Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a critical aspect in financial services. Financial institutions around the world are making efforts to adopt AI for task automation, customer services, behavior analysis, as well as fraud finding, and are making large-scale investments in related technologies. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates the number to reach US$10 billion by 2020. In financial services, applications for AI technologies exist across nearly the entire spectrum of business, from algorithmic stock trading applications and credit card fraud detection, to auto investment advisors and market research and sentiment analysis. The following 10 AI fintech companies are some of…

Mit dem Aufschwung der Kryptowährungen und den immer grösser werdenden Handelsvolumina kam auch bald die Idee auf, einen Börsengang mit virtuellen Währungen zu versuchen. Die so genannten ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) spülten Millionen in die Kassen einiger Unternehmen.  Gerade der Höhenflug des Bitcoins war es, der viele Anleger das Risiko eingehen liess. Die Zahl der Coins, die damit an die Kryptobörsen und in den Handel allgemein gebracht wurden, war kaum noch zu zählen. Das Jahr 2018 brachte aber die Ernüchterung: Viele ICOs brachten nicht die versprochenen oder erwarteten Gewinne. Michael Penke von der Gründerszene sah bereits im Juli die ICO-…

Blockchain investment research & consulting firm BlockNovum just published its highly anticipated second issue of the Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomer Map. The Zurich based company conducted one of the most in-depth analysis to date of startups in Switzerland that leverage the blockchain technology. Over 100 new blockchain-related projects were identified and assessed. As selection criteria projects have to be based in Switzerland and need to be classified as “Newcomers” in 2018. Based on the assessment BlockNovum shortlisted the top 10 highest quality projects, which convinced with a great team, a promising business model, continuous progress & traction, and relevance for early-stage investors. The…

Singapore, a regional financial hub, has become a leading fintech hub in recent years, with wealthtech emerging as a top area of focus. The city-state has witnessed many homegrown wealthtech startups emerge as regional and even global leaders, striking deals with leading banks and aggressively expanding across Asia. Some of them were showcased during this year’s Singapore Fintech Festival, which took place earlier this month and brought together close to 45,000 participants from almost 130 countries. For those who could not make it to what’s believed to be the world’s biggest fintech event, the following five startups are amongst Singapore’s…

Bank Frick is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Chairman of the Board of Directors Mario Frick and CEO Edi Wögerer look back at two decades of entrepreneurial banking.gar They explain why a company’s vision cannot simply be tokenism, how they generate added value for financial intermediaries, and why blockchain no longer has to be like the Wild West. In the industry, Bank Frick is seen as Europe’s leading bank when it comes to blockchain technology, yet you are somewhat displeased when blockchain is all that people associate Bank Frick with. Why is this? Edi Wögerer: Because we are so much more…

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) were all the rage in 2017, raising a massive US$5.6 billion, but this year saw the emergence of the security token offerings (STOs), a market that’s predicted to be worth some US$10 trillion by 2020. In opposition to tokens offered in an ICO which do not give any rights or obligations and instead provide access to a specific network, platform or service, tokens offered in a STO are actual financial securities that are backed by something tangible like the assets, profits, or revenue of the company, and which offer legal rights such as voting or revenue…

RegTech is a shorthand for regulatory tech, a subset of fintech that focuses on technologies that could help facilitate the delivery of regulatory requirements in a comprehensive and cost-effective way. The rise of RegTech was only a matter of time, following the traditional difficulty that fintechs have had over the years to stay compliant while remaining fluid and agile in their businesses. After all, compliance is not an option—not after the 2008 financial crisis. And there could be real money in RegTech. The global RegTech market revenue is estimated to be at US$2,321.5 million this year, and is expected to reach US$7,207.6…

One country that has been heavily involved in developing its fintech startup ecosystem lately is Kazakhstan. Set to make Astana, the capital city of this CIS country,  a world-leading financial center the government took a number of initiatives starting with the launch of Astana International Financial Centre in July 2018.  As the interest in this region is growing, we look today at some of the must-attend fintech and digital finance events and conferences taking place in Kazakhstan in the coming months. Read more about Fintech in Kazakhstan here IDC Central Asia Conference: “Digital Transformation in Banking and Finance” November 22, 2018 Organized…

