Players in the Swiss ecosystem for digital assets are joining forces: the digital asset collaboration between Swisscom, daura, Sygnum Bank, Custodigit and MME will now include SIX. SIX is acquiring a stake in daura AG. This cooperation will strengthen the establishment of consistent technical standards and workflows in the Swiss ecosystem for digital assets. Deutsche Börse will now contribute its expertise, with which it has so far actively supported the development of the Swiss ecosystem, to projects in Germany and the EU that have become possible due to new regulatory developments. The parties have agreed not to disclose the amount…

The European Council and Commission have issued a joint statement in which the two bodies call for a “coordinated approach” in regulating crypto-assets. The statement puts a focus on so-called stablecoins which, given their global nature, pose multifaceted challenges and risks related to consumer protection, privacy, taxation, cybersecurity, operational resilience, and more, the institutions said. Hence, “tackling the challenges raised by ‘global stablecoins’ requires a coordinated global response” and the Council and Commission said they were willing to act promptly in cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB) as well as national and European Supervisory Authorities to establish clear and…

In 2017, digital banking startup Revolut launched business accounts in Europe, promising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region a banking product that saves them both time and money. Revolut for Business, the company’s business offering, comes with a number of benefits and features designed to make it easier for business owners and freelancers to manage their finances. Not only that, the offering also promises fairer fees than incumbents. Revolut’s business customers have access to GBP and EUR account details for seamless payments, an unlimited number of physical and virtual multi-currency corporate cards that are manageable directly through the app,…

Europe has been the bright spot for challenger banks and neobanks over the past decade. Since 2011, European neobanks’ customer base has grown by more than 15 million, according to a research by AT Kearney. It’s projected that by 2023, the region’s neobanks will win up to 85 million customers. The European banking industry is undergoing massive changes, and the following companies are driving that transformation. UK: Revolut Revolut is a UK fintech company that offers banking services including a prepaid debit card (MasterCard or Visa), fee free currency exchange, commission free stock trading, cryptocurrency exchange and peer-to-peer (P2P)…

wefox Group, the Berlin-based insurtech has increased its 2019 funding to USD$235 million after successfully closing an additional USD$110 million led by OMERS Ventures, with participation from Merian Chrysalis, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Mundi Ventures and existing investors. Since launching in 2015, wefox Group has grown its sales to over USD$100 million and with nearly 400 employees serving more than 500,000 customers in six countries, wefox Group is Europe’s leading insurtech. In March of this year, wefox Group closed USD$125 million series B funding making it the largest for a European insurtech. The company’s solid performance from its two business units…

Open banking has grown to become a global phenomenon and while pioneers like the UK and the European Union (EU) have turned to regulatory action to support the industry’s transition into this new era of banking, legislators in Switzerland has reacted more cautiously so far. The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) has already rejected the proposal for an interpretation of PSD2, the EU’s second payment services directive, to be adapted to the Swiss market and have instead let the market decide how the topic should be tackled. Trade group associations have shared their views on that matter. The Swiss Finance Startups…

A few days after receiving an accolade as the «Next Global Hot Thing», Sonect, the pioneer of Virtual ATMs, has announced the completion of an oversubscribed Series A round. Together, all existing investors have contributed CHF8.45 million. Since its foundation in 2016, Sonect provides a location-based matchmaking platform that connects individuals that want to withdraw cash with those who want to deposit cash – typically, a local shop owner. The success of this new business model can be evidenced by the company’s exponential growth. Since 2018, Sonect has established the largest network of cash withdrawal points in Switzerland and Portugal,…

Onalytica, an influencer marketing software platform, has released its ranking of the world’s top 100 women influencers in finance. Onalytica analyzed over 300,000 finance-related posts from November 1, 2018 to October 31, 2019, to identify the top 100 most influential female individuals leading the discussion on social media. Using Onalytica’s ranking, we’ve pulled out the world’s top 20 female fintech influencers. Theodora Lau, Founder, Unconventional Ventures Twitter | Linkedin Theodora Lau is a public speaker, writer, and advisor. Lau is also the founder of Unconventional Ventures, which focuses on developing and growing an ecosystem of financial institutions, corporations, startups,…

A podcast interview with Anne-Katrin Maser, Lead Partnerships and Ecosystems at Generali Switzerland. Voice of Fintech talks about how Generali cooperates with startups, through their innovation garage, partnerships or participation in the F10 Incubator/Accelerator. Anne-Katrin Maser, Lead Partnerships and Ecosystems at Generali Switzerland explains Generali’s approach to open innovation, broad sector focus of Generali and also activities of Generali in the startup ecosystem.

