No industry is immune from the pandemic that is structural racism. And that includes fintech too. — Fintech is often proclaimed as the great leveller. The WEF proclaimed it as financially key in uplifting Muslim businesswomen and fintech lending algorithms have been found to discriminate less than traditional in-person lenders. Yet despite these great promises of financial inclusivity, in the wake of the death of George Floyd…

How the quarantine represents a moment of reckoning for app-based banking. — As the world shuts down and we brace for our new normal, one reality still exists. We still need our money. And the way we need to access and use it now relies on digital banking more than ever. Much has been written on how the global pandemic will accelerate…

How the story of China’s WeChat is being replicated across the world. — There are many ways in which the world is divided up. Borders, differing cultures and even vast masses of water serve to partition the globe. Preference per region for Messenger apps is one of the less initially visible ways this is done. Although much of the world uses a combination…

QR codes are steadily becoming the new cash in the land of the rising sun. However, at what cost to the millennial pocket. — Many visitors to Japan are always surprised by one thing. Despite its East Asian neighbors moving rapidly towards a cashless future, Japan is a cash society. Tokyo’s neon lights and sleek and high-tech public transport system often give the impression that Japan is a place where the future happens. …

Klarna, a Swedish bank that allows you to pay later for products, is now Europe’s most valuable fintech startup. — Recently, after raising capital from investors ranging from Snoop Dogg to Silicon Valley investors groups such as Drangoneer, Klarna’s value skyrocketed to $5.5 billion. They are now looking to expand to the US. This is big news. It reveals how fintech and retail make for a match made in monetary…

Mixed race people don’t often get the acceptance that everyone else takes for granted — I knew when I started my degree in Japanese and International Relations that I would spend a year in Japan. Although I didn’t grow up speaking my father’s native tongue, I still imagined that as soon as I landed, fluent Japanese would flow from my mouth. Sadly, that’s quite far…

What the rise of app banking could mean for your privacy, money, and the economy — Waking up to an email from your bank is never fun. I’m used to receiving emails about my bank balance or recent transfers. I read them with bored, glazed-over eyes, and then archive them. …