Though a meta-ecosystem all on its own, there are many similarities between the US and Europe in the way they approach and deliver insurance. “There is not a marked difference between Europe and America, ” said Ron Rock, the Senior Director of Insurance/Insurtech at homegrown investment organisation, JobsOhio. 

“(With all insurance) the customer has an asset they want to insure, that asset has a certain value, and they’re going to pay a premium on top of it.”

Rock has had a storied career in the insurance and financial services industry, starting in the very core of insurance as a financial analyst for Nationwide Financial, and trying his hand in marketing with Bread Financial. He has since returned to a more “exciting” insurance environment at JobsOhio. 

“My previous job was in fintech [Bread Financial] where we were developing creative payment solutions. I saw that fintech had taken a stronger hold in people’s daily processes whereas Insurtech is more slowly adopted. It is still very young and I know many people want to develop innovative solutions. From my perspective, if you’re a company and you aren’t pursuing some type of insurtech solution, you’re going to be behind. Similar to skipping a training day, your competition will pass you by.”

Insurance is no longer an antiquated arena for straightforward actuarial jobs, the industry has expanded and exploded with the embrace of technology and more concern around the customer and user experience. Looking at Dealroom.io’s scrupulous database on insurtech funding, a record $15.1 billion of VC funding was invested into the industry in 2021, from pre-seed to 250+ mega-rounds. Unsurprisingly, US insurtechs are leading the way, with Devoted Health, Sure, EIS Group and Corvus. 

What is most insightful is the distribution found outside of the coastal kingdoms of Silicon Valley and Tampa Bay. 

Returning to the data collected by Dealroom.io, new unicorns have germinated out of all four corners of the nation. Ohio in particular has developed an ecosystem for insurtechs to thrive. JobsOhio’s extensive catalogue of start-ups boasts the likes of Beam Dental, Branch and Bold Penguin, proving the state to be an ideal test market for insurance. 

Just this June, Branch secured $147 million in a Series C funding round, hiking its valuation to $1.05 billion, proving that Ohio is home to one of the nation’s biggest financial services sectors. 

“If you think about the Midwestern US, it’s a great region to test the market. From a weather-related catastrophe perspective, they are less frequent than on the coasts where you have a higher frequency of hurricanes and wildfires. Loss ratio is a significant factor in starting up an insurance business, said Rock. 

The old notion of the Midwest being stuck in the past, especially with insurance, is long gone due to its investment in technological solutions. When you look at a game plan like this, it’s difficult to find the difference between the way insurance is done in the US, to how insurance is done in Europe and the world over. 

As insurance companies are becoming more international and globalised, with European titans like AXA and Allianz already making waves in the states, similarities begin to burgeon in terms of customer preferences and business models.

European VCs and businesses are pouring funds into US insurtechs. 

One of the biggest insurtechs to come out of the US, Next Insurance, can boast the backing of industry giants Munich Re and Global Founders Capital in their portfolio. On the flip side, more European insurtechs are gaining funds from US investors and making the moves to expand overseas. 

Insurance software provider INSTANDA is pursuing a $45 million venture, expanding its business across the US. The move will see the insurtech address the regulations found state by state and bolster its marketing operations and 114-person workforce. “As an insurer, it can be incredibly difficult to expand your offering into a new state,” said Greg Murphy, INSTANDA’s Executive Vice President for North America. 

“Some states are stricter than others, but rating requirements, billing and donning timeline rules, policy forms and documents, and data protection rules can all vary from state to state. Insurers must know the differences between states and ensure they have flexible technology that can support these requirements.”

On the L&H side, London-based startup YuLife, which recently secured $120 million in their Series C funding round, is also planning to jump into the US next year. With the banking from prominent European VCs like Creandum and Target Global, the insurtech will also be increasing its workforce by around 20-30 roles in both the UK and US. 

Sam Fromson, the COO and Co-Founder of YuLife spoke on the expansion: “The US insurance market is affected by many of the same industry pain points, such as low levels of engagement and trust, that YuLife set out to resolve in the UK. Additionally, there is a strong broker infrastructure in the US, meaning that new players in the US insurance market can benefit from a soft landing if they identify the right partners.”

Most prominently, European heavyweight wefox, which saw its valuation increase by 50% to $4.5 billion, plans to expand into the US and Asian markets by 2024. The scale-up will see wefox distribute access to their digital insurance platform to a wider pool of US brokers and customers.

