WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

Robinhood has made investing accessible for even the most inexperienced first-time investors. But while it has attracted millions of users with its no-fee, gamified approach, critics argue that the company's business model is not without risk.

In our experience, technical due diligence is the single biggest differentiator of deals done well—or poorly. What’s more, technical due-diligence failures can usually be avoided. Almost always, the disappointed acquirer insufficiently vets the technology and discovers too late that it fails to work as advertised. Or the technology does work, but only in constrained environments, and won’t scale. In other cases, crucial parts of the IP turn out not to be owned by the seller.

The financial services industry is being transformed by startups. Discover which fintech companies are rising up. Learn about the top 250 fintech startups.

In this report, we dive into Stripe’s unique strategy, growth trajectory, product set, and where the $35B payments giant sees the global online commerce market heading next.

By rolling out a device equipped with more advanced facial recognition technology, users can enjoy an even more convenient method of paying for goods and services without using smartphones. The Frog Pro features a 10.1-inch double-sided screen, a 3D depth-sensing camera for the facial recognition payment function and a QR code scanner

Is this 1999?  It sure feels like it...

It seems to us that profitless companies seem to be back in vogue. Recently, companies like Uber and Lyft have gone public with very disruptive business models but no profit in sight. At best, profit might come a long way down the road. Yet they are given market valuations at levels that suggest a wildly profitable business model.

US corporates are currently using facial recognition for everything from fast food orders to trying on makeup to issuing life insurance policies, and more.

The graphs below show Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) mentions in company earnings calls, by industry. The graph shows Artificial intelligence mentions by industries other than IT. Big data and Cloud mentions are added to put AI / ML mentions in perspective. This analysis uses only companies publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Many mergers don’t live up to expectations, because they stumble on the integration of technology and operations. But a well-planned strategy for IT integration can help mergers succeed.

Cumberland Farms is a prime example of this approach. Drivers who fill up at one of the privately held chain’s gas stations can save 10 cents a gallon if they sign up for its SmartPay app, which connects directly to their bank account and is much like paying utility bills or rent. The company says its users have saved more than $100 million by using the SmartPay app.

Established businesses around the world and across a range of sectors are striving to emulate the speed, dynamism, and customer centricity of digital players. In the summer of 2015, the Dutch banking group ING embarked on such a journey, shifting its traditional organization to an “agile” model inspired by companies such as Google, Netflix, and Spotify. Comprising about 350 nine-person “squads” in 13 so-called tribes, the new approach at ING has already improved time to market, boosted employee engagement, and increased productivity.

L’avènement de l’industrie 4.0 modifie les façons de faire des entreprises. Le numérique vient non seulement transformer les systèmes et les processus, mais apporte aussi des changements au sein des différentes fonctions de gestion d’entreprise. Afin de rester concurrentielles, tant les PME que les grandes organisations doivent se tourner vers les nouvelles technologies.

BlackLine automates complex, manual & repetitive accounting processes & enables companies to move beyond the legacy record-to-report process.

You’re surrounded by disruption and rapid change. Maybe you’re looking for solutions. A way to seize opportunities. We all are. It’s a sprint to stay ahead of technology. Blockchain. Automation. AI. Cybersecurity. It will forever change the way accounting is done. And forever change those who do it. It’s time to reset, redefine and reskill. The way we learn. The way we work. And the way we move forward. Here, you’ll find what you need to not just survive, but adapt and thrive. And disrupt disruption.

By next year, around 75% of financial firms will either explore or implement artificial intelligence technologies, according to a survey by Greenwich Associates. The research and consulting firm thinks some 15% of the industry’s jobs are at risk.

I argue that the four killer apps of cryptocurrencies are 1) dark web and black market payments, 2) digital gold, 3) macro/micro payments, and 4) tokenization. If the recent surge of cryptocurrency market cap to 170B+ struck you as unbelievable, I hope after reading this, it will make more sense.

CRYPTO20 is an autonomous token-as-a-fund allowing you to invest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum in a diversified index fund.

Kon is taking me to see one of the vaults where Xapo, the company he works for, stores its customers’ bitcoins. It’s no ordinary vault: I’ve been told it’s inside a decommissioned Swiss military bunker dug into a granite mountain. Its precise location is secret, and access is limited by security measures that would put a Bond villain to shame.
A bitcoin vault doesn’t store actual bitcoin units. Technically, what’s being stored are private, cryptographic keys. These keys form a pair with particular, public-facing, keys and provide access to the balance of coins stored on the bitcoin network. Gaining unauthorized access to someone’s private keys is akin to making off with a gold bar.

As optimistic as Loyyal and myself, in particular, are about the future potential of ICOs, we remain concerned that current accounting approaches towards ICOs are creating a potentially disastrous bubble for companies issuing them. If we are to avoid this disaster at all, we as an industry need to immediately start a more robust dialog around the accounting principles involved and engage the rest of the financial services industry.

In a remarkably frank talk at a Bank of England conference, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund has speculated that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have as much of a future as the Internet itself. It could displace central banks, conventional banking, and challenge the monopoly of national monies.

Venture capitalists are in a pickle. Companies have raised more than $1.7 billion through initial coin offerings, or ICOs, this year by selling their own customized virtual currencies. For the companies, the trend is a godsend. They can raise the money and use it to fuel new projects without having to give away a piece of their company to venture capitalists. Meanwhile, both accredited and non-accredited investors are buying the tokens on the assumption that once these these projects are completed, their tokens will balloon in value.

Bitcoin-like money may emerge in countries where cash is in decline or financial networks need updating.

Cognitive technologies are transforming capital markets. Once the preserve of IT experts, they are now moving to center stage—offering enhanced speed, accuracy, and efficiency, and creating 20 to 30 percent in additional capacity, as employees in areas such as post-trade processing are freed from automatable tasks to focus on higher-value activities. The challenge for market participants, facing an array of solutions, is to implement at scale and capture the maximum value at the lowest possible risk.

Since 2009, Bank of America (BofA) has closed 1,597 branches in 253 counties across the US, selling the spaces to local banks in some areas and directing customers to further branches in others, according to The Wall Street Journal. For context, that's equivalent to 26% of the branches that the bank currently operates, and represents a big cut that's reflective of a rising industry trend.