Happy Wednesday!
At this time we've got:
The platformification of finance: conclusions from the Tearsheet Embedded conference
The New Elements of Digital Transformation
Twenty images that offer a lens on 2020
When nothing is normal: managing in extreme uncertainty
A Year in Fintech: 2021 Mergers and Acquisitions
TransferWise: the UK fintech grows up.
The platformification of finance: Conclusions from the Tearsheet Embedded Conference
The acceleration of digital financial services spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic loomed behind the 2020 Tearsheet Embedded Conference, a virtual event which brought together industry practitioners, brands, and platform providers. Participants explored the state of the industry shaped by the pandemic and beyond.
Embedded finance solutions allow brands to seamlessly plug into financial plumbing to enhance their capabilities and facilitate continued customer acquisition and retention. The concept encompasses two core components: the ability to integrate financial services with another, typically non-financial service (e.g., payments and banking services within a ride-hailing app or e-commerce platform); and the provision of financial services on a customer’s own terms — anytime and anywhere.
It’s no longer a battle between incumbents and upstart players, but which platforms will meet client needs as quickly and easily as possible.
The New Elements of Digital Transformation
Digital mastery is more important than ever because the risks of falling behind are increasing. In 10 years of research, we have seen digital transformation grow increasingly complex, with a new wave of technological and competitive possibilities arriving before many companies mastered the first. When we began our research, most large traditional enterprises were using digital technologies to incrementally improve parts of their businesses. Since then, this first phase of activity has given way to a new one. Advances in a host of technologies, such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and 5G, have opened new avenues for value creation. More important, leaders now recognize the need for — and the possibility of — truly transforming the fundamentals of how they do business. They understand that they have to move from disconnected technology experiments to a more systematic approach to strategy and execution.
Twenty images that offer a lens on 2020
The way we see the world may well have changed in the course of 2020—as the global pandemic has upended our personal and professional lives.
In a year where much of the world spent many months maintaining some level of physical distancing, large swaths of the images in the libraries we access—those that showed people in the proximity we were all used to before the pandemic—became unusable.
Read the stories behind some of the year’s most important issues.
When nothing is normal: Managing in extreme uncertainty
In normal times organizations face numerous uncertainties of varying consequence.
Uncertainty can be measured in magnitude and duration. By both measures, the extreme uncertainty accompanying the public-health and economic damage created by the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented in modern memory. It should not be surprising, therefore, that organizations need a new management model to sustain operations under such conditions. The magnitude of the uncertainty organizations face in this crisis—defined partly by the frequency and extent of changes in information about it—means that this operating model must enable continuous learning and flexible responses as situations evolve. The duration of the crisis, furthermore, has already exceeded the early predictions of many analysts; business planners are now expecting to operate in crisis mode for an extended period. Leaders should therefore begin assembling the foundational elements of this operating model so that they can steer their organizations under conditions of extreme uncertainty.
A Year in Fintech: 2021 Mergers and Acquisitions
Through successful mergers and acquisitions (M&As) companies can accelerate growth, boost revenue, improve cash flow and integrate new employees and new ways of doing business. Read more see some of the notable fintech industry M&As of 2020 – from January to December.
TransferWise: the UK fintech grows up
TransferWise’s customer numbers, profits and valuation have continued to grow. A secondary share sale in July valued the privately owned money transfer group at $5bn, up from $3.5bn a year earlier.
During the coronavirus pandemic, global remittance volumes have fallen, but the closure of traditional stores has pushed more people and small businesses towards digital providers. TransferWise’s customer base is skewed towards wealthier European and American immigrants who are likely to have been less severely affected than the poorer consumers who send the majority of remittances.
Thank you for the time!
