Crowdfunding is, in my opinion, one of the most exciting fields in fintech, and even though the field has had a slow start in Norway compared to other countries, the segment is now blooming. What are the problems that the solutions aim to solve, where is the market heading, and is a threat or a supplement to traditional financial services?
The Norwegian fintech scene is rapidly expanding. For those wish to stay updated, here is a great visualization provided by The factory.
Just as banks are starting to become comfortable with fintech startups as potential innovation partners rather than disruptors, a new breed of fintechs are targeting retail banks primary cash cow, mortgages.
The Nordic fintech scene is growing fast in terms of number of startups and investments and innovative and ambitious startups are popping up in all of the major cities. TheFactory is running a 12-week accelerator programs tailored to fintech startups. Read more and apply now.
Fintech has in a few years grown from a narrow area of interest to become one of the hottest topics in Norway. With an already digital and cost-efficient banking sector, all the prerequisites are in place to succeed in establishing and scaling the next generation of digital banking services.
We are building the next generation financial application aimed at millennials, promoting financial inclusion – built on blockchain powered by AI all available through state of the art APIs. Everyone has heard this pitch from at least one fintech. How should banks and investors look beyond the hype to distinguish substantial companies from empty promises?
Fra en beskjeden start for kun få år siden har norsk finansteknologi (fintech) blitt et sentralt tema i videreutviklingen av norsk finansnæring. Kombinasjonen av regulatoriske endringer som krever at bankene tilgjengeliggjør deler av sin betalingsinfrastruktur for tredjeparter gjennom betalingsdirektivet PSD2, endringer i kundenes forventinger og adferd og mulighetene som ligger i ny teknologi utgjør en perfekt storm som driver frem behovet for endringer i bransjen.
Ever since I started analyzing how technology and new business models would significantly impact financial services, I’ve been eager to put that knowledge into action. Now that I’m in position that enables me do do that I need to focus mye time accordingly.
Banking is necessary, banks are not was stated by Bill Gates all the way back in 1994, and has served as the mantra for the first wave of fintech. Following the Silicon Valley obsession of disrupting incumbent industries, numerous fintechs were ready to challenge every aspect of banking and deliver better banking services directly to consumers. Armed with the recent Millennial disruption index, where 71% of respondents claimed to rather visit the dentist than listen to their bank everyone was convinced that the days of incumbent banks were numbered.
The Norwegian fintech scene has in few years grown from a modest infancy to a force to be reckoned with in only a few years. In order to utilize this potential we have decided to establish the association Finance Innovation with the main objective to build a global fintech hub. Behind the inititive is more than 20 key finance and tech companies in Bergen. The cluster will act as a catalyst to launch new initiatives in research, education, innovation infrastructure and internationalization.
The Nordic fintech scene is growing fast in terms of number of startups and investments and innovative and ambitious startups are popping up in all of the major cities. TheFactory – a Nordic Fintech accelerator and incubator based in Oslo, Norway, is running 12-week accelerator programs tailored to fintech startups, TheFactory is open for applications through August 3rd. Startups seeking industry partnerships, mentoring and seed investments are encouraged to apply.
By now, almost everyone in the banking industry agrees that we are facing a perfect storm of changes that will forever alter the landscape for financial services. However, it still seems like a long way from talking about it to acknowledging the potential threats and challenges. And an even further way towards putting that knowledge into action.
The landscape for financial services is changing, and the jury is still out as to how the endgame is going to play out. One of the concepts shaping this future is open banking. After looking into the subject, it is becoming clear that there is no one size fits all open banking strategy. Rather, there are several tactical moves that are being played aout by a variety of both banks and fintechs. No matter which strategic option(s) you choose to follow, open banking will fundamentally change banking the same way internet banking once did.
Rumors of competition from the technology sector has been going on for a while in the financial industry, and last week the debate heated up when it was rumored that Amazon was considering acquiring Capital One. There may be some obstacles regarding this specific scenario, but it does not change the fact that Amazon already is well positioned to take a strong position in financial services regardless of regulatory barriers for structural growth.
The traditional defense for human financial advisory boils down to a deep faith in the excellence of human reasoning and intelligence, coupled with more or less positive view on the emotional capacity and intuition of human beings. This is now challenged by the changing customer behavior and needs, the emergence of financial technology, and especially, an increasing number of robo-advisory services, perhaps redefining the concept of financial advisory altogether.
The landscape for financial services is changing, and while some trends stand out as inevitable, the endgame is still unclear. Fintech is not one single discipline, but a collective term descibing diferent ways of improving and/or disrupting traditional financial services through use of technology, hence the term FinTech. Payments is still the biggest and most mature field within fintech, what is the state of payment innovation, and how is this affecting incumbents?
Another exciting year for fintech has passed, and I will once again attempt to say something about the how fintech and the future of financial services will develop in the coming year. By now it is clear that the changing landscape for financial services is an evolution rather than a revolution, and many of these as well as my 2016 predictions will have a long-term perspective before we see any potential impact. No matter the case, attempting to predict the future is a surefire way to be mistaken.
2016 has been another memorable year when it comes to fintech in Norway, where fintech suddenly caught mainstream interest. Where 2015 was a busy year for fintech investments in Norway, this is by no means slowing down and the sheer number of fintechs emerging out of Norway is accelerating at an incredible rapid pace.
There is nowhere to hide in the changing landscape of financial services, and asset management is no exception. With the rise of robo advisors and intelligent automation, asset managers and financial advisors are potentially facing the same fate as the retail stock brokers. According to a survey conducted by the CFA Institute, the majority of respondents, which included more than 3,000 chartered financial analysts around the world, view asset management as the industry most at risk from disruption.
Core banking is considered for many as the gordian knot in the digitization of banking. As a result, a vast majority of fintech companies are innovating around the core, leaving legacy IT to the banks. However, some entrepreneurs are audacious enough to attempt to renew core banking from scratch. I had the pleasure of meeting Tristan Fletcher of ThoughtMachine in London earlier this fall, and used the occasion to ask him a couple of questions of which problems ThoughtMachine is attempting to solve with VaultOS.