to connect banks, companies and consumers through innova8ve digital payment solu8ons. We are behind the Dankort, Betalingsservice and NemID, for example. We cover the Nordic and Baltic regions, delivering a whole raft of services in the field of card payments, account transfers and payment solutions for merchants. Nets employs 2,500 staff and turnover in 2015 was DKK 6.8 billion.
Read more at http://www.nets.eu.
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