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…

The Swiss FinTech Start-up Map November from Swisscom counts now 308 FinTechs, 11 more than in October.

The emergence of new technology solutions leveraging open APIs, cloud, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) has driven increasing volumes of digital data, as well as new market players, business models and evolving client expectations. Given the disruptive potential of these cutting-edge technologies on the banking sector, regulators around the world have taken a closer look into the opportunities and risks these may bring to the market. In a new whitepaper titled Regulation driving banking transformation, Deutsche Bank provides an overview of applicable regulations around the world with respect to banks’ and their clients’ use of open APIs, cloud, blockchain and…

Podcasts are great to gain accelerated learning and keep up with industry news and developments. Thankfully, the crypto space is filled with top-notch shows to keep you updated on the hottest projects, up-and-coming entrepreneurs, and latest technology trends. Here is a list of some of the best podcasts out there focusing on blockchain technology and the crypto world: The Blockchain and Us The Blockchain and Us podcast, by Manuel Stagars, features personal stories and experiences in conversations with global pioneers, innovators and entrepreneurs in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. The podcast aims to make the ground-breaking technology better accessible…

ETFs gewinnen aufgrund ihrer vielseitigen Vorteile zunehmend an Beliebtheit. Doch mit der Beliebtheit wächst auch die Kritik. Wir sprachen mit Klaus Thaler, CEO der Online Vermögensverwaltung ELVIA e-invest, über die Risiken von ETFs. Klaus Thaler ist seit Mitte 2017 CEO der ELVIA e-invest. Zuvor war bei der Baloise Group im Risikomanagement tätig und ab 2013 bei der Allianz Suisse für verschiedene Projekte zuständig. Online Vermögensverwaltungen werden unter Anlegern immer beliebter. Auch die Allianz hat mit ELVIA e-invest eine solche Lösung auf den Markt gebracht. Was können Kunden erwarten, wenn sie mit einem ETF-Portfolio bei ELVIA e-invest investiert sind? Klaus Thaler:…

A report indicates that more than 70% of Americans struggle financially. At the same time, these same households pay roughly $175 billion annually in fees and interest for financial products and services, yet most of such instances don’t improve their financial situation. While the situation in Switzerland is better with only one fifth of households struggling financially, the fees structures are not drastically different. There’s some observable lessons that Swiss Fintech companies can learn from this study Fintech solutions that could help them might already exist in the market, yet consumers that were surveyed in this report reveals that they…

Swissquote announced that it is “the first bank worldwide” to enable its clients the opportunity to participate in various ICOs without needing a cryptocurrency wallet. The holding company specialises in the provision of online financial and trading services, and have been able to capitalise on the rising interest in cryptocurrencies and ICO. The company is also involved in providing robo-advisory, e-forex and e-mortgages. This should enable Swissquote customers to more easily join a startup or scaleup company’s journey, while also diversifying their assets. According to Swissquote, up to now, in order to participate in an ICO, investors usually needed to understand…

New entrants to the banking market — including challenger banks, non-bank payments institutions and big tech companies — are amassing up to one-third of new revenue, which is challenging the competitiveness of traditional banks, according to new research from Accenture. Accenture analyzed more than 20,000 banking and payments institutions across seven markets to quantify the level of change and disruption in the global banking industry. The study found that the number of banking and payments institutions decreased by nearly 20 percent over a 12-year period — from 24,000 in 2005 to less than 19,300 in 2017. However, nearly one in…

Around 1,000  decision makers representing 50 countries attended last week the Digital Insurance conference in Munich. The insurtech event featured more than 50 insurtechs startups. Technologies on stage varied from blockchain and bots to connected devices and conversational commerce. The event also presented the first Insurtech Award “DIAmond”. Insurers and insurtech investors in the audience awarded six insurtechs the DIAmond Award for insurtech with most strategic impact. One new and so far relative unknown Swiss Insurtech (Creadi) made into the top 6 Insurtech awarded Startups. DIAmond Award winners DataRobot (USA): Accelerating the path to AI & Machine Learning competence for…

Die Startup-Vereinigung Swiss Finance Startups hat am 16. Oktober 2018 im Zürcher Grünenhof die erste Fintech-Messe der Schweiz lanciert. Das Event ist gemäss dem Veranstalter ein Erfolg auf der ganzen Linie und hat deren Erwartungen deutlich übertroffen. Es ist viel los im Schweizer Fintech. Die Branche ist den Kinderschuhen längst entwachsen und ist vom Schweizer Finanzplatz nicht mehr wegzudenken. Eine eigene Messe fehlte den Fintech-Treibern bislang noch – wie sehr, das zeigte die grosse Nachfrage. Die verfügbare Ausstellerfläche war nach wenigen Stunden ausgebucht. Dank der UBS Schweiz, dem Hauptsponsor der Veranstaltung, durfte zusätzliche Stellfläche genutzt werden, sodass am Ende 46 Ausstellern die…

Before 2015, the idea of banks actively working together and sharing information with each other seemed like a pipe dream, or end results of corporate espionage. This is, until the UK embarked on their Open API banking initiative, which has since been adopted by the EU. The goal is to create a more integrated, innovative and competitive banking and payments system by, in parts, compelling banks to foster integration amongst each other and with the extended fintech scene. Open Banking could be a boon to any local finance scene, which is why bank in 2016, an ambitious project called the Swiss Open…

Swisscom published the 3rd Swiss Artificial Intelligence Startup Map. Out of this list, we have listed again below for your convenience all the Startups out of the Fintech/Insurtech and the Virtual Assistants/Chatbots Categories. Click on the Logo to get to the Startup Webpage. Fintech & InsurTech Virtual Assistants/Chatbots

Wefox Group, a Swiss/German insurtech that operates digital platforms that connect insurers, brokers and consumers, is one of the fastest growing insutech startups in Europe and has been expanding aggressively in the past year. Expansion plans After Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, the firm entered a strategic partnership with Mansutti S.p.A, one of the largest family-run brokerage companies to enter the Italian market. Based in Milan, Mansutti employs more than 300 people and has an extensive network in the insurance industry. The brokerage company focuses on the automotive industry, and will use this connection to drive business via the Wefox platform.…

Vor kurzem hat eine Swiss Fintech Innovation (SFTI) Arbeitsgruppe unter Leitung von Jürgen Petry erste Details der Schweizer Common API Spezifikation publiziert. Die Initiative wurde bereits vor 2 Jahren gestartet, und SFTI hat es hier geschafft, wichtige Player mit an Bord zu haben. Dazu zählt auch die SIX, die zukünftig unter dem Dach des SFTI die Fortentwicklung der Common API Spezifikation koordinieren wird. Im exklusiven Interview erläutert uns Jürgen Petry, warum diese Common APIs so wichtig sind für die Schweiz. Ergänzt wird dieses Interview durch ein Open API/Banking Glossar. 1) Warum braucht die Schweiz  Common API und kann die Schweiz sich so als…