BFC FinTech Monitor 11th – 18th August

Tags Artificial Intelligence Cryptocurrency Cybersecurity Digital Banking Events Payments Regulation

Stay up-to-date on all the all the latest FinTech news and information from around the world in the BFC FinTech Monitor.

Around the World:

• According to Lael Brainard, a member of the United States Federal Reserve Board of Management, testing of the digital dollar is under way.
• An article on the future of FinTech featured on CNBCTV18.com lists a number of important trends shaping the future of the industry, including “invisible” payments, communication, user training, blockchain, Big Data and the concentration of many services into single platforms.
• Worldwide, investments in FinTech startups have fallen for the third quarter in a row, with only USD 6.34 billion being raised by FinTech startups in the 2^nd quarter of this year. For comparison, USD 12.83 billion was raised by FinTech startups in the 2^nd quarter of 2018.
• The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will begin issuing loans secured by bitcoins. The service is expected to launch this fall in 17 U.S. states and could also expand to include loans secured by other cryptocurrencies.
• The MoneyNext Online conference is scheduled to take place August 18-21. The main topics of the conference will be banking transformation, payments, open banking, lending, InsurTech, blockchain and security.
• FinTech unicorn Revolut has been recognized by Deloitte as the fastest growing technology company in Europe (as based on their EMEA Technology Fast 500). At the same time, Revolut also announced three-fold losses at the end of 2019.
• SCOR has partnered with analytics provider Verisk to develop the EHR Triage Engine platform, which aims to simplify the life insurance underwriting process by using predictive analytics and automation to capture and analyze digital health records.
• Executives from major U.S. banks, technology companies and consulting firms have teamed up to form the New York Jobs CEO Council. The goal of the Council is to hire 100,000 people from low-income African-American, Hispanic and Asian communities by 2030.
• World Bank expert Ana Fiorella Carvajal discussed the important of FinTech’s role in increasing financial inclusion.

Russia:

• The Bank of Russia has launched its own mobile app (Central Bank Online) that allows users to find out information about financial products and leave feedback about financial institutions.
• Russian banks are planning to launch a new service that will allow loans to be issued at AMTs using biometric authentication. Even consumers who have not previously used the services of a particular bank can qualify for ATM loans after passing remote identification through the Unified Biometric System (UBS).
• Sberbank has begun testing a voice assistant on its Sberbank Online mobile app for iOS.

Ukraine:

• Ukrainian Startup Fund has launched a grant program.
• Igor Fisun, the owner of Interkassa and UKRKART, recently spoke on the LIGA.net portal about how COVID-19 can change the FinTech industry.
• The payment system Facebook Pay has been launched in Ukraine and Russia. At the moment, it can be used to make donations and buy the virtual currency Facebook Stars.
• Sergei Baimakov, founder of the recently-launched (in London) ELPASO neobank, gave an interview with SME Banking Club.

Belarus:

• According to an article published in the Russian version of Forbes magazine, Belarus has a chance to jump a step in the development of their financial system by moving from a state banking system to a system based on modern financial technologies.

Kazakhstan:

• In an interview with Karavan, Kairat Kelimbetov, manager of the Astana International Financial Center, details that FinTech remains a priority area for development in the country.

Uzbekistan:

• Uznatsbank, one of the largest Uzbek banks, is planning to connect to the Russian analogue of the SWIFT system – the Financial Messaging System (SPFS).

Turkmenistan:

• The Central Bank of Turkmenistan is urging its citizens to increase their use of non-cash payments in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Kyrgyzstan:

• FINCA Bank, with the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has launched the first mobile app in Kyrgyzstan designed to increase financial literacy and improve financial behavior in the country. The app, FINCA Dan, is available in Kyrgyz and Russian and has three components (budgeting, setting goals and tracking progress) as well as an educational module.

Tajikistan:

• Sanoatsodirotbank, a new industrial-export bank, is being created in Tajikistan under the State Fund for Entrepreneurship Support.

Armenia:

• The number of non-cash transactions in Armenia exceeded the number of cash transactions in the first half of this year. This marks the first time this has happened. In the first 6 months of this year, more than 19 million transactions were made using bank cards.