India has become one of the fastest and most diverse fintech markets in the world; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a panel featuring leading India fintech firms; panelists talk about what makes the India market unique and what is the size of the opportunity right now; banks have helped to serve the top of the credit pyramid and micro lending has helped to serve the bottom of the credit pyramid, there is a big opportunity in serving the missing middle; panelists focused on how their lending models differ, the differences in the small business and consumer markets and how India has gone from a data scarce country to a data rich country; Aadhaar has also played a key role in helping to get more people and businesses into the financial system; other areas discussed include borrower acquisition channels and leveraging third party data sources. Source
India has fast become one of the world's most interesting fintech markets; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a fireside chat focused on digital credit for the India population and how their biometric Aadhaar system plays a key role; a few key developments have helped the India population, the ease of acquiring a smartphone and the Aadhaar system; Aadhaar started with an investment by the India government eight years ago and today there is one billion Indians who have an Aadhaar number with key identifiable pieces of information; the government then began linking Aadhaar with the banking system and enlisted fintech firms to begin extending microloans to individuals and SMEs; Aadhaar helps to solve the biggest issue with lending, KYC, by using a retina scan or biometric signature to verify the borrower; the fireside chat also talked through how the lending process worked with Aadhaar and how it has helped to extend credit to a segment of the population that only a few years ago was unable to access capital. Source
There is a worldwide problem in that not enough people have access to financial opportunity in underserved markets; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a panel that focused on impact investing and opportunities for the underserved in financial services; panelists discussed the size of the market, how technology has helped to close the gap and why they feel that investing with their hearts and wallets is the better way to go; the discussion talked through the difference between regular investing and impact investing, as well as what investors look for when an opportunity presents itself; technology has allowed for low to middle income families to have a better understanding of their daily financial health and to expect better services; the panel also touched on the risks involved in certain markets, how to assess potential investments in emerging markets and how the local regulatory bodies can play a role; looking at investments beyond the financial return has helped communities around the world and this looks to be a trend that is on the rise. Source
Over 50% of Americans can not afford an unexpected expense of $400; at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a fireside chat focused on helping Americans save; a key area that companies look at is an individual's spending as a way to help change their behavior to save more; round up from the everyday coffee you buy or set goals through your lifestyle; each way can help individuals to better set aside money when needed, as well as invest for the future; technology today allows for companies to better help individuals who thought they were left out of the investment community; the chat also focused on why they believe as a startup they can help to solve the financial inclusion question as opposed to the incumbent banks; the discussion also touched on the future of their businesses, current partnerships with top consumer brands and potential add ons for their current product offerings. Source
Celent is a research and advisory firm to mid and large sized banks, credit unions and technology providers; the company partnered with FI Navigator to present data on mobile app adoption in banking; we know what the historical channels of branches, contact centers, ATMs, internet and mobile are all about; mobile is becoming an omnichannel platform for both bankers and customers spanning branches, contact centers and ATMs which Bob Meara explores in his presentation; shares that half of retail customers aren't using digital channels, concerns from consumers about digital and mobile channels, and other data about mobile adoption. Source
Regulation in the US is far different than in China; CredEx is a Chinese company that shares the state of regulation there; Jo Ann Barefoot shares her perspective on regulation in the US, having spent most of her career working in consumer protection and financial inclusion; she believes that we have produced a regulatory system that has high cost and low value which has left consumers confused by products; while not discounting the importance of regulation, Barefoot shares that fintechs can do more to further goals around financial inclusion than regulation can; one area where the US is lagging behind much of the world, specifically China is in mobile adoption and regulators in the US are struggling to keep up as technology quickly changes. Source
In 2016 the online consumer lenders had an unexpected downturn; platforms experienced a capital markets crunch as well as concerns over credit quality; this panel with some of the largest consumer online lenders explores their expected growth going forward; despite the pullback, the major lenders continued to underwrite a significant amount of loans and believe growth for their businesses will return albeit in a more measured way; panelists discuss changing platform strategies and the focus on profitability. Source
Rachel Schneider discusses a new way of thinking about the financial lives of Americans; suggests that many of the models are out of date; Schneider worked with a research project called US Financial Diaries which worked with 235 families to learn about every dollar that they spent, borrowed, saved, earned, and more; through the research they understood these families on a much deeper level to understand the 'why' behind financial decisions; Schneider shares many interesting data points including income and spending spikes in the lives of Americans; highlights the opportunities for fintech companies in the US. Source
At LendIt USA 2017, Lang Di CEO Gabriel Hai hosted a panel themed how fintechs are changing the way that Chinese people bank; one approach is to use big data technology to reach the individual credit market; panelists agree that China's fintech platforms are more willing to cooperate with traditional banks, as the banks have a more friendly regulatory environment and sufficient cheap money, whilst platforms are at advantages of bringing new technologies to the cooperation; however, Zhou Xinming, CEO of Hexindai, pointed out that China's fintech companies' customer base is more of individual investors rather than institutional investors, and the former are still not financially sophisticated. Source
Banks of all sizes have been trying to figure out how to adapt to the changing landscape and at LendIt USA 2017 we hosted a panel to look at the future of digital banking; panelists cover how they see the future of banking, is it mobile only or mobile first, how do millennials help to guide strategies and when life becomes more complex how many different devices do people use; panelists focused on how to leverage social networks and how important digital strategies are to grow your audience; when doing partnerships who really owns the customer, is it the bank or does the customer feel more ownership to the social network or other type of partner; how do you compete with larger incumbent banks and how are smaller more nimble players able to gain market share; the panel also touches on different types of fees, how to make money in the digital age and how smaller firms can keep costs lower as they scale. Source