Change is imminent in #banking, and as we begin the new year the only debate seems to be what is going to be driving that change. Over the course of #2017, what is going to transform banking the most? Well, we have some ideas. 1. IOT Voice Commerce/Voice Payments SmartRead More
Bank Innovation
Juan Benitez, general manager and chief #technology officer of #Braintree, a PayPal subsidiary, will participate in a #fireside #chat at #Bank #Innovation #2017. Bank Innovation 2017, March 6-7 in San Jose, Calif., will feature dozens of speakers on investing in innovation, chatbots, open banking ecosystems, #blockchain and more. Benitez has been CTORead More
Bank Innovation
The FinTech Ideas Festival will envision long-term, big ideas in areas such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, big data, tomorrow’s workforce, financial inclusion, biometrics, cybersecurity and others that will impact the way consumers interact with their finances. The FinTech Ideas Festival is an invite-only conference. USA, San Francisco
Companies and government entities from around the world such as Canada, US, Hong Kong, Russia, Finland, Singapore, and the UAE, will have the chance to showcase their best and most innovative new financial and banking technologies. Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
1000 people will gather at PMQ in Hong Kong, with the world’s best speakers assembled to cover fintech design, innovation & entrepreneurship, and see the top 24 startups globally pitch for prizes and cash. Hong Kong
Making #Blockchain Work for Municipalities & Citizens & Making Internal Remittances Immutable & Trackable. UK, London.
The first day will lean slightly towards Public Blockchain, while the second day will focus more on Blockchain/DLT in hybrid and public ledgers. UK, London.
Workshops on topics including, Smart Contracts, Ethereum and BigchainDB. UK, London.
The Paris Fintech Forum is the international Fintech event in France. 2,000 participants will listen to 200 CEOs and c-levels from #banks, insurance, telco, regulators and fintech. It will take place under the high patronage ofFrench ministry of Finance, Economy, Industry and digital affairs. Paris, France. Official website: http://www.parisfintechforum.com/
Cutting-edge banking and financial #technology in a unique, short-form, demo-only format. UK, London
This is a european student-led conference in Imperial College London with the brightest ideas and thoughts of industry pioneers on the financial world. UK, London.
The Blockchain Africa Conference 2017 will bring together a diverse range of experts who will discuss all the opportunities, challenges and exciting possibilities in innovation and disruption that can be leveraged in Africa using this technology. South Africa, Jonannesburg
LendIt host major events for the global lending community. Its mission is to connect every major player, platform, investor and service provider in the space. USA, New York
Payments & Financial Services Innovation Event. Singapore
It’s a 2 day program featuring key developments ‘for-by professionals’ in the payments/transaction space combined with a full 2 day program with key sessions on international Security & Fraud. Netherlands, The Hague
Event for Fintech Developers that will showcase the latest tools, platforms and case studies from the technology side of fintech to hundreds of developers, VPs of engineering, and CTOs. UK, London
Defining the Dev in the Financial Industry. UK, London
Conference for the financial technology industry, a platform that convenes the world’s global institutions together with startups, policy makers and investors to share ideas and solutions to the challenges facing financial services. UK, London
Conference for IT pros. It is also for businesspersons and end users. Russia, Moscow
Cutting-edge banking and financial technology in a unique, short-form, demo-only format. USA, San Jose
Defining steps for sustained innovation which keep banks relevant to consumers now and in future. UK, London.
