Tag: FINTECHTV Editorial Team

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Janine Moir, Blockchain Assurance Leader with Deloitte Canada. Janine shares with us the benefits of cryptocurrency, recent blockchain initiatives, smart contracts, and developmental directions in which companies are considering when using this technology within their organizations.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Ingrid Vasiliu Feltes, Innovation Officer with MEDNAX. She heads Innovation in the Healthcare Industry with a focus on AI and blockchain workflow possibilities with Healthcare data. We discuss the importance of multidisciplined considerations for humanizing AI programming in the long term care of individuals' private healthcare information offering increased quality control.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Lisa Loud, COO of IOUR FOUNDATION, the Internet of Universal Resources. Lisa walks us through some history of technology and how we got to where we are today with our current Internet. IOUR foundation promotes the development and adoption of new protocols, using blockchain, to enhance the fundamental properties, of our current internet.

The effects of COVID-19 have caused businesses and workers alike to completely rethink the way they work and interact with the rest of the world. Zoom meetings and remote work have become the new normal, which is causing businesses to reevaluate the way that they conduct themselves and what type of SaaS offerings they provide.    This is where the world’s view on exciting new technology such as blockchain and cryptocurrency has begun to really show their worth to the world. Prior to this pandemic, these technologies were still slowly making their way into the mainstream - but these strenuous circumstances have caused businesses and large corporations to reconsider the value that this revolutionary technology can bring them.  Visa, Mastercard, JPMC, IBM, Microsoft, and many other Fortune 500s have already begun to test out the crypto waters and are beginning to roll out exciting new frameworks and services that are set to revolutionize the way work is done, payments are handled, and how identity and sensitive data are managed.  While this is true, cryptocurrency is still a hotly debated topic in finance.  Many believe it can provide a real benefit to society while others remain skeptical of its true utility.  Many people found out about cryptocurrencies originally due to the headlines you would see every day about massive investment returns people were cashing out with nearly every week. This hype was well-founded - crypto was actually rooted in advanced and very relevant improvements to the current financial system that resulted in the crash of 2008. At the time, though, this was overshadowed by big money and over-speculation of its true monetary value.  In order to understand how crypto is shaping the future of the remote workforce and even how businesses will function after this pandemic, it is important to understand why cryptocurrency and the underlying blockchain technology is so valuable for society - especially in the current climate. What is Blockchain Technology?  Bitcoin and its mysterious inventor Satoshi Nakamoto brought with it the concept of “trustless” transactions, among other innovations.  This simply means that there is no trust involved in a bitcoin transaction, as the exchange of value is permanently stored, publicly visible, and verified by multiple parties with an incentive to ensure its verification. Therefore, two untrusting parties can engage in a transaction without the need for a moderator (i.e. the potentially biased banks). As you can see, this is a big improvement to the current monetary system and removes control from a few executives to an entire population.  Cryptocurrency’s ability to conduct private, secure, third-party free transactions is revolutionary, and could truly change the way business transactions are handled as well as how monetary value and data are distributed throughout society. It has the potential to lessen the disparate wealth gap in America, and make complex procedures like loans and financing smarter by making data permanent and unified.  Basically, it can allow strangers to engage in business dealings without worrying about getting overzealous fees, data breaches, or the negative effect that human error can bring.  At its core, it removes the need for banks and corporations to always have a hand in your financial dealings, digital tools, as well as your personal data - which is something the new generation is very concerned with.  The use for Bitcoin has been established - it can, in fact, have the impact it says it will have. The only barrier now is integrating into a society that is still transitioning into a digital age. This has been the question that has caused this revolutionary technology to have such a gradual and slow integration so far.  Blockchain technology has taken a backseat in the media to the currencies it supports. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, and more have all been hot topics that have brought up heated debates on whether or not they actually contain any value. But, blockchain has not received the popular media attention that the cryptocurrencies it supports have. As it turns out, the underlying blockchain framework that supports these currencies is what gives them value and allows for each of the digital currencies to have so many revolutionary features.  Blockchain allows for a digital distributed ledger to be used to facilitate transactions between two parties that are fraud-free and without any third party manipulation or interference. It can revolutionize the way information is stored, secured, and exchanged between the two parties and remove fraud and trust from the equation while streamlining the process and drastically improving efficiency.  Big Corporations Are Bringing Blockchain to the Mainstream Many of the world’s biggest corporations are beginning to integrate cryptocurrency and blockchain into their service offerings.  In late July 2020, Visa announced that they will be rolling out a crypto-supported payment system that will support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and other prominent currencies. This is huge for the crypto world because it finally shows how these big corporations are realizing the value of the technology.  From May 2019 to May 2020 there was over $10 billion of crypto transactions that took place, which shows the. trending popularity of this new monetary system.  This new service from Visa will come in the form of a Visa digital wallet that allows for the use and storage of cryptocurrency easily and securely. With people using cash less and less and the need for banks beginning to dwindle with stay-at-home orders and social distancing norms, this announcement is hardly surprising and very fitting for the time of the announcement.  Just as this announcement was happening, regulators in the U.S. were also announcing that it is now perfectly legal for large institutions to provide cryptocurrency services. Brian P. Brooks, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, commented recently “This opinion clarifies that banks can continue satisfying their customers’ needs for safeguarding their most valuable assets, which today for tens of millions of Americans includes cryptocurrency.” This decision shows that the shock of 2020 is beginning to have an effect on the highest level of corporations and regulators in the US, and that they are becoming more open than ever before to new forms of technology that threaten many of the financial and societal norms that have been in place for decades.  Other companies such as IBM have integrated crypto services into their framework to bring about next-generation payment solutions. In 2019, IBM rolled out a service called World Wire that is able to provide a much easier mechanism for cross-border payments between out-of-country businesses. This technology is yet another example of a tool that is completely necessary during a pandemic where many Americans have trouble reaching clients or businesses not located in the U.S. In 2020 so far since COVID, the World Wire service has been critical for many to more easily make payments across the world.  As you can clearly see, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a tipping point for blockchain and cryptocurrency in the mainstream. It has fueled a renewed faith in crypto as the world begins to shy away from paper money and dependence on banks. In fact, one in three millennials now state that they will likely buy and hold bitcoin within the next year, which just shows how deeply this new idea is starting to solidify in our society.  With remote work becoming more prominent, it is looking more and more likely that people will be able to get paid in crypto sooner rather than later. This will help improve the confidence and trust that our generation has in the current financial system and trigger a more independent and self-sufficient workforce that will be more able to withstand the effects of any future pandemics or disasters.

