fintech

At FintekNews, we have experimented with several different story formats in a year+ in existence and will continue to do so because....1) it keeps our readers on their toes, and 2) it's fun and keeps us stimulated, too. So today, we're revisiting a format from a few months back - "quick snippets". These a quick look at notable events that happened in fintech that caught are eye, and we feel our readers should know about.

Moneyfarm, a UK-based roboadvisory, has acquired