This event cover the ongoing pace of disruption and funding in finance and what that means for incumbents, consumers, and the future of financial services more broadly across major trends like AI, blockchain, insurance tech, #robo advising. USA, New York
Event for Fintech Developers that will showcase the latest tools, platforms and case studies from the technology side of fintech to hundreds of developers, VPs of engineering, and CTOs. UK, London
Payments & Financial Services Innovation Event. Denmark,Copenhagen
Event to uncover new opportunities in the world’s largest market for Internet finance. China
Event to uncover new opportunities in the world’s largest market for Internet finance. China
Cutting-edge banking and financial technology in a unique, short-form, demo-only format. USA, New York
Payments & Financial Services Innovation Event with 11,000+ Attendees from 4,500+ Companies and 85 Countries Including 1,700+ CEOs & Presidents and 400+ Speakers. USA, Las Vegas
This conference has been created to bridge the gap between the start up and corporate worlds. By creating a dual-directional dialogue; FinTech Evolution 2017 will assist in the development of FinTech’s rise to preeminence in the Financial World. Germany, Berlin
Cutting-edge banking and financial technology in a unique, short-form, demo-only format. Hong Kong
For a more complete list, send your event to [email protected] .
Last update on 05 January 2017.
You may also want to include Columbia Business School’s FinTech, DFS & Payments Summit on June 8 & 9 in New York City. 70+ speakers, top tier participants, regulators, VCs and innovators covering blockchain, mobile money, payments, DFS, big data & more. Pricing very low for NYC events but space is limited. https://goo.gl/kfHY4s
The #fintech world has been going through a sort of an IPO freeze recently. The headwinds created by certain #fintechs this year (looking at you, LendingClub) didn’t help much either. Venture capital funding continued to fall in the third quarter, according to data from KPMG Enterprise and CB Insights. Global financingRead More
Bank Innovation
#Fintech, the marriage of finance and #technology, has been part of the business world for decades. In recent years, the explosion of innovation has brought even more attention to this sector. As a #small business owner, you should keep tabs on the fintech industry. Here’s a few #reasons why it&8217;sRead More
Bank Innovation
With the end of the year approaching, the amount of predictions for #2017 is steadily increasing. How will the industry develop and what will be the next big thing? Although A.I. (Artificial Intelligence), #Blockchain, RegTech are buzzwords everyone is talking about, one can foresee the next #Fintech #trends more realistically by looking at the current developments. Exactly they will determine the course for the next year. Three areas are of special interest
More SME #banking: Many Fintechs focused in 2016 solely on two customer groups: either the biggest banks or the private end customers. Many SMEs, however, had respectable profits. The issue is that digital financial products from payment providers and company credits to goods financing are missing.
These companies are too big for peer-to-peer lending and a traditional banking credit is costly and lengthy. More and more Fintechs are detecting the needs of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and are beginning to offer them solutions. The startup Valendo f.e., originally intended as digital pawn shop, is now offering an additional service of merchandise financing for online-retailers – an intelligent step for both the merchants and the company. Another example is the Fintech iwoca from the UK that offers tailormade loans for SME businesses (in the UK 20% of all SME loans are mediated by online-suppliers). In 2017, we will see a significant expansion of these services for SMEs through innovative Fintechs.
More B2B-solutions: In 2016, Fintechs grew up. In 2015, it was still difficult for Fintechs to find any open door within a bank. Today, more and more financial institutions are cooperating with Fintech companies that are faster and more efficient than the company-owned IT-departments. There is hardly any bank that has no digital lab to emulate fintechs. The consequence: The Fintech companies are continually improving their business models to meet the higher requirements. One example is the Berlin-based Fintech company FinReach: With its fully-digital account switching kit, it has already more than 100 German bank customers and is now starting its internationalization.
The big number of partner banks is a clear vote of confidence. This kind of trust is necessary if one wants to be successful in the B2B-industry. Not only that, but the industry requires professional employees. Ex-bankers with longstanding experience in the financial industry, including former board members, are now working for established Fintechs. The cool students may be the ones that invent a new pocketmoney app, but successful Fintechs have grown up. This growth will continue with even more strength in 2017, especially through the demands of complex B2B models.
More complex business models: Not only employees have become more professional, but also the setting of Fintechs itself. While the first ones started as hyped business models without a real business case, dependent on user’s goodwill, nowadays no Fintech starts without having applied for the necessary licenses from authorities and conducting extensive tests before launching. Instead of a “lean startup”, it is now from zero to a hundred. solarisBank, a tech platform with a full banking license, got its banking license before launching &8211; in the record time of only 9 months from the German Bafin.
