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Of all the trends and technologies predicted to change the landscape of financial services, open banking has proven to be the most transformational. Even as the dust has settled after the implementation of PSD2, leading banks show no sign of slowing down their efforts towards an open banking future. With another regulatory push toward open finance looming on the horizon, how should financial institutions prepare to stay ahead of the curve?

Why do once-great companies continue to fail to keep up with the times? One possible explanation is that they attempt to solve the problems of tomorrow with the tools of yesterday without being aware of what was integral for success in the past might as well be the cause of failure in the future.

Defining a strategy is easy. Transforming those slides and spreadsheets into action is the tricky part. Instead of presenting an endless barrage of charts, boxes, and figures, leaders should embrace storytelling as a tool to inspire and engage the organization. With that in mind, who is the villain of your corporate narrative?

One of the recurring topics for increased competition in the banking sector is account number portability. Just like number portability evened the playing field between consumers and service providers in the telco industry, is it possible to achieve the same effect in the banking industry?

Open banking is one of the key concepts to understand when looking at how fintech has transformed the banking sector. Until now, a lot of the attention has been centered around retail banking, but in the next phase of fintech and open banking, SMEs are set to take the center stage.

Teknisk gjeld – gamle IT-systemer som må oppdateres og forbedres for å ikke falle sammen – har lenge vært et sentralt tema for enhver IT-avdeling og ethvert utviklermiljø. Du er ikke digital bare fordi du har lansert en app, og dersom du beveger deg for raskt i kundegrensesnittet uten å samtidig adressere underliggende teknologi vil du til slutt møte veggen. Hva er egentlig problemet, hvorfor ender så mange opp der, og hva skal til for å løse det?

It has been a decade since I first embarked on my journey down the payments rabbit hole. Since then, the predicted disruption of payments as we know it has proven to be more of an evolution than a revolution. With that in mind, even though there have been massive shifts in the payments space, the most exciting times are yet to come. Here are seven trends that will shape the next phase of payments evolution.

When it comes to succeeding in the digital space, it is rarely about having the latest and greatest of tech, nor is it to have have a “if it is not broke, don’t fix it” mentality. Just like rocking a suit, having the right fit is essential, but how do you go about determining what is fit for purpose for your organization?

As consumer habits have adapted to an increasingly digital world, credit products are evolving alongside the digitization of payments. With the rise of POS-financing and so-called buy now pay later products, banks and credit institutions are being challenged by fintechs in one of the most profitable verticals in the retail banking industry.

For bankene representerer en digitalisering av bankboksen en gylden mulighet for å skape nye digitale inntektsstrømmer ved å gjøre bankboksen relevant for en digital tidsalder. Det viktigste konkurransefortrinnet for en tilbyder av en slik tjeneste er tillit, og norske banker er velsignet med svært høy grad av forbrukertillit. I motsetning til tradisjonelle banktjenester som i stor grad er nasjonale av natur strekker både behovet og vekstpotensialet for en digital bankboks seg langt utenfor nasjonale grenser. Muligheten er der, og dersom bankene selv ikke ønsker å gripe den, så er det neppe mangel på lovende fintech-startups som ønsker å ta denne posisjonen.

Digitale lommebøker er i vinden som aldri før. Kontantbruken har stupt i nær sagt alle markeder, og veksten i netthandel har nådd nye høyder. I markeder med utbredt kontantbruk har adopsjonen av digitale lommebøker akselerert og hatt en markant økning i adopsjonsrater. Ifølge analysebyrået ACI passerte den totale omsetningen via digitale lommebøker 100 milliarder dollar i 2020, og spås å mangedobles de neste årene til 2,6 billioner dollar innen 2025. Hvilken betydning har dette paradigmeskiftet for bank- og finansnæringen?

It is said that the average adult makes 35,000 choices in one day. Only during this short blog post will the average reader several times throughout the text choose whether it is interesting enough to read on, or whether the latest notification that just ticked on your smartphone seemed more interesting, or whether it is time and open TikTok for some and fun video-based entertainment. With this in mind, simplicity is a critical success factor when designing, developing and launching new products and services.

Valuating a growth company is an exercise that lies somewhere between faith and science. On one hand, there are some fundamental data points describing the company, and on the other hand, there is the belief in the execution of a future vision that drives the valuation. Since the latter is by far dominating the value of technology and growth companies these days, one attempt to quantify the future potential of consumer-facing tech companies is to place a value on its user base. How should one proceed when valuating a company based on its user base?

Our friends at The Factory have updated their excellent map of the Norwegian fintech landscape with a selection of additional companies.

By now, it is widely known that third-party tracking for ads is approaching their end of days as Chrome is the latest browser to have set an expiration date for third-party cookies at the end of 2021. Does this change have the disruptive potential to rewrite the rules of targeted advertising or does merely represent a ripple in a diverse landscape of digital marketing?

One of the key ingredients for success among many of today’s most valuable companies is their ability to maintain and orchestrate their position in a digital ecosystem. This differs from most companies emerging from the brick-and-mortar space, which are built around linear value chains and industrial business logic. How should companies approach this crucial transition, what are the key components, and how do you create value from digital ecosystems?

Hvorvidt kryptovaluta fortsetter himmelferden eller stuper mot helvete er tilnærmet umulig å spå, men det er i det store bildet mindre interessant. Gjennom en rekke opp- og nedturer har kryptovalutaer vist at den underliggende teknologien har blitt mer robust og effektiv over tid, samtidig som at troen på ideen om en desentralisert valuta har nådd kritisk masse for å opprettholde kryptovaluta som en aktivaklasse, døgnåpent handelssystem og vekslingsmedium.

I lang tid har standardiserte grensesnitt for datautveksling, også kalt APIer, vært forbeholdt IT-avdelingen. Kartlegging av kundenes personlige økonomi er ofte en kompleks oppgave som krever innhenting av data fra en lang rekke datakilder. Med smart bruk av teknologi, er det mulig å både gjøre innsamling av data mer effektivt og mer presis. Tilgangen på verifiserte data fra troverdige kilder vil kunne ha en stor påvirkning på rådgiverens hverdag. Fremfor å bruke tid på å innhente og etterprøve informasjon fra kundene, kan tiden brukes på god rådgivning.

As previously announced, one more company will enter my so far modest portfolio of early-stage startups. This time around, it is a company that is conceived from the fintech scene in Bergen.

Setting a fair value on an early-stage tech company is in many cases a cumbersome exercise. Neither a too low nor too high valuation is in the best interest of any stakeholder, neither existing owners nor potential investors. Setting the right price is all about knowing what to look for from a company lifecycle perspective.