Rojin Nair, Advisor
June 1st, 2021
At Incyub8 Inc, Rojin is focusing on nurturing and guiding various national and international start-[...]
Fintech Frenzy: Hype or Reality? A Closer Look at 6 Key Sectors
Fortune | Matt Harris | Aug 8, 2018
Matt Harris is a managing director at Bain Capital Ventures. He is consistently ranked as one of the top investors in fintech, having participated in the space since 2000.
I’ve been proven wrong once again.
For eight years running, I’ve predicted that fintech investment is going to plateau. Based on the start of 2018, it hasn’t yet. In fact, we saw more than $5.4 billion invested in fintech during the first quarter of the year, with no signs of slowing momentum. For perspective, fintech investment for all of 2014 was just under $4 billion, so that’s “5x” growth in four years. In 2001, per data from Venture Scanner, it was something like $300 million.
With that said, this whole “fintech” thing is kind of a charade. As I shared with attendees last month during our annual Fintech CEO Summit, co-hosted together with Nyca Partners, the CEOs in our portfolios don’t actually run “fintech businesses.” They run a payments business or a lending business, or they build investing technologies, or they sell to banks or insurance or real estate companies.
Regardless of what VCs tell limited partners, or how media cover the industry, these businesses don’t necessarily have much to do with each other (besides the obvious of moving money around).
So while the investment numbers are up in aggregate, each sub-sector has a very different story. And it’s worth diving in more deeply to understand what’s really going on.
Wealth/Investing: Race to the bank
Wealth tech companies get a steady 10% of fintech investment year after year. There’s a durable view that they show real opportunity for disruption. One of the more interesting trends right now is that all the wealth and investment companies that have achieved scale—like SoFi, Acorns, and Wealthfront (another disclosure: my team has backed Acorns)—are doing the same thing: They’re adding a checking account. You could paint with a broad brush and say they are all trying to become banks. Not necessarily licensed banks, but rather, leveraging third parties and new technologies to try to become a consumer’s primary financial partner.
See: Lifehacks for When a Robot Wants Your Job
This is really fascinating to me and raises a key question for our industry, and our society: Will consumers bail on traditional banks? Will they go to their employer with a new direct deposit authorization form and say “send my money to Betterment, to Acorns, to SoFi”? This is truly a new phenomenon. If it works, there’s a whole new era of fintech coming, where the banks go from the “Empire Strikes Back” phase that they’re in right now—and they start to worry again. It doesn’t mean wealth tech is toast if it doesn’t work, but it’s striking that all these companies had the same ideas at the same time.
Venture investment: $1.2 billion in 2017 (Source: CB Insights)
Startup energy: Steady as she goes
Insurance: Fast growth leads to full stack
Insurance startups are really at a pivot right now. Companies like Oscar or ZhongAn have scaled from nothing to billions a year in funding, and in the process, they’ve decided to be full stack. Historically, insurance startups Insureon and Zenefits were simply brokers or managing general agents, but increasingly there’s a take that startups need to be(come) carriers. I certainly understand that instinct—if you don’t control the product, someone else controls the capital. So, I get it. But return on equity for carriers tends to be around 9%. It doesn’t make sense for a VC to invest in a carrier. Not at all.
Moving forward, the insurance tech players need to figure this out. It will be the difference between insurance getting really transformed or having a bunch of brokers with fancy apps. And that second future is not going to create a lot of equity value.
Venture investment: $1.4 billion in 2017 (Source: CB Insights)
Startup energy: Awkward teenage years
Real Estate: Disruption in full effect
Real estate and crypto are the two areas where we see the most growth. In real estate, five of the venture world’s 10 most recent unicorns—Compass, OpenDoor, WeWork, Airbnb and UCommune—are real estate companies, whether you think of them that way or not. OpenDoor, for instance, invented a true “prop” brokerage, where they don’t broker a sale for 6%, but instead buy the property, find another buyer and make money on the spread. Zillow now says they’re doing the same thing, and there have been a bunch of fast followers. This incredibly stodgy industry—which hasn’t changed in a hundred years—is getting re-made.
See: Real estate crowdfunding in Canada: portal insights for 2017/18
Venture investment: $1.2 billion in 2017 (Source: PitchBook)
Startup energy: First-movers moving fast
Cryptocurrency/Blockchain: Time to get serious
What can we say about crypto? Last year at our Fintech CEO Summit, we talked about how people were going to go to jail for initial coin offerings (ICOs). No one has gone to jail yet, but it’s tricky. ICO volume is still frothy, with a peak of $4.1 billion raised in March but otherwise running at roughly $1.5 billion a month. Plus, the noise out of government is getting louder and clearer that this is not some sort of safe harbor.
