Author: Christoffer Hernæs

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.

Attempting to predict the future is always risky business, and if annus horribilis 2020 taught us anything, it is how a true black swan event such as COVID upended most plans and predictions for the year we are leaving behind. As we enter the next year, I Look at the future with optimism as the year of the great recovery. However, the world will not revert to its pre-COVID state, and these are some of the technology trends that will shape 2021 and beyond.

Alt som kan digitaliseres vil digitaliseres og smart bruk av teknologi kommer til å gjennomsyre alle funksjoner i samfunnet. Denne utviklingen er eksponentiell av natur, og det er nødvendig å venne seg til en stadig raskere endringstakt. Dette er ingen engangshendelse, men en kontinuerlig prosess, noe finansbransjen har vært underlagt siden tidenes morgen. Hvilken rolle vil finansrådgiveren ha i en fremtid der stadig mer av kundeinteraksjonen skjer digitalt og selvbetjent?

Digital transformation has been a hot topic for a while, and as we suddenly found ourselves facing a global pandemic, the need for digital transformation accelerated even more. However, the path from words to execution is long and cumbersome, and few digital transformation efforts fail to produce the expected outcomes. Why is that so, and what can we do about it?

A couple of weeks ago a former colleague and friend asked me for career advice, which got me reflecting on my own path to where I am today, and gave me the motivation to share some of my thoughts on how I managed to get ahead in the game of corporate snakes and ladders.

Embedded finance offers an tremedeous opportunity, as is shown in this in-depth analysis of the $7.2 Trillion embedded finance market opportunity, focused on the strategic importance for banks and insurers.

Almost four years ago, I decided to make a big change in my life as I accepted the role as CDO in Sbanken, including a weekly commute from Oslo to Bergen. It may be the worst-kept secret in the industry that I considered my missions in the bank as accomplished and decided to move on during the first quarter of this year, but as my last day in the bank is approaching, it is time to announce my departure.

In an age where digital distribution challenges every industry, companies should take their time to understand their position in the supplier/distributor relationship. Should you provide an unprecedented user experience and distribution platform, or should you develop content to those platforms? There is no definitive answer, and depending on your starting point, there are various recipes for success.