Google’s Government Woes

Best 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.

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From Human to Robo-Advisers (and Back Again)

Is Merrill Guided Investing the land where robots and humans exist happily side by side?

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AI and Analytics in Asset Management

In the investing space, both artificial intelligence and unstructured data have become big topics in recent times. AI has transformed how traders, asset managers and others can glean insight out of the massive amount of data that exists today.

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More Fintech Consolidation with Global Payments–TSYS Deal

As the masses move from cash to cashless, the fintech world is consolidating yet again. On Tuesday, Global Payments, Inc. announced it was purchasing Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) for $21.5 billion in stock.

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Connecting the Global Fintech World

Recently, we touched on how several hot European fintechs have set their eyes on the U.S. market, and now a major U.S. player is moving in the other direction across the pond. This week, Plaid said it is launching in the UK as part of a planned global expansion.

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How Secure Are Financial Apps?

It 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.

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The Rise of Proptech

First there was fintech. Shortly afterward came insurtech and wealthtech. Now we’re seeing increased interest from start-ups and investors alike in real estate technology, or, as it’s become known, “proptech.”

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Is the Death of the IPO Greatly Exaggerated?

You might have heard the news over the past few weeks: The IPO is officially dead. Yes, many were quick to claim that Uber’s less-than-stellar (and that’s putting it mildly) stock debut was the final death knell of the “IPO craze.”

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International Regulatory Standards Coming for Crypto

Cryptocurrencies are notorious for existing outside the normal regulatory oversight that governs most financial assets. Indeed, that’s a main selling point for many fans of crypto. But a group of international regulators this week outlined a plan to try and put some shackles on these shackle-less digital currencies.

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Mexico’s Bank-Friendly President

Generally, left-wing politicians and banks are not on the same side. At least that’s the case in the United States, where the vast majority of our elected officials are unable to think independently, but simply toe the party line.

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The German Fintechs Are Coming

Germany has one of the most robust and innovative fintech sectors in the world. A big reason is that the country has a regulatory landscape that seeks to work with and incubate start-ups, as opposed to stifling innovation. A number of German challenger banks and fintech firms have made waves over the past few years.

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Card Wars

The nation’s major card networks are seemingly in a fierce acquisition battle as they try to differentiate themselves from one another and from upstart fintech competitors as well.

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California’s New Data Privacy Law

One of the enduring memories of the Obamacare rollout in 2013 was the extreme tech issues with its website, Healthcare.gov. California officials hope a similar fate doesn’t derail its ambitious new data privacy law, set to go into effect at the beginning of next year.

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Payments Start-Ups Target Small Businesses

It’s long been known that small businesses, feeling often overlooked by their banks, have increasingly turned to fintechs for a variety of services. Now fintechs are looking at FX trading as another avenue by which to attract small businesses.

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Beefing Up Healthtech Cybersecurity

In today’s always-on digital world, cybersecurity is a chief concern for most industries. With the rise of so many internet-connected devices, there are exponentially more attack vectors through which hackers can target organizations than ever before.

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