FinTech Fever is spreading across the globe, as government-sponsored and regional private equity investments in financial technology startups and fast-growing initiatives is becoming the cool kid place-to-be.
MarketsMuse fintech curators profile a crisp selection of this week’s latest stories out of London, Abu Dhabi, Jakarta, India and Russia..
Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority Bets More on FinTech
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has formed a new partnership with GlassQube Business Centre Services (GQC) today to further enhance the Financial Technology (“FinTech”) eco-system in Abu Dhabi. This agreement provides a framework for collaboration, co-operation and consultation between the FSRA and GQC focusing on technology development and innovation in financial services. It enables both parties to share knowledge, exchange expertise and join efforts on initiatives that will support the development of the FinTech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the wider region. To continue this story, click here
Barclays looking at India as a FinTech innovation hub
British lender Barclays is keen on being a research and development engine for financial services industry and is making significant investments in this space, according to Barclays India Chief Operating Officer Ram Gopal. Barclays launched the Rise programme here in June. This is its sixth site globally, following London, Manchester, New York, Cape Town and Tel Aviv hubs. (Reuters)
“Globally, there has been some disruption in financial services in recent times… as a response the industry is investing in innovation,” Gopal told PTI here without disclosing the quantum of investment in this.
“Barclays is serious about being a research and development engine for financial services, and is investing in this space,” he added.
Speaking about India as a hub for fintech innovation for the bank, he said Barclays has over 29,000 people employed directly or through its partners, and a third of the group’s executive committee are Indians. “There is a buzz in India,” he said. To continue reading, please click here
“Fintech fever and the focus on financial technology startups is perhaps the most active sector across the private placement industry,” according to Amram Migdal, a case researcher for Harvard University and an advisor to PPM Group Plc, a professional service firm specializing in private placement memorandum document preparation. Added Migdal, “The value propositions, whether via more innovative and more cost-effective payment processing applications, to cyber security-centric distributed ledger applications powered by blockchain technology is no longer the domain of Silicon Valley, this is a global opportunity for savvy start-ups and for fintech-flavored merchant banks including the likes of boutiques such as SenaHill Parnters.”
Russia hosts largest blockchain, FinTech hackathon backed by Life-SREDA VC
The WhiteMoney project, a system of payments between legal entities based on the distributed blockchain network, emerged as a winner in InspiRussia hackathon – touted as the largest fintech event in the country. InspiRussia is a continuation of InspirAsia established by Life.SREDA VC, a Singapore-based fintech-focussed venture capital fund. The event held at the Innopolis University was also backed by Tatfondbank, Sberbank (Sberbank Tech), Microsoft and QIWI. The fintech-focussed event featured developments in sectors such as online debt transactions, payment processing technologies, blockchain and distributed ledger initiatives.
Read the entire story from DealStreetAsia via this link
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Indonesia Presses Forward with FinTech
The central bank will launch a financial technology (fintech) office next month, one that would be designated to facilitate fintech players to build networks and innovate. The financial office will oversee the ‘regulatory sandbox’, a space where startups can test their services before launching them for consumers. The sandbox concept has been adopted in many countries to foster the booming fintech industry.
“Next month we will launch a fintech office. BI will establish a special task force that will coordinate with other fintech offices,” Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Ronald Waas said in Semarang on Saturday.
A sandbox is used by business players to test innovative products or business models. It is a tool for regulators to facilitate innovation and to test policies slated to be issued.
Earlier, BI and the Finance Services Authority (OJK) unveiled plans to issue rules by the end of 2017 to regulate fintech players’ activities so they could operate safely as the burgeoning industry has facilitated an estimated Rp 40 trillion (US$3.04 billion) in transactions over the past two years.
The plan comes as fintech startups involved in payment services have begun to mushroom in Indonesia, offering e-wallets, online payment services and interbank transactions free of charge.
The International Financial Stability Board divided fintech into four categories according to innovation type, namely payments, clearing and settlement; deposits, loans and capital raising, investment and risk management and market provisioning. (ags)
To continue courtesy of the Jakarta Post, please click here
HSBC Fixing To Build London FinTech Hub; Wanted: 50,000 sq ft office space in Hipster ‘Hood
HSBC Holdings Plc is seeking office space in technology-focused London neighborhoods including Shoreditch to bolster its fintech capabilities, according to two people with knowledge of the move.
Europe’s largest bank hired real estate broker CBRE Group Inc. to find 50,000 square feet (4,600 square meters) of space, almost the same size as an American football field, in areas including Old Street and Shoreditch, the people said. The neighborhoods are home to a cluster of startups and a nexus of hipster culture. The office will be focused on digital growth at the bank, the people said.
HSBC would join other firms that already operate technology-focused offshoots in east London neighborhoods, such as Barclays Plc’s so-called fintech accelerator in Whitechapel. While the bank in February decided to keep its headquarters in London rather than move to Hong Kong, it’s expanding out of its 45-floor skyscraper in Canary Wharf. HSBC plans to move 1,000 retail bank workers to Birmingham, Britain’s second-biggest city, to cut costs and separate its U.K. consumer operations from the investment bank. To continue reading the Bloomberg LP story, click here