This fintech Friday post looks at the latest in fintech and banking news and where the latest disruption is happening in financial services. At Money 20/20, the big buzz was about artificial intelligence and its impact on banking and the payments industry. TheNextWeb profiled fintech and how it’s doing a better job of meeting the new consumer’s needs than traditional banking.
Intranext CEO Patrick Brown says Alexa AI is not quite ready for primetime payments when it comes to security and validation despite Amazon adding more than 15,000 new skills in the past year. Facebook Messenger’s money transfer app launches in the UK and France. The Paradise Papers leak implicates big players like Apple and Nike. Payments app Wirecard is also being drawn into the spotlight for money transfers for gambling which are illegal in Germany.
The province of Ontario is creating a fintech Sandbox to promote technology development and enhanced financial services innovations. Revolut is the latest UK fintech to apply for an EU banking license in order to grow its business. Finally, Cyprus’s Security and Exchange Commission is planning to implement a blockchain payments technology program.
Money20/20 trends: AI, ‘everyday commerce’ and security
The bright lights of Las Vegas have gone out on Money20/20 for another year. As always, the event brought together the biggest names in payments and provided unprecedented insight into the future of financial services. AI has the potential to profoundly impact all areas of payments and financial services delivery, and indeed already is in some areas. Consumers can now use smart assistants, such as Alexa, to pay their credit card bills or order groceries, and sophisticated AI chatbots can be deployed to screen and respond to customer enquiries. Via Mobile Payments Today
How payment technology is being disrupted
Believe it or not, online payments are still in their infancy. That was until outside competitors started challenging them to keep up with the trends. Fast forward to now, and FinTech is one of the hottest startup industries in the tech world. One of the earliest changes involving the payment industry is how banks and customers behavior is shifting with one another. Quite simply, people have different expectations with how money should move, as well as how quickly. This is a cross-generational phenomenon and something that banks are trying to keep up with. Via thenextweb.com
IntraNext CEO: Alexa Authentication Needs Work
Amazon’s Alexa has been building a similar resume, adding well over 15,000 skills to its voice-activated repertoire — a 50% increase just from February to July of 2017. Last November, Amazon introduced the world to Lex, the artificial intelligence service that powers voice and text conversations for Alexa. One of the e-commerce giant’s goals with Lex has been to get her to a point where she can take over some basic call center functions. Via pymnts.com
Facebook Messenger’s money transfer tool is heading to the UK
Back in 2015, Facebook introduced the ability to send money to friends through Messenger and now it has brought that capability to UK users. It’s the first time Facebook has launched the feature outside of the US. Skype lets users in nearly two dozen countries send cash within its mobile app via PayPal and PayPal has a bot that let’s you send money within Slack. In May, the encrypted messaging app Telegram began supporting payments through chatbots, as did Facebook last year. Facebook Messenger also lets you send payments through PayPal and introduced a group payment option earlier this year. Via engadget.com
Paradise Papers Make Queasy Reading for Fintech Fans
The Paradise Papers tax leaks point the finger at several multinationals, like Apple Inc. and Nike Inc., arguing that they don’t pay their fair share. The companies insist they’re fully compliant with the law. Why should Wirecard shares suffer more than others? Shares of the German payments and banking services provider, whose clients include Orange SA and Carrefour SA, are down 4% after a report connects Wirecard to transfers for gambling providers that are allegedly illegal. Wirecard’s response is that its business with online casinos is “100 percent” legal. Via bloomberg.com
Ontario preps fintech sandbox
Ontario is one of the biggest centres in North America for both financial services and technology. This has inevitably seen the province, and specifically Toronto, become a major fintech hub. Recently the government set up a fintech strategy panel to help create an ecosystem that lets it take on US centres such as New York, Silicon Valley and Chicago. Now, Ontario finance minister Charles Sousa says that he wants to follow in the footsteps of the UK and others by creating a sandbox which lets fintech startups operate outside of some regulatory requirements in order to help them innovate. Via finextra.com
Revolut becomes latest UK fintech firm to apply for European banking license
British financial technology firm Revolut said on Wednesday it has applied for a European banking license, as it bids to join a growing number of digital-only banks looking to win away customers from larger, traditional lenders. Revolut, which has offered a pre-paid cash card since 2015, is one of a number of smaller upstart finance firms hoping that coming regulation and technology can help it break the dominance of bigger banks by offering users slick apps, slashed fees and an instant overview of their finances. Via independent.co.uk
Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission Plans Blockchain-Based Electronic Payment System
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has announced its intention to integrate Blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) to its electronic payment system. The financial regulator has signed a partnership with the Blockchain Technology for Algorithmic Regulation and Compliance Association (BARAC) to develop and introduce the Blockchain technology mechanism. Via cointelegraph.com
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