Beyond ICOs, we think about the crypto space in three parts: the crypto investing ecosystem, enterprise blockchain, and distributed applications.
For the first, a key question is: Will crypto be an asset class? Provisionally, I believe the answer is “yes.” The investing ecosystem is now maturing nicely, and several pioneers like Basis and Compound (last disclosure: both are portfolio companies), are filling in key elements of market structure, assuming people want to trade crypto at scale more in the future.
Regarding enterprise blockchain, is it actually a standalone business? The market is thriving if you count press releases, but not if you look for revenue outside of proof-of-concept. We provisionally said “no” to this question in the early days, but we have great entrepreneurs working on it—and I’m sure they’ll prove us wrong.
See: ‘This Is Not a Passing Fad’: CFA Exam Adds Crypto, Blockchain Topics
Finally, distributed applications are the big prize. It’s clearly early days, but this is where the talent is heading. Will the Airbnb, Uber, and Amazon Web Services of the future simply be open source protocols powered by tokens that change the way we store our files, book our houses, book our travel, and manage our transportation? I don’t know when, but I believe we’ll get there. Someday.
Venture investment: $716 million in 2017 (Source: CB Insights)
Startup energy: Wild, wild west (and east and north and south)
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with cryptocurrency, blockchain, crowdfunding, alternative finance, fintech, P2P, ICO, STO, and online investing stakeholders globally. NCFA Canada provides education, research, industry stewardship, services, and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding and fintech industry. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: ncfacanada.org
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HBR | Nicolas Sauvage, Claudia Zeisberger, and Monisha Varadan | Jul 28, 2022 In the first half of 2021 alone, Corporate Venture Capital funds (CVCs) around the world inked more than 2,000 deals worth more than $70 billion. It’s an increasingly prevalent alternative to traditional funding options such as VCs and angel investors — but how can entrepreneurs determine whether a CVC is the right fit for their startup? Between 2010 and 2020, the number of CVCs grew more than six times to over 4,000, and these CVCs inked more than 2,000 deals worth $79 billion in the first half of 2021, surpassing all previous annual tallies. See: Post-Covid U.S. Tech Economy: Top 20 Cities Venture Capital 2021 These corporate investors offer not only funding, but also access to resources such as subsidiaries that can serve as market validators and customers, marketing and development support, and a credible existing brand. However, alongside this added value, CVCs can also come with some risk. We found that of the 4,062 CVCs that invested between January 2020 and June 2021, more than half were doing so for the very first time, with just 48% having been in operation for at least two years ...
Read More
Coindesk | Eli Tan | Aug 6, 2022 A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called MoonDAO sent someone to space on Thursday, one of the biggest successes yet for such a crypto-crowdfunded project. The DAO didn’t send just anyone up – Coby Cotton, a member of the viral YouTube trick-shot group Dude Perfect, was chosen in a Discord vote by the DAO’s more than 5,000 members to be its astronaut representative. The DAO’s future ambition includes hosting parties on the Moon. Crowdfunding DAOs, which are groups of crypto enthusiasts that come together and purchase a currency or non-fungible token (NFT) to raise funds towards a common goal, have been more prone to failure than success. The genre was popularized in November 2021 by a group called ConstitutionDAO, which came together to raise $40 million to purchase an original copy of the U.S. Constitution. See: Blockchain-based replacement for traditional crowdfunding: DAOs Dude Perfect’s Cotton made the trip with five other first-time astronauts as part of the Jeff Bezos-backed space tourism program Blue Origin, which has thus far completed six of these missions, each time sending regular people into space for around 12 minutes. MoonDAO was able to purchase Cotton’s ticket with funds ...
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The Globe and Mail | Kelsey Rolfe | Aug 6, 2022 When Colin Deacon started his career as an investment adviser 40 years ago, he made a point of working with some of the smallest customers – those who’d typically be passed over by the financial services industry. His clients got financial and tax planning advice, help with their small business concerns and investing assistance – support that, he said, was and still is typically unavailable to the majority of Canadians. We still have a situation where most Canadians are not given really good, basic advice … and if you’re somebody from a marginalized community your access to that is 10 times worse. Mr. Deacon said he sees the development of an open banking system in Canada as a solution to that problem. Open banking, or consumer-directed finance, would allow individuals and businesses to have control over their own financial data, and to securely share it with third-party financial service providers or authorize them to take action on their behalf. See: Open Banking is Coming to Canada…Are you Ready for Change? Currently, Canadians don’t own or have the right to share their financial data, and their ability to access services ...
