#Crypto #Finance, a virtual currency #investment #firm, today announced it closed a €13 million ($ 15.40 million) capital raise to fund an application for a #Swiss #banking #license. The company said it would use these funds to file for the license with Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), but did not specify a timeline. Based in […]
Bank Innovation
The #Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and #Swiss Financial Markets Authority (FINMA) have partnered to #promote cross-border #fintech #innovation. The two #regulators are working to support fintechs to meet regulatory requirements in each other’s countries. Switzerland is Australia’s tenth-largest source of foreign investment. The two regulators signed the agreement last week in Madrid. In […]
Bank Innovation
A new report by Swisscom’s think tank e-foresight and the Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug (IFZ) found that the vast majority of #banks are #falling to #meet consumers&8217; #digital #needs, notably when it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The report points out how banks can fill the gap between their digital offerings and the real needs of their #corporate #clients.
The research program compares the digital offerings of 50 retail banks and the needs of 473 SMEs. Most particularly, it focused on five specific areas: e-banking, communication channels, payments, financing and banking-related products.
The study found that 66% of the surveyed banks are late followers, 29% are followers and only 5% are considered as being first movers.
Late followers are those that haven&8217;t launched any digital initiative or that has only launched isolated initiatives in terms of offerings to SMEs.
Followers have proposed their first products and are serving customers.
First movers have advanced rapidly toward digitalization and are at the forefront in term of their digital offering to SMEs.
For e-banking, although a number of banks are already offering solutions, the level of innovation remains low and corporate clients are demanding more digital solutions and functionalities.
80% of banks are offering push notifications via email or text message and 26% are offering personalized homepage. Only 8% are offering accounting software solutions, although 62% of clients said they considered these solutions as being important or very important.
Another area where banks are falling behind is the communication channels. Despite clients claiming that web chat, the ability to book meeting appointments online and video format advisory are important or very important, only a few banks are offering these services.
SMEs are also demanding various digital payments solutions including online and mobile payments solutions, which a number of banks are already providing.
Alternative financing solutions is expected to grow in popularity, and SMEs are requesting online onboarding processes notably to open business accounts (54%), but also for online mortgage applications (29%) and renewal/extension (43%). Less than 10% of banks surveyed are currently offering any of these solutions.
Finally, as for banking-related products and services, SMEs said that are interested in online factoring (17%) while only 2% of the surveyed banks are actually offering this service. 21% of SME clients said they are interested in the possibilities to bundle through business networks, but only 4% of banks are proposing this. Finally, 10% of the banks said they offer insurance products online, while only 5% of SMEs believe this is actually important or very important.
The report advises banks to start considering SMEs as an entirely separate segment in their strategy. Banks should focus on building and delivering solutions that SMEs are actually demanding and offerings that effectively help them, notably in areas that include e-banking and online assistance and advisory. Banks should also develop “an intelligent combination of banking and non-banking services” to build customer loyalty.
&8220;Globally, banks are only at the beginning of their digitalization efforts in products for SMEs,&8221; the report says. &8220;Most of them have been primarily focusing on the retail banking segment.&8221;
&8220;Digitalization is not an end in itself, it must be put in place to better and/or more easily serve clients&8217; needs. (…😉 Corporate clients consider the most relevant areas as being solutions and functionalities related to transactions and auto-administration in e-banking, which simplify their daily activities or improve their processes. These aspects demanded by corporate clients are currently not provided by any of the banks.&8221;
Featured image by IFZ
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Jeden Monat veröffentlicht e-foresight von Swisscom eine Marktübersicht der Schweizer #Fintech Start-ups mit einer Kategorisierung nach Handlungsfelder sowie relevante Incumbents.
Kriterien für eine Platzierung des Start-ups auf der Landkarte: Ein Fintech Start-up ist vor weniger als 10 Jahren gegründet worden, ist in der Schweiz ansässig, fokussiert sich auf Geschäftsmodellinnovationen und neue Technologien im Finanzsektor und hat noch nicht den Zielreifegrad erreicht.
Sie zeigt, was Banken heute bereits anbieten und welche Bedürfnisse KMU haben. Wenig überraschend, klafft zwischen Angebot und Nachfrage noch eine Lücke. Die Schweizer Banken sind aber auf dem Sprung. Im Anh
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S.E.A. Asset Management a boutique fund manager in #Singapore, announced it has listed its UCITS compliant Asian short duration high yield strategy on the Fundbase platform in Switzerland.