Elinvar on the other hand has a B2B2C approach and offers private asset managers all the necessary modules to manage their portfolio digitally. With the help of an algorithm that can be fed with individual data, the asset manager is able to take care of a customer’s portfolio faster and in a more efficient way. B2B2C is not easy, because it requires on one hand the supplier’s trust and on the other hand must be well received by consumers. Moreover, it requires a thorough preparation of the product. 2017 will surprise us with more complex and high-quality Fintech models.
At least one thing was demonstrated in 2016: Fintech was and is not only a hype, but a development that needs to be taken seriously and drives the digitization and transformation of the entire financial industry. With new customer groups and new business models, 2017 has the chance to make Fintech accessible to even more professional fields. The course is set, now it is all dependent on the right drivers.
The post The Fintech Trends for 2017: SME Banking and More appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
It’s almost time to wave goodbye to 2016. This was a big year for #fintech, with new regulations, new startups, and new technologies displayed across events like Sibos and Money20/20, making it clear that the progress of fintech can’t really be stopped. But how will it continue? That’s the realRead More
Bank Innovation
It is this time of #year again where most of us willingly and willfully make fools out of ourselves trying to predict the future of our industry. The momentous electoral events we have witnessed and those coming up in #2017 remind me that, even more so for the next 12 months, #macro #risks will rule and influence the state of financial services and #fintech. I will limit myself to comments pertaining to the US and Europe.
I have already attempted to decipher a Trump presidency in a previous post, see here. Suffice it to say there will be winners and losers in the five sectors of the industry – lending, capital markets, asset management, payments and insurance. Regtech may be impacted the most if the US experiences a wave of deregulation. Although I still ascribe to a secular and long term trend towards regulatory harmonization, we may see deviations at the margin, especially within sectors that are more domestic than international by the nature of their activity. I would not be surprised if US domestic lending regulation, compliance and enforcement be loosened while European consumer protection remain tight for example. Another area where one may see changes at the margin would be domestic payments. Still, when it comes to such sectors as capital markets, cross border payments, interbanking activities I do not expect much deviation from one jurisdiction to another and certainly no loosening up when it comes to clamping down on illegal activities, fraud. Hence cybersecurity, AML/KYC and reg/compliance thereof should be interested ecosystems with plenty of investment and operational activity. On another regulatory note ,2016 was the year of the FCA with it’s sandbox. The FCA&8217;s initiative was so popular we ended with more than 8 regulators launching their copycat initiatives. I will make three #predictions in the sandbox space for 2017. First, regulatory sandboxes will be renamed &8211; sandbox is just a poor name everybody dislikes. Second, the US and the EU will see their own “sandbox” initiatives launched (where in the EU is a mystery) as hybrid collaborative efforts between regulators, technologists and incumbents. Third, there will be more collaboration at the &8220;sandbox&8221; level between regulators. Be that as it may I also expect the FCA to go from strength to strength given its clear leadership and first mover advantage (same for MAS, the Singapore regulator).
I continue to worry about alt-lending or marketplace lending as rising interest rates will benefit #banks first and while there is some room to increase the cost of lending, in a competitive market with regulatory oversight there is a limit to how high the cost of borrowing can go. On the other hand banks cost of capital will not rise as fast as those of alt-lenders. Therefore the next 12 months will prove delicate for this industry. I expect banks flexing their muscles and acquiring some platforms as well as mergers between alt lenders while the weakest competitors close shop. Whether this pattern will evolve in sync across the US and Europe I do not know. It depends on how US, UK and EU yield curves will behave. I certainly expect this pattern to occur in the US. On the other hand, infrastructure spending, if it is on a massive scale in the US, will have a positive impact on lending and fintech lending actors will benefit. One might even see fintech startups funded on the basis of infrastructure services for example.