“The US is the largest insurance market in the world,” said Tomaso Mansutti, the Head of International Partnerships at wefox. “The US represents a huge opportunity for wefox to deploy our indirect distribution model backed by our technology. Given the significant growth, wefox has enjoyed in Europe with more than 100% year-on-year growth, we feel we can achieve similar results in the US.”

Channels and connections are being made across continents as insurance companies realise that their market demands are not so different. 

Rock breaks it down like this, “know your market based on your strategy. An insurtech can’t be all things to all customers. The first step is knowing who your target customers should be. Once you know that, you can determine what partnerships will work best. Knowing the insurance market is important in Europe and America regardless of the technology. If you don’t have one eye on the insurance business you’re not set up for success.

“That’s the difference between an insurtech company that will be here long term versus gone next year.”

Perfecting user experience is the defining KPI of insurance companies today, regardless of where they are used. 

Modern, digitally connected consumers are becoming more interested in digital channels and more lines of communication with their insurers. A recent report from software provider Lightico found that just under 70% of insurance customers expect their insurers to provide digital services, with the remnants of COVID playing a big factor. Customers want to retain that communication with their insurance companies, with the option of multiple avenues. 

“I saw a company in Europe, who had a similar business model to another company in the US, but they had a social aspect to it, they were not thinking about just one side of the solution, they were thinking about differentiation from other competitors. They added the social aspect to take care of the person, not just the car, based on conditions like driving habits, road conditions, and weather.” 

PwC’s 2020 survey of 6000 American consumers found that 41% were likely to switch providers who lacked digital capabilities.

A further 15% considered that the topmost challenge when interacting with insurers. The survey also showed that younger people (18-24) were the most engaged with digital channels when buying insurance. The need for digital modes of communication and interactivity is almost obligatory in the US market, which is what makes it a perfect customer base for European insurers. 

“I find no fundamental differences in the business models, being able to incorporate social interactive features and prioritise factors like ESG is crucial. It is a common link I find between businesses from both sides of the ocean.” 

What links the US and Europe together is a common interest: how do we do insurance better whilst keeping the price low? Looking at the number of partnerships and investments moving across both regions is thus a consequence of an ever-evolving global hub committed to using technology to optimise the customer experience. With the visionary models exercised at insurtechs like wefox and INSTANDA, and the insatiable customer bases found across the states, expanding into the US market is both imperative, and obvious.

Read all about the technology moves made by insurance companies, in the Insurtech section of our website!

The post Invest in the US: A European Insurance Venture appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Will Malaysian Fintech explode into stardom?

Advancing The Digital Payments Ecosystem In 5 Years – Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) shared their blueprint for the financial sector from 2022 to 2026, highlighting central bank development priorities, key ambitions for an open data ecosystem, a national digital identity scheme and much much more!

It seems that the process will begin with the future-proofing of key digital infrastructures, including data and payment settlement systems. What follows will be greater support and strength issued to cyber security, with stronger use of technology for regulation and supervision to follow, thereby continuously improving the efficiency of financial regulation. Some key targets and milestones as part of the process included:

“Narrowing a gap between Malaysia’s OECD/INFE* financial literacy scores and the average score of OECD members”
“Increase in e-payment per capita at CAGR of higher than 15%”
“Steady growth in alternative finance channeled to new, innovative enterprises”
“More than 50% of new financing is for green and transitioning activities”

When evaluating already existing payment trends in Malaysia, it’s clear that there is strong emphasis on the adoption of internet banking and e-banking already. In fact, since 2019 internet banking transactions have risen from less than 500 million to over 2 billion transactions in 2021. It’s clear then that focusing on further digitalising of finance would be welcomed, embraced and evolutionary for the Malaysian fintech scene.

We’re also witnessing how this transition is already in motion. Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad officially launched its fully cloud-native digital banking proposition, Be U. This first-of-its-kind technology stack is anticipated to be the cornerstone of all upcoming digital banks to be introduced in Malaysia. The app allows users to do their banking transactions online in a seamless manner, specifically targeting the digital-native younger generation. This will only strengthen the connection between Malaysia and digital banking as time goes on – the positive correlation will hopefully result in many positive outcomes for Malaysian fintechs and Fis.

Furthering Financial Inclusion – One of the desired outcomes of the 5 Year Plan is for there to be a greater level of financial inclusion, which is already in motion as fintechs are increasingly pushed out to the rural regions of Malaysia in a bid to promote the uptake of digital services in these areas.

