Zasteo

13/04/2022

Why Good UX & Strong Security Are Critical in Mobile Banking https://bit.ly/3792Y1X In banking, there’s a long-standing belief that apps can be secure or user-friendly — but not both.
Stronger security requires usability compromises, the thinking goes, while a slicker, smoother and simpler experience inevitably introduces vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit.

This view is, at best, misguided. You can create a banking app that meets high security standards without forcing your customers to do the equivalent of filling out a ten-page form every time they want to change their details.

A UX Concept Built on a False Choice
The problem with the user experience versus security debate is that it frames it as a binary choice between the lesser of two evils. The conventional wisdom is that cybercriminals tend to go for the lowest hanging fruit.

12/04/2022

The power of purpose in business https://bit.ly/38DBHF3 What's a company's purpose? It's not the same as mission or vision, which change when leadership changes. Strategist Ashley M. Grice explains the power of purpose to push boundaries of innovation and bring clarity to every aspect of an organization, from the top floor to the shop floor.

What's a company's purpose? It's not the same as mission or vision, which change when leadership changes. Strategist Ashley M. Grice explains the power of purpose to push boundaries of innovation and bring clarity to every aspect of an organization, from the top floor to the shop floor.

11/04/2022

Money20/20 Europe: where fintech communities do business https://bit.ly/3uuF1Lp Money20/20 Europe will take place on 7-9 June in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, giving attendees the opportunity to find out about the latest news, decisions and technologies in payments, banking, retail, regulation and more.

With over 4,000 people from more than 1,900 businesses participating in the event in 2021, this year’s conference will bring together global leaders, challenger banks, technology companies and financial start-ups to share ideas and power new strategies and partnerships.

Confirmed speakers include Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank; Charlotte Hogg, CEO Europe of Visa; Susan Barton, director of EY; Gijs Boudewijn, general manager of Dutch Payments Association; and Hakan Eroglu, global open data and open banking lead at Mastercard.

Money20/20 Europe will take place on 7-9 June in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, giving attendees the opportunity to find out about the latest news, decisions and technologies in payments, banking, retail, regulation and more.   With over 4,000 people from more than 1,900 businesses participating in th...

08/04/2022

Bank vs Fintech: Shifting from Competition to Collaboration https://bit.ly/3NT1kls Traditional banks are turning to Fintech in order to transform legacy processes and be better equipped to compete in the digital race.

Fintechs, focused on streamlining digital transformation for financial institutions (FIs), including banks, have raised millions to continue developing their products. With an unfading interest in companies that would help compete against fast-growing high-tech rivals, banks are now trusting Fintech to help them get up to speed and ahead of the competition; this has brought an entirely new balance in the industry that, in the end, could be beneficial for both.

Most traditional banks have decades of experience behind them and, with it, vast amounts of diverse client data. According to Simas Simanauskas, Partnerships Director at ConnectPay, this brings two-fold benefits.

“The very essence of fintech is to utilise superior technology to create better products in the financial sector, so the fact that big banking groups are turning to fintech for solutions is a dream come true for the industry,” Simanauskas said. “Firstly, the vast amount of real-world data that banks possess is a gold mine for fintechs that can utilise it to make their technology better. Secondly, many banks have similar problems, which means that a solution built for one bank can be repackaged and sold to the others.”

07/04/2022

4 Key Omnichannel Trends Impacting Strategies in the Banking Sector https://bit.ly/3JjmANL As interactions between consumers and financial providers increasingly occur in digital channels, longstanding knowledge of consumer needs held by people at banks and credit unions must be updated or reconfirmed by digitally monitoring and analyzing people’s feedback.

The financial services sales funnel is evolving. In a market with increasing digital consumer preference, research shows digital consumers can be 60% through the buying process and will have researched two or three competitors before they move to a fulfillment step with an institution.

Recognizing this shift, financial institutions should reimagine engagement approaches and the use of modern web technology to harness the digital economy at work.

Four high-valued areas will differentiate customer experiences and drive value in the year ahead:

06/04/2022

“We must continue uplifting each other”: Interview with Vivienne Hsu, CMO at Sokin https://bit.ly/35KwOcd It has been a crazy adventure at Sokin. Given we are a startup, we are building from scratch, and it is all very new and exciting.

It comes with its challenges but if you like to learn and problem solve, this is the place to be. We are doing things that haven’t been done before and everyone at Sokin knows that their ideas are having a real impact and are helping shape the growth of the company. At the heart of our business, we are creating a product that promotes greater access and can help people, and these values extend across the organisation.

I wholeheartedly feel so passionately about what we do, and I have seen Sokin’s incredible trajectory over the last year. What’s even more thrilling is Sokin is still in its early stages, so being part of the upward momentum as it happens is wonderful.

