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  • user 3:35 pm on December 7, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , startups   

    European Commission Gives Boost To Startups In Europe 

    The #European #Commission’s Start-up and Scale-up Initiative aims to give #Europe&8217;s many innovative entrepreneurs every opportunity to become world leading companies. It pulls together all the possibilities that the EU already offers and adds a new focus on venture capital investment,insolvency law and taxation

    There is no lack of innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit in Europe. But many new firms don&8217;t make it beyond the critical first few years, or they try their luck in a third country instead of tapping intothe EU&8217;s potential 500 million customer base. The European Commission is determined to change that and help start-ups deliver their full innovation and job creation potential.

    Via Pixabay

    Via Pixabay

    Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: “Today&8217;s local start-ups could become tomorrow&8217;s global success stories. We want to help start-ups stay and grow in Europe. By helping them navigate the – often perceived – regulatory barriers to fully benefiting from the Single Market. By making it easier for them to have a second chance, without being stigmatised if their idea doesn&8217;t succeed the first time around. And by improving access to funding by boosting private venture capital investment.”

    Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: “Today start-ups do not fully take advantage of the opportunities of the Single Market. Starting and scaling up a company across Europe has to become simpler. Europe needs to become the first choice place for great business ideas to grow into successful companies. This is about new jobs, innovation and competitiveness for Europe.&8221;

    The Initiative brings together a range of existing and new actions to create a more coherent framework to allow start-ups to grow and do business across Europe, in particular:

     

    cosmeImproved access to finance: The Commission and the European Investment Bank Group are launching a Pan-European Venture Capital Fund of Funds. The EU will provide cornerstone investments of up to a maximum budget of €400 million and the fund manager(s) must raise at least three times as much from private sources, triggering a minimum of €1.6bn in venture capital funding. It will be managed by one or more professional and experienced fund managers ensuring a real market approach. This complements existing EU funding instruments such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), Europe&8217;s programme for small and medium-sized enterprises COSME and the EU&8217;s research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020.

     

    cosme 2

     

    Second chance for entrepreneurs: The Commission has tabled a legislative proposal on insolvency law. It will allow companies in financial difficulties to restructure early on so as to prevent bankruptcy and avoid laying off staff. It will also make it easier for honest entrepreneurs to benefit from a second chance without being penalised for not succeeding in previous business ventures, as they will be fully discharged of their debt after a maximum period of 3 years.

    Simpler tax filings: The Commission is also working on a range of taxation simplifications including the recent proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), which proposes to support small and innovative companies that want to expand their business across borders. Other initiatives include plans for a simplification of the EU VAT system and broadening the forthcoming guidance on best practice in Member States tax regimes for venture capital.

    The Initiative also puts emphasis on helping navigate regulatory requirements, improving innovation support through reforms to Horizon 2020, and fostering ecosystems where start-ups can connect with potential partners such as investors, business partners, universities and research centres. Changes to Horizon 2020 will pave the way towards a European Innovation Council and include using €1.6bn over 2018-2020 to provide bottom-up support for breakthrough innovation projects by start-ups with potential to grow. The Startup Europe network will be reinforced to connect clusters and ecosystems across Europe.

    In 2017, the European Commission will put forward proposals for a Single Digital Gateway that provides easy online access to Single Market information, procedures, assistance and advice for citizens and businesses. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) provide specific advisory services – through scale-up advisors &8211; for #startups including on funding opportunities, partnering and how to access cross-border public procurement. The Commission will adopt a set of measures to support the use of Intellectual Property Rights by SMEs and take action to support access by start-ups to the €2 trillion European public procurement market.

    Background:

    Over recent years, the European Commission has proposed a number of policies, such as the Capital Markets Union, the Single Market Strategy, and the Digital Single Market to benefit start-ups in Europe. Together with Member States&8217; actions, this has led to the creation of a number of market leaders, such as Spotify, Klarna, Adyen, #Blockchain, Jobandtalent, N26, Algolia, Intercom, Cabify or Deliveroo.

    The Initiative addresses three main obstacles to starting up and scaling up in Europe identified in a recent public consultation:

    &8211; Access to finance is the biggest problem for entrepreneurs whether starting up or scaling up;

    &8211; Complying with regulatory and administrative requirements diverts too much energy from growing the business &8211; particularly cross border;

    &8211; Connecting to right business partners, markets and skilled workers, despite the availability of 500 million people European Single Market is still too difficult.