Fitch Solutions recently released a report titled “Financial Technology To Enhance Financial Inclusivity In Malaysia”, which outlined the expectations further. It voiced how opportunities do exist for financial players within, or looking towards, the rural market of Malaysia, and that “ increasing digital connectivity, strong government support, as well as digital adoption tailwinds provided by the Covid-19 pandemic will drive the uptake of fintech services.”

With more people involved within the financial system, it will only increase financial mobility, opportunity and prosperity for the country as a whole.

The Adoption Of BNPL – I’ve always been skeptical whether BNPL has reached its ceiling or not. Some critics argue that BNPL providers’ high-growth-at-all-costs strategy has ignored basic consumer lending risk criteria and has ultimately created instant gratification, followed by high levels of bad debt and delayed pain. “With high losses and with very low margins, you will never make a profit, no matter how much growth is achieved,” claimed payments veteran Grant Halverson.

However, BNPL in Malaysia seems to be well on the rise. In fact, since 2021, at least 11 companies have launched BNPL offerings in Malaysia, six of which were homegrown institutions. This has caused greater regulatory oversight of BNPL in Malaysia, with the Consumer Credit Act, looking to regulate all consumer credit activities, including BNPL arrangements, and mitigate the risks brought about by the new schemes. Some may see this as a hindrance to the BNPL scene in Malaysia, but greater protection means greater safety, and if customers are made to feel safer, they will likely feel happier and be more encouraged to use BNPL.

What do you think? Will Malaysia be the next scene for fintech to explode out of? Be sure to keep your eyes out!

The post EXCLUSIVE: How Has Malaysia Paved The Way For Successful Fintech Growth? appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Stablecoins have received a massive boost in their part to play for the financial ecosystem. In a speech made by the recently appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi, unveiled the new Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB), which brings stablecoins into the remit of the UK regulator as they may be used as a form of payment. This is a bold forestep as it suggests that the UK is pursuing a leading role in fintech with such a bill.

Key Features Of The Bill (Viewable In Full Here):

• Implement the outcomes of the Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review
• Maintain the UK’s position as an open and global financial hub
• Harness the opportunities of innovative technologies in financial services
• Bolster the competitiveness of UK markets and promote the effective use of capital
• Support the levelling up agenda, promote financial inclusion and consumer protection
• Extend the Banking Act of 2009 and Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act of 2013 to cover “digital settlement assets” (DSAs)

The Wider Importance – It’s clear that the features of the bill reflect a desire for the UK to contend within the crypto industry with the focus on DSAs and “innovative technologies in financial services” – after all, could crypto be any more innovative from its offset?

The bill also comes as a response to Western regulators struggling with the opportunities and challenges presented by digital tokens pegged to reserve currencies such as the U.S. dollar.

When it comes to DSAs, HM Treasury’s regulatory oversight has been expanded as they now have the power to impose rules of the regulation, payment systems and service providers dealing with stablecoins.

Furthermore, Financial Markets Infrastructure (FMI) sandboxes have also been created for firms to experiment with new technologies within a regulated environment to fully understand the reality of the crypto and blockchain-based capital market products they are creating. This is a great assistance to those looking to make a statement in the space.

Although the Treasury must consult with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England and other regulatory bodies before changes are made, it’s important to not see this as a negative. Why? Ultimately, the crypto industry has been crying out for further regulation for a significant amount of time now, and this extension of frameworks only strengthens the cohesion between regulatory bodies which in turn will make outlines clearer.

The First Fully-Backed GBP Stablecoin – All of this news arrived following a monumental moment in the UK’s history with digital assets, as blackfridge, the Isle of Man-based fintech company, has launched poundtoken, the first British-regulated stablecoin fully backed 1:1 by pound sterling (GBP). poundtoken, known by the ticker “GBPT”, allows direct GBP access to digital asset markets and facilitates frictionless real-time settlements.

“Following the boom in decentralised finance, stablecoins have become an integral part of the crypto sector,” commented Nicholas Maybin, COO of poundtoken. “Many are aware that the crypto market can be unpredictable, so when trading a stablecoin it’s vital to know that you will always be able to take out what you put in. In addition to robust regulation we’re excited to have KPMG auditing poundtoken in this new exciting time to crypto and hope to bring further reassurance to those involved in the space.”

The future of stablecoins within the UK’s financial sector seems to be filled with opportunity and prosperity given the moves that the UK government is making. In my opinion, the next phase of the UK’s global fintech hub is well and truly being built.

