Web browser Opera to buy digital challenger Fjord Bank - FinTech Futures

#fintech #acquisitions #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #mergersandacquisitions

Opera , a freeware web browser founded in Norway, intends to buy Lithuania-based fintech start-up Fjord Bank.

The digital challenger was founded in 2017 by Norwegian and Swedish investors Svein Ovrebo, Joakim Mandorsson and Stig Myrseth.

The deal, agreed in May, saw Opera acquire a 9.9% interest in Fjord Bank via a share subscription on 3 July 2020. The acquisition of the remaining 90.1% of Fjord Bank is pending regulatory approval.

In December 2019, the digital challenger landed a specialised bank licence from the European Central Bank (ECB).

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Web browser Opera to buy digital challenger Fjord Bank - FinTech Futures

Opera, a freeware web browser founded in Norway, intends to buy Lithuania-based fintech start-up Fjord Bank. The digital challenger was founded in 2017.

UK challenger Monument to tap Britain's mass affluent - FinTech Futures

#fintech #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #affluence #afluent #startups #startupstrategy

Monument Corporation, a new UK fintech challenger, is looking to tap Britain’s mass affluent population. Co-operative Bank’s former chief executive, @Niall Brooker, is chairing the venture. Mintoo Bhandari, a former managing director at Apollo Global Management – one of the world’s largest alternative investment manager firms, is leading the venture alongside Brooker.

The start-up reckons around 3.5 million consumers fall into this bracket, which it defines as people with a net worth between £250,000 and £5 million.

Through the last 18 months of the building process, Monument has interviewed roughly 1,800 mass affluent consumers. It says 93% of these respondents “expressed dissatisfaction” with their current banking provider. “Increasingly, private banking is focused on the ultra-high net worth and lags when it comes to embracing modern technology,” says Bhandari.

The start-up also says it is the first bank to offer an entirely digital lending journey for buy-to-let and property investment lending of up to £2 million. The bank will offer live chat, video and co-browsing features.

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UK challenger Monument to tap Britain's mass affluent - FinTech Futures

Monument, a new UK fintech challenger, is looking to tap Britain's 3.5 million mass affluent population with savings and lending products.

How A Tech Entrepreneur Broke Records With A $189M Valuation Pre-Launch On The Road To $1B

#fintech #banks #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #startups #startupstrategy

Fintech is forecast to achieve a #CAGR of 25% through 2022, reaching a market value of $309B. Traditional banks’ legacy approach to IT holds them back from being more customer-centric. And in a recently published World Retail Banking Report, 2020 by Capgemini and Efma, 78% of financial services leaders said cybersecurity is the biggest obstacle to collaborating and becoming more customer-centric.

Fintech startups excel at #analytics, #AI and #machinelearning to see how they can become more empathetic and helpful to customers. Fintech startups are also succeeding today because their design provides customers the freedom to interact with them as they want and treat cybersecurity as a part of customer experience. There’s been a 667% increase in spear-fishing email attacks related to Covid-19 since February alone, further underscoring the need for designing in cybersecurity to the platform level.

Fintech startup leaders are delivering excellent user experiences with apps based on adaptive design today. They’re also able to scale how many credit cards can be on a single account and integrated into a single card using polymorphic technology that thwarts fraud attempts.

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How A Tech Entrepreneur Broke Records With A $189M Valuation Pre-Launch On The Road To $1B

Bottom Line: Traditional banks aren't innovating fast enough to improve credit card fraud, endpoint cybersecurity, AI-powered end-to-end identity verification and more intuitive user experiences creating new opportunities for startups. Fintech is forecast to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% through 2022, reaching a market value of $309B.

Finin: COVID19 Crisis A Great Opportunity for Neo-Banks

#fintech #startups #startupindia #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks

Finin claims to be India’s first direct consumer digitized bank that eases the customer money management, investment, savings account through digital mode using advanced AI driven technology and payment programs. Suman Gandham, Founder & CEO, Finin – The Future of Banking explains to Techplus Media Group how neo banks are changing wealth management in India.

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Finin: COVID19 Crisis A Great Opportunity for Neo-Banks

Finin claims to be India's first direct consumer digitized bank that eases the customer money management, investment, savings account through digital mode using advanced AI driven technology and payment programs. Suman Gandhan, Founder & CEO, Finin - The Future of Banking explains how neo banks are changing wealth management in India.

Startup Strategy: How can challenger banks differentiate themselves?

#challengerbanks #neobanks #digitalbanks

Please read what John Ellmore, Director, Know Your Money, has to say on how challenger banks are distinguishable for their modern fintech practices and how they further can differentiate.

