Innovation in technology has been rising at an unprecedented pace in today’s day and age. There is no doubt that technological advancements with artificial intelligence will play a key role in all sectors, which includes financial services. This session features a keynote describing the roles that technology plays in an individual’s life, a panel on consumer-centric technologies and governance, and a panel discussing how AI is transforming the financial services sector.
Keynote: AI Implementation in China: A Day in the Life in Shanghai (info | video)
In this session, Rich Turrin walks us through a day in his life in Shanghai and the role that technology plays. One notable role is with payment. Rich says that people in Shanghai has pretty much gone cash-free and most use either WeChat Pay or AliPay, which functions by scanning a QR code and utilizing the built-in facial recognition system. Additionally, Rich uses technology for speech to text translation, which helps in rideshare apps like Didi which has a built-in messaging and translation system to aid communication. Technology is also utilized in the creation of a COVID-19 monitor, which uses AI to track and trace COVID-19 and predict who might have the virus. Rich wants to emphasize that one should not see artificial intelligence as a cold war and ask, “Who is winning the AI race?” but rather embrace that innovation in AI is ultimately a good thing that brings a lot more benefits.
“This is not a cold war” – Rich Turrin, on the AI arms race
Panel: Consumer-centric AI Technologies, Governance and Experiences (info | video)
In this panel, the speakers discuss the impact of innovation within AI and technology and the importance of consumer-centric governance. With large data available created by users, machine learning can be used to extract a lot of significant insights. Unfortunately, it is mostly big companies who have access to majority of the data, which is a problem because smaller companies don’t have this access to utilize. The panelists believe that in order for AI to be implemented on a large scale in financial services, their trust must be won by the consumers. An important aspect is that consumers should be able to reap the benefits of using the technology without having to give away data. In essence, one’s digital “self” is not controlled by the individual but rather controlled by big companies, which can be problematic. The panelists believe strongly in the future of blockchain and cryptocurrency, which promises sovereignty over digital interactions.
"One’s digital self is not actually controlled by the individual" - Alex Tapscott
Panel: How AI is Transforming How We Interact with Financial Institutions (info | video)
This session featured panelists who discussed the different ways in which AI has transformed how we interact with financial institutions. From the consumer perspective, RoboAdvisors has helped with the financial service experience and AI has increased efficiency done on background checks. Additionally, banks have their own apps, with automated bots used both for security measures as well as answering customers’ questions, all done with machine learning. The panelists believe a key challenge that AI/Fintech need to address before mass adoption is to promote open banking, creating policy where consumers own their data instead of third-party institutions. Essentially, a landscape has to be created which puts the customer at the forefront.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence is a field that will certainly play a key role in our lives going forward. Instead of focusing on potential threats of AI as it relates to an arms race between countries, it is important to embrace the innovation and see all the benefits that AI has brought to our lives. The developments in AI has led to a lot of consumer-generated data, and it is important to put the consumer at the front and in control of the data. This helps bridge the gap between the user and the financial institution to positively usher in the new wave that is artificial intelligence.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
FFCON20 Fintech Draft Finalists to Pitch & Demo LIVE August 27th
The inaugural FFCON20 Fintech Draft identifies and features emerging and high growth fintech startups and scaleups who will compete on Thursday, August 27, 2020 in an online pitching competition and demo competition. Applicants were drawn globally with a total of 5 pitching and 3 demo companies being selected
The format is akin to the sports draft concept where the finalists for each competition will deliver a short 5-7 minute presentation to pitch their product and engage in a Q&A before a panel of judges. A vote will take place and a single pitch and single demo company will emerge as the winners of the FFCON20 People’s Choice Awards and receive a 1 year industry partnership with NCFA and other partner perks.
Congratulations to the following pitching and demo competition finalists!