In the retail asset management sector we have witnessed a wave of consolidation in the US, notably with roboadvisors. Most incumbents have placed their bets and the few remaining independent startups have survived, so far. We have yet to see consolidation in Europe. Arguably, there are fewer roboadvisors in Europe than in the US and most are younger so we might not see full consolidation yet. I would not be surprised if a European incumbent or two makes an acquisition though. I remain interested in roboadvisor models, especially those that will make effective use of ETFs, micro investing or micro saving and build a social layer that enables high engagement. I think there is still space for these types of models. Additionally, there is still much to be done to modernize incumbents and to date few fintech startups with a b2b model have emerged in asset management. Some are due to pop up.
In the payments sector I will go out on a limb and call for the rise of micro payments platforms in 2017, most probably powered by a distributed ledger #technology. Most startups addressing micro payments have failed so far but it is only a matter of time before a startup or an incumbent hits the right note. Given the rise of m2m, p2m transactions with IoT and the continued growth of p2p as well as the explosive growth of other types of activities (esports, different models of media consumption from a la carte to subscription) it is only a matter of time before micro payments make it big. My bet is on both platform plays that provide backbone and infrastructure and front end models. Other than micro payments, I continue to be interested in b2b payments and services to SMEs. We have barely scratched the surface and financial services to SMEs are still antiquated. The prospects of a global trade war will not play well with trade finance and supply chain finance activity though.
As for the #blockchain ecosystem, 2016 was a fascinating year. We now have a pretty good picture of the landscape with up to 10 companies being the potential winners. Most of these winning companies have opted to open sourcing their code, collaborating with standards setting bodies, or working as a consortium with many incumbents. Other than a few financing rounds for some of these leaders, I do not expect much investment activity. Indeed I expect many casualties, acquihires or outright failures for the other weaker competitors. 2017 will be a year of consolidation in the DLT space while the winners go about their deployment business quietly. I expect further standardization efforts to bear their fruit &8211; &8220;yesterday and today&8221; in the capital markets arena, &8220;tomorrow&8221; in the insurance space. Finally I expect the start of the patent wars in the space. Most serious contenders have filed patents &8211; incumbents and startups alike &8211; and it is only a matter of time before some try to enforce these patents. Sooner rather than later is my bet.
In the insurance industry, I expect more of the same, both in terms of level of activity and types of insurtech startups. I also expect emphasis on cyber risk coverage and on climate change given both are top of mind and material risks going forward. Cyber risk coverage is particularly interesting to me, given the rise of IoT and the security risks associated with both hardware and software in the space.
On a more general level, I expect five themes to pick up steam in 2017. First, all the business models we have seen created and funded in fintech over the past 8 years will be revisited with an AI component &8211; be it machine learning, deep learning or other. This is bound to happen as AI is sweeping the business world. If mobile is eating the world, AI is the chef that is orchestrating the menu. Whether in lending, asset management or any other sector, I expect to see much activity in this domain and this includes new fintech startups getting funding, especially in b2b. An inevitable trend towards the cognitive financial services firm. Second, the convergence of software robotics, AI and automation will be applied at scale in what is called robotics process automation for banks and insurance companies alike. This is a pure b2b play for sure and I expect this sector to be a fertile ground investment wise. Third, platforms and ecosystems will continue to take shape as various banks further build their API strategies, their marketplace strategies, or even their bank as a service strategies. Whereas 2016 was the year industry thought leaders spoke about platforms, 2017 will be the creative phase for these types of business models. Some startups are already picking up funding. Expect more over the coming 12 months. One should note that platform business models require standards and interoperability. As such, I expect the beginning of standardization and open source in the field of bank as a platform or bank as a service, in a similar vein to the movement we have seen in the