Read More
Forkast | Lachlan Keller | Aug 3, 2022 The U.S. bill to bring cryptocurrencies under the oversight of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission is likely to hasten legislation of such digital assets around the world. U.S. regulators have unveiled a new bill that would define Bitcoin and Ether as digital commodities, placing them squarely under the jurisdiction of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alongside other commodities such as corn and aluminum. See: Will the Supreme Court’s EPA Decision Move Crypto Regulations off their Tracks? Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and the committee’s top-ranking Republican John Boozman released the plan on Wednesday as lawmakers around the world race to regulate crypto in the fallout from the collapse of Terra-LUNA. If implemented in the current form, the bill would cement the CFTC’s oversight of the industry and put to rest any jostling by US regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to police the emerging industry. This is the second major piece of U.S. legislation to be proposed in recent months. A bipartisan bill about stablecoins was announced in June and due to undergo a vote in July, but the vote has been delayed by several ...
Read More
Aug 6, 2022 Surge protection is an inexpensive technique to safeguard your gadgets from sporadic power surges that could result in irreparable electrical damage. It is more than just an additional power strip with usable outlets. Here's how surge protectors and surge suppressors shield your appliances from power surges while ensuring there are no fire breakouts. To understand surge protection, it is important to get a proper understanding of power surges. Simply put, a power surge is an increase in voltage that surpasses the typical voltage level of 120 volts and is flowing through electrical equipment. Surges can be caused due to several things such as bad wiring, incorrect lighting, high-powered devices, or an issue with a utility company's equipment. How Does Surge Protection Function? Surge protection shields against the harm that unexpected power surges may bring about. The surge protector functions by drawing current from one outlet and directing it to the connected devices. A metal oxide varistor, or MOV, found in surge protectors directs any excess voltage to guarantee that electronics receive a constant level of power. The MOV operates like a pressure-sensitive valve, it reduces resistance when it notices high voltage levels. Resistance rises when voltage levels ...
Read More
Kraken Blog | KrakenFX | Aug 5, 2022 The crypto industry faced headwinds in recent months as May’s collapse of the Terra ecosystem took its toll. In June and July, major crypto lending platforms (including Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager and Vauld) took drastic measures in the wake of “extreme market conditions.” June’s leverage-related fallout for crypto lenders continued into July but did not extend to cryptocurrencies, which rallied. ETH led the way, spurred by news that The Merge, Ethereum’s switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, is set to take place at the end of this quarter. On July 15, Ethereum developers announced the long-awaited Merge could occur as soon as September 19, 2022. See: U.S. Treasury Request for Comments: Crypto Competitiveness – Risks and Opportunities of Digital Assets The macroeconomic environment remained challenging as worldwide inflation continued to rise in June. The U.S. Federal Reserve instituted another 75-basis-point hike while signaling their intention to keep raising rates in the months ahead. The U.S. economy’s two consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth satisfies one popular definition of a country that has entered a recession. Russian military occupation of Ukraine continued. A rebounding crypto market within a challenging macroeconomic environment could make it ...
Read More
Crowdfund Insider | JD Alois | Aug 2, 2022 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) met today to discuss liquidity for certain exempt securities in the form of secondary trading. More specifically, the Committee addressed securities issued under Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding) and Regulation A (Reg A+). In opening remarks, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated: “I look forward as well to the Committee’s discussion on secondary market liquidity for investors in Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding companies, and for smaller public companies. I would be interested to learn about the Committee’s thinking on these matters as it relates to promoting investor protection and facilitating capital formation.” Ryan Feit, CEO and co-founder of SeedInvest: Highlighted multiple successful offerings listed on SeedInvest that generated significant returns to investors, said there were two major outstanding hurdles to the market. First diversification. Given the high rate of failure for younger firms, Feit advocated for the ability to create funds of early-stage firms under the exemptions. Second liquidity - Waiting five to ten years to get a return, even when the firm is performing well, ultimately leads to less capital for these businesses. The lack of liquidity is ...
