CLEARING REGULATION HURDLES
“ You cannot expect people to switch away from the banks they have trusted for generations to something completely new ”
— Georgy Sokolov , Co-founder and Co-CEO , Wirex
innovation and support – a symbiotic relationship between the foundations of global finance , and the nimble fintechs driving the sector towards the digital future .
At Stripe , Ellen Moeller , Head of Partnerships EMEA , says banks offer the “ tools and rails ” to infrastructure and the products the fintech builds for its customers . “ Ultimately , it is this network of partnerships with banks , card networks , and payment methods around the world that makes Stripe an access point for new fintechs wanting to build products on top of existing financial services infrastructure .”
Banks are seeking partners “ for tomorrow ” as much as the immediate demands of today , says Leicht : “ Contracts signed previously for three to five years are now extended to five to seven years .” Financial institutions are also seeking more up-front investment from their partners , a greater buy-in to form a “ more concrete value proposition for merchants ”, Leicht says .
CLEARING REGULATION HURDLES
Data privacy and the use of personal digital information for profit are growing concerns in all sectors , particularly finance where fraud and criminal activity are prevalent . Digital finance is already highly regulated , and this throws up issues for many fintech startups trying to go it alone , particularly the burgeoning cryptocurrency field where the introduction of a new digital token via an initial coin offering ( ICO ) is the crucial first step , and often the most difficult .
“ If some shady ICO project comes to us asking to support their token , linking it to our Wirex cards , the answer would be ‘ no ’," says Sokolov , regardless of how strong the business case . He argues that while Wirex performs heavy due diligence checks , the rapid
53 fintechmagazine . com