FinTech Ubiquity

Things to look for in 2017 include progress on faster payments in the United States, greater regulatory scrutiny of FinTech here and abroad, and blockchain use cases put into action. FinTech firms will continue to shake up the way consumers invest, insure, and conduct transactions—and card payments will continue to rule.

FinTech, blockchain in particular, has not totally upended the financial services sector the way industry insiders anticipated. Still, blockchain, InsurTech and RegTech are poised to make tedious financial tasks a whole lot easier. We look forward to seeing what innovations come in 2017!

Small banks essential to faster payments ubiquity
A few years after the U.K. began its push for the Faster Payments Service, other markets have turned to the U.K. for guidance on how to streamline their own peer-to-peer payments efforts. Small banks found it too costly to join that effort, but PYMNTS.com explains how small banks have begun changing that.

Federal Reserve payments study highlights strong trends in card use
Card payment grew 19.9 billion from 2012 to 2015, led by non-prepaid debit card payments which grew by 12.4 billion, and credit card payments, which grew by 6.9 billion, Federal Reserve findings show. "This reflects an increased desire within the payments industry for additional fraud-related information," said Mary Kepler, senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

FinTech: What’s Next?
Chris Skinner, Jim Marous, Dave Birch, Ghela Boskovich, and Penny Crosman join Brett King to discuss 2016 FinTech happenings as well as predictions for FinTech trends, including increased FinTech regulation, using blockchain to trade gold assets, the automation of lending, and more.

The Daily FinTech top 10 consumer FinTech predictions for 2017
Mobile payments will gain more traction in India, cross selling could go very right or horribly wrong, and bank closures will reach a tipping point. The Daily FinTech dives deeper into these and more predictions for 2017.

Why FinTech has failed to supplant big banks—so far
Aside from shifting from physical to digital services, the banking business model has not changed much. And FinTech firms haven’t managed to upend big banks as people previously predicted. “Major banks also have online lending programs and bid for the same customers as FinTech companies, increasing the cost of customer acquisition for the latter,” Tory Russell, president at Shift, writes for Entrepreneur.

5 FinTech startups to watch in 2017
Metromile has quietly raise nearly $200 million to beef up its InsurTech offerings for standard and commercial drivers, and Cadre is looking to shake up real estate investing through its crowdfunding platform, though it’s not exactly running a Kickstarter-like company. According to Entrepreneur, these and a few other FinTech firms will be worth your attention in 2017.

THE BLOCKCHAIN WATCH

Blockchain promises cost cuts, but what about revenue
Banks could potentially use blockchain to cut costs, but it’s unclear whether or not blockchain could be a source of revenue for banks as Tanaya Macheel points out in American Banker. Yes, cutting costs is a plus, but banks are also looking to see if blockchain can be used to gain a competitive edge that’ll offer a higher payout.

Bitcoin price soars, fueled by speculation and global currency turmoil
In dollar terms, a Bitcoin was traded for approximately $1,025 on Tuesday, or around 140 percent more than what it cost at the beginning of 2016. The political shift toward isolationism has come forth in the U.S. and Europe has given bitcoin an edge as a currency that can be exchanged almost seamlessly around the world, according to Nathaniel Popper of The New York Times. According to Ana Swanson’s article for The Washington Post, analysts predict that economic uncertainty could push the currency’s value even higher next year, perhaps even surpassing its all-time high price of $1,216 reached in 2013.

2017: The year regulators engage with blockchain
Though blockchain has largely operated under the radar of regulators, that changed in 2016, writes Chuck Thompson for CoinDesk. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Health and Human Services have all begun paying attention to blockchain’s potential applications in finance and healthcare.

Illinois considers regulation for digital currencies likely to be treated as speculative assets
Illinois is accepting comments from the public about blockchain in order to put together regulatory treatment of digital currencies like Litecoin, Bitcoin and Ethereum under the existing Transmitters of Money Act. “As innovative payment technologies grow in popularity, it is vital that we provide a succinct regulatory framework that gives businesses operating in this space necessary clarity,” says Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Secretary Bryan Schneider.