The Financial Stability Board (FSB) found that FinTech platforms account for an increasing share of credit provision, hence stating that policymakers must consider the opportunities and risks such activity brings. With ten areas identified, three have been priorities for international collaboration in a report published jointly with the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS).
The 8th annual M2Banking and Fintech Latam Conference will make innovations in banking and the latest fintech developments forefront. From July 18-20, Silicon Valley will be the host location for the second year. Trends attractive to major investment funding will be available to startups and developers who will present products and services to companies.
Many traditional commercial banks consider small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be high-risk clients, as well as high-cost clients to acquire, underwrite and serve. There is limited SME coverage by credit reporting service providers especially in emerging markets where SME informality is high.
Digital finance, using alternative data, offers an extraordinary opportunity for expanding access to finance for small businesses. Every time small businesses and their customers use cloud-based services, conduct banking transactions, make or accept digital payments, browse the internet, use their mobile phones, engage in social media, buy or sell electronically, ship packages, or manage their receivables, payables, and recordkeeping online, they create digital footprints. This real-time, and verified data can be mined to determine both capacity and willingness to repay loans.
Finovate returns to NYC September 11-14 with an expanded FinovateFall!
The SME Finance Forum was very pleased to be asked to assist in IFC’s annual Digital Finance Partners meeting. This meeting attracted well over 100 participants from some 40 countries: Fintech partners, fintechs interested in partnerships, IFC client financial institutions, IFC investment and advisory staff. The even took place over 2 days. The first day was full of interesting panel discussions and speeches. Vivek Pathak, IFC’s Director for East Asia-Pacific, kicked off the meeting by speaking from the heart about his years as a banker in a large multinational, where they really could
While businesses are catching up with the rise of e-commerce and the mobile-first world, physical interfaces altogether are gradually falling into obsolescence. The year 2017 gives strong reasons to believe that working on the enhancement of the experience with any physical interface could be a wasteful attempt to better feed a horse instead of investing in a car (if we were to use Ford’s terms).
Financial technology (‘FinTech’) is transforming finance and challenging its regulation at an unprecedented rate. Two major trends stand out in the current period of FinTech development. The first is the speed of change driven by the commoditization of technology, Big Data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The second is the increasing number and variety of new entrants into the financial sector, including pre-existing technology and e-commerce companies.
Nigerian startup KiaKia is helping to make direct and peer-to-peer consumer and SME loans accessible and obtainable for underbanked and unbanked Nigerians without credit histories through its online proprietary credit scoring and risk assessment algorithm.
Launched to the public in November of last year, KiaKia aggregates digital data and utilises machine learning, digital image forensics and psychometry to perform credit scoring and risk assessment services, to qualify and grant consumer and SME borrowers loans.
Years ago I consulted with the legacy Wachovia Bank, headquartered in Winston Salem. Back then the bank-teamed credit and line bankers on each commercial loan, terming their working relationship an “equal partnership.” In fact, when you spoke with management offline, many admitted that the credit people were a bit more equal than line personnel. That situation reminds me of what is developing between Fintechs and banks; the nature and extent of their “partnership” appears to be dictated by a bank’s limited requirements and demands, not the Fintech’s capabilities or desires.
