-
The Internet of Things, blockchains and smart (not "big") data could help financial institutions fend off disruption in lending, payments and money management, according to the Spanish bank's fintech mavens.
June 29 -
Bankers, investors and analysts stop short of declaring a bubble. But the fintech startup and investor fields are getting crowded, and there's bound to be a culling of the herd.
September 28 -
Santander Group, the Spanish banking giant, has invested several million dollars in Ripple, one of the most prominent startups in the hotly discussed field of distributed-ledger technology.
October 6 -
There is a time, a place and a customer base for pseudonymous cryptocurrency. For regulated financial institutions, other types of shared ledgers those whose validators are legally accountable for certain terms of service may provide unique utility.
November 3 -
Theres no doubt that blockchain technology will facilitate disruptive innovations in finance, but a world of private ledgers sounds eerily similar to a range of private Internets.
October 28
Santander Group has launched an innovation competition for early-stage blockchain startups.
The event will help it identify, encourage and potentially support young companies using distributed ledger technology for financial services' internal processes and operations, it said in a Tuesday news release. It also aims to highlight areas with potential for improvement like mortgage processing, trade finance and asset leasing. Santander InnoVentures, the Spanish bank's $100 million venture capital fund, is hosting the challenge with Onevest, a crowdfunding site.
"Distributed ledger technologies will create huge value for customers, banks and entrepreneurs who create new businesses around it," Mariano Belinky, managing partner of Santander InnoVentures, said in the release. "The challenge will spark and accelerate that process for fintech startups."
Santander also highlighted distributed ledger technology as something that banks could implement to streamline centralized clearing processes
The winning company will receive $15,000 in funding. Santander market and technology experts and Onevest advisors will also mentor the winning company as it prepares its funding pitch to private angel investor community.
A panel of blockchain technology experts will select the participants from a shortlist of the total entrants. The event is set to take place in New York in January.