DLT/blockchain space. Fourth, the messaging platforms wars will be in full swing as Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft vie for dominance and expand their respective ecosystems. I expect more financial services incumbents to jump on the bandwagon and more startups to build their own apps. The lure of reaching millions of users &8211; customers and potential customers &8211; is strong. To me AI powered chatbots fall in this fourth category as few will be successful on their own and most will want to align with at least one messaging platform. In as much as PFM startups were not particularly successful and neither were account aggregation models, the messaging platform wars with their myriads of skills or applets or bots (voice or text or voice+text) present both an opportunity and a threat to the financial services industry. The threat is well known and lies with being further disintermediated and removed from the end customer. The opportunity is less obvious. Indeed, most fintech startups focused on retail use cases have failed to make any significant traction because either the service did not generate excitement and engagement (simple aggregation of data or accounts), or was too obtuse (too complex) or was too superficial (giving you options to consider) whereas what works usually hits on at least one of three dimensions: enhance an experience, accelerate a process, simplify a process. You can bet that the bots within the messaging platforms that will win the day will enhance, accelerate and simplify. It is up to fintech startups and incumbents to emulate best of breed as they will coexist within the same ecosystems. Else, fintech AI chatbots will fail to impress much like PFM models did before. I should add that the messaging platform wars will be a wedge for GAFA to further encroach in the payments sector. Fifth, 2017 will be the year of digital identities. By that I mean most of the investment activity will be focused on identity business models. Some may consider this field not part of fintech. They will be wrong. there is no identity without trust and vice versa. Further identity and trust impact and influence payment methods and enable or disable currencies. I view digital identities as the corner stone of the future of financial services industry. I expect the investment pace to pick up in the identity space.
A few random thoughts in closing. Should a Trump presidency usher an era of instability and trade wars, we will undoubtedly encounter currency wars. Should the EU further weaken in 2017, currency turbulences will be exacerbated. Should the renminbi further weaken, capital flows leaving China will accelerate. Thusly, it is not inconceivable that cryptocurrencies will benefit, notably #bitcoin, along with its ecosystem. In this macro case figure, and assuming legal and regulatory house sorted out with the SEC, I expect much activity with Initial Coin Offerings in 2017 (ICO).
Finally, I expect subdued venture investment activity in Europe and the US in aggregate, especially in the first year of a new US administration which is still an unknown for many.
Einer der wichtigsten Schauplätze der digitalen Transformation ist die Arbeitsumgebung des Wissensarbeiters – der Trend geht hier zu noch mehr Mobilität, Geräte und Personalisierung. Eine zukunftsweisende #Workspace-Strategie kann dabei helfen, die Mitarbeiterproduktivität zu erhöhen, Kosten einzusparen und das Unternehmen als Arbeitgeber #für technologieaffine Young Professionals attraktiver zu machen. Oliver Bendig, CEO von Matrix42, erläutert die acht wichtigsten Entwicklungen, die #2017 für Unternehmen relevant werden.
Oliver Bendig
1. UX wie in der Consumer-Welt: Kontextbasierte und personalisierte Workspace-Services
Als erfahrener digitaler Verbraucher gewöhnt sich auch der Wissensarbeiter an eine personalisierte Nutzungsumgebung – wie zum Beispiel eine automatisch generierte Playlist von Musik-Streamingdiensten. Eine ähnliche Adaption der Workspace-Technologie an die persönlichen Arbeitskontexte wird dem Wissensarbeiter in Zukunft dabei helfen, effizienter, produktiver und motivierter zu arbeiten. Mein Workspace wird in Zukunft wissen, wo ich bin, welches Gerät ich benutze, welche App bei der verfügbaren Bandbreite Sinn macht und welche Daten und Dokumente ich als nächstes benötige. Er wird meine persönlichen Vorlieben kennenlernen und sich darauf einstellen.
2. Bald unerlässlich: Unified Endpoint Management
Mitarbeiter verwenden heute mehr als ein Gerät für das Erledigen ihrer Arbeit. Aus diesem Grund gehen neue IT-Management-Technologien immer vom Nutzer aus, und nicht mehr vom einzelnen Gerät. Hierdurch wird die einheitliche Verwaltung von mobilen, traditionellen und hybriden Geräten für IT-Abteilungen immer wichtiger. Ein wesentliches Element hierfür ist das sogenannte Unified Endpoint Management, das die Verwaltung der Arbeitsumgebung für Administratoren unabhängig von den benutzten Geräten macht.
