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A new book from Wharton management professor 
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Fintech Opinions
Chinese Retail Banks Scored 55% Net Promoter Score. Here’s What They Are Working On Next
Bain & Company | Frankie Leung, Scully Cui, and Lei Zhang | Jan 19, 2023
Image: Bain & Company
In mainland China, the retail banking industry is shifting toward quality growth over quantity.
- Retail banking is on the rebound now—but in an entirely new set of market conditions. Today’s banks are combating stronger competition, tighter compliance controls, and headwinds from volatile macroeconomic conditions.
- Bain & Company surveyed 1,800 retail banking consumers in mainland China from August to September 2022.
- Mainland customers are happy with their primary financial institutions. Net Promoter Score percentages are strong and steadily increasing. In 2022, approximately 55% of retail banking customers in mainland China said they would recommend (or “promote”) their primary bank.
See: FCA review finds evidence of growing competition in retail banking
- What Chinese customers want to take their digital banking experiences to the next level:
- Omnichannel: Mobile and online banking are the most frequently used channels among the retail banking consumers we surveyed. Consumers interact with their bank via mobile app about 15 times per quarter, which is five times more often than they visit a physical branch. Mobile banking also has the highest correlation to positive overall customer experience.
- Physical branch experience can convert customers into net promoters: Branch interactions stand out because they often occur during complex or emotionally charged episodes. Customers say they prefer in-person assistance with mortgages, wealth management, and large cash transactions—“moments of truth” that can make or break their sentiment toward the bank.
- Super app functionality: On average, customers are happy with their banks’ mobile apps, but they want more features. They want more functionality, plus access to rewards and lifestyle services. They also want mobile apps to be intuitive
- Customers want human and digital wealth management services: Digital channels are used for most wealth management interactions, but customers aren’t ready to give up human services altogether. Physical branches and customer hotlines are still essential for parts of the journey and for certain customer segments.
See: Inflection point:Seven transformative shifts in US retail banking
- How can banks become more customer-centric:
- Create segment based customer insights and propositions
- Create a seamless customer journey
- Optimize human and digital engagements
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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
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Top 10 Trends Reshaping Banking for 2023
Accenture | Michael Abbott | Jan 10, 2023
A combination of well-established forces and recent developments is reshaping banking.
- Overview: In the absence of that revenue stream, banks shifted their focus from the totality of customers’ financial needs to isolated products that continued to generate fees. At the same time, fintech innovators burst onto the scene, awash with cheap capital and valuing scale over financial returns. Now that positive rates have returned, the constellation of banking products is drifting into a more familiar and predictable orbit.
- Rising rates catalyze product innovation: It will come in the form of offerings similar to that of Amazon Prime.
- 2023 will see a renewed focus on branches: Without in-person interaction most banks have struggled to maintain close relationships.
- Demistifying the metaverse: Just as mobile did, the metaverse is opening a new world of possibilities. It won’t be without risk—but banks were invented to manage risk.
- Culture and Talent: Talent will make ever-increasing demands on banks’ leadership. If it isn’t given its due, it will become a burning platform.
See: Will Open Banking Launch in Canada This Year?
- Risk everywhere: As new risks emerge, banks that focus on helping customers solve their problems, rather than on collections, will outperform their peers.
- Data becomes a product: potential to transform the foundations of banking.
- From fintech disruptor to enabler: Incumbents are poised to reassert themselves as the “rightful owners of banking”—if they can find fintech-like offerings at reasonable prices.
- Green gets real and seeks common ground
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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
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Is Crypto Bouncing Back, or Bull Trap?
Coindesk | David Z. Morris | Jan 25, 2023
Image: Freepik/rawpixel.com
Global inflation is at a turning point. Here’s what that could mean for crypto’s nascent turnaround
- 2023 crypto bounce: Blue-chip crypto assets including bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) have had a very nice 2023 so far, with BTC up roughly 36% since the New Year and ETH up close to 30%. There’s growing reason to think that “the bottom is in” for crypto markets, and some macroeconomic data suggests this year will be much brighter for the sector than 2022
See: Are Markets Moving Towards a Crypto Fiduciary + Caveat Emptor Standard?
- Why? [arguably] the crypto bottom could be in since bad actors and the consequences of their contagion-spreading leverage plays have been flushed out. Certainly on an emotional level, getting rid of the likes of Alex Mashinsky, Do Kwon, Three Arrows Capital and Sam Bankman-Fried feels like the chance for a new beginning.
- While getting rid of scammers should mean we’ve cleared some major downside tail risks, it hardly amounts to grounds for a new crypto bull market.
- Instead, what will matter most over the next year are macroeconomic conditions, particularly the impact of inflation and interest rates on crypto and other risky assets. The inflation picture is complex worldwide, but the current rally in BTC and ETH seem to reflect a rising sense that America specifically is on a path to not only whipping inflation, but maybe even to a “soft landing” that stops inflation without crushing jobs.
- Europe may not be as likely to get a soft landing as the U.S. The European Central Bank, seemingly still concerned about inflation, has signaled a continuation of more aggressive rate hikes in the coming months.