It is a known fact that females are underrepresented in the overall fintech workforce. When we zoom in further and look at females in leadership positions

05/04/2022

How AI can save our Humanity https://bit.ly/3LZEhDZ This talk is by Kai-Fu Lee, one of the leading venture capitalists in the Chinese Technology industry.
He speaks on the subject of artificial intelligence helping us improve our basic humanity with opportunities to open up more industries fueled by compassion like volunteering and helping others. A beautiful take on a subject most do not associate with being humane.

AI is massively transforming our world, but there's one thing it cannot do: love. In a visionary talk, computer scientist Kai-Fu Lee details how the US and C...

04/04/2022

Fintech On The Front Line https://bit.ly/3u5YSQI Your Country Needs You (Well, your social media account). I was invited on to a BBC radio show recently (The Jeremy Vine show, 8th March 2022, if you are interested) to comment on the war in Ukraine. Since I know absolutely nothing about Russian mechanised infantry tactics or the relative effectiveness of tank defences against shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles I was, as you've probably guessed, there to talk about financial services with respect to sanctions and Russian payment systems.
Fintech on the front line, so to speak.

Many fintechs, such as the UK’s Wise multi-currency transfer service which has “temporarily stopped” transfers in Russian rubles, are doing their bit to contribute to the pressure on the Russian government. Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and others have blocked access to the Russian market. As a result there are cash shortages and e-commerce will be extremely difficult.

01/04/2022

Meet Moonfare, the German fintech which raised $35 million to lower entry barrier for private investors https://bit.ly/3NClosf With the democratisation of private markets and stock market volatility, high net worth individuals, retail investors and their advisors are looking for alternative investments to benefit from high returns. However, retail access to private equity funds for individuals remain low. Addressing the gap, German fintech company Moonfare has raised a $35 million funding from London-based private equity firm Vitruvian Partners, which has earlier invested in Just Eat , Farfetch, Transferwise and Trustpilot.

The funding will come in handy as the startup is gearing up to fuel its global expansion. The company entered the U.S. market this January after it raised a massive $125 million funding in November last year.

Equipped with fast and easy-to-use digital platform, the startup offers retail investors access to select, top-tier private market funds and venture capital funds that were previously only available for institutions.

31/03/2022

Meet the fintech that wants to make credit cards cool again https://bit.ly/3wZztd8 It’s targeting professional millennials (can’t you tell from that familiar pink hue in the marketing photos?) and it’s even won backing from Rio Ferdinand — making it the third European fintech the retired footballer has backed after Sorare and Sokin.

Yonder’s launch is the result of a £20m seed round that was co-led by Northzone and LocalGlobe, with participation from Seedcamp, and a roster of angels that includes The Stack World and Beautystack founder Sharmadean Reid, Marshmallow founders Oliver and Alex Kent-Braham, Payhawk founder Hristo Borisov and Matt Robinson.

Yonder wants to woo millennial city dwellers with no credit score requirements and free gigs instead of Avios points.

30/03/2022

First-generation finance: The struggles of being the ‘new player’ https://bit.ly/3wPhHJx On a crisp Wednesday in October 2019, Ana Leal typed away on her computer as she anxiously watched the time on her phone. A first-year journalism student at the time, Leal rushed to submit her news story by the 6 p.m. deadline. While her peers around her made plans to go out for sushi after and take naps once they got home, Leal ran to catch the subway to make it on time for her evening shift at Two Peas Pod hostel in Chinatown at College and Spadina streets.

She got home from her shift around 11:30 p.m. exhausted from the day, trudging into the shower where she began to cry. The shower was the only moment where Leal could let her feelings show. “I don’t have the time to have meltdowns otherwise,” says the former second-year journalism student, who was forced to take the 2021-22 academic year off due to cuts to her Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding.

Leal was previously a sociology major at McMaster University, but dropped out after her second year because she wasn’t happy there. When she transferred to Ryerson in the 2019-20 school year, she was told by OSAP she wouldn’t be given any more student loans until she paid off what she owed from her time at McMaster. When she learned this, Leal was already in Toronto, enrolled in a full course load at Ryerson with the impression she’d be getting funding. As payments kept getting delayed and then denied, Leal had to front the bill for her first year at Ryerson on her own.

Wait, you guys are getting RESPs?

29/03/2022

Parents are sacrificing their own financial wellness to support their adult children, survey finds https://cnb.cx/3Dn2nVL Many American parents are financially supporting their adult children at the expense of their own financial wellness.

Almost half, or 45%, of parents with adult offspring have given their children money during the coronavirus pandemic and of those 79% said the funds would have otherwise gone towards their own personal finances, a survey from CreditCards.com found.

It wasn’t just chump change, either. Those with an annual household income of less than $40,000 gave an average of $1,403, while those with a household income of $40,000 to $80,000 gave $2,170 on average. Parents who had an annual household income of more than $80,000 gave their kids an average $8,530.

Almost half, or 45%, of parents with adult offspring have given their children money during the coronavirus pandemic, a survey from CreditCards.com found.