August recap!

Zurich

In case you missed out on August episodes of Voice of FinTech podcast, here is the monthly recap! You can listen to all the episodes on the Episodes pages of this website or when you subscribe to your favorite podcast apps under Subscribe.

The Currency Cold War and more with David Birch

David Birch is an author, advisor and commentator on digital financial services, based in the UK.

In this episode, we cover:

• David’s activities as a keynote speaker, an author, advisor and commentator on digital financial services
• David’s digital finance consulting work
• Big picture views on digital money and digital identity — before and after the pandemic
• E-currencies — developments and prospects. Setbacks and upside
• David’s views on Big Tech’s move to the financial services sector, as articulated in his latest article in Forbes Bye Fintech. Hello Techfin
• Crypto and blockchain: pure vs. enterprise, which one will have an upper hand?
• Plans for the rest of the year
• Best way to reach out

New type of economy, digital economy, needs a new type of money, i.e. digital currency.

David Birch

Find his latest book, The Currency Cold War: Cash and Cryptography, Hash Rates and Hegemony, on Amazon or any of your favorite booksellers.

The Financial Markets Series: Pan-European connectivity through microwave network with SIX, NASDAQ and 12H

with Gregor Braun and Henrik Husman

Gregor Braun is Head Sales Switzerland & Europe for Equities and ETFs at SIX, Henrik Husman is President Nasdaq Helsinki, VP, Head of European Cash Equities Nasdaq and Reinier Boeschoten is Board Member at 12H.

In this episode, we cover:

• Gregor explains SIX’s services as primarily cash equities exchange — as the third-largest operator of financial market infrastructure in Europe by revenue and his team’s mandate
• Henrik outlines activities of Nasdaq in Europe — the only exchange group active in the US and Europe, operating more than 25 markets and its role as a technology provider to over 130 exchanges and financial institutions worldwide
• Reinier describes how microwave or radiofrequency (RF) technology connects markets around Europe. We also dive into the pros and cons of optical fiber technology vs. microwave technology (e.g. across speed, bandwidth, capacity parameters)
• The strategic rationale for SIX acquiring majority stake in 12H earlier this year
• Benefits of a three-way partnership between SIX, Nasdaq and 12H for its partners and customers
• The role of computers in trading — robots and algorithms vs. jobs and safeguards against flash crashes
• What’s the best way to find out more about the microwave network of SIX, available routes, etc. for interested parties

You can more about SIX’s microwave network here.

This episode of the Financial Markets Series was brought to you by SIX, the Swiss Exchange Group. If you would like to learn more about SIX, please go to www.six-group.com.

Plug and Play, a corporate innovation program, whose CEO is an early backer of PayPal, explained

with Arianna Elena Maschietto and Gabrielle Inzirillo

Arianna Elena Maschietto, Corporate Partnerships & Program Manager at Plug and Play Tech Center in Milan, Italy and Gabrielle Inzirillo, Director, Fintech (EMEA) at Plug And Play Ventures in Paris, France. Plug and Play Tech Center is an early-stage investor, accelerator and corporate innovation platform with global headquarters in Sunnyvale, California in Silicon Valley.

We talk about:

• Gabrielle’s and Arianna’s journeys to their current roles
• Plug and Play origins — landlords to PayPal:

Plug and Play chief executive Saeed Amidi got his start 15 years ago when he was trying to rent some real estate. Amidi and his brother, Seena, were considering startups to lease space in their Palo Alto, California, office and met a couple of young, promising entrepreneurs behind a then-unprofitable product. The entrepreneurs were Max Levchin and Peter Thiel and the startup was PayPal. After seeing the Amidis’ ambivalence, Thiel pushed an offer they couldn’t refuse. He said he would pay his rent — then, a paltry $10,000 per month in Silicon Valley — upfront, for two years. “We said, ‘sure,’” Saeed told Business Insider at Plug and Play’s first New York demo day. “And then, we took half the money and invested it in their seed round.” Putting more than $100,000 in PayPal’s very first funding round proved to be a wildly successful investment.

• What kind of start-ups Plug and Play supports: alignment with corporate sponsors is crucial
• Their programs feature: no fee, no equity
• The character of the start-up scene in Europe vs. the rest of the world
• FinTech is a key vertical for Plug and Play
• What does successful participation in the program means
• Success stories
• How to get involved

Digital Transformation with David M. Brear from 11:FS

David M. Brear is Group CEO of 11:FS, Host of the Fintech Insider Breakfast Show and FinTech Insider Host by 11:FS.

We talk about:

• How pandemic exposed organizations that haven’t truly embraced digital transformation and what lies ahead of them
• Potential opportunities for FinTechs despite the economic downturn
• David’s advice to start-ups attempting partnerships with banks or enterprise sales
• Best way to reach out and get in touch with 11:FS and David

As David points out:

I’ve seen the good 😎, the bad 😳 and the ugly 😬 side of financial services and now have a deep holistic view of what’s broken when it comes to offering truly digital services for customers that are underserved and overcharged. At 11:FS we believe that digital banking is 1% finished and we have established the team and the technology to help financial services fight back.

11:FS builds next-generation propositions for challengers in the financial services industry: existing firms looking to innovate, start-ups looking to scale, and everyone in between. Their services include:

• Transformation and advisory services
• Consumer and Market Research
• Industry benchmarking
• Core banking capabilities
• Industry-leading content and events

Asia Pacific Series with Chia Jeng Yang: P2P FinTech in Indonesia: Koinworks and AC Ventures

In this episode of Asia Pacific Series, hosted by Chia Jeng Yang, Principal at Saison Capital, based in Singapore, we speak to Benedicto Haryono, CEO of Koinworks.ID, the largest socially responsible digital lender and the first super financial app in Indonesia, and Adrian Li, Managing Partner of AC Ventures.

Chia, Ben and Adrian talk about:

• Koinworks’ objectives in Indonesia — its current progress and future roadmap
• The opportunities for consumer finance in Indonesia and the scale of the opportunity
• How to compete in the Indonesian FinTech scene
• The state of financial services in Indonesia in the context of Southeast Asia as well as in the global FinTech ecosystem
• Exciting developments and investment potentials in the Indonesian FinTech scene

If you have suggestions for topics or guests on the show or have ideas about how to make this podcast better for you, please e-mail us at info@voiceoffintech.com.

Keep safe!

Sincerely,

Rudolf Falat