It’s a phenomenon receiving growing attention as more people use online lenders: ostensibly digital algorithms should rely solely on numbers when deciding who to approve for loans, whereas human lenders could be subject to bias, both conscious and unconscious.
Read MoreIt’s an understatement to say it hasn’t been the best couple of years for big tech companies. But that, so far, hasn’t affected them in the stock market.
Read MoreWe’ve all heard of the myriad ways that our addiction to smartphones can have negative effects. Well, here’s another.
Read MoreIn tech, even the biggest companies can get left in the wake of fast-moving innovation.
Read MoreCan a rising tide (from Facebook) lift all boats in the crypto world? That’s what some would think, as Bitcoin hitting the $9,000 mark this week for the first time in a year coincided with news that Facebook will launch its new digital currency called Libra.
Read MoreWhile some fresh young minds head off to college to learn about Wordsworth, Lord Byron or Kierkegaard, a few others may be studying the words of Vlad Tenev or Kathryn Petralia instead. That’s because a small – yet growing – number of universities have begun to offer degrees in fintech.
Read MoreBest wishes for a weekend of fun, relaxing – and maybe YouTube? Google was in the hot seat this week, following last weekend’s outage of various services. Cringey timing for Alphabet, which faces increasing DOJ scrutiny and few political allies.
Read MoreIt seems as if there’s news of a cybersecurity breach or some kind of hack every week. Most recently, Redtail Technology suffered a breach that exposed personal client information of advisors who use the firm’s customer relationship management software.
Read MoreWall Street is starting to realize what we have said all along: that while “hot” consumer-focused technology gets all the buzz, enterprise tech that serves businesses is where it’s at. That’s the software that truly powers the world and is indispensable to the modern globalized economy.
Read MoreThe last couple of years have seen once-beloved big tech companies like Facebook and Google face negative press and a few black eyes due to various scandals involving data security, sexual harassment, and other issues. One of the beneficiaries of this fallout is the healthtech sector, which is now finding it easier to recruit talent away from these companies, where before they struggled.
Read MoreWhile the narrative that millennials and Gen Z will bring about the end of personal car ownership is a bit overwrought (and perhaps not entirely accurate), these are still heady days for companies that want to provide rides for people. Uber’s upcoming IPO is perhaps the most anticipated in years, even if its valuation may seem a bit high to some.
Read MoreVirtually anything today can be purchased with the tap of a digital button on a smartphone. Groceries, pet food, toilet paper, stocks, cars and even therapy sessions are among the myriad items you can buy at the click of an app. Yet, how many financial institutions allow a consumer to apply for and receive, say, a small business loan entirely through digital means? The answer is very few.
Read MoreBoth the financial services industry and Silicon Valley have, separately, been accused of a lack of diversity in their respective workforces. But fintech, as a conglomeration of both industries, has a unique opportunity to make great strides in this area.
Read MoreLooking ahead ten, perhaps even twenty, years into the future, what will be the hot sectors to invest in? Well, if we knew exactly what those would be, we’d be soothsayers, but the manager of one of the world’s largest pension funds has some interesting ideas in that regard.
Read MoreFor any technology vendor, selling to large corporations can be an exhaustive and time-consuming process. The sales cycle is incredibly long, and even getting the ear of the right executive can be nearly impossible. But a CNBC report this week shows the lengths to which some vendors will go to get the attention of top security executives in an ever-increasing and competitive marketplace.
Read MoreThe Financial Revolutionist is weekly newsletter and blog focused on the torrid pace of financial innovation. Today, thanks to the exponential rate of technological change, explosion in global trade and new regulations ushered in by the Great Financial Crisis, a new financial revolution is under way. In this battle, virtually every aspect of the greater financial services sector is subject to rigorous challenge. With the Financial Revolutionist, we are aspiring to create a boots-on-the-ground and highly opinionated assessment of important financial innovation developments in the past week.