    Featured Image: via Pixabay

    Original Press-Release here

    The post European Commission Gives Boost To Startups In Europe appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 3:35 pm on November 28, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , startups   

    European Commission Gives Boost To Startups In Europe 

    The #European #Commission’s Start-up and Scale-up Initiative aims to give #Europe&8217;s many innovative entrepreneurs every opportunity to become world leading companies. It pulls together all the possibilities that the EU already offers and adds a new focus on venture capital investment,insolvency law and taxation

    There is no lack of innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit in Europe. But many new firms don&8217;t make it beyond the critical first few years, or they try their luck in a third country instead of tapping intothe EU&8217;s potential 500 million customer base. The European Commission is determined to change that and help start-ups deliver their full innovation and job creation potential.

    Via Pixabay

    Via Pixabay

    Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: “Today&8217;s local start-ups could become tomorrow&8217;s global success stories. We want to help start-ups stay and grow in Europe. By helping them navigate the – often perceived – regulatory barriers to fully benefiting from the Single Market. By making it easier for them to have a second chance, without being stigmatised if their idea doesn&8217;t succeed the first time around. And by improving access to funding by boosting private venture capital investment.”

    Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: “Today start-ups do not fully take advantage of the opportunities of the Single Market. Starting and scaling up a company across Europe has to become simpler. Europe needs to become the first choice place for great business ideas to grow into successful companies. This is about new jobs, innovation and competitiveness for Europe.&8221;

    The Initiative brings together a range of existing and new actions to create a more coherent framework to allow start-ups to grow and do business across Europe, in particular:

     

    cosmeImproved access to finance: The Commission and the European Investment Bank Group are launching a Pan-European Venture Capital Fund of Funds. The EU will provide cornerstone investments of up to a maximum budget of €400 million and the fund manager(s) must raise at least three times as much from private sources, triggering a minimum of €1.6bn in venture capital funding. It will be managed by one or more professional and experienced fund managers ensuring a real market approach. This complements existing EU funding instruments such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), Europe&8217;s programme for small and medium-sized enterprises COSME and the EU&8217;s research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020.

     

    cosme 2

     

    Second chance for entrepreneurs: The Commission has tabled a legislative proposal on insolvency law. It will allow companies in financial difficulties to restructure early on so as to prevent bankruptcy and avoid laying off staff. It will also make it easier for honest entrepreneurs to benefit from a second chance without being penalised for not succeeding in previous business ventures, as they will be fully discharged of their debt after a maximum period of 3 years.

    Simpler tax filings: The Commission is also working on a range of taxation simplifications including the recent proposal for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), which proposes to support small and innovative companies that want to expand their business across borders. Other initiatives include plans for a simplification of the EU VAT system and broadening the forthcoming guidance on best practice in Member States tax regimes for venture capital.

    The Initiative also puts emphasis on helping navigate regulatory requirements, improving innovation support through reforms to Horizon 2020, and fostering ecosystems where start-ups can connect with potential partners such as investors, business partners, universities and research centres. Changes to Horizon 2020 will pave the way towards a European Innovation Council and include using €1.6bn over 2018-2020 to provide bottom-up support for breakthrough innovation projects by start-ups with potential to grow. The Startup Europe network will be reinforced to connect clusters and ecosystems across Europe.

    In 2017, the European Commission will put forward proposals for a Single Digital Gateway that provides easy online access to Single Market information, procedures, assistance and advice for citizens and businesses. The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) provide specific advisory services – through scale-up advisors &8211; for #startups including on funding opportunities, partnering and how to access cross-border public procurement. The Commission will adopt a set of measures to support the use of Intellectual Property Rights by SMEs and take action to support access by start-ups to the €2 trillion European public procurement market.

    Background:

    Over recent years, the European Commission has proposed a number of policies, such as the Capital Markets Union, the Single Market Strategy, and the Digital Single Market to benefit start-ups in Europe. Together with Member States&8217; actions, this has led to the creation of a number of market leaders, such as Spotify, Klarna, Adyen, #Blockchain, Jobandtalent, N26, Algolia, Intercom, Cabify or Deliveroo.

    The Initiative addresses three main obstacles to starting up and scaling up in Europe identified in a recent public consultation:

    &8211; Access to finance is the biggest problem for entrepreneurs whether starting up or scaling up;

    &8211; Complying with regulatory and administrative requirements diverts too much energy from growing the business &8211; particularly cross border;

    &8211; Connecting to right business partners, markets and skilled workers, despite the availability of 500 million people European Single Market is still too difficult.