Is there still a long way to go though? If the UK wants to compete with the powerful crypto hubs developed in other regions, such as LATAM, of course. However, it is most definitely a step in the right direction in furthering financial opportunity and diversifying the way finance is conducted.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Are UK Regulators Now Firmly Behind Stablecoins? appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Recently, the company announced it would no longer collect information/data on the gender of its customers for some of its products, including HSBC Kinetic, a mobile-first banking business account and its tool for mortgages in principle. This is part of an effort to become much more inclusive towards non-binary and trans people, according to Bloomberg news.

In speaking with Bloomberg, Jimmy Higgins, HSBC UK Pride Employee Network Co-Chair, was quoted as saying “there is no reason we should be capturing information for a bank account or a loan if it’s not relevant.”

Although a slightly different subject, I always commend HSBC’s initiative in subjects like these. For instance, I was extremely impressed with how the organisation looked to reorder their financial services so that they were usable for blind people, furthering the concept of digital accessibility.

When you turn your head towards the statistics, there is clear evidence exemplifying the biases and gender discrimination inherent in banking models and legacy systems employed for decades that justify the decision to be more gender-neutral. There have been strong criticisms that women are made to find it much more difficult to access credit compared to men. In fact, Credit Karma revealed last year that women pay £16,913 more than men to borrow over a lifetime. And even more overtly, researchers found that 90% of transgender Canadians have been made to use an ID with a name or gender not matching their presentation. This can result in feelings of anxiousness (48%), embarrassment (45%) and frustration (42%). In addition, 43% have been verbally harassed because they identify as transgender.

Despite tensions stoking from certain demographics in society against the notion of inclusivity, banks are still making their stand. For example, Halifax received some backlash over Twitter when they posted simply that “Pronouns matter”, showing a name badge for “Gemma (she/her/hers)”. However, it’s important to stand strong against hatred, otherwise the whole message is completely devalued.

Nearly a year and a half ago, Citi seemed to lead the charge in this fight with the launch of its “True Name” feature with Mastercard across the U.S. This venture allowed transgender and non-binary people to use their chosen name on eligible credit cards. Customers were also able to be serviced by their chosen name when calling into customer services, and/or across online and mobile access points. This showed how the group were committed to truly instigating practical change, instead of just offering a superficial reality. That is not to say all the work is done, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Heading over to Canada, we saw The Bank of Montreal, BMO, made a similar move too. The group became the first financial institution in Canada to implement the “True Name” feature by Mastercard. It is comforting to note how the effort is global, spanning across different continents.

Not only is this a basic humanitarian commitment, but organisations who make a clear and inclusive statement on LGBT+ inclusion will be those who build a better connection with their customers, and their employees too. Since trust is the currency of the future and is essential to all other verticals, organisations here can do the right thing and have everybody benefit from the service.

More still needs to be done but, hopefully, more will be.

The post EXCLUSIVE: HSBC Leading The Path To Inclusivity With Gender Neutral Banking appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Revolut have collaborated with the Sidemen to launch two new cards with plenty of perks for those who follow the group. Not only do the benefits of the Revolut card include the traditional features of no hidden fees and providing the best exchange rates, the Sidemen cards give customers 10% cashback on all Sidemen brands including XIX Vodka, SDMN clothing, Sides restaurants.

The limited edition cards, available on the Revolut app from July 16th 2022, will also give customers 3 months of Side+, Sidemen’s exclusive membership community for free (subject to T&C’s).

When it comes to pricing, customers can choose the Standard/Free Revolut plan to buy the Standard Sidemen card for £10.99, or subscribe to the Metal Revolut plan for £12.99 per month and get the Metal Sidemen card for free. Existing Metal customers can purchase the Metal Sidemen card for £39.99.

Shirin Krall, Revolut Global Head of Retail Marketing, shared how the company is “having followed the Sidemen for some time, we believe that there is a lot of resonance between the Revolut and Sidemen brands and we’re excited to see them come together for this “defy expectations” campaign.

The Sidemen expressed how they “are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Revolut, enabling fans around the world to get big cashback across our brands through our new SDMN card. We’re excited to finally launch this, and we thank Revolut massively for the support in making this happen.”

The partnership is clearly an interesting project, but why are more and more financial institutions in collaboration with non financial brands?

Social media marketing may play an increasingly important role in the onboarding process, hence why Revolut and the Sidemen make a perfect match for each other. Digital marketing budgets in the banking sector have definitely risen in recent times, as financial marketers refine their strategies in more and more access points to customers — particularly on mobile devices.