Via LinkedIn
The award winning #Swiss #Fintech company Fundbase has developed a database that acts as gateway for investors helping them to find and follow alternative investments that interest them.
Fundbase offers built-in analytics tools as well as the ability to track investment funds via watch lists and collaborate with funds via their user interface.
Alexander Zeeh CEO
“We are proud to cooperate with the leading platform for discovering, analyzing and executing alternative investments” said Alexander Zeeh, CEO of S.E.A. AM. “Fundbase will allow us to increase our exposure and allow us to connect with qualified investors in Switzerland”.
Gallen Tay, CIO of S.E.A. AM is overseeing the company’s fixed income and equity investments out of Singapore.
Dieser Artikel erschien zuerst auf dem Finanzprodukt Blog
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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
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
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.
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An #upcoming #blockchain #hackathon organized by EPAM in collaboration with #Swiss Finance + #Technology Association and Validity Labs is looking for innovative solutions to #disrupt the #insurance #industry.
Image credit: Golden Bitcoins by Julia Tsokur via Shutterstock.com
The EPAM 2016 Blockchain Hackathon, taking place on November 18 and 19, 2016 in Zurich, is seeking dynamic teams to take on the challenges set by the three largest insurance companies in Switzerland, namely SwissLife, Zurich and SwissRe.
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You still can apply for it or join as a visitor, hurry up!
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The teams will be judged by representatives from these three companies on the following criteria: originality and innovation, usefulness and practicality, business potential and commercialization to go to market, design and interface, and technical implementation.
Industry experts will assist the teams during the hackathon to provide insights and answer questions about specific industry characteristics.
Like #banks, insurers have been exploring the merits of blockchain technology to disrupt their industry and streamline payments of premium and claims.
According to a Deloitte paper, blockchain technology could support the significant digital transformation underway in the industry because much of this transformation relies on data.
“Smart contracts powered by a blockchain could provide customers and insurers with the means to manage claims in a transparent, responsive and irrefutable manner,” the report states.
&8220;Contracts and claims could be recorded onto a blockchain and validated by the network, ensuring online valid claims are paid. […] Smart contracts would also enforce the claims – for instance, triggering payments automatically when certain conditions are met (and validated).&8221;
Blockchain technology could allow the industry as a whole to streamline its processing and offer a better user experience for customers. Storing claims and customer information on a blockchain would also cut down fraudulent activity.
Early blockchain developments have tended to focus on optimizing current ways of working within organizations. For instance, London-based #bitcoin startup Everledger uses the blockchain to create a permanent ledger for diamond certification and related transaction history. The ledger lets insurers and potential buyers check the history of any individual stone, helping insurers prevent, detect and counter fraud.
Despite the enormous potential, the biggest challenges to industry-wide implementation are facilitating collaboration between market participants and technology leaders, succeeding in the operational transformation, and shaping a stimulating regulatory environment, according to McKinsey and Company.
EPAM Systems is a leading global product development and platform engineering services company and one of Forbes’ 25 Fastest Growing Public Tech Companies.
Validity Labs, a startup created by several blockchain technology experts in Zurich, aims at bridging the shortage of educated blockchain engineers, entrepreneurs and executives. The company organizes various educational events and workshops in Switzerland.
Swiss FinteCH is an independent association aimed at promoting and supporting Switzerland&8217;s #fintech industry. It connects stakeholders, creates research papers, advocates for solutions and promotes Switzerland as a global fintech hub.
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F10, 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
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.
APIAX
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.
Biz Gees
#Blockchain Technology customised for philanthropic P2P lending with a focus on micro loans for micro businesses in refugee camps.
Enterprise 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.
Futurae
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.
Lendity
Providing investors with a streamlined system to access tailored loans from multiple P2P loan platforms around the world.
SONECT
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.
Traderion
Profiling and training of trading professionals using gamified simulators and machine-learning algorithms.
Vesgoo
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.
WealthInitiative
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
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The #mutual #insurance sector has undergone a modest recovery in recent years, says #Swiss Re’s latest #sigma #report “Mutual insurance in the 21st century: back to the future?” Mutual insurers&8217; share of the overall insurance market increased from 24% of direct premiums written in 2007 to just over 26% in 2014, reversing some of the declines of previous decades. However, the segment faces challenges, including adapting to new risk-based capital requirements and more stringent corporate governance arrangements, which could put some mutuals at a competitive disadvantage.