5 x Pitching Competition Finalists
WALO
Young people who participated in a financial education program are 3 times more likely to spend less than they earn, borrow less and save more. WALO’s mission is to ensure the next generation’s financial wellbeing through a gamified financial literacy platform. Teens are taught how to manage money and be put on the path to becoming money-savvy young adults. Learn more about WALO App here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-walo/
Trust Anchor Group
Modern infrastructure, digitalization and fast connectivity has made cars, buildings, factories, and homes smarter and smarter. This has led to increased cost to protect against cyber-crime, such as identity theft, data breaches, and monetary fraud. Trust Anchor Group provides a foundation for the smart society by connecting existing infrastructure within multiple domains to the latest technology and standards for internet of things and smart payments. Learn more about Trust Anchor Group here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-trust-anchor-group/
SolidBlock
While most other markets have been digitized through modern technological platforms, the real estate market has not experienced this. As a result, it lacks the advantage of liquidity and remained tedious, complex, slow-moving and costly. SolidBlock aims to build a new asset class based on real estate, combining the stability of the property market growth and efficiency of blockchain-based financial products. Learn more about SolidBlock here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-solidblock/.
Senso.ai
Financial Institutions/Lenders are facing declining margins in loan portfolios from market factors including increased competition from non-traditional lenders and consumer preference for a “personalized” experience leading to higher customer churn. Senso embeds predictive revenue intelligence into lender operations to optimize loan portfolio retention, acquisition, and product cross sell. Learn more about Senso.ai here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-senso/
FundMore.ai
Currently, there are a lack of tools and underwriting platforms in North America that are capable of providing real-time assessment to reduce risk, improve cycle times and lenders more profitable. FundMore.ai is an automated underwriting system that uses machine learning (ML) to streamline the pre-funding process for loans. It was created to service mortgage lenders that do not have access to the proprietary software relied upon by large institutions. Learn more about FundMore.ai here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-fundmore-ai/.
3 x Demo Competition Finalists
DivDot
Despite a clear transition in the North American payments environment towards electronic payments in the consumer realm, businesses are still heavily reliant on manual, paper-based processes. DivDot is a payment platform that aims to aid in the transition that enables businesses to send and receive no limit payments for a flat fee. It simplifies and automates businesses’ entire payment cycle from payment initiation to reconciliation. Learn more about DivDot here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-divdot/
Corl Financial Technologies Inc.
The Digital Economy is worth 3+ trillion dollars today, and yet, the majority of small businesses in this space don’t have access to growth capital because they don’t have tangible assets to collateralize. Corl has developed a financing platform that leverages data, automation, and machine learning to offer revenue-sharing financing to small businesses. Learn more about Corl here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-corl/
Cyclebit
Cryptocurrency is a very hot rising topic in the current financial services industry. Cyclebit solves the last mile in payments for cryptocurrencies. They increase the revenue generated by our merchants by reducing the transaction fees while leveraging blockchain technology to reduce fraud. Learn more about Cyclebit here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-fintech-draft-cyclebit/
Join us for an interactive online competition on August 27
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
The modern advancements in technology have led to new innovative methods in the banking and payment sectors. This has led to traditional methods being enhanced through digital assets. This session features panels discussing the futures of CBDCs and digital assets, the anatomy of digital securities, and the rising field of decentralized finance and its impact on the banking and payment sector.
Fireside Keynote: Enhancing Traditional Banking and Payments Through Digital Assets (info | video)
The session began with a fireside keynote with Tom Pageler and Lisa Hook on the topic of digital assets and how it has enhanced traditional banking and payments. Tom notes the current success of digital assets with innovative products such as AliPay in the currency market. Tom has a very positive view of the role of digital assets in that it’s allowed new enhanced infrastructure as well as transparency. With more and more industries going digital, he believes that if done properly, enhancing current methods with digital assets can lead to higher profit margins and efficiency. Notably, the public ledger with the digital platform would allow smoother transactions across jurisdictions. While Tom believes that the transition has been going extremely well with governments starting to show support, he also mentions potential risks as well. These can involve fraud related to tracking IDs and IP addresses that need to be taken in consideration.
Panel: The Future of CBDCs, Digital Assets and Trading (info | video)
This panel featured talks about the future of central bank digital currency (CBDC), its biggest advantages, and perspectives on how its adoption will play out. One of the biggest advantages that digital currency offers is its speed and efficiency, particularly between parties internationally. Currently, there frequently exists friction across countries, making transactions both timely and costly. The panel also believes the adoption of digital currency will be a good transition away from cash, which has many inefficiencies such as susceptibility to forgery and criminal activity. The panelists also noted that the transition must be gradual as not everyone is on the internet and simply getting rid of cash as a means of transaction will exclude a lot of people.