In fact, worldwide digital advertising spending totaled $521.02 billion in 2021, which is projected to climb 68% to reach $876 billion by 2026. When you see figures like this, it becomes clear that collaborating with one of the biggest YouTube groups in history can offer you tremendous value and return on investment from that advertising.

It’s important to understand that this is also a symbiotic relationship. With the launch of multiple entrepreneurial ventures like their XIX Vodka, the Sidemen are clearly looking to enhance their profitability, and so partnering with a financial supergiant will obviously be a tremendous boost in pursuit of that mission. Ultimately, non-financial brands also need to diversify their operations, and in an increasingly embedded financial world, it makes sense to include financial offerings when appropriate, especially if it’s with a force like Revolut!

As we look to the future, we’ll no doubt continue to see greater emphasis on collaborations like these, where non-financial brands and financial supergiants cooperate together to provide a seamless and exciting product for a wider market.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Revolut & The Sidemen – Financial Supergiants Turning To Youtubers & Social Media? appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Looking at all aspects of a flooding event, insurers can upload their property portfolio to ICEYE Insights via an API and visualise the potential damage a flood can cause in those areas. The company utilises the EigenPrism® catastrophe risk management tool to routinely update and analyse data from ICEYE’s Flood Insights product.

Real-time, high-resolution flood data

“By launching ICEYE Insights we are expanding access to our high-resolution Flood Insights data to the widest possible spectrum of companies,” said Stephen Lathrope, the Global Head of Insurance at ICEYE. “Our strategy is to enable the insurance market to connect with our technology and data in the form and through the channel that best suits their specific needs.”

The launch of the platform presents a natural evolution from ICEYE’s Flood Insights Product. Insights facilitate the one-two-step integration of flood monitoring data into insurance ecosystems. With this approach, insurers can effectively subscribe to the platform, upload their property data, and receive an overlay of ICEYE’s flood extent and depth measurements almost immediately.

“Companies which operate geospatial tools are currently able to download Flood Insights information directly into their data infrastructure. Those companies without these geospatial capabilities will now be able to access our flood data via the ICEYE Insights platform which offers a user-friendly, plug-and-play solution which is automatically updated with our flood insights. Users can upload their property data to the platform and instantly analyse the impact of a flood event on their portfolio.”

The advantage for insurers

ICEYE has been working extensively with insurers since the 2010s, monitoring and analysing data from weather and climate-related incidences like floods and wildfires. This technology, which provides insurers with an abundance of data points to predict when, where and how badly an event will affect a specific area, has benefited industry titans like Descartes Underwriting and Aon.

The results provided by ICEYE Insights would enable insurers to identify areas where they can make provisional payments or early total loss settlement and estimate the cost of damage to individual properties. This advantage, as well as being able to contact customers most affected and allocate field resources, makes the platform a proactive tool for insurers dealing with catastrophe and flood-related disasters.

“The insurance industry requires faster access to accurate, actionable hazard data in the immediate aftermath of a flood event,” said Stephen Lathrope. “However, currently there is a major flood data shortfall which is driving up costs, hampering responsiveness, degrading service, and creating significant inefficiencies across every aspect of disaster response and claims management.

“We believe that this is a truly transformative capability for the insurance sector that has the potential to greatly advance the ability of the industry to respond to the needs of its customers, and better respond to and manage this growing threat posed by flood.”

The post EXCLUSIVE: ICEYE Launches Geospatial Analysis Platform ICEYE Flood Insights appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

WorldPay’s recent Global Payments Report found that payment methods for both e-commerce and point-of-sale have been mostly conquered by e-wallets and cards, with cash taking 10% of the global POS market. The report further reveals that the most widely used payment preference of continents like Europe and APAC are increasingly e-wallets and cards. You would be hard-pressed to find small businesses or tourist attractions that don’t accept these modes of payment.

Credit and debit cards are the safer option for travelling abroad because of their accessibility and layers of protection. With credit cards, you can claim chargeback on a transaction or suspend your card if it gets stolen. With debits, the implementation of PSD2 protects debit card users from liability on unauthorised payments and surcharging in the Eurozone. To curb exchange rates and transaction fees, cards are a vacationer’s best friend. It is in this space that fintech banks are developing cards which do the most in bringing costs down and delivering rewards.

Here are four debit cards to consider before going OOO for the summer:

Chase Mastercard Debit

Chase is the banking subsidiary of financial services conglomerate JPMorgan Chase. The bank offers a catalogue of debit and credit cards, all orientated around rewards. The Chase Mastercard is their standard debit, malleable for home use and abroad.