    Featured Image: via Pixabay

    Original Press-Release here

    The post European Commission Gives Boost To Startups In Europe appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 3:35 pm on November 11, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , startups, ,   

    Why FinTech Startups Will Not Win If They Play Like The Banks 

    My recent experience with #FinTech Startup Revolut has shown me that the #banks can still sleep quietly for a while as Fintech Start-ups will in fact not be in measure to disrupt the industry if #they don’t also change the rules of the game…

    simulator screen shot 10 dec 2015 16.26.03What went wrong with Revolut?

    “Revolut is a Global Money App, cutting your hidden banking fees to zero. It allows you to exchange currencies at perfect interbank rates, send money through social networks and spend with a multi-currency card everywhere MasterCard® is accepted. All this is done at the touch of a button, in a beautiful mobile application. Our goal is to completely remove all hidden banking costs.” Source: https://revolut.com/about

    So what went wrong with my Revolut account… I used my multi-currency card abroad to pay for goods in Euro. I received a VAT refund in Euro that was to be re-credited to my Revolut account. But today, when I logged into my account, I noticed that the refund had been re-credited in Sterling, with someone taking a hefty spread in the process…

    So in simple words, it did not go as planned, the client promise was broken, and the hidden banking costs were suddenly very visible… I decided to query this with the Revolut customer service…

    Adopting the same approach to client service as the banks is recipe for failure

    What clients of FinTech Start-ups want is a completely different approach that puts them at the center. They want services that are not only answering their needs, but that are also:

    • simple to use
    • fast
    • convenient

    FinTech Start-ups have understood that, or at least, part of it…

    They are leveraging new #technology to outgun the banks that are suffering from their archaic systems. The claim is that FinTech Start-ups armed with integrated systems, new algorithms and access to social networks can now analyse client sentiment real time and can offer the right service at the right time, for the right price.

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

     

    Banks on the other hand are struggling to make sense of big data. Because it lives on several databases and systems that are hardly integrated, because they did not think of asking clients the right to use this data twenty years ago when they signed them up, and because of plenty other valid reasons, mining through this data is a difficult, near impossible, task.

    Clients are attracted to FinTech Start-ups because of the glitter this new lawyer of technology provides. They see the novelty in the approach and they believe something has changed…

    Clients love the new simplicity – no more endless paper form to sign, all is done with a click on a fancy app interface and they even work with pictures of you, your ID card or proof of residence taken through your smartphone!

    Clients love the increased speed – they can do it here and there, through the internet and 4G mobile connection, wherever they are, no more need to visit a branch in person.

    Clients love the convenience – FinTech Start-ups provide the same services as traditional banks, often even better, and at a fraction of the price they normally pay their bank.

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

     

    But underneath, unfortunately, it seems nothing has changed… When the acid test comes, when something goes wrong at a FinTech Start-up… then the same old mechanisms that make you hate your bank re-surface:

    Claiming that they did not do anything wrong

    “Just to inform you that we don’t have any control over the refunds. Refunds are processed automatically after the merchant’s release.”

    Putting the fault on the other party in the chain

    “It is not our fault as we are not able to choose the currency for the merchant” or “if you were expecting to receive these refunds in Euros, and apparently you have received in GBP is because the merchant released then in this currency.”

    Invoking procedures and rules that prevent them doing it the simple way

    “However there is a procedure that needs to be followed. Especially when, as in this case, we didn’t have any control and the way to rectify it, is to raise a chargeback.”

    Referring client to another department or to third party as the solution lies outside their competence

    “I will forward this to the chargeback team.” or “You can contact the merchant and ask for clarification.”

    This behaviour will not help FinTech Start-ups win!

     

    Clients are asking for a great customer experience, they are asking for simplicity, speediness and convenience, even when, or especially when, things break. This is exactly where FinTech Start-ups need to make the difference.  Playing it #like the banks will not satisfy clients, it will end up putting FinTech Start-ups and banks in the same basket.

    What should have happened instead at a Fintech Start-up?

    First, the FinTech angle should have kicked in immediately:

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

    The data analysis should have been instantaneous, with artificial intelligence reading the support chat channel and picking up that I was growing more and more upset by the interaction with the customer service representative. This was visible in the language I was using and the speed at which I was typing (and the accompanying typos).

