Business Insider has released a report on US regulation and fintech; says US regulation is a hindrance to the growth of the industry and is slowing its potential; the report titled, "The US Fintech Regulation Report," provides details on regulatory agencies' involvement with fintech and outlines their initiatives; explains the negative effects of regulation on the industry. Source
India will be utilizing the world's largest biometrics database, Aadhaar, to implement smart health cards for its senior citizens; senior citizens will be receiving an Aadhaar-based smart card; the cards will include information on their health, healthcare and healthcare history; the Aadhaar smart cards will also have payment processing capabilities; the government will test the use of the Aadhaar smart cards in 15 districts during the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Source
Raymond James has announced it will integrate robo advice services with its financial planners; the firm says it will use an internally developed system available to its approximately 7,100 advisors; the platform will be accessible to clients and overseen by their advisor; the firm says it will also comply with the Department of Labor's new fiduciary rules. Source
UK online property sales platform, Zoopla, has acquired Hometrack; the acquisition is valued at approximately 120 million British pounds ($150.61 million); Hometrack provides property valuation and information and data on the property market; it will help to enhance the credibility of market information for Zoopla. Source
Cambridge Blockchain provides enterprise software technology for regulatory transparency and privacy; the firm has raised $2 million through a convertible note; plans to accelerate sales to financial institutions seeking blockchain solutions for managing anti-money-laundering, know-your-customer and other regulatory initiatives. Source
Yomoni has raised $5 million from Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Iéna Venture; the firm provides a robo advisory service in France where the concept of robo advice is still very new; the firm will use the funds to expand its workforce and add new features; fees for the service are approximately 1.60% per year; the firm currently has $12.9 million in assets under management and is targeting $1.08 billion by 2020 with plans to potentially expand in Europe. Source
Sequoia Capital, a well-known venture capital investor in technology, has announced executive changes that will empower a new generation of leaders for the firm; in an announcement this week Jim Goetz has named Roelof Botha as his replacement; Roelof Botha will take over Goetz's responsibilities as a Sequoia steward; Alfred Lin will also be replacing Goetz in his role managing Sequoia's United States venture business; Mr. Goetz also provided a letter to investors this week providing more insight on the changes. Source
Betterment has announced a new service that will offer professional advice from certified financial planners for an additional fee; the firm has structured the new service in two tiers providing for annual and unlimited advice; the annual access will be charged an additional 40 basis points with a minimum investment required of $100,000; the unlimited access will charge 50 basis points and require a minimum of $250,000; the new offering will target high net worth clients however the company will continue to maintain its $0 minimum investment; it is expected that robo adviser services will evolve to a hybrid model providing both automated and human services; Vanguard and Schwab offer a hybrid model with human advice available by phone or video chat. Source
Russia's Sberbank will integrate new artificial intelligence (AI) to replace 3,000 employees in its legal department; the AI solution follows comments from CEO Herman Gref in September 2016 which forecasted that 80% of the bank's decisions would soon be attributed to AI systems; as AI solutions evolve, regulators are considering industry standards and frameworks for changing labor markets. Source