For regular usage, users have access to 1% cashback on their purchases for a whole year, which they attain through the bank’s app. Chase will also match customers with a 5% AER (4.89% gross) variable interest when they round up their purchases to the nearest pound. Talking strictly about design, the Chase card is numberless, providing a physical defence against fraud on top of its active monitoring.

Fortunately, the rewards do not cease in different countries. Chase users can receive 1% cashback when they book their flights with Chase and when they touch down. Better still, the bank will not charge a transaction fee for any purchases you make abroad, strictly applying the current Mastercard exchange rate to anything you buy. Users can also withdraw up to £500 in local currency and withdrawals are free in the US.

Chase is a relatively open bank you can use anywhere (except if that place is Cuba or any restricted areas).

Starling Bank Mastercard World Debit

Another fintech disruptor, Starling’s debit and credit options are incredibly versatile, and ideal for holiday usage. Without having to alert the bank, users are not charged any transaction fees when they use their card contactless or for withdrawals. Like Chase, they match their rates along with the current Mastercard exchange rate. They will also alert customers on every purchase they make through their app, in both currencies.

On the fraud front, Starling has several precautions put up in case of emergency. The bank has 24-hour app support, and users can lock their card and any payments that come out of it with their app, in case it has been stolen. A new card would also be shipped out to you if this happens, wherever you are.

One leg up it has over Chase is that Starling will ship card days and you can start spending immediately after opening an account, with Chase it takes a couple of weeks before you can start using.

Monzo Mastercard Debit

With fees, Monzo is a little different. Like the previous two, they charge 0% on purchasing and transaction fees, using MasterCard’s exchange rate. For standard Monzo users in the European Economic Area (EEA), withdrawals over £250 will be met with an added 3% interest every 30 days. Outside the EEA, users can take £200 every 30 days for free, after that the 3% interest will be charged.

Monzo has a social edge to it so if you’re travelling with friends, it may be one to consider. With their Shared Tabs feature, you can keep track of who owes who for the £100+ seafood dinners, and Monzo will calculate the rest in-app, regardless of whether they are Monzo users or not. Users can also masochistically tally up how much they spent on the holiday alone in the app if they wanted on the ‘Holidays’ page.

If you’re looking for a little more from Monzo, they also have a premium upgrade. For £15 a month, users have access to Axa-backed travel insurance, up to £600 of free cash withdrawals a month, and discounted access to over 1000 airport lounges. For the extra £15, the perks outweigh the cost.

Multicurrency Wirex Mastercard

Steering straight into the cryptosphere, Wirex has a refreshing solution for payments abroad. The borderless payments platform launched its multi-currency Mastercard in 2020. It is their standard debit that can be used for everyday use as well as holidays because of its global scope. The card is compatible with 150 currencies, including Bitcoin and Ether, and automatically converts currency at POS using live and over-the-counter exchange rates – free of charge. Customers can also withdraw up to £400 a month without fees.

A unique feature of this card relates to its use of crypto. Users can attain an 8% cryptoback reward for every online and offline transaction they make with their card. Rewards are paid out in the company’s WXT token and put into the customers’ X-Tras account – part of Wirex’s reward programme – which they can track using their app. The app itself has much in common with the other accounts mentioned above, with live alerts for each transaction and accessible tech support.

The card is gaining traction in the APAC region, with Wirex adding 3 Singaporean stablecoins to its list of currencies earlier this year. Now more cardholders from that region can make bank transfers using LINK, UNI and XSGD tokens.

[Disclaimer: the next paragraph is not to be taken as financial advice.]

Writer’s Choice

The aforementioned debits are fantastic for globetrotters who want to spend as little as possible and still reap all the rewards. Their unique features, however, appeal to very specific travellers.

If you’re more money orientated and want to save, whether at home or abroad, then Chase is a great choice. For users more cautious around fraud, Starling is the safest option, as they can shut down cards instantly through the app. The added immediacy of using your account and having a card sent out in just a few days, is great for users who need that peace of mind. If, like me, you tend to travel in packs, Monzo is the way to go.

The shared tabs feature is a godsend for making bill splitting more manageable and it’s inclusive to all card users outside of the bank. Lastly, if you deal heavily in crypto and would like to utilise it in everyday transactions, Wirex is the card that offers exactly that. Its crypto-forward approach to spending and travelling, where you can earn crypto-related rewards as you spend abroad, is revolutionary and great for amateurs and aficionados alike.

The next time you venture out into the world, consider what fintechs have to offer. With a card and a banking app at your fingertips, the financial language barrier becomes a lot less ambiguous.