     

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

    Social Media listening should have also indicated real-time that I was starting to tweet about my problem and my frustration at the lack of understanding from the customer service representative, and that I was starting to drag influencers in the discussion.

    This would have also been supported by a rapid scan to establish my social media strength (number of followers, Klout score, retweets and likes) and the risk of PR damage that could result.

     

    Finally, the CRM system should have spitted out a customer profile showing that over the past 4 months:

    I had increased my volume of transactions significantly (so I was on my way to become a “good” client)

    that all transactions I had done were in Euros and that there were no transaction in GBP (so there was possibly something abnormal with those two transactions in GBP)

     

    Then, the Start-up angle should have also played a role:

    – The customer service representative should have calculated the costs involved to solve the issue quickly and bring immediate satisfaction to the client:
    namely by reversing the two transactions in GBP into EUR, at an exchange rate of 1 GBP for 1.1177 EUR – which was 54.78 GBP x 1.1177 = 61.23 EUR, when I was claiming I should have received 64.50 EUR – that means a cost of 2.92 GBP.

    &8211; The customer service representative should have then assessed how much effort any other alternative solution would take:
    time spent by customer service staff to escalate the client’s request, plus time spent by the compliance team to raise a chargeback request and deal with the third party to fix the issue and to that, add the potential loss of faith in the product by the client, plus any potential damage to the brand resulting from the negative publicity on the social networks.

    &8211; Armed with those two assessments, the customer service representative would then decide quickly which solution would be the most satisfactory for the client and the less expensive for the FinTech Start-up to execute and would have executed it.

     

    So, in other words, the customer service representative should have assessed what was my issue with Revolut (i.e. refund process did not work properly), should have assessed the most practical and easiest way for Revolut to address my need (i.e. fix the refund by compensating the difference) and should have asked me how Revolut could still increase my client satisfaction (i.e. reinforce their client promise and turn me into a champion of their brand to drum up more business).

    FinTech Start-ups need to embrace a client-centric approach

    FinTech Start-ups need to go further than just layering a fancy new technology on one of the oldest jobs in the world if they want to win. They need to adopt a client-centric strategy, putting client satisfaction at the core. Because it is the alliance of technology and client-centric approach that will help them beat the banks.

    Client-centric champion Amazon would have paid back the 2.92 GBP in a split-second and would have probably issued a compensation voucher to make up for the bad customer experience. This would have reinforced my trust in their brand and would have led me to sing their praises on the social networks, bringing them additional clients attracted by this positive client experience sharing.

    FinTech Start-ups need to do the same, before Amazon starts doing FinTech…

    This article first appeared on Lionel Guerraz&8217;s Blog

    Featured Image: From Pixabay

    The post Why FinTech Startups Will Not Win If They Play Like The Banks appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 6:22 pm on November 9, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , startups, , till   

    Swiss FinTech Awards 2017: Startups can apply till Friday 

    Swiss Fintech Awards

    #Swiss #Fintech #Awards – Application

    Swiss fintech #startups can #apply here for the Swiss FinTech Awards 2017 #till the end of this week. The improved award programme boosts young as well as mature startups by offering valuable mentorings, exclusive one-to-ones with decision makers from numerous #banks and insurances as well as exposure to a jury of influential and outspoken fintech experts and investors.

    Christian Lundsgaard-Hansen

    Christian Lundsgaard-Hansen

     

    With its distinct award categories for early stage and growth stage companies, startups of all age and funding stage can apply and benefit. According to Christian Lundsgaard-Hansen, organizer of the awards, the categories not only enable a more suitable and beneficial experience for startups with different backgrounds but also increase chances of getting into the finals even for very young companies and entrepreneurs.

    Patrick Barnert

    Patrick Barnert

     

    Last year’s finalists of the awards made positive experiences. “The award has helped us speeding up our business and we are proud to have many new clients who we’ve met thanks to the Swiss FinTech Awards”, says Patrick Barnert, CEO of Qumram. Christian Lundsgaard-Hansen adds that the awards also helped other finalists of 2016 to gain traction in Switzerland as well as abroad because the awards “serve as an internationally acknowledged seal of quality” which helps early and growth stage startups alike.

     

    All fintech startups with a Swiss connection are eligible and can apply here for the Swiss FinTech Awards  by November 11th.

