Thai officials will conduct blockchain feasibility studies, aiming to apply the technology for digital IDs, smart contracts, and even rice export. The Thai Ministry of Commerce has begun to conduct feasibility studies on the use of blockchain in copyright, agriculture, and trade finance, English-language Thai newspaper Bangkok Post reports Tuesday, Oct. 9. A Thai official […]
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InsurTech has a lot of room to innovate, from payout friction to risk analysis. The startup community has delivered a strong response to market gaps, and investors this week showed their interest in the B2B InsurTech market with three deals, including two rounds marking Eos Venture Partners’ first foray into the industry. Rounding out the […]
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Even as consumers conduct commerce and pay with taps and swipes, the Federal Reserve’s infrastructure underpinning payments could use a bit of modernization in a bid to support fast payments “for all,” Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said in remarks made Wednesday (Oct. 3). To that end, the Federal Reserve is seeking public comment on […]
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Earlier this year at Google I/O, the company’s developer conference, Google demonstrated an AI technology called Duplex. The AI-powered conversational bot sounded indistinguishably like a human during recorded human-computer interactions over the phone. This was the Turing test realized. When I asked Google later about how it would handle the ethical issue of disclosure to […]
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As financial institutions (FIs) invest in technology in an effort to position themselves more competitively against FinTech firms, the development of so-called chat bots and “robo advisors” has accelerated. Projects from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and RBS have all surfaced in recent years, as FIs deploy artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that both meet their customers’ needs […]
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In some markets, new entrants into the financial services (FinServ) market went from bank competitors to bank collaborators, seemingly overnight as traditional financial institutions (FIs) realized the potential in acquiring FinTech firms to bolster their own services. However, the competitive spirit isn’t gone, particularly in France, where challenger bank Qonto operates. The company, which recently […]
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U.S. Bank has debuted its online lending portal for small business borrowers, the financial institution announced on Tuesday (Sept. 25). Following in the path of alternative and marketplace lenders, traditional banks are increasingly digitizing their financing offerings for small firms. The latest to do so is U.S. Bank, which revealed its online lending platform for […]
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