Challenger banks have distinguished themselves by revolutionising the banking process. They pose a disruptive presence to retail banking across the value chain. It’s no secret that challenger banks employ attacking business models. With market saturation not far away, challenger banks can differentiate themselves more than ever and stand out from the crowd by -

1. Leveraging data they collect to generate insights, realise value and effect a hyperpersonal approach to their customers

2. Challenger banks would be well advised to seek streams of income from beyond the realm of traditional banking.

3. Driving down costs with digital capabilities by using data and analytics and leverage automation and AI to drive down the cost to serve, minimise human touchpoints and improve both cross-sell ratios and service levels.

4. Challenger banks would be well advised to vie for the finest talent by looking beyond the usual rewards to both attract and retain their workers.

5. Evolve the business strategy models

6. Reshaping the fintech ecosystem

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How can challenger banks differentiate themselves?

Challenger banks are distinguishable for their modern fintech practices-but with market saturation never far away, how can they further differentiate?

FinTech News: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to review 14 bids for digital bank licences

#digitalbanks #singapore #regulation #license #banking

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Authority of Singapore is to review 14 successful applicants for five available digital bank licences, in a concerted effort to inject competition into the banking sector by enabling non-bank players with innovative digital business models to offer banking services.

Applicants include e-commerce firms, technology and telecommunications companies, fintechs - such as crowd-funding platforms and payment services providers - and financial institutions. The majority of applicants are consortiums, says MAS, with entities seeking to combine their individual strengths to enhance the digital bank’s value proposition.

Publicly known bids include those from wealth management tech supplier iFast, gaming group Razer, ride-hailing firm Grab and telco Singtel, Chinese giant ANT Financial Services and Southeast Asian consumer internet company Sea Limited.

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MAS to review 14 bids for digital bank licences

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is to review 14 successful applicants for five available digital bank licences, in a concerted effort to inject competition into the banking sector by enabling non-bank players with innovative digital business models to offer banking services.

With Tech Startups On Its Side, Kirana Store Inventory Gets Digitised

#kirana #digital #startups #forabettertomorrow #inventorymanagement #paymentsolutions #technology #grocery #fmcg

Inc42 Media covers the report of RedSeer on how with tech startups on its side, kirana store inventory gets digitised.

Key takeaways:-

1. Three out of four kiranas do not have exposure to technology platforms, says RedSeer

2. Digital payments platforms like Google Pay, Paytm and PhonePe have emerged as popular solutions. Besides this, private companies like PineLabs enable more digital transactions through their smart point-of-sales machines

3. Local startups udaan.com, ShopX - 10i Commerce Services Pvt Ltd, Jumbotail and NinjaKart are pivoting kiranas in a big way and are significantly working with them on last-mile deliveries, maintaining supply chains, effective inventory management, credit and more.

4. Besides this, he also mentioned B2B startup Khatabook, which is enabling digital bookkeeping services for these local neighbourhood stores.

5. India’s retail sector is set to grow to $1.3 Tn by the fiscal year 2025, as per RedSeer. However, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) will continue to make for 90% of the sales in the sector. The report also noted that organized retail, both online and offline, is poised to grow from 16% to 22%.

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With Tech Startups On Its Side, Kirana Store Inventory Gets Digitised

Three out of four kiranas do not have exposure to technology platforms, says Redseer Udaan, ShopX, Jumbotail and NinjaKart have been popular for their supply chain solutions India's retail sector is set to grow to $1.3 Tn by the fiscal year 2025, Redseer added The neighbourhood pop and mom stores which have been a lifeline during the pandemic, woefully fall short when it comes to exposure to technology platforms for payments or procurement.

Startup News: Edtech startup Bada Business aims to train 10M entrepreneurs in 6 months

#edtech #startups #SME #business #enterpreneurship #digital

Education technology startup Bada Business on Friday said it aims to train 10 million entrepreneurs over the next six months as part of its 'India Revival Mission' for micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Addressing a virtual press conference, Bada Business founder and CEO Vivek Bindra also said it plans to double its presence to 150 offices in the country by the year-end, from 75 offices at present.

The 'India Revival Mission' offers hand-holding solutions to MSMEs and skill training for digital transformation to lakhs of such businesses.

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Edtech startup Bada Business aims to train 10M entrepreneurs in 6 months

Education technology startup Bada Business on Friday said it aims to train 10 million entrepreneurs over the next six months as part of its 'India Revival Mission' for micro, small, and medium enterprises. Addressing a virtual press conference, Bada Business founder and CEO Vivek Bindra also said it plans to double its presence to 150 offices in the country by the year-end, from 75 offices at present.