     

    The post Swiss FinTech Awards 2017: Startups can apply till Friday appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 4:54 pm on November 7, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , startups, ,   

    Why FinTech Startups Will Not Win If They Play Like The Banks 

    My recent experience with #FinTech Startup Revolut has shown me that the #banks can still sleep quietly for a while as Fintech Start-ups will in fact not be in measure to disrupt the industry if #they don’t also change the rules of the game…

    simulator screen shot 10 dec 2015 16.26.03What went wrong with Revolut?

    “Revolut is a Global Money App, cutting your hidden banking fees to zero. It allows you to exchange currencies at perfect interbank rates, send money through social networks and spend with a multi-currency card everywhere MasterCard® is accepted. All this is done at the touch of a button, in a beautiful mobile application. Our goal is to completely remove all hidden banking costs.” Source: https://revolut.com/about

    So what went wrong with my Revolut account… I used my multi-currency card abroad to pay for goods in Euro. I received a VAT refund in Euro that was to be re-credited to my Revolut account. But today, when I logged into my account, I noticed that the refund had been re-credited in Sterling, with someone taking a hefty spread in the process…

    So in simple words, it did not go as planned, the client promise was broken, and the hidden banking costs were suddenly very visible… I decided to query this with the Revolut customer service…

    Adopting the same approach to client service as the banks is recipe for failure

    What clients of FinTech Start-ups want is a completely different approach that puts them at the center. They want services that are not only answering their needs, but that are also:

    • simple to use
    • fast
    • convenient

    FinTech Start-ups have understood that, or at least, part of it…

    They are leveraging new #technology to outgun the banks that are suffering from their archaic systems. The claim is that FinTech Start-ups armed with integrated systems, new algorithms and access to social networks can now analyse client sentiment real time and can offer the right service at the right time, for the right price.

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

     

    Banks on the other hand are struggling to make sense of big data. Because it lives on several databases and systems that are hardly integrated, because they did not think of asking clients the right to use this data twenty years ago when they signed them up, and because of plenty other valid reasons, mining through this data is a difficult, near impossible, task.

    Clients are attracted to FinTech Start-ups because of the glitter this new lawyer of technology provides. They see the novelty in the approach and they believe something has changed…

    Clients love the new simplicity – no more endless paper form to sign, all is done with a click on a fancy app interface and they even work with pictures of you, your ID card or proof of residence taken through your smartphone!

    Clients love the increased speed – they can do it here and there, through the internet and 4G mobile connection, wherever they are, no more need to visit a branch in person.

    Clients love the convenience – FinTech Start-ups provide the same services as traditional banks, often even better, and at a fraction of the price they normally pay their bank.

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

     

    But underneath, unfortunately, it seems nothing has changed… When the acid test comes, when something goes wrong at a FinTech Start-up… then the same old mechanisms that make you hate your bank re-surface:

    Claiming that they did not do anything wrong

    “Just to inform you that we don’t have any control over the refunds. Refunds are processed automatically after the merchant’s release.”

    Putting the fault on the other party in the chain

    “It is not our fault as we are not able to choose the currency for the merchant” or “if you were expecting to receive these refunds in Euros, and apparently you have received in GBP is because the merchant released then in this currency.”

    Invoking procedures and rules that prevent them doing it the simple way

    “However there is a procedure that needs to be followed. Especially when, as in this case, we didn’t have any control and the way to rectify it, is to raise a chargeback.”

    Referring client to another department or to third party as the solution lies outside their competence

    “I will forward this to the chargeback team.” or “You can contact the merchant and ask for clarification.”

    This behaviour will not help FinTech Start-ups win!

     

    Clients are asking for a great customer experience, they are asking for simplicity, speediness and convenience, even when, or especially when, things break. This is exactly where FinTech Start-ups need to make the difference.  Playing it #like the banks will not satisfy clients, it will end up putting FinTech Start-ups and banks in the same basket.

    What should have happened instead at a Fintech Start-up?

    First, the FinTech angle should have kicked in immediately:

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

    The data analysis should have been instantaneous, with artificial intelligence reading the support chat channel and picking up that I was growing more and more upset by the interaction with the customer service representative. This was visible in the language I was using and the speed at which I was typing (and the accompanying typos).

     

    From Pixabay

    From Pixabay

    Social Media listening should have also indicated real-time that I was starting to tweet about my problem and my frustration at the lack of understanding from the customer service representative, and that I was starting to drag influencers in the discussion.