The post EXCLUSIVE: 4 Travel Debits to Consider for the Summer appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Across a two-day conference, leaders like Pietro Candela of AliPay, Ghela Boskovich of FemTechGlobal, and Lori Lightfoot the Mayor of Chicago, sat down in conversation, fervently discussing the trends of finance technology, from ridiculing the big legacy banks, to proclaiming embedded finance the future.

The FF News team were sprawling throughout the event, from conducting interviews in a mock hair salon, to going rogue from booth to booth on the networking floor.

The cost of living and the cold winter to come will be a horrific blow for the economy. We are entering into an era of brutalism, where customers can only afford what is absolutely necessary, accoutrements excluded. The two-day conference brought us back to life, and when I say that, I am not referring to post-pandemic relief, but to the fact that the economic world is up in flames and solutions need to be found now.

The fintech agora revolved around banks. What is their job? Why do we need them? Could we do without?

FTW’s Chairperson Chris Skinner assembled this framework in his keynote. He took a landscape view of the current craze around crypto, proclaiming that “the modern world demands a decentralised digital currency.” From the onset of globalisation and Open Banking, a universal coin, which can be used across borders and complies under a standardised distributive ledger à la SWIFT, seems like a natural conclusion to banking and payments.

Yet, we are nowhere near that goal post. There are several factors for this, one borrowing from the adage of Rome not being built in a day. Changes, especially in the banking and financial services sector, take years to come to fruition. Automation in insurance has existed since the 70s, and we’re still experimenting with its use cases. The crypto market just crashed, with Bitcoin dropping down from its $49,000 high in November 2021, to a hellish $15,000. Like any cycle, we will eventually return to a period of prosperity, but we cannot plan for the future when current structures are yet to be cemented.

This was bound to happen. Bitcoin will most likely stabilise in the coming months and people will get some of their money back. What this crash props up is that crypto is still very much in its experimental stages. It will take years to get to a decentralised digital currency, and it will come with its trials and tribulations.

A common theme was implanted in Skinner’s keynote. No matter what innovations come and go, time and implementation will always be the most important factor to consider.

This filtered into the first big panel of the day on Big Tech and Big Banks, of which big banks and fintech leaders Ronit Ghose of Citi, Rita Martins of HSBC, and Mark Hartley of Bankifi assembled. Friction ignited on the topic of banks and their relationship with tech companies. Martins earnestly approached the idea of banks becoming tech companies, offering more on the customer-facing leg of rewards and personalised experience.

This, Ghose retorted as fickle, banks will always be financial services first, because banking is where their primary interests lie. Starling and Halifax would not be investing so much in pastoral pleasantries if customer loyalty and returns were not guaranteed. Financial services are the name of the game and tech is what we use to win.

By far the most enlightening argument came from Hartley, the CEO of Bankifi, an Open Banking provider specifically focused on the often underserved demographic of SMEs.

There is this naïve thought that customers don’t care about the ins and outs of financial services and that they just care about the experience of the onboarding process being straightforward. The latter is true in so much as that what simple means is inclusive and lacks corporate jargon.

I caught up with Hartley during the conference, where we discussed a myriad of peeves of the industry, most of which accumulated to whether fintech was doing anything to better the lives and finances of the end user, real people. For Mark, things are still speculative, the fintech companies which will stand the test of time will be those that have a distinct model with something to solve, geared toward the problems people face in the here and now.

The next panel broadened the horizon to alternative payments around the world, with Pietro of AliPay and James Winter of Thunes piecing together what makes the age of digital wallets and super apps so enticing for the likes of India and Asia, who are operating in space-age level.

I spoke to Winter more about this idea of personalised offerings from banks and why that matters more than ever to customers. “The people with less pay the most,” said Winter. We traded anecdotes about what matters to us in terms of our banking experience. We agreed that rewards and incentives were important in convincing a customer to use a service or product. A 1% cash bank on all transactions and £20 off a weekly shop would make a huge difference to half the population of this country, who are plunging ever deeper into economic insecurity.

The last panel discussion provided a sucker punch to the whole industry, ripping to shreds the pedantic trends of crypto and metaverse.

Titled “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, the group boasted an exciting collection of speakers; Ghela Boskovich, the founder of FemTechGlobal, Andrew Vorster of the Banking Scene, Theodora Lau of Unconventional Ventures, Chris Skinner, and Dr Leda Glyptis of 10x Future Technologies. In this final swing, the group dissected every current issue and trend affecting the fintech industry, from ESG to attracting new talent.

