The world may be headed toward “peak globalization”. This shift could empower individuals and communities to strengthen democracy, while easing some of the most troublesome aspects of globalization.

Chicago FinTech executives and developers celebrate, examine, and help create the future of money and finance through a series of events April 24 – 30. As the week approaches, Chicago takes the fifth spot in a new list of global financial technology hubs, based on FinTech innovation research by Deloitte.

In doing some research on the why legal cannabis businesses cannot get bank accounts, I came across a letter on cannabis business regulation sent last week by the governors of four states to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin. Give pot a chance, the letter essentially asks.

In the great whirl of FinTech news, with daily reports on the potential of artificial intellitence, machine learning, bots, and blockchain, the power of present practices can be forgotten.

Most small and midsize businesses pay with paper checks: 62% according to a recent Javelin Strategy and Research survey. Because it's easier.

With the recent shift in FinTech news and hype moving toward artificial intelligence and machine learning, blockchain almost started to seem like last year's model. At the same time, predictions that 2017 would see real pilots are starting to come to fruition.