    This would have also been supported by a rapid scan to establish my social media strength (number of followers, Klout score, retweets and likes) and the risk of PR damage that could result.

     

    Finally, the CRM system should have spitted out a customer profile showing that over the past 4 months:

    I had increased my volume of transactions significantly (so I was on my way to become a “good” client)

    that all transactions I had done were in Euros and that there were no transaction in GBP (so there was possibly something abnormal with those two transactions in GBP)

     

    Then, the Start-up angle should have also played a role:

    – The customer service representative should have calculated the costs involved to solve the issue quickly and bring immediate satisfaction to the client:
    namely by reversing the two transactions in GBP into EUR, at an exchange rate of 1 GBP for 1.1177 EUR – which was 54.78 GBP x 1.1177 = 61.23 EUR, when I was claiming I should have received 64.50 EUR – that means a cost of 2.92 GBP.

    &8211; The customer service representative should have then assessed how much effort any other alternative solution would take:
    time spent by customer service staff to escalate the client’s request, plus time spent by the compliance team to raise a chargeback request and deal with the third party to fix the issue and to that, add the potential loss of faith in the product by the client, plus any potential damage to the brand resulting from the negative publicity on the social networks.

    &8211; Armed with those two assessments, the customer service representative would then decide quickly which solution would be the most satisfactory for the client and the less expensive for the FinTech Start-up to execute and would have executed it.

     

    So, in other words, the customer service representative should have assessed what was my issue with Revolut (i.e. refund process did not work properly), should have assessed the most practical and easiest way for Revolut to address my need (i.e. fix the refund by compensating the difference) and should have asked me how Revolut could still increase my client satisfaction (i.e. reinforce their client promise and turn me into a champion of their brand to drum up more business).

    FinTech Start-ups need to embrace a client-centric approach

    FinTech Start-ups need to go further than just layering a fancy new technology on one of the oldest jobs in the world if they want to win. They need to adopt a client-centric strategy, putting client satisfaction at the core. Because it is the alliance of technology and client-centric approach that will help them beat the banks.

    Client-centric champion Amazon would have paid back the 2.92 GBP in a split-second and would have probably issued a compensation voucher to make up for the bad customer experience. This would have reinforced my trust in their brand and would have led me to sing their praises on the social networks, bringing them additional clients attracted by this positive client experience sharing.

    FinTech Start-ups need to do the same, before Amazon starts doing FinTech…

    This article first appeared on Lionel Guerraz&8217;s Blog

    Featured Image: From Pixabay

    The post Why FinTech Startups Will Not Win If They Play Like The Banks appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 3:35 am on November 3, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , startups, ,   

    F10 Selects 10 Fintech Startups For The -Swiss Accelerator Program 

    F10F10, the #Fintech Incubator and #Accelerator, is delighted to announce that out of the 167 Startup companies that applied to F10’s Prototype to Product (P2) #program 10 #Startups have been chosen to join.

    The P2 Program allows teams with a thrilling prototype to participate in the product development program where they produce a minimal viable product and subsequently incorporate their startup. These 10 startups will now become part of F10’s roster and will be accompanied and supported in their endeavor to bring their ideas to the market.

    Earlier this month, F10 announced to the world that the FinTech Incubator and Accelerator had reorganized itself in the form of an association with the aim of bringing innovation to the finance and insurance sectors of Switzerland and Europe.

    The F10 association includes the well-known members Julius Bär, Switzerland’s leading private banking group, and PwC Switzerland; who together with SIX form the foundation upon which the Fintech Incubator and Accelerator is built.

    Twice a year, F10 offers a six-month “Prototype to Product (P2)” program which assists yearly up to 20 selected, promising teams/startups to transition their prototype into a sellable product. The teams gain access to the working space at F10 in Zurich. Coaches from the F10 team, as well as external mentors, will be allocated to each team to support them and ensure that they achieve their milestones. The first batch begins in November 2016 and ends in April 2017.

    Throughout the six-month period, the teams will attend lessons and workshops grouped into five units: Vision, Team & Strategy; Business, Product & #Technology; Marketing & Sales; Legal & Regulations and Demo Day & Graduation. Coaches and mentors will be present to ensure that the teams are on the right track.

    The program can be partially completed online/off-site with only certain dates requiring actual on-site presence. F10 will cover travel expenses with a 15’000 CHF reimbursement for each team upon achieving their determined milestones.

