China’s fintech market has been booming in recent years and now the industry has another concern regarding data privacy; Zhang Yi, chief executive of iiMedia Research, told the FT, “For the most part, these platforms aren’t selling data as their main business or they wouldn’t be able to survive. But employees who manage the data are the main source of data leaks.”; data is being sold on the black market and in most cases it comes from employees of the lender; most lenders say they sell data to third parties but the practice is opaque and not regulated very well. Source.
JoinedNov. 30, 2016
Articles1,635
Todd is the host of PitchIt: the fintech startups podcast, a weekly interview show featuring emerging fintech founders and leading venture capitalists. He is responsible for leading the content team which covers fintech through daily & weekly email newsletters, editorial, virtual events, and in-person conferences. He has been covering fintech, banking, and venture capital for more than 15 years, including speaking regularly at industry events.
While the Chinese have been quickly adopting fintech in recent years it has come at a cost to the consumer; the Chinese government is able to view troves of information as payment apps like Alipay and WeChat Pay now need to pass through the central bank; not only in fintech but other areas of tech innovation, like facial recognition, has been a boon to the government; while apps and services are making lives simpler and more efficient, they can also help to make government intrusion a lot easier. Source.
While publishing the results of the latest stress tests on the UK’s biggest banks the Bank of England warned that fintechs could take significant market share; the Bank of England identified three main areas of concern for banks: competition from fintechs, cost reduction while delivering services and low interest rates; these key areas could hurt profitability at banks in the coming years and app based disrupters could be the beneficiaries. Source.
The blockchain insurance consortium B3i has secured 38 members worldwide including Allianz, Swiss Re and AIG; the project would help these insurers move away from their paper based processes and secure contracts on distributed ledgers; right now blockchain is not widely used in insurance and the project is hoping to bring along the change; B3i estimates the changes could help the industry to save over 30 percent of costs. Source.
Digital banking app Revolut is looking to embrace the cryptocurrency wave and incorporate features into the app; the new features would let users exchange and use bitcoin as well as other digital currencies; there is no set plan for the new features but Head of Mobile, Edward Cooper, tweeted that potential changes were coming on cryptocurrencies as Crowdfund Insider reports. Source.
The price of bitcoin was trading at $10,026 on the South Korean exchange CEX while at the same time trading at $9,748 on US exchange Kraken as of early yesterday; the 3 percent spread was not the first time this happened and leaves open the potential for some to take advantage but also shows the immature nature of the market; this has been part of the reason why institutional investors have not fully bought in, though some have and the recent news from the CME could help to ease more concerns. Source.
USAA, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank have started to look within the veteran community for skilled workers in the field of cybersecurity; hiring veterans has always been a source of pride for the banks but their specific military experience is seen as a big plus when it comes to cybersecurity; veterans are experienced and highly motivated, being able to find someone with cybersecurity know how can help to transform a banks defenses; the banks have also partnered with educational institutions which have programs geared at helping veterans transition to the workplace. Source.
CreditEase CEO Ning Tang is looking to offer an investment alternative to real estate investors by launching a fund of funds focused on real estate projects; currently investors in China need to directly buy property and hope the assets appreciate in value; the fund of funds strategy that CreditEase is looking to employ will allow investors to have access to leading real estate funds managed by Blackstone and KKR. Source.
LexinFintech Holdings operates Fenqile, a leading online lender in China, and is now rethinking their IPO plans; LexinFintech is attempting to raise $500mn through their IPO but concerns about regulators in China have made the company have second thoughts; the company is planning to come to a decision soon on whether or not to plan their roadshow ahead of the IPO. Source.
Bitcoin looks to be headed towards $10,000 and the overall market cap for digital coins has surpassed $300bn; Ethereum, bitcoin gold and bitcoin cash have all reached all time highs as the appetite for these currencies continues to rise unabated; while concerns of a bubble persist the prices continue showing more strength by the day. Source.