Austin Hubbell: “One of the biggest risks of CBDCs is technology risk”
TEDx: The Road to Crypto Approval & What It Means for Fintechs (info | video)
In this session, Blair Wiley shares his experience with getting his business WealthSimple to receive regulatory approval from every securities regulator to offer a crypto trading platform in Canada. He describes the journey to regulatory crypto approval and offers lessons he has learned along the way. Blair has strong belief that cryptocurrency is the future in financial services, but with various fraud cases involving digital assets in Canada, they don’t have the best reputation with regulators. However, Blair believes that it is important to look at things from the perspective of the regulators and understand that regulations want to ensure compliance and offer protection for consumers. The lesson he offers is to go for natural extension to current regulations and stick to their core tenets. Blair also recommends going to regulators with a fully built product rather than just an idea or concept as it gives the impression of better preparation done in the eyes of the regulators.
Blair Wiley: "speak the language of the regulators"
Panel: The Rise of Decentralized Finance (info | video)
The next panel discusses the concept of decentralized finance – frequently referenced as DeFi – and its significance. DeFi is defined as the ability to create financial services with blockchain technology. This would allow anyone to create applications that enable financial activity to take place without the involvement of a centralized institution. The panelists believe that some factors that contribute to the rise in DeFi is gamification and efficiency. With cryptocurrency, users can now earn interest, and the lending and borrowing infrastructure is also growing. The panelists believe that the future of DeFi will see more things scalable like sports betting as well as moving outside of trading digital assets. Their prediction that 80% of finances will be run on blockchain technology in next 5 years.
Workshop: Anatomy of Digital Securities by Exponential (info | video)
The final presentation was a workshop presented by James Wallace about the anatomy of digital assets and securities. James believes that digital securities help build a more efficient global economy and trading system. Some of the benefits that he emphasized are less barriers to entry, more accessibility, less friction across borders, and less compliance and regulations. Also mentioned was its security – There is very low risk with storage and ownership is recorded and verified on immutable ledger. James also showed many charts, one illustrating the substantial costs savings and value creation of digital assets. Digitizing will remove significant costs as well as generate new growing liquidity that should drive the asset value higher.
Conclusion
The future of banking and payments has a bright future with new innovations with digital assets. Digital transactions have benefits of greater efficiency, speed, and accessibility to a wider range of the population. Government support for digital assets helps tackle precautions that need to be taken to avoid fraud and other risks associated with digital transactions. With majority of finances likely to be run on digital assets, it is time to embrace these new innovative methods.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
FFCON Week 5 Wrap-up: Digital Identity & Convergence Marketplaces
Digital identity has become particularly relevant in our modern age with the rise in technology, and the trend isn’t slowing down. This means it is crucial to deliver new frameworks and infrastructure to support digital commerce, online interactions and social identification in more secure and robust ways. This poses some important questions – What exactly is digital identity and why does it matter? How important is consumer ownership of their own data and how can businesses and government adapt to this?
TEDx: Why Digital Identity Matters Globally 2020 and Beyond (Info | Video)
The session kicked off with a presentation by David Lucatch of KABN about the importance of protecting one’s digital identity. David is a strong advocate, and the main point that he wants to emphasize is that our everyday actions online generate lots of data that have tremendous value. In his words, we as users are data generating machines. Different businesses and corporations have generated a lot of profit with the usage of this data. Lucatch believes that ownership of data should be a basic human right that the government should protect. He believes that data needs to be treated as currency for transactions for organizations that want to deal with them.
“You are a data generating machine,” David Lucatch, Co-founder, Director and President, KABN Systems North America
KABN followed up with a demo of their app called Liquid Avatar that functions as the digital identity of the customer. Utilizing biometrics and blockchain, Liquid Avatar provides the tools to set permissions and control for the customer’s private data, potentially reducing any opportunity for digital identity fraud. You can learn more about their app here: https://liquidavatar.com/
Panel: How Businesses and Government Need to Adapt to Consumer Ownership of Data (Info | Video)
Later in the session featured a panel that offered different insights from four distinct perspectives on digital identity from the point of view of government, investor, technology, and the user. Each exhibited support for the idea of decentralized identity and moving ownership of data from the corporation to the user. In addition, it was discussed that data protection is crucial to protect new entrants into the market. This is because incumbents have lots of power if consumers are not in authority to control data streams.