    By the end of the program, teams/startups will have gained in-depth experience of all aspects of the financial industry and top level contact to big financial players, they will have access to the F10 association members’ global network of #banks and benefit from SIX services, regulators, angel investors and venture capitalists. Participation is free and F10 does not take equity in the Startups.

    The 10 Startups that have been chosen to participate in the next P2 Program are:

    air.lifeAir
    A P2P ecosystem which is completely decentralized by eliminating centralized servers to insure that no one cloud computing company has access to the users’ data and information.

     

     

    APIAXAPIAX
    Generating better access to compliance regulations by providing easily integrated public programming interfaces (APIs) that facilitate access to always up-to-date and verified compliance rules.

     

     

    bizgeesBiz Gees
    #Blockchain Technology customised for philanthropic P2P lending with a focus on micro loans for micro businesses in refugee camps.

     

     

     

    Enterprise BotEnterprise Bot
    Focussing on an automated customer support system for banks that is able to understand and act upon customer queries and is easily integrated into existing infrastructure.

     

     

    FuturaeFuturae
    Creating fast, simple and hands-off two-factor user authentication for online applications that require additional security by pairing mobile devices with computers in the vicinity of each other.

     

     

    LendityLendity
    Providing investors with a streamlined system to access tailored loans from multiple P2P loan platforms around the world.

     

     

     

    SONECTSONECT
    Creating virtual ATMs where users can withdraw cash from any shop that joins the program at over 50% cheaper than the current ATM withdrawal costs.

     

     

     

    TraderionTraderion
    Profiling and training of trading professionals using gamified simulators and machine-learning algorithms.

     

     

     

    VesgooVesgoo
    Designers of the ThematicCloud, a platform which will facilitate thematic investment processes by combining technology and research to produce customizable and sustainable thematic investment vehicles.

     

     

    WealthInitiativeWealthInitiative
    Creating a platform to allow wealth management institutions to recognize and exploit synergies amongst their clients, and in a further step amongst their peers.

     

     

     

    This article first appeared on F10

    The post F10 Selects 10 Fintech Startups For The -Swiss Accelerator Program appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 1:31 pm on November 2, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , startups   

    Banks can learn from how Fintech Startups do Business Planning 

    For a long time, #startups had to #learn how big companies do business #planning. Now the flow is reversing and we see management consulting organizations pitch methodologies to big companies that have come #from the start up world. Now that software is eating the world, big companies seek to understandRead More
    Bank Innovation

     

  • user 3:36 pm on October 17, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , startups, ,   

    Top 5 Insurtech Startups in Switzerland 

    #Insurtech, a burgeoning phenomenon, promises to disrupt the insurance industry by leveraging #technology to provide greater efficiency, more flexibility and cheaper prices to consumers.

    The insurtech industry is growing steadily with over 900 companies across 14 categories from 53 countries, according to a report by Venture Scanner. These ventures have raised over US$ 16.5 billion in funding as of January 2016.

    Insurtech landscape

    via Venture Scanner

    VC investment into insurtech is on the rise. According to the Wall Street Journal, VCs injected US$ 167 million in the sector in the third quarter.

    Rodolfo Gonzalez, a partner at Foundation Capital, told the media outlet that “over the past 18 months or so the number of startup founders interested in the insurance space has grown dramatically.”

    Insurtech applications cover everything from offering automotive, health and travel and employee benefits insurance products, to peer-to-peer insurance platforms, data and intelligence solutions, but also comparison platforms, marketplaces, as well as infrastructure and backend for enterprises.

    The US currently hosts some of the world’s leading insurtech #startups. This includes Metromile, an automotive insurance provider that offers pay-as-you-drive coverage, and Oscar, a non-employee health insurance provider.

    Metromile utilizes an on-board diagnostics (OBD) device to wirelessly send driving data to measure the specific actions of individual clients, as well as mobile technology to collect data points and offer additional services to clients. Metromile has raised over US$ 205 million in funding so far.

    Oscar aims at revolutionizing insurance through data, technology and design. Oscar provides each client with a branded personal fitness device that collects data such as sleep time, which it delivers to healthcare providers, streamlining and optimizing the caregiving process. Oscar has raised over US$ 727 million in funding and serves over 145,000 customers.

    In Europe, notable insurtech startups include Clark, an insurance broker which sells insurance products from more than 160 providers in Germany, and GetSafe, another German venture providing a digital insurance manager on mobile.

