Fintech Archives - Page 19 of 19

How Fintech can help secure the world from the economic impact of viral pandemics

3Jun

By Mahmood AhmaduNo Comments

How Fintech can help secure the world from the economic impact of viral pandemics

The coronavirus pandemic continues to turn the world and our lives upside down, with the outbreak forcing governments to put into place measures that reduce the risk of contamination, and focus on pre-emptive processes. The strain on the economy is palpable, and is an impending catastrophe that could exceed the crash of 2008, and the Great Depression a century ago, if left unchecked. Besides asking people to practice social distancing and enforcing lockdowns to avoid the spread of the contagion, governments have another source of contamination they need to worry about: banknotes. The latest Fintech innovations can help mitigate the risk of transmission of the virus, by reducing the need to use physical money. Viruses and pathogens are known to live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. Some res...

How fintechs are making Africa a leading global Innovation Hub

24Jan

By Josephine WawiraNo Comments

Fintech, Kenya News, Main, Nigeria News, South Africa News

How fintechs are making Africa a leading global Innovation Hub

In a continent where over 60% of the adult population is unbanked and the financial sector is considerably underdeveloped, fintech has been a welcomed revolution that is seen to be boosting Africa’s financial infrastructure. With a growing population, an increasing rate of mobile and internet penetration, combined with a substantial need for financial inclusion, Africa is fecund ground for the growth of fintechs and tech giants. There exist endless possibilities, as entrepreneurs seek to use technological advancements to create a range of more reliable and customer friendly solutions to real-world problems. A sizeable number of fintech startups in the continent are closing existing gaps in various industries including healthcare, agriculture, transportation, e-commerce, and mobile money se...

The Human Touch: Biometrics Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

8Jun

By Christian FredriksonNo Comments

Fintech, Tech

The Human Touch: Biometrics Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

By Christian Fredrikson, CEO, Fingerprints For thousands of years, humanity has used fingers to express itself. Crossing one’s index and middle fingers in the West means good luck, India’s intricate hand mudras indicate everything from no fear to reverence, and a thumb down signalled bad news for Rome’s gladiators. Today, however, we’re doing even more with our fingers. From accessing mobile devices to authorizing payments, the use of fingers - in particular, our fingerprints - has grown rapidly. So rapidly in fact that in May 2019, we announced that we had shipped 1 billion fingerprint sensors worldwide. But how did we get here, and where do we go next? Authentication is dead, long live authentication It’s a funny coincidence ‘PIN’ and ‘pain’ are only one letter apart. For years, PIN aut...

Biometric payments – forget sensor size, focus on performance

7Jun

By Jonas NilssonNo Comments

Fintech, Tech

Biometric payments – forget sensor size, focus on performance

By Jonas Nilsson, Product Manager at Fingerprints Biometric authentication has come a long way in recent years. Launched in the first Android smartphone almost five years ago, fingerprint touch sensors have quickly overtaken PIN as consumers’ preferred authentication method. Now, demand for the same level of security and seamless UX is growing across other payments form factors like smartcards and wearables. But as we look to the future, it’s worth taking a closer look at how the changing size and performance of biometrics came to transform the smartphone market, and what that means for these new form factors. Biometrics’ march into mobile Since entering the mobile market, we’ve continually been refining our biometric technology to meet ever-evolving customer and device maker requirements...

9Aug

By Vahid MonadjemNo Comments

African News, Business, Fintech, Main

Consolidation of the fintech ecosystem in Africa, Good or Bad?

‘Mobile money’ used to be a catch-all phrase, describing everything from consumer wallets to building agent networks, lending, and international remittances. However, African fintech has gradually matured into an industry with specialist roles, and more players in the market every year. This shift has seen more companies take on niche roles. This makes strong partnerships between various parts of the ecosystem crucial for the space’s long-term development. Creating valuable partnerships between fintechs: There are a huge number of fintechs globally and in Africa, but yet we rarely hear about partnerships between them. This is the current paradox facing the sector. In addition to the number of fintech companies, the widespread use of mobile wallets is enabling companies in other sectors...