“The metrics for ESG are for vanity or low industry standard,” said Glyptis, when discussing greenwashing and how standards set by companies themselves on reaching zero carbon emissions aren’t enough.

“The industry is good and bad, but we are not accepting accountability as there is no real punishment,” said Ghela Boskovich. We approach necessities like equality at arm’s length, with no real vigour when it comes to pinning down perpetrators. The reason for this, the group explained, is because we are attached to legacy thinking, what we are comfortable with, banks invest on a six-year term, disregarding the seventh term. It is uncomfortable to push for a change in thinking.

The injection of ambiguity is a retroflex to time. It takes time to implement and perfect new technologies, blockchain, embedded finance, and open backing, we are still on the surface level of understanding how to use them. When new shiny ideas pop up, it is to keep the motivation alive and push toward evolving initial ideas, as Boskovich describes “the metaverse is just a distraction.”

A final thought resonated with me and it pertains to the reason why we gathered this week in London.

“These events are educational […] we have a duty to educate new starters on what is plaguing the industry, we need to do the work to see progress.” and the constant learning of new technologies and businesses can be overwhelming. My premonitions subsided when I spoke to the leaders and disruptors of our industry, so open to talking about how fintech affected all people. It became very clear that we were all heading for the same storm, but in different boats – trying to find answers to very human problems.

The post EXCLUSIVE: FinTech Week London 2022: Do you speak Finance? appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Before we answer that question, what does the state of online fraud look like in the ecosystem today? Petrov expressed how “fraud is becoming just as versatile and complex as the checks used to catch it. Just five years ago, ID and selfie checks were considered a secure verification method; now there are thousands of IDs and selfies available on the darknet. As a result, the industry has moved on to biometric checks (i.e. liveness detection).

And here, too, fraudsters have advanced their methods with biometric spoofing, deep fakes, and so on.” In this ongoing game of cat and mouse, it’s imperative that our fraud prevention systems stay ahead.

With this evolution of fraud, financial institutions are confronted with a key question; how can organisations look to counteract new fraud attempts and remain compliant since the volume and speed of payments have changed dramatically?

Sever expresses that “to successfully fight fraud and stay compliant, organisations need proper resources, with security teams or compliance officers dedicated to these tasks. And if the business is regulated, it’s crucial for it to keep up with existing and new requirements as well. But not all things related to fraud protection can be done in house. It’s okay to find trusted providers on the market and let them do their job for you and your customers. As the volume and speed of online payments increase day by day, we should expect stricter regulations and take necessary steps to perform KYC verification effectively.”

However, some regulations can actually hinder the fraud-detection capabilities of verification instruments — for instance, by requiring the use of “cargo cult” type of procedures, such as video interviews in Germany and 2+2 verification in Australia, or through laws prohibiting collection of “excessive” information that’s “not needed to verify identity”.

Nonetheless, regulation, much like the fraud prevention industry, exists for the benefit and protection of the consumer and so this is not something we should scold too eagerly. When it comes to what Sumsub is doing to protect consumers against fraud, Sever and Petrov shared much about their upcoming ventures:

• KYT (Know-Your-Transaction) verification and full-cycle transaction monitoring: this will let Sumsub cover the whole customer lifecycle–from onboarding to transactions. “We expect a warm reception for this since it will help companies monitor transactions, detect and report suspicious activity, and stay compliant. This will be another step to becoming a truly full-cycle orchestration solution. We already have KYC and KYB checks, so KYT is the one type of verification left to introduce to our clients”, shared Petrov.
• Enhancing video identification solutions to make it faster and more user-friendly. Sumsub is going to introduce a Mobile SDK version that will attract more applicants on their mobile app. They’ll also enhance the onboarding flow by adding online queue monitoring to encourage users to complete the KYC procedure.

When we look at what can be done from the customer’s perspective in this battle, education in scam prevention is crucial, especially for high-risk economic activity such as crypto investments or FX. It’s equally important to beware of scams that collect personal information to sell to fraudsters for use in spoofing attempts.

For instance, Petrov notes how “on our YouTube Channel, we educate our audience on these risks and offer best practices for safety elsewhere in the digital world. At the same time, we build our customer flows so that for safe and successful use even by customers with limited, if any, knowledge of online safety.”

The battle to protect our consumers from fraud is an ongoing concern, but it is one that we must always win, for the sake of the consumer, our industry, and the integrity of our entire ecosystem.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Sumsub – How To Eliminate Fraud In The Industry appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.