Xero, today unveiled major initial success of its new, full-featured API for bank feeds, with five leading fintech integrations Tide, Starling, TransferWise, Revolut and Soldo – that give small businesses in the UK access to more financial information, faster than ever, and at no extra cost from their accounting dashboard. Whether it’s digital accounts like Tide, digital banks like Starling, foreign exchange platforms like TransferWise and Revolut, or an expense management platform like Soldo, small businesses and their advisors can now choose to integrate their financial data directly into Xero with no additional fees for ease of use from a growing list…

Trade finance has become one of the key focus for blockchain technology use with the number of pilots and other trials dramatically increasing in 2017 and intensifying this year. Financial institutions such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and even China’s central bank, among many others, are all looking to leverage blockchain to streamline international trade transactions and reduce risk in the US$16 trillion in global trade done annually. Just last month, a new blockchain-based trade finance platform developed by HSBC, Standard Chartered and ten other banks, was launched in Hong Kong. HSBC said the platform, called…

SIX FinTech Venture announced that it has invested into its first two firms, vestr and Shift Cryptosecurity. The amount is currently undisclosed. The venture was formed with the goal of providing the Swiss Financial Center with cutting-edge tech, business models and solutions. Therefore, the venture has its eye open for startups that are scalable, and give back to the Swiss financial ecosystem, and it thinks that the following companies would bring value to the overall ecosystem: vestr aims to be a fast and cost-effective alternative to investment funds by facilitating the creation and lifecycle management of Actively Managed Certificates. The company…

Tough year for cryptocurrencies, which saw their value plummet in what famed economist Nouriel Roubini describes as a “crypto-apocalypse.” Bitcoin has fallen around 67% from its December 2017 high of US$19,300 to its current price of about US$6,350, and the whole cryptocurrency market has plunged more than 73%, from a total market capitalization of more than US$815 billion in January 2018 to now US$213 billion. Despite the fall in the value of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, the technology underlying them, continues to gain traction and attract investors. In the first half of 2018, blockchain investment in the US exceeded the total investment…

Das Online Accounting Startup Accounto im Interview mit Startupszene.ch. Was ist die Geschäftsidee? Accounto lässt die digitale und autonome Buchhaltung Wirklichkeit werden. KMU lassen die gesamte Buchhaltung über die Accounto Platform ausgelagert abwicklen und behalten trotzdem einen aktuellen Einblick in die Finanzsituation. Wie ist die Geschäftsidee entstanden? Buchhaltung ist lästige Arbeit, welche viel Zeit raubt, doch von jedem erledigt werden muss. Die beiden Gründer wollten, Unternehmern mehr Zeit für ihre eigentliche Geschäftstätigkeit schenken. Woher stammt das Startkapital des Startups? Von den Gründern sowie ersten Investoren. Womit verdient das Startup Geld? Accounto AG führt die komplette Buchhaltung, für eine wachsende 3-stellige…

In an episode of the Blockchain and Us podcast hosted by Manuel Stagars, Micheal Sidler enters the booth as the co-founder of Red Alpine Venture Partners in Zurich Switzerland, where he invests mainly in tech and biotech and is active in organisations supporting startups. Currently, Micheal is also investigating how blockchain can change the venture capitalist (VC) industry as well. The podcast, titled ‘How The Blockchain Disrupts Venture Capital’ covers a variety of avenues from which this might happen, but of particular interest was a long back-and-forth between Manuel and Micheal about which blockchain companies pique VC attention, or at the very leaast the attention…

With 100 million Internet users, a developed tech community and a large pool of investors, the DACH region, which comprises Germany, Austria and Switzerland, is one of the fastest growing EU economic regions with a booming fintech sector. DACH is home to some of Europe’s most successful fintech firms and hottest rising stars, from mobile-first bank N26 and banking platform provider solarisBank, to insurtech firm Wefox Group and blockchain hub Trust Square. With the emergence of fintech, the region has witnessed the surge of up-and-coming entrepreneurs who have been rapidly making a name for themselves on the global fintech scene.…