In recent years, Azerbaijan has made efforts to become more attractive to global entrepreneurs, launching in 2017 the Digital Trade Hub (DTH) to help develop the digital ecosystem and attract foreign investors and small business owners. One of the DTH’s major initiatives so far has been the introducing the electronic residency (e-Residency) and mobile residency (m-Residency) program in 2018, a move that made Azerbaijan the second country in the world after Estonia to offer an e-Residency program aimed at provision of easy, fast and reliable services to foreign investors and businesses, and the first country in the world to offer…

Imburse AG, a Swiss enterprise SaaS company empowering large companies with payments-as-a-service solutions, announced its completion of a $1.7 million bridge funding round. Institutional investors PostFinance CVC, based in Switzerland, and SixThirty, a US-based VC, led the round, with existing investors also participating. The funding round will support Imburse’s European growth plans for its platform that simplifies integration into the global payments eco-system. Imburse was founded to help large companies easily access the vast offering of the global payments ecosystem in order to deliver on customer engagement and business optimisation goals. Imburse’s enterprise platform completely revolutionises integrations of new transaction-related…

In the UK, digital-first challenger banks have taken the banking industry by storm. In the next year, digital challenger banks will have a combined customer base of 35 million, tripling their customer bases of 13 million people today, according to a research by Accenture. But who exactly are the players that are transforming the UK’s banking sector? The following is a comprehensive list of digital-first challenger banks from the UK. AlbaCo AlbaCo is a new challenger bank based in Glasgow, Scotland, that serves small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is set to launch in 2020. Aldermore Bank Aldermore Bank was the…

F10, a fintech incubator and accelerator from Switzerland, is expanding to Singapore where it will run its renowned P2 “Prototype to Product” startup program. After the highly popular and successful F10 FinTech Hackathons in Singapore in September 2018 and 2019, the move aims to create more synergies between the Swiss and Asian ecosystems to drive innovation towards the FinTech of tomorrow. The six-month program, which will run from May 4, 2020 to October 29, 2020, is open for startups of at least two full time members. The teams must have a validated prototype of a product or service that solves a relevant…

Blockchain, the technology underpinning popular cryptocurrency bitcoin, is considered as one of the most exciting digital technology innovations of recent times. Though the financial services sector has been undeniably the most active sector to experiment with and deploy blockchain, the technology promises to transform numerous other industries ranging from human resources and digital identity, to voting, education and hospitality. Blockchain’s greatest promise lies in its ability to provide a way to move information from one point to another in a highly secure manner and cut out financial middlemen, revolutionizing the way information and data are exchanged. Blockchain also allows transactions…

Current personalization efforts from financial services firms are still nowhere near the level necessary to engage increasingly demanding customers. Banks, investment firms, insurance companies and other financial services firms must rethink personalization and focus on driving customer engagement and loyalty, according to a new report by American market research company Forrester. In a paper titled Financial Services Firms Need to Rethink Personalization, the firm explains that financial services firms are currently more focused on tactical business goals and selling products rather than addressing customer needs. This results in personalization efforts missing the mark as they are narrowly applied, create awkward…

The world continues to move towards open banking with some markets, including the European Union (EU), the UK and Australia, taking the lead by creating and passing favorable regulations, according to a new report by the Paypers. In a paper, titled Open Banking Report 2019 and released in September, the company explores the current open banking ecosystem and provides an analysis of the present global state of play of open banking. Open banking leaders According to the research, the UK, Australia, and the EU are the “pioneers” and “the clear ‘front runners’ of open banking” worldwide. In these jurisdictions, regulators…

Für Kunden der Swissquote Bank AG werden Immobilien-Anlagen zum Kinderspiel. Sie können die Anleihe CROWDLITOKEN auf der Angebotspalette der Schweizer Online-Bank wie andere Anlagen ganz einfach erwerben. Swissquote übernimmt zudem die Aufbewahrung der digitalen Anleihe und bietet seinen Kunden eine Plattform für den Wiederverkauf. Swissquote stärkt damit ihr Angebot an digitalen Finanzprodukten, für das Liechtensteiner Fintech-Unternehmen CROWDLITOKEN AG ermöglicht diese Bankenlösung einen alternativen Zugang zu neuer Kundschaft. Über 300’000 Kunden zählt die Swissquote, die grösste Schweizer Online-Bank. Ein grosser Teil dieser Kundschaft dürfte an modernen Finanzprodukten und evolutionären Finanzanlagen interessiert sein. Auf diese Interessen kann die Immobilien-Anleihe CROWDLITOKEN (CRT) bestens…

Within 5 to 7 years, digital payments will become more prominent as tech solutions substantially increase in convenience compared to cash. Nevertheless, cash will continue to be perceived and widely used as a store of value. This is, according to SIX, the most-likely scenario among the seven possible futures for money. In a new whitepaper part of the Picture of the Future series, SIX presents seven scenarios for the future of money. According to SIX, the most-likely scenario to happen is where digital payments would rule. In this scenario, banks would be required to open interfaces to their digital vaults…

A new phenomenon has emerged: WealthTech. Being a younger sibling of the Fintech family this topic is about to change the way we think about wealth and asset management and how we deploy technology in order to improve it. As only very little literature exists on this topic 35 experts from academia and practice have gathered in a truly global fashion to share their views on WealthTech in this newly released book: “WeathTech: Wealth and Asset Management in the FinTech Age”, edited by Professor Patrick Schueffel of HEG, School of Management Fribourg. In one volume scholars and business experts spanning…

Deloitte has announced its selection of this year’s 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, naming digital banking unicorn Revolut as the top tech company. Deloitte’s 2019 UK Technology Fast 50 awards recognize and rank the top 50 tech companies in the UK based on the last four years of revenue data. Fintech unicorn Revolut emerged as the overall winner, generating an average three-year growth rate of 48,477% to the year 2018/2019 – the fourth-highest growth in the history of Deloitte’s UK Fast 50 competition. Revolut offers banking services including a prepaid debit card, fee free currency exchange, commission free…