Startup Strategy: Lanistar partners with Jumio ahead of "polymorphic" debit card launch

#fintech #kyc #videokyc #video #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #strategy #startupstrategy

Lanistar, a UK-based fintech set to launch a “polymorphic debit card” later this year, has partnered with Jumio for its onboarding.

California-based mobile payments and identity verification firm Jumio will help Lanistar verify users remotely.

Customers will submit a picture of their government-issued ID and a corroborating selfie with certified liveness detection. Jumio can also verify secondary documents, should a user need to submit them.

Jumio’s customers to date include Monzo, Middle East-based Bank ABC, Airbnb and easyJet.

The US fintech cites Signicat data, which suggests nearly 40% of potential new accounts go down the drain due to clunky onboarding.

Key takeaway:

Neobanks should be able to adopt remote KYC methods such as video KYC so that prospective customers are not frustrated while onboarding, which is very crucial that may impact the customer base.

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Lanistar partners with Jumio ahead of "polymorphic" debit card launch - FinTech Futures

Lanistar landed a $2.5 million seed investment in March.

FinTech Startup Funding Alert: Memo Bank launches business offering and lands €20m

#fintech #bank #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #lending #lendingsolutions #lendingtech #startups #smesector #smes #fundingalert #startupfunding

Formerly known as Margo Bank, the newly named Memo Bank, a French fintech, is launching its exclusive business offering, which is set to tap small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Alongside its launch and lending licence, the start-up has landed a €20 million funding round led by Paris-based, BlackFin Capital Partners | Investors in Financial Services, and existing French investors, Daphni and Bpifrance Digital Venture.

The bank targets SMEs that generate over €2 million a year and houses more than ten employees. Its key focus will be on delivering paperless credit lines to businesses in just a few days, directly competing with France’s online lenders, rather than the country’s neobanks.

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Memo Bank launches business offering and lands €20m - FinTech Futures

Memo Bank has launched its business offering which is set to tap SMEs, in addition to obtaining a licence and securing a €20 million funding round.

Forbes: How The Health Crisis Has Changed The Digital World Permanently

Forbes: How The Health Crisis Has Changed The Digital World Permanently?

1. Payments Technology Is Going Touchless:

We're now likely to see digital wallet solutions grow further, including things like digital IDs, transaction monitoring and even location tracking. We could soon be living in a world where your smartphone could tell you which stores were too crowded or which parts of the mall to avoid.

2. Health Care Is Leveraging Telehealth And IOT For Remote Patient Care:

Telehealth, coupled with wearable data or biosensor technology, will change the health care landscape at a rapid pace. A handful of companies have recently begun development of new ingestible sensors that can be swallowed by patients. These "smart pills" could be used to track gut health or monitor medicine ingestion, and could eventually be mounted with miniscule cameras to help doctors monitor or diagnose a range of conditions.

3. Opti-Channel Services Are Becoming More Crucial:

An opti-channel strategy requires businesses to not only find the best channel to reach each type of customer, but to use that channel to its fullest potential in order to maximize engagement at each and every point along that customer's journey while ensuring continuity of experience and personalization.

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Council Post: How The Health Crisis Has Changed The Digital World Permanently

Experienced technologist and CEO of Infostretch , a digital engineering services company that helps enterprises prosper in digital age. Payments Technology Is Going Touchless If the digital customer experience wasn't a boardroom issue before, the global health crisis has certainly brought it to the foreground.

Holographic Technology: WayRay Unveils its First Full Colour Holographic AR Display at CES 2020

#holographic #technology #automotive #ar #augmentedreality #windshield #digitaladvertising

One more interesting startup in holographic technologies is WayRay. WayRay, a holographic display company which has primarily focused on created augmented reality (AR) screens for the automotive industry is at CES 2020 in January 2020 to showcase its latest product, a full-colour display. On top of this, WayRay has revealed new efforts to expand its product offerings into new markets.

Vitaly Ponomarev, WayRay Founder and CEO, explained that in 2020 their Holographic AR Display is updated with an addition of a blue laser, offering a complete RGB experience.

The second collaboration is with Doosan Bobcat, an engineering and manufacturing company which creates compact construction equipment like the Bobcat loader. WayRay wants to add its Holographic AR HUD to Doosan Bobcat equipment, offering operators more information to operate the equipment more efficiently and productively.

Look at the video showing how a front windscreen will look like

WayRay Unveils its First Full Colour Holographic AR Display at CES 2020

WayRay, a holographic display company which has primarily focused on created augmented reality (AR) screens for the automotive industry is at CES 2020 this week to showcase its latest product, a full-colour display. On top of this WayRay has revealed new efforts to expand its product offerings into new markets.