Das Thema Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) hat bereits 2016 deutlich an Fahrt zugelegt und ist weiter auf Wachstumskurs: MarketsandMarkets prognostiziert dem globalen UEM-Markt bis 2020 eine durchschnittliche jährliche Wachstumsrate von 42,9 Prozent. Ein ganzheitliches Management der wachsenden Vielfalt an Geräten, Apps oder Cloud-Ressourcen ist unerlässlich, um dem Wissensarbeiter in Zukunft die Nutzererfahrung bieten zu können, die er aus dem digitalen Entertainment längst gewohnt ist.
Enabling Workspace Through Unified Endpoint Management. Via SlideShare
3. Cloud-basierter Workspace: Der Browser als neues Betriebssystem
Ein elementares Element für die #Digitalisierung ist die Cloud – das gilt auch für den Workspace. Die persönliche Arbeitsumgebung wandert in die Cloud und lässt sich jederzeit und überall via Browser abrufen. Die Arbeitsumgebung verlässt damit ihren angestammten, festen Ort bzw. festes Gerät. Egal, wo ich mich befinde, welches Gerät ich benutze und wann ich arbeite – über einen Cloud Workspace habe ich jederzeit Zugang zu meiner Arbeitsumgebung, bestehend aus Apps, Dokumenten, digitalen Identitäten und Services. Arbeit wird also mehr und mehr zu einem Zustand, welchen der Wissensarbeiter jederzeit aktivieren oder deaktivieren kann – ganz unabhängig vom „Platz“.
4. Enterprise Service Management – über die IT hinaus
Was Bereitstellung und Verwaltung von Diensten betrifft, hat das IT-Service-Management in den letzten Jahrzehnten sehr effiziente Prozesse nach ITIL entwickelt und umgesetzt. Diese lassen sich mit einer flexiblen Service Management Lösung nun auch für die Prozesse außerhalb der IT nutzen. Durch die zunehmende Vernetzung von allem mit allem wird es für Unternehmen in Zukunft effizienter sein, die Best Practices und Funktionen des IT-Service-Managements auch für die Bereitstellung und Verwaltung von Diensten in anderen Service-Disziplinen zu nutzen, zum Beispiel im HR- oder Finanz-Bereich. So können in der Personalabteilung das On-Boarding eines neuen Mitarbeiters, Urlaubsanträge oder Krankheitsmeldungen durch eine „Servicifizierung“ automatisiert und optimiert werden.
Via Pixabay
5. Virtuelle Workspace-Assistenten
Hat man anfangs noch über Siri gelächelt, weiß man heute, dass intelligente Spracherkennung tatsächlich funktioniert – und immer besser wird. Für den Workspace ergibt sich daraus enormes Potential. Schon bald werden wir alle mit intelligenten Super-Assistenten arbeiten, die einen Teil unserer Mails erledigen, Kurzzusammenfassungen von umfangreichen Dokumenten anfertigen oder eigenständig Hotels buchen, wenn wir auf Dienstreise gehen. Treffe ich einen Geschäftspartner erstmalig, wird er mir ein Social Media-Profil von ihm erstellen und mich für das Meeting briefen. Aus einer IT-Management-Perspektive kommen hierdurch neue Aufgabenstellungen auf die IT-Abteilungen zu, um die Sicherheit zu erhöhen und die Privatsphäre der Mitarbeiter zu schützen.
6. Bildschirme überall – Gefaltet, gerollt oder projiziert
Via Pixabay
Arbeiten via Cloud und Browser-Zugriff macht die Arbeit in Zukunft prinzipiell über jedes Display möglich, das mit dem Internet verbunden ist. Beispielsweise kann auch das smarte TV-Gerät zuhause als Workspace genutzt werden. Außerdem wird sich das Konzept des faltbaren oder einrollbaren Bildschirms mehr und mehr durchsetzen. Darüber hinaus kann jegliche Form von Oberfläche zukünftig für eine Art Bildschirm verwendet werden und somit potentiell zu einer Erweiterung der Arbeitsumgebung werden.