Read More
WEF | Jul 25, 2022 The global pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of work and the work experience. Stranded at home, millions of workers across the globe replaced daily commutes, office desks and watercooler chats with Zoom calls. Cue the next evolution in the virtualization of work, the metaverse; essentially an application of spatial computing that will see us using our avatars to work, meet, learn, socialize, play, trade and transact in fully immersive virtual environments. Media hype notwithstanding, the metaverse is already here. Decentralized autonomous organizations in web3 DAOs exploit smart contract architectures and digital tokens verified on public blockchains, such as Ethereum, in order to give members of a DAO the possibility to directly participate in its governance. Decision making thus becomes collective and based on how many votes – expressed in the number of tokens – a certain proposal in the DAO gets. There are no barriers to entry, and owning tokens in a decentralized autonomous organization is permissionless. Since all rules are coded in smart contracts and all transactions are recorded on a blockchain, a DAO is fully transparent to its members. If the DAO is purposed with developing ideas, or software, then the IP is ...
Read More
Guest Post | Aug 5, 2022 Emerging technologies touch nearly every aspect of the business world, and that includes the accounting department. Financial technology — or fintech for short — is any technology that supports, automates, or enables a company’s or individual’s use of financial services. In the accounting department, fintech helps accountants do their jobs more efficiently. But fintech can also free up accountants’ time so they can focus on meeting the strategic needs of the business. Rather than simply supporting other departments, accountants can be the changemakers themselves. Financial Technologies for Accountants Before we delve into how fintech can add value, let’s talk about a few specific technologies that have transformed how accountants do their jobs. Automation Automation technology has been around for some time. When you think about the most popular automation programs on the market today (Excel, Quickbooks, TurboTax, etc.), it’s likely that nearly every business across the globe uses some form of automation technology in their accounting department. But there are newer computer programs that take automation one step further. For example, computer technology can now automatically perform month-end close tasks like reconciliations, payroll, and financial reports. Additionally, software like Expensify and Dext use Optical ...
Read More
Betakit | Meagan Simpson | Aug 4, 2022 Kirk Simpson is just one month removed from stepping down as CEO of Toronto-based Wave, and about to embark on his next venture. Simpson has teamed up with early Wave investor Peter Carrescia to launch a company focused on decentralized identities, called Qui Identity. Things are moving fast for the pair: Simpson and Carrescia have secured $6.5 million CAD ($5 million USD) from a notable group of Canadian investors for what is essentially an idea. The duo explained that they are still in the early stages, and yet to build a product, but are focused on accelerating the adoption of decentralized identity. The goal is to work with both consumers and businesses to make it easier and give them more control over how they share their digital information. See: The Evolving Digital Identity Landscape The Qui founders were able to raise the money for their idea so quickly because of their deep history and track record in Canadian tech. Simpson led Wave to its $537 million CAD exit to H&R Block in 2019, while Carresscia is known for being an early Wave investor as a founding member of OMERS Ventures alongside John ...
Read More
HBR | Nicolas Sauvage, Claudia Zeisberger, and Monisha Varadan | Jul 28, 2022 In the first half of 2021 alone, Corporate Venture Capital funds (CVCs) around the world inked more than 2,000 deals worth more than $70 billion. It’s an increasingly prevalent alternative to traditional funding options such as VCs and angel investors — but how can entrepreneurs determine whether a CVC is the right fit for their startup? Between 2010 and 2020, the number of CVCs grew more than six times to over 4,000, and these CVCs inked more than 2,000 deals worth $79 billion in the first half of 2021, surpassing all previous annual tallies. See: Post-Covid U.S. Tech Economy: Top 20 Cities Venture Capital 2021 These corporate investors offer not only funding, but also access to resources such as subsidiaries that can serve as market validators and customers, marketing and development support, and a credible existing brand. However, alongside this added value, CVCs can also come with some risk. We found that of the 4,062 CVCs that invested between January 2020 and June 2021, more than half were doing so for the very first time, with just 48% having been in operation for at least two years ...
