Bain & Company urges banks to take action on distributed ledgers
Bain & Company recently published a 12-page brief about blockchain technology, “Distributed Ledgers in Payments: Beyond the Bitcoin Hype,” authored by four employees based in London.
House of Lords told Bank of England’s digital currency is ‘some way off’
Earlier today in the Palace of Westminster, the 13-member Economic Affairs Committee of the United Kingdom's House of Lords took evidence from the Bank of England (BoE), academia, and industry experts during a “one-off inquiry into distributed ledger or blockchain technology.”
Fintech 1, 2 and 3.0 … there’s an elephant in the room and it’s under attack
I was piqued by Victor Matarranz’s [SEVP Head of Group Strategy and Chairman’s Office, Banco Santander] presentation at MoneyConf last week, mainly because he began by talking about Fintech 1.0 versus Fintech 2.0.
Industrialisation of Distributed Ledger Technology in Banking and Financial Services
This paper will provide an overview of the transformation potential of distributed ledger Technology and potential disruptive use cases in financial services. However it will primarily focus on the business considerations that must be addressed before industrialisation of distributed ledger technology can commence. This paper concludes by discussing the key factors financial organisations should consider to measure the success of the initial implementations.
America’s regulatory issue is too many cooks
I’ve had a few meetings with folks at the White House over the past eighteen months, which has been an honour and not something I felt I should blog about. The National Economic Council woke up to the FinTech world early last year and have been consulting with many in the FinTech ecosystem. The latest meeting was a FinTech Summit for a select few at the White House last Friday. I was lucky enough to be one of the select few and thought I’d blog about the four key panel discussions that took place this week.
For all the talk about blockchain, what is really happening?
There is a lot of talk about blockchain. A lot. Loads. But when you get past all the talk, what is actually happening with blockchain? Answer: not enough. I say this because there are some stand out firms out there – like R3, Digital Asset Holdings, Ripple – who have gained traction with the banks, but the banks are still unsure of their commitment to blockchain developments. Talking with several, they see their commitment was funding these firms to do the work for them. Now that they have funded, they feel that’s it.
20% of Europeans would bank with Google, Facebook or Amazon
According to the 7,000 consumers who took part in the survey, digital plays an increasingly prominent part in their banking interactions, with more than a third (37%) threatening to leave their provider if they don’t offer up-to-date technology. While traditional payments still remain popular – 44% of consumers still use cash to pay daily – new digital payment methods are coming to the fore. Consumers are showing they are open to innovative services to make their lives easier, with 32% already embracing mobile device payments, while 22% have adopted wearable technologies and 20% crypto-currencies, the latter driven by Eastern Europe usage where 44% say they use the technology.
Fujitsu European Financial Services Survey 2016
This report examines how banking and insurance are evolving and the impact on consumer channels, data sharing and personalization, as well as what all this means for customer loyalty.
Distributed ledger technology ‘could be a game changer,’ states European Central Bank Board Member
The European Central Bank (ECB) considers Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) as “one of several possibilities” when it comes to assessing possible technical solutions, according to Yves Mersch, ECB Executive Board Member. At the Deutsche Bank Transaction Bankers' Forum 2016 on Monday, Mersch stated that not only is there “big demand for research into the DLT related questions and their policy implications,” the ECB is “certainly open to new technologies and, like many market players, have launched some experimental work.”
Are banks really challenged by Fintech, or is this just more of the same?
I regularly attend conferences where several themes crop up around disruption, disintermediation, and the end of banking as we know it. The problem is I’ve heard it for 30 years and it hasn’t happened … yet. Will it? Let’s have a look.
Global Insight: Blockchain in Banking: Disruptive Threat or Tool?
Blockchains could have widespread potential to disrupt financial intermediaries. Our in-depth study suggests several misconceptions & identifies 10 hurdles to overcometo make blockchain a reality in banking. The opportunity is clear but the bluesky is too far off to impact our 2017/18e
In brief: The world’s unbanked and Fintech innovation
With headlines each week spotlighting millions of dollars in fintech funding, for the development and trialing of cutting-edge technology like the distributed ledger, digital currencies or their deploying platforms, it’s easy to lose sight of the core, perhaps altruistic, driving force of creating technology: advancement.
Challenger versus incumbent or challenger and incumbent
I guess my highlight of #Money2020Europe was moderating a discussion between Martin Blessing, CEO of Commerzbank, and Ricky Knox, CEO of UK digital-first start-up Tandem Bank. We had a fascinating dialogue before the public debate, and an even more engaging discussion on stage if the tweets are anything to go by.
Banking in a world of programmable assets
The Bitcoin cryptocurrency has been making headlines for several years. But in recent months the focus has widened to the broader potential of the blockchain technology that underpins itâincluding the creation of distributed consensus ledgers (DCLs). Now the focus has shifted again, to the implications blockchain brings for financial assets in general.
Bitcoin company, Circle, partners with Barclays for currency and territory expansion
The mainstream-focused bitcoin wallet, [Circle](http://circle.com), has had a perfect storm of good news lately as it greatly expanded its territory and announced a major new banking partner, new upgrades, new licensing, a new currency, and a freshly loosened policy.
Retail bank integrates bitcoin service
Founded by a group of U.S. Army officers in 1922, the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) now has over 23,400 employees in offices throughout the country, and assets of over US$70 Billion in 2015.