Das Säule 3a Startup Viac im Interview mit Startupszene.ch. Was ist die Geschäftsidee? Hinter VIAC verbirgt sich die erste 100% digitale Vorsorgelösung für die Säule 3a. Dank effizienten Prozessen wird ein kostengünstiges Vorsorgesparprodukt ermöglicht, das einen Mehrwert für die Kunden und nicht nur für die Banken schafft. Wie ist die Geschäftsidee entstanden? Die Idee entstand aus dem eigenen Bedürfnis nach einer einfachen, flexiblen und vor allem kostengünstigen Lösung. Alle drei Gründer waren früher in der Finanzbranche tätig und wissen welche Stellschrauben es zu optimieren galt. Woher stammt das Startkapital des Startups? Privatvermögen der Gründer sowie einem Investor. Womit verdient das Startup…

Fintech continues to be one of the most hyped sectors, notably in Asia where the large population of unbanked, high smartphone and Internet penetration rates and supportive governments are providing fertile for fintech innovation. For many, Asia is the number 1 growth market for fintech and investors are betting big on the region’s startups. Fintech ventures in Asia raised US$3.85 billion in 2017, behind the US with US$15.2 billion and Europe with US$7.44 billion. With so much happening in the burgeoning Asian fintech landscape on a regular basis, it can be hard to keep up of the overwhelming number of…

German Fintech Overview and Map 2018 and link collection provided by our German blogging friends from paymentbanking. German FinTech Overview Link collection: Payment https://www.payleven.de https://www.sumup.de https://www.izettle.com/de http://www.go4q.mobi http://www.ipayst.com/de/ http://www.kesh.de (nur noch bis 30.11) https://www.paycash.eu https://sicherbezahlen.de/ www.umt.ag/de/ SQWallet http://www.payworksmobile.com https://www.billpay.de https://www.laterpay.net http://www.paywithatweet.com https://www.payorshare.de https://www.paylax.de http://www.optiopay.com/de/ https://www.spendit.de https://payment.billingmaker.com/ http://www.dimoco.at https://www.transferwise.com/de https://www.circle.com/de  https://www.easycarpay.com Bitcoins https://www.bitbond.com https://www.bitcoin.de https://www.satoshipay.io https://www.draglet.com/en www.coinify.com (Acquisition) http://www.dogecoin.com https://www.pey.de https://www.coinsnap.eu/de/public/ https://www.btcexpress.net/DE https://www.cointed.com/ E-Commerce https://www.paymill.com/de = http://klikandpay.com/de/ (Acquistion) https://www.barzahlen.de/de/ https://www.ratepay.com https://www.payever.de https://www.betterpayment.de http://www.allpago.com https://www.sepaone.com http://www.fashioncheque.com/ http://klikandpay.com/de/ http.//getgrover.con/de-de  Accounting https://www.smoice.com http://www.billomat.com https://www.weclapp.com/de/ https://www.debitoor.de Pactas = https://www.billwerk.com (Rebranding) https://www.fastbill.com/ https://www.zeitgold.com http://www.smacc.io https://www.albuswhite.com http://www.candis.io/de/ http://www.isaac10.com (Insolvency) http://www.monsum.com (Rebranding) https://www.salesking.eu/ https://monsum.com/ https://www.buchhaltungsbutler.de Factoring / Collection https://www.billfront.com http://www.rechnung48.de https://www.pagido.de https://www.decimo.de https://www.ecollect.de https://www.flexpayment.de https://www.pairfinance.com http://www.trustbills.com…

In an episode of the Blockchain and Us podcast hosted by Manuel Stagars, Tom Lyons, the Executive Director of Research and Advisory at ConsenSys, as well as Chairman of the Communications Working Group at the Crypto Valley Association in Zug, enters the booth to discuss blockchain—or specifically how to discuss blockchain. Among a few topics spoken about during the podcast, Tom delves into one of the key pain points facing blockchain-based companies—how to communicate your blockchain business to a world that doesn’t quite understand what that means. Disclaimer: Some of the quotes have been shortened or edited to better suit…

With blockchain and cryptocurrency gaining more traction day after day, the Swiss government is now exploring the possibility of introducing legal amendments to current legislative instruments to facilitate the development of blockchain technology. The blockchain/initial coin offering (ICO) working group was appointed at the start of 2018 to review the legal framework and point out any need for action. A consultation period was held during the month of September that invited financial and fintech associations to express their concerns, providing the industry an opportunity for the financial sector as a whole and all interested parties to comment on the potential…