Read More
Read More
Coindesk | Eli Tan | Aug 6, 2022 A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called MoonDAO sent someone to space on Thursday, one of the biggest successes yet for such a crypto-crowdfunded project. The DAO didn’t send just anyone up – Coby Cotton, a member of the viral YouTube trick-shot group Dude Perfect, was chosen in a Discord vote by the DAO’s more than 5,000 members to be its astronaut representative. The DAO’s future ambition includes hosting parties on the Moon. Crowdfunding DAOs, which are groups of crypto enthusiasts that come together and purchase a currency or non-fungible token (NFT) to raise funds towards a common goal, have been more prone to failure than success. The genre was popularized in November 2021 by a group called ConstitutionDAO, which came together to raise $40 million to purchase an original copy of the U.S. Constitution. See: Blockchain-based replacement for traditional crowdfunding: DAOs Dude Perfect’s Cotton made the trip with five other first-time astronauts as part of the Jeff Bezos-backed space tourism program Blue Origin, which has thus far completed six of these missions, each time sending regular people into space for around 12 minutes. MoonDAO was able to purchase Cotton’s ticket with funds ...
Read More
Read More
The Globe and Mail | Kelsey Rolfe | Aug 6, 2022 When Colin Deacon started his career as an investment adviser 40 years ago, he made a point of working with some of the smallest customers – those who’d typically be passed over by the financial services industry. His clients got financial and tax planning advice, help with their small business concerns and investing assistance – support that, he said, was and still is typically unavailable to the majority of Canadians. We still have a situation where most Canadians are not given really good, basic advice … and if you’re somebody from a marginalized community your access to that is 10 times worse. Mr. Deacon said he sees the development of an open banking system in Canada as a solution to that problem. Open banking, or consumer-directed finance, would allow individuals and businesses to have control over their own financial data, and to securely share it with third-party financial service providers or authorize them to take action on their behalf. See: Open Banking is Coming to Canada…Are you Ready for Change? Currently, Canadians don’t own or have the right to share their financial data, and their ability to access services ...
Read More
Read More
Forkast | Lachlan Keller | Aug 3, 2022 The U.S. bill to bring cryptocurrencies under the oversight of the Commodities Futures and Trading Commission is likely to hasten legislation of such digital assets around the world. U.S. regulators have unveiled a new bill that would define Bitcoin and Ether as digital commodities, placing them squarely under the jurisdiction of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alongside other commodities such as corn and aluminum. See: Will the Supreme Court’s EPA Decision Move Crypto Regulations off their Tracks? Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and the committee’s top-ranking Republican John Boozman released the plan on Wednesday as lawmakers around the world race to regulate crypto in the fallout from the collapse of Terra-LUNA. If implemented in the current form, the bill would cement the CFTC’s oversight of the industry and put to rest any jostling by US regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to police the emerging industry. This is the second major piece of U.S. legislation to be proposed in recent months. A bipartisan bill about stablecoins was announced in June and due to undergo a vote in July, but the vote has been delayed by several ...
Read More
Read More
Aug 6, 2022 Surge protection is an inexpensive technique to safeguard your gadgets from sporadic power surges that could result in irreparable electrical damage. It is more than just an additional power strip with usable outlets. Here's how surge protectors and surge suppressors shield your appliances from power surges while ensuring there are no fire breakouts. To understand surge protection, it is important to get a proper understanding of power surges. Simply put, a power surge is an increase in voltage that surpasses the typical voltage level of 120 volts and is flowing through electrical equipment. Surges can be caused due to several things such as bad wiring, incorrect lighting, high-powered devices, or an issue with a utility company's equipment. How Does Surge Protection Function? Surge protection shields against the harm that unexpected power surges may bring about. The surge protector functions by drawing current from one outlet and directing it to the connected devices. A metal oxide varistor, or MOV, found in surge protectors directs any excess voltage to guarantee that electronics receive a constant level of power. The MOV operates like a pressure-sensitive valve, it reduces resistance when it notices high voltage levels. Resistance rises when voltage levels ...
Read More
Read More
Kraken Blog | KrakenFX | Aug 5, 2022 The crypto industry faced headwinds in recent months as May’s collapse of the Terra ecosystem took its toll. In June and July, major crypto lending platforms (including Celsius, BlockFi, Voyager and Vauld) took drastic measures in the wake of “extreme market conditions.” June’s leverage-related fallout for crypto lenders continued into July but did not extend to cryptocurrencies, which rallied. ETH led the way, spurred by news that The Merge, Ethereum’s switch from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, is set to take place at the end of this quarter. On July 15, Ethereum developers announced the long-awaited Merge could occur as soon as September 19, 2022. See: U.S. Treasury Request for Comments: Crypto Competitiveness – Risks and Opportunities of Digital Assets The macroeconomic environment remained challenging as worldwide inflation continued to rise in June. The U.S. Federal Reserve instituted another 75-basis-point hike while signaling their intention to keep raising rates in the months ahead. The U.S. economy’s two consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth satisfies one popular definition of a country that has entered a recession. Russian military occupation of Ukraine continued. A rebounding crypto market within a challenging macroeconomic environment could make it ...
