Alliances between banks and financial technology (fintech) companies will continue to mushroom, as fintechs look to scale using bank balance sheets, while banks race to remain competitive in a digital world, says tech group Cisco. Banks had initially viewed fintechs as a threat, but were increasingly seeing the benefit of working with them, Simon Blissett, head of Cisco’s financial services innovation practice, said on Tuesday. Local banks and insurers are rapidly implementing digital technology. For example, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings has launched AlphaCode to identify and scale disruptive businesses, while Standard Bank acquired in 2016 a majority stake in Firepay, the team behind mobile payments application SnapScan. This week, Sanlam announced it had launched a balanced fund that would be managed by a combination of artificial intelligence and machine learning. A recent PwC survey of more than 1,000 banks, insurers and asset managers found that on average, 24% of revenue ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.