“The key to the adoption of any technology is you have to develop value,” Senator Colin Deacon, Senate of Canada
4 important roles in digital ecosystems to create value
As was the case with all emerging technologies in the past, the idea of building trust with the consumer was promoted as a crucial step in delivering value and making digital identity usable for the average user.
Panel: Blockchain as the Foundation for Market Convergence: A Peak Into the Future (Info | Video)
Neoflow Screenshot:
Before the panel, Patrick Mandic of Mavennet gave a demo on his product NeoFlow. The aim of the product is to offer efficient solutions and bridge digital islands in the oil and gas industry. Patrick believes that the building blocks of transparency in the industry are identity, trust, and finance, all relevant factors to the topic of the panel. Neoflow is used by border control agencies and relevant government entities and provides tracking of key value chain events as well as digitization of relevant documents. You can learn more about Neoflow here: https://www.mavennet.com/solutions/neoflow/
This next panel featured different perspectives on what the future may look like with markets. One idea discussed was to encourage different competitors to collaborate, with the end result being a better market for everyone. This involves finding the right individuals and government organizations that align with a shared vision/initiative. The panelists believe blockchain will have a lot of significance and will play a big role in transactions in the future. They believe that government and the central bank will play a vital role in innovation and cooperation that can speed up the adoption of blockchain.
Conclusion
An important takeaway from the panels is the importance of having transparency and having consumer ownership of their data. Moving ownership of data from the corporation to the user is an important step in being able to deliver value. The idea of transparency is also relevant with regards to the future of markets. Building a good rapport between government and competitors will play a key role.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Join us Thursday, August 6, 2020! As the digital economy grows and the world increasingly moves online, the future of digital identity will deliver new frameworks and infrastructure to support digital commerce, online interactions and social identification in more secure and robust ways than ever thought before. This future is here today where individuals and businesses can establish digital representations of their identities to serve as the gateway to store and protect sensitive data, manage permissions and ultimately enable the future of Convergence Marketplaces.
Why digital identity matters globally in 2020 – where is it taking us and what’s the future
How businesses and government need to adapt to consumer ownership of data
Are consumers ready to control their own data?
How blockchain technology and other core tenants are the foundation for Convergence Marketplaces – A peak into the future
Liquid Avatar and and convergent marketplace DEMOs
With technical job creation outpacing the rate of technical studies graduates, demand for software developers is high. As a result, competition for in-house software development talent is expensive.
The rapidly growing Fintech space requires top-notch development teams to push the limits of new financial experiences. Ideas in fintech are plentiful, but the challenge is a lack of technical capability.
Recognizing this need, Finnovate.io was founded in 2016 to provide digital innovation services to customers in the Fintech ecosystem.
Finnovate.io specializes in web, mobile, and blockchain application development. They have a track record of providing technical expertise at all stages of product development.
Acting as a trusted software development partner, the company leverages its expertise in software technology and finance by working closely with a client’s core team. Their mission is to deliver results while cutting time to completion, costs, and stress.
As a part of their product mix, they also deliver technical training to their Fintech partners.
Finnovate.io’s training initiatives involved gamifying financial literacy training in the classroom for Junior Achievement. They also delivered a budget simulation experience that changes the way students learn about personal finance as part of the organization’s Dollar with Sense program.
At the enterprise level, the team helped accelerate the adoption of modern web and mobile technologies for Manulife. With their expertise, multiple teams at Manulife were trained on the latest web development technology to build the next generation of financial tools and products.
Finnovate.io nailed the shortlist, so check them out at the FFCON20 RISE Fintech Draft.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
WALO
Trust Anchor Group
SolidBlock
Senso.ai
FundMore.ai
DivDot
Corl Financial Technologies Inc.
Cyclebit
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
FFCON Week 5 Wrap-up: Digital Identity & Convergence Marketplaces
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. 