7. Neue Workspace-Möglichkeiten: Wearables und Co.
Datenbrillen, Fitness-Armbänder oder andere Wearables werden zunehmend Einzug in die Arbeitswelt halten. Mögliche Einsatzbereiche sind das Gesundheitswesen, die Logistik oder das produzierende Gewerbe. Beispielsweise lassen sich Detailinformationen oder Prozessschritte für Service-Mitarbeiter via Datenbrille augmentieren. Und globale Meetings werden sich mittels Head-Mounted Display völlig real anfühlen.
8. Smart Office: Internet der Dinge verbindet Workspace mit Gebäude-Infrastruktur
Die Integration des Workspace-Managements mit der intelligenten Gebäudetechnologie schreitet weiter voran und ermöglicht effizientere Prozesse: Beispielsweise könnte eine Kalendereinladung in Zukunft auch eine ganze Prozesskette zur Organisation des Meetings starten, inklusive Raumbuchung, Vorbereiten von Beamer und Telefonanlage und sogar die Abstimmung der Heiztemperatur auf die Menge der Beteiligten.
Featured Image: via Pixabay
The post Workspace im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung – die 8 Top-Trends für 2017 appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
The European Commission has set up a special #fintech #task #force to develop strategies to address the potential challenges that fintech poses. The working group will engage outside experts and market participants in order to #propose #policy suggestions in the first half of #2017.
#Technology has the potential to drive efficiency gains and disintermediation of financial services can bring consumer benefits and competitive advantages for agile #banks and startups.
But despite the apparent advantages, fintech also raises questions on the way that finance operations are implemented, supported, secured and regulated. The new Task Force, called the Financial Technology Task Force (FTTF), will focus on determining the right conditions to support innovation while ensuring financial stability and consumer confidence.
“We see technological innovation in finance as a development that we need to encourage and enable,” said Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.
&8220;It brings huge opportunities for consumers and for industry, both by established players and new fintech firms. Our Task Force will help us make sure that our policy supports the pursuit of these opportunities, while addressing any risks that may emerge. Efficient financial markets need to make the best possible use of the opportunities that technology presents, while also preserving competition and making sure that new operating systems are safe.&8221;
On May 6, 2015, the European Commission adopted the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy, which aims to &8220;opens up digital opportunities for people and business and enhance Europe’s position as a world leader in the digital economy.&8221;
Image credit: European Commission&8217;s Digital Single Market via https://ec.europa.eu/
&8220;The Digital Single Market strategy aims at laying down an appropriate framework and enabling solutions concerning for instance electronic authentication or cybersecurity,&8221; said Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Günther H. Oettinger.
&8220;Our ambition is to foster financial innovation while preserving financial stability and protecting consumers and investors. (…😉 Digital innovation is transforming the entire economy and in particular the financial services sector. It disrupts business models and value chains, leads to the emergence of new players and services.&8221;
Identified as the one of the European Commission&8217;s top 10 political priorities, the DSM includes 16 initiatives intended to create new opportunities for startups as well as citizens. The DSM would allow for the free movement of persons, services and capital within the region, enabling individuals and businesses to access and exercise online activities seamlessly.
The DSM is built on three pillars:
Access: better access to digital goods and services across Europe;
Environment: creating the right conditions and a level playing field for digital networks and innovative services to flourish;
Economy and society: maximizing the growth potential of the digital economy.
According to the European Commission, the DSM could create up to €415 billion in additional growth, hundreds of thousands of new jobs and a vibrant knowledge-based society.
FTTF was announced on November 14. The working group is co-chaired by the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) and the Directorate General for Communications Networks Content and Technology (DG CONNECT). It brings together services responsible for financial regulation and for the Digital Single Market, along with experts in competition and consumer protection policy.
Featured image: Flags in front of the European Commission building in Brussels, via Wikimedia.
The post New EU Fintech Task Force to Propose Policy Measures in 2017 appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
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