Further, mutual insurers must embrace technological disruption. Exploiting #digital #technology such as smart analytics and social media should allow mutuals to better serve the interests of their member-owners, while their ownership structure should enable mutuals to keep insurance affordable for some individuals and risks.
The primary purpose of mutual insurers is to provide risk protection coverage for its owner-members, rather than to make profits or provide returns to external shareholders as in the case for stock-based insurers. Over the past few years, cumulative premiums written by mutual insurers have outpaced those of the wider insurance market, with much of the outperformance concentrated during the height of the financial crisis in 2008-09.
&8220;That mutuals&8217; relative premium performance did not reverse once economic growth resumed after the financial crisis, suggests a degree of permanence to the segment&8217;s recovery,&8221; says Kurt Karl, Chief Economist at Swiss Re. &8220;Some mutual groups have expanded internationally in recent years, and new mutuals have been established in a number of markets, another indication of the segment&8217;s renewed popularity.&8221;
However, while mutuals&8217; share of the global insurance market has increased modestly since 2007, it remains well below previous highs. For example, in the life sector, the share of global premiums of life mutuals was 23% in 2014, well below levels of around 66% in the late 1980s and early 1990s before a wave of demutualisations in a number of countries.
New challenges
Mutual insurers face a number of challenges. The most obvious comes from new risk-based capital requirements and tougher corporate governance arrangements introduced by governments and regulators, designed to boost the resilience of individual insurers and curb excessive risk taking. These requirements could put some mutuals, especially smaller ones with a narrow regional or business line focus, at a competitive disadvantage. Larger and better-diversified insurers are in a stronger position to manage the additional operational and funding costs associated with compliance.
Regulators appear alert to the possible unintended consequences of their new rules, and emphasise proportionality in implementing the new prudential (i.e. capital) and governance regimes. There has also been a renewed focus on the range of capital solutions available to mutuals, including legislation in some countries to allow equity-like capital instruments to be issued, such as certificats mutualistes in France. Together with customised reinsurance solutions and alternative risk transfer mechanisms such as insurance-linked securities, this will give mutuals increased financial flexibility to grow their business and compete with other types of insurers.
Embracing digital technology
Digital technology is changing the way that insurance is designed, priced and sold, and is fundamentally re-configuring the competitive landscape in which all insurers operate. Mutual insurers must adapt and upgrade their underwriting and distribution practices if they are to remain relevant in the digital age. There are signs that many are actively embracing such change, but some mutual insurers are lagging behind.
For example, smaller mutual insurers have not yet adopted full online functionality in their business practices, perhaps reflecting their greater attachment to traditional agent/broker distribution. The laggards run the risk of losing out to market participants better placed to harness the new technologies. This is especially true given the growing development of peer-to-peer (P2P) insurance platforms, which enable individuals to share risks among themselves in much the same way that affinity-based mutual insurers do.
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Lykke, a #Swiss #Fintech company building a global #blockchain-powered marketplace, concluded its initial coin offering (ICO) at midnight, October 11th, with the sale of 23,226,753 coins, raising 1,161,338 CHF. The sale lasted a month, during which over 1,200 new people downloaded Lykke wallets and registered with the service. The number of Lykke coin holders jumped #from 147 to 717.
“We are thrilled to welcome almost 500 new shareholders from 90 countries, who have invested a total of 1,161,338 CHF during our online sale,” said Lykke founder Richard Olsen. “Thank you to the many new stakeholders, who are helping us build our global marketplace.
” With this money, the company will continue to apply for broker and trading facility licenses in Europe, Asia and North America, and continue to build out its open-source trading platform for all to use.
The platform now offers trading of #Bitcoin, Swiss francs, dollars, euros, pounds, yen, and Lykke coins. Many other digital currencies, indices, community coins and crypto-equities are planned for the future. Lykke’s goal is to be the lowest-cost marketplace for trading all digital assets, using blockchain settlement for speed and security.
Lykke coins were priced at 0.05 CHF. As the company’s coins are now publicly traded, the market will set the price for the coins. Lykke has reserved ten percent of the money raised to provide liquidity. The company implements a first-of-its-kind agent-based algorithm for setting prices, offering liquidity to sellers, and reducing volatility.
You can still buy Lykke Coins here.
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