See: FT Partners Jan 2023 Blockchain and Crypto Market Update Report
- China continues teetering on the edge of something darker than inflation, or even mere recession.
- though COVID-19 infections have now fallen dramatically since the surprise end of “Zero-COVID” lockdowns in December, more disruptive surges seem likely to be in the cards.
- China still faces an ongoing housing crash that threatens the very foundations of its still-developing financial system. Following a crackdown on indebted and corrupt developers in 2020, housing prices have continued slumping – in fact, the decline accelerated in December. That’s potentially catastrophic, because housing makes up a disproportionate 45% of Chinese household wealth compared to a more typical 25% in the U.S., according to Federal Reserve data.
- Those impacts could include COVID disruptions so severe that they continue to disrupt Chinese manufacturing, possibly making inflation worse globally.
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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
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Are Markets Moving Towards a Crypto Fiduciary + Caveat Emptor Standard?
Tristram Waye for Bitvo | Jan 26, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Kenny Eliason
Crypto blew up, governments cracked down, regulation forthcoming? We are now in a place where awareness has to be exercised in places where trust was once taken for granted. And that means embracing two principles from the Middle Ages. These are caveat emptor and the fiduciary standard.
- Caveat emptor: The word caveat emptor means buyer beware in Latin. The idea is that the buyer is responsible for assessing whatever it is that they are buying. Its origins date back to the open markets of the 16th century.
- In developed countries, the concept has moved from buyer to seller beware. Numerous consumer protection laws have been enacted to lift the burden from the buyer and shift it to the seller. In general, there are numerous remedies for established consumer products.
See: How Important is KYC for crypto transactions?
- But for speculative, largely unregulated assets like crypto, caveat emptor is still highly relevant.
- Keep in mind that in contrast with venture capital, crypto secondary markets are a massive benefit. As William Janeway said about venture capital, cash and control are key elements in VC. Meaning that if the project goes sideways, you can’t sell it in the secondary market and take the loss because that market rarely exists. So you either take a goose egg or add more cash and take control.
- The fiduciary standard is fundamentally different from caveat emptor. It represents a special duty of care by someone providing specific advice to another person. And it is used widely in various relationships in the financial industry. In the middle ages, this concept was associated with the early trusts.
- Trusts evolved as the industrial revolution expanded. They now included capital as in shares and other financial assets. The fiduciary standard is, therefore, intimately associated with the money management business as a result.
- The fiduciary or advisor is required to always put the interest of the client first. And that advice includes advice that might be against the interests of the advisor.
See: Valkyrie Interview: Institutional Investors and Crypto Prices
- Caveat + Fiduciary standard in crypto: The challenge with regulating a decentralized asset is that it is borderless and fluid. Not to say that it’s clear that many aspects of traditional finance are also borderless and fluid as well. They are. But what it means is that while blockchain protocols and governance standards are designed to prevent bad actors, perhaps the crypto industry should go further.
- Autonomy and responsibility: crypto gives you autonomy and responsibility. You can be your own bank with self-custody. And when choosing assets, you can act like your own financial advisor. Caveat emptor means paying attention to outlandish claims and obvious stupidity in white papers.
- Double-digit interest rates? Caveat emptor.
- Actions inconsistent with claims? Caveat emptor.
- You can use the fiduciary standard in a unique way in conjunction with caveat emptor. The idea is to treat your coins, money, and or other assets as belonging to a client. And you have a responsibility to always put that client first.
- Autonomy and responsibility: crypto gives you autonomy and responsibility. You can be your own bank with self-custody. And when choosing assets, you can act like your own financial advisor. Caveat emptor means paying attention to outlandish claims and obvious stupidity in white papers.
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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
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How Divestiture Can Create Corporate Value
Knowledge at Wharton | Angie Basiouny | Jan 17, 2023
A new book from Wharton management professor Emilie R. Feldman offers a comprehensive primer on divestitures, which can be a financial game-changer for companies that know how to execute them correctly.
- Feldman, whose research focuses on corporate strategy and governance, spoke to Wharton Business Daily on SiriusXM about her book, “Divestitures: Creating Value Through Strategy, Structure, and Implementation,” which was released in December.
- Opportunity cost: Often the idea of focus is overlooked by executives, and this is really the missed opportunity that could be pursued in the sense that divesting, removing assets and businesses that don’t fit and might be underperforming, could free up resources to pursue better opportunities in a more focused fashion after completion of those transactions.
- “Managerial compensation is strongly correlated with market capitalization, so there’s a financial incentive not to divest because doing so reduces the executive’s bottom line.”
See: Bill Gates Announces $20 Billion Donation and Obligation to Return His Resources to Society
- 4 strategies:
- resolving or exiting underperforming businesses;
- improving focus;
- reconfiguring and reshaping the corporate portfolio to move into more profitable opportunities; and
- addressing regulatory requirements.
- Types of divestitures: Sales are the most common, but spinoffs and other transactions could be utilized in different circumstances. And finally [there’s] implementation, which has to do with the nuts-and-bolts execution of these strategies and how companies actually put them into practice.
- Value: if we look at value creation potential, the data show that, on average, divestitures create two to three times the shareholder value of M&As.