Read More
Read More
Crowdfund Insider | JD Alois | Aug 2, 2022 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) met today to discuss liquidity for certain exempt securities in the form of secondary trading. More specifically, the Committee addressed securities issued under Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding) and Regulation A (Reg A+). In opening remarks, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated: “I look forward as well to the Committee’s discussion on secondary market liquidity for investors in Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding companies, and for smaller public companies. I would be interested to learn about the Committee’s thinking on these matters as it relates to promoting investor protection and facilitating capital formation.” Ryan Feit, CEO and co-founder of SeedInvest: Highlighted multiple successful offerings listed on SeedInvest that generated significant returns to investors, said there were two major outstanding hurdles to the market. First diversification. Given the high rate of failure for younger firms, Feit advocated for the ability to create funds of early-stage firms under the exemptions. Second liquidity - Waiting five to ten years to get a return, even when the firm is performing well, ultimately leads to less capital for these businesses. The lack of liquidity is ...
Read More
Read More
WEF | Jul 25, 2022 The global pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of work and the work experience. Stranded at home, millions of workers across the globe replaced daily commutes, office desks and watercooler chats with Zoom calls. Cue the next evolution in the virtualization of work, the metaverse; essentially an application of spatial computing that will see us using our avatars to work, meet, learn, socialize, play, trade and transact in fully immersive virtual environments. Media hype notwithstanding, the metaverse is already here. Decentralized autonomous organizations in web3 DAOs exploit smart contract architectures and digital tokens verified on public blockchains, such as Ethereum, in order to give members of a DAO the possibility to directly participate in its governance. Decision making thus becomes collective and based on how many votes – expressed in the number of tokens – a certain proposal in the DAO gets. There are no barriers to entry, and owning tokens in a decentralized autonomous organization is permissionless. Since all rules are coded in smart contracts and all transactions are recorded on a blockchain, a DAO is fully transparent to its members. If the DAO is purposed with developing ideas, or software, then the IP is ...
Read More
Read More
Guest Post | Aug 5, 2022 Emerging technologies touch nearly every aspect of the business world, and that includes the accounting department. Financial technology — or fintech for short — is any technology that supports, automates, or enables a company’s or individual’s use of financial services. In the accounting department, fintech helps accountants do their jobs more efficiently. But fintech can also free up accountants’ time so they can focus on meeting the strategic needs of the business. Rather than simply supporting other departments, accountants can be the changemakers themselves. Financial Technologies for Accountants Before we delve into how fintech can add value, let’s talk about a few specific technologies that have transformed how accountants do their jobs. Automation Automation technology has been around for some time. When you think about the most popular automation programs on the market today (Excel, Quickbooks, TurboTax, etc.), it’s likely that nearly every business across the globe uses some form of automation technology in their accounting department. But there are newer computer programs that take automation one step further. For example, computer technology can now automatically perform month-end close tasks like reconciliations, payroll, and financial reports. Additionally, software like Expensify and Dext use Optical ...
Read More
Read More
Betakit | Meagan Simpson | Aug 4, 2022 Kirk Simpson is just one month removed from stepping down as CEO of Toronto-based Wave, and about to embark on his next venture. Simpson has teamed up with early Wave investor Peter Carrescia to launch a company focused on decentralized identities, called Qui Identity. Things are moving fast for the pair: Simpson and Carrescia have secured $6.5 million CAD ($5 million USD) from a notable group of Canadian investors for what is essentially an idea. The duo explained that they are still in the early stages, and yet to build a product, but are focused on accelerating the adoption of decentralized identity. The goal is to work with both consumers and businesses to make it easier and give them more control over how they share their digital information. See: The Evolving Digital Identity Landscape The Qui founders were able to raise the money for their idea so quickly because of their deep history and track record in Canadian tech. Simpson led Wave to its $537 million CAD exit to H&R Block in 2019, while Carresscia is known for being an early Wave investor as a founding member of OMERS Ventures alongside John ...
Read More
Read More
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