    #Switzerland&8217;s insurtech industry remains quite small when being compared with the likes of the US, the UK or Germany. Nevertheless, the country has a number of notable startups.

    In light of the upcoming Finance 2.0 Insurtech&8217;16 conference, we have listed some of the hottest insurtech startups from Switzerland.

    Finance 2.0 Insurtech&8217;16, which will take place on November 01 in Zurich, will bring together some of the industry&8217;s top thought leaders, experts and entrepreneurs, to discuss the future of the insurance industry, digital disruption and emerging trends.

     

    Knip

    Knip - TheFinTech50 - FintechnewsFounded in 2013 by Dennis Just and Christina Kehl, Knip is a mobile insurance manager that collects customers&8217; insurance products in one app, allowing for users to access all their insurance policy documents, tariffs and services in one place.

    The platform also provides automatic analysis of new customers&8217; insurance coverage and sends them recommendations on how they can improve their insurance protection.

    Knip is funded by VCs from the US, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. The startup has raised over US$ 18 million in funding so far.

     

    Smartie

    smartie.chSelf-proclaimed the &8220;Tripadvisor for insurance business,&8221; Smartie.ch is an online insurance aggregator that allows users to compare insurance products, features and providers.

    Smartie.ch aims at simplifying the buying experience for customers while improving sales for insurance companies.

    Users can also rate and review health and auto insurance products similarly to how Tripadvisor allows users to rate and review hotels and related services.

     

    Anivo

    anivoBased in Zug, Anivo is the first Swiss online insurance comparison service and an insurance broker that provides personal insurance counseling.

    Founded in 2015 by Alexander Bojer and Werner Flatz, Anivo aims at providing greater transparency in insurance products while offering high quality consulting to consumers.

    In August, the startup announced a new partnership with the Swiss state railway company SBB.. The deal sought to provide railway workers with special rebates on insurance products as well as allow them to benefit from personal advisory by insurance experts of Anivo.

     

    FinanceFox

    Top 30 FinTech Startups FinanceFoxFinanceFox is an insurtech startup based in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Zurich and Barcelona. The company provides an digital platform that lets you store all of your insurance policies in one app through which you can also file and manage insurance claims and get personal advice.

    FinanceFox has raised over US$ 33 million in funding so far, among which a US$ 28 million Series A in September led by Target Global and Horizons Ventures. The round was said to be the largest insurtech round in Europe to date. The startup is looking to expand to Austria next, reports Techcrunch.

     

    Versicherix

    VERSICHERIXFounded in 2015, Versicherix was introduced earlier this year as Switzerland&8217;s first peer-to-peer insurance, providing new ways of engaging with customers and offering cheaper and more customer-centric insurance coverage.

    On Versicherix, a group of customers pools their premiums into a group fund, which allows to get the best price performance ratio. Together, the group gets the best coverage for an affordable price.

     

    The first Finance 2.0 – InsurTech Conference connects the insurance industry with InsureTechs. Motto: Collaboration in facing the digital transformation. On November 01, 2016, leading experts are going to talk about these topics in Zurich, Switzerland.

    finance 2.0 insurtech

    Special Offer: Sign up now with code &8220;#FinTech-Insur&8221; to get 20% discount

    FREE PASSES TO ATTEND INSURTECH &8217;16!
    Win a FREE-pass to attend Insurtech &8217;16 by replying directly to this email with your full name.
    THREE lucky emails will be chosen and announce (via email) as winners on this Thursday, October 20

    Featured Image: Pixabay

    The post Top 5 Insurtech Startups in Switzerland appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.

    Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH

     

  • user 6:40 pm on October 15, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , startups,   

    How Blockchain Startups Are Revolutionizing Venture Capital 

    William Mougayar argues that the traditional #venture #capital model is being quickly revolutionised by #blockchain tech.

    Source


    CoinDesk

     

  • user 12:19 pm on October 12, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Graduating, , startups, Techstars, To…, ,   

    Whatever Happened To… 11 Startups Graduating from Barclays Techstars 2 Years Ago 

    Image source 2 #years ago I attended the #Barclays #Techstars graduation day pitch in London. My report #from then is here. I was excited and impressed, but knew the stats about startup survival rates. So I thought it would be interesting to do a #Whatever #happened to… followup post twoRead More
    Bank Innovation

     

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