- Culture: Important misconception about divestiture and the stigma that is often associated with these transactions. Divestitures are seen as, “OK, we bought something and it didn’t work out, so now we’re getting rid of it.”
- There’s a whole world of thinking about divesting more proactively. “What could we be doing that we’re not doing because we’re holding on to this business, not because it’s underperforming or failing but just because we could to better things with our money, our time, our attention, our resources, our people?”
See: CB Insights: FTX ‘Bagholders’ — Investments and M&A Portfolio Map
Emilie Feldman, Wharton Management Professor:
What divestitures can catalyze, especially in companies that are managing them well, is opportunities to rethink how resources are allocated within the company.
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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
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Costanoa: Insurtech Investment Themes and Opportunities
Costanoa | Jared Franklin | Jan 17, 2023
Image: Costanoa
It’s a really exciting time in the world of insurance. As in many sectors, COVID-19 accelerated the sector’s digital transformation as many insurers stepped up to the plate and faced the unprecedented challenges the pandemic posed.
- Market opportunity: Insurance is BIG business, with nearly $7 trillion in gross written premiums in 2022. But what gets VCs like me even more excited: $1 trillion more of premiums should have been purchased, but weren’t. So, over the next decade, we expect consumers and companies to spend at least $80 trillion globally on insurance. That’s 40 Apple’s, the highest valued public company in the world.
See: Growing Trends: Insurtech and AI
- Parametric insurance: It’s a transparent solution where the payable amount is pre-calculated, and payment is sent immediately following a triggering event.
- Climate change and digitization are two long-term trends that create a unique set of challenges (and opportunities) in the future. Companies must be armed with alternative approaches to traditional underwriting and coverage. Parametric insurance is flexible and precise, remaining a massive opportunity over the next decade.
- With parametric, a payout can take place regardless of the magnitude of physical loss, often even when there’s no physical loss at all. Parametric insurance reduces claim management costs, and is useful for policyholders because it:
- Is highly customized.
- Provides immediate payouts.
- Complements traditional insurance policies, filling gaps and exclusions.
- Is transparent and confidence-inspiring, removing the need for a long, uncertain investigation. There’s far less fine-print.
See: Here is why InsurTech is heating up as an investment category
- Through embedding and personalizing, insurers can improve their operational efficiency and customer experiences by going beyond risk-transfer obligations.
- Simon Torrance estimates embedded insurance could grow from 1% today to 16% of the total global insurance distribution (~$1.5t of gross written premium) over the next ten years – $500b in the US alone, $200b in Europe. Even more interesting, it could contribute to growing market’s overall size, adding another $1t in net new gross written premium.
- Big tech and product manufacturers have recently begun selling embedded insurance products.
- Revolut has been offering insurance through partnerships with Chubb and Allianz.
- Amazon ran a trial with Next to offer quotes and the ability to purchase SMB insurance for Amazon Business Prime members.
- Insurify and Toyota Insurance Management Solutions partnered to provide drivers with a frictionless way to compare and buy insurance when purchasing or leasing a Toyota vehicle.
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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
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How Corporations Can Innovate Like Startups
Forbes | Jodie Cook | Jan 23, 2023
Image: Unsplash/Riccardo Annandale
If you aren’t an innovator, but instead run a traditionally structured business you can learn a lot from successful startups and the innovative entrepreneurs who run them.
- “Most companies suck at innovation because they are not thinking and acting like a startup,” Stemple said. “To avoid falling into this trap, business leaders should focus on talent, embrace audacious ideas, prioritize performance over process and package their offerings in an appealing, dynamic way.”
See: Updated Benchmark: Incumbent Bank vs Fintech Progrss (after 900 days)
- Hire lots of innovators: Startups and entrepreneurs know that innovative people are the heart of any business. Corporations must learn to prioritize hiring innovators. Luckily, at its core, innovation is 100 percent psychological, and because it is dominated by psychology, it's accessible to anyone.
- Just hiring innovators is not enough. Corporations must also make sure their culture supports innovation. If a company creates a culture of fear, even inadvertently, it will be impossible to create the kinds of ideas that will change the world.
- Embrace visionary ideas: Waiting is not an effective strategy for dealing with evolution. The corporate culture wants to wait until a problem fully develops, and then find a solution. A more effective approach is to do what innovators do, staying ahead of the curve and seeking out the opportunities revealed by the changing environment. Then, work early on to create solutions.
- Prioritize performance (over processes): The devotion to established processes is one of the reasons why innovation is absent in some large businesses. They treat their processes as law. If they have a lot of inefficient rules or processes, especially when it comes to innovation, those rules act as a tax, cutting into the possibility of successful innovations and future profit.
- By remaining fluid and forgiving, startups create agile processes that are finely tuned to the project that they are trying to build and the customer they serve.
Read: a16z: Big Fintech Ideas to Tackle in 2023
- Storytelling: The unknown can be fearful, but it's also exciting. The best stories, and the best innovations, tap into the excitement associated with the unknown. Like storytellers, it's the innovator’s job to build a path to and through the unknown. All innovation is a story, and an innovator must build upon the story and make it clearer as it goes.
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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
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