By 2025, it is projected that embedded finance companies will grow 5x by the year 2025, from a $22.5B total market valuation to over $250B. Embedded finance allows businesses to deliver more tailored solutions that improve customer retention and maximize the value of any platform - so it is no wonder the valuation is so high. With financial tools built right into a specific set of services, users can experience a more seamless solution that allows them to transact and handle their business in a more modern and frictionless manner.  Despite the outstanding outlook for embedded finance that many professional projections have shown, it still has a ways to go until it reaches the level of value that has been predicted for it. For example, Uber announced back in 2019 it was going to be investing heavily in fintech upgrades that would include, among other things, UberPay. UberPay was an exciting announcement that was huge for the embedded finance trend. It would have ushered in one of the first mainstream embedded finance platforms that gave users instant payments, digital wallets, and other forward-thinking embedded finance tools. Despite the hype, Uber recently announced that they had scrapped plans for this rollout, effectively putting a small, yet insignificant, road bump in the path to widespread embedded finance. While they have called it quits on embedded finance, for now, they are expected to re-establish these plans later on down the road when their finances get back on track.  Other companies such as Google, Amazon, Intuit, Shopify, and even WeChat have begun rolling out embedded finance features in the form of instant payments and more exciting features such as investments. These companies are pioneering the embedded finance landscape and have already shown that non-fintech companies can benefit from integrating fintech services into their user experience.  Where Did Embedded Finance Come From?  Aside from the logical integration of payments into various industries and their corresponding platforms, embedded finance was born due to the presence of interconnected technology companies.  This was a result of what is sometimes referred to as the unbundling of banks, which refers to the process of banking becoming more and more decentralized from a singular entity.  These companies, which include ecosystem builders, infrastructure providers, as well as infrastructure embedders, all contribute. All of these different providers consist of essential factors that all contribute to making embedded finance a reality.  One of the best examples of the fire-starters of embedded finance includes Plaid. Plaid was one of the most valuable startups ever with funding rounds, reaching $300 million, and recently they were acquired by Visa for a staggering $5.3B. Plaid was hugely important because it was one of the companies that enabled applications to integrate user's bank accounts into their platform directly.  This enabled banking to be built into nearly any industry. With simple banking at your fingertips, any application or platform could allow users to conduct financial dealings within their walls more efficiently and minimize the steps necessary to transact within their platform.  Why is Embedded Finance So Important?  Embedded finance is critical because it allows for professional and safe financial operations to be directly inputted into any platform. There are a few key reasons this new trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon:  Building FinTech Payment Rails is Difficult When a company brings in legal help, it does make that company a legal company. This is how financial tools work in embedded finance. They are not creating their own financial services (most often). In reality, they are embedding a tool designed to facilitate payments and financial processes on their platform. This is why companies such as Plaid have been able to experience such widespread success; they allow for deep and well-built financial solutions to be easily integrated into any platform. This makes it easier than ever for apps and platforms to offer protected and ready-to-go financial services.  Customer buying habits are changing with the new generation - Between 2014 and 2018, Amazon's consumer retail and total consumer spend tripled. This illustrates the influx of individuals into online marketplaces and their willingness to take advantage of more convenient and well-built digital platforms. A digital platform economy is emerging, one that is paving the way for radical changes in the way humans conduct work and create value.  Consumers under 55 are more open to new financial providers - This point is critical - for the new generation's willingness to use platforms other than banks to handle their money and pay for goods and services even further bolsters the valuation for embedded finance. According to research from Cornerstone Advisors, many Millenial consumers are willing to get a checking account from non-banking providers like Amazon, Google, and even Starbucks and Uber.  The Future of Embedded Finance Many companies are already showing their deep interest in embedded finance technology and are beginning to deliver innovation and creativity in their approach. For example, Shopify is a platform that has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to fintech, but recently they have gone even further. They recently announced an embedded lending service called Shopify Capital that makes it easier for business owners to get loans and simply repay it through their online sales.  Other companies such as Intuit have begun deeply integrating their customer's accounting experiences with embedded finance by creating a Quickbooks bank account for its users. This vertical integration of banking software makes it easier than ever before for users to handle all of their financial dealings within a single platform. As we can see from these trends, embedded finance is a no-brainer development in fintech that was inevitable due to the extremely simplified workflow, convenience, and evolving habits of younger consumers. Embedded finance is allowing layers of tech-driven financial services to be built on top of traditionally non-fintech companies. As these embedded finance companies continue to unbundle financial processes, the hierarchy of unbundling that we observe will be replicated in ecosystems around the world and will continue to evolve as consumers' habits do.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Maria Grazia Vigliotti Maria is the author of the Executive Guide to Blockchain. We discuss leadership in blockchain with Dr. Maria and advocating the real possibilities for Women in Technology in the new industry of Blockchain.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Lori Souza summarizes today's digital economy, with the 3 main take away's from the Women in Crypto 21 day online interview series.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Lisa Short, Founder of Mind-Shifting, consulting individuals and businesses in the shifting into the Economy of the new Financial Technology. Lisa supports financial inclusion opportunities through the entrepreneurial innovative solutions offered in the new cryptocurrency and blockchain technology industries. We discuss a global digital strategy that includes unlearning and relearning for future job markets which include blockchain technology and global markets.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Linda Goetze from the Blockchain Chamber of Commerce and contributor to Blockchain Ecosystems. Linda values the Cryptocurrency movement, understanding the positive effects which are underlying in decentralized efforts of business applications, Linda sees the possibility of balancing the scales of a time-money correlation with the future transacting of digital assets on the blockchain. This expanded viewpoint gives a promise to a “pay it forward” mentality that Blockchain and Crypto offers to the world.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Koleya Karringten, Executive Director of Canadian Blockchain Consortium. Koleya provides educational programs and events for businesses interested in understanding blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. She is masterful in assembling a business consortium, promoting Blockchain Technology for business applications. Expanding this digital movement into communities to create a better brighter technological future.

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Karen Ottoni. Karen is Director of Ecosystems at Hyperledger. Blockchain Technology stretches out across multidisciplinary areas of business. It is not only the Technology but also the applications behind the technology. Hyperledger offers organizations public, private, and hybrid solutions, both permissioned and permissionless transactions for business and financial applications. This technological way of transacting in various ecosystems is our future. Karen is making a difference with Hyperledger!

Join the Top women leaders in the new digital economy, where money meets emerging technology in our expanding digital world. Women in Technology, moving Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology, and AI to higher heights, building a better, brighter future!Welcome to Women in Crypto Online Series! Today's interview is with Francoise Birnholz. a Business Attorney and Blockchain Enthusiast. Francoise’s expertise with international banking institutions brings us a wealth of knowledge and an in-depth understanding of the benefits of permissioned blockchain technology can bring banking systems by eliminating paperwork through this digitized ledger technology. This financial technology creates an efficient, automatic, transparent banking transaction, without the need of an intermediary. These new opportunities offer greater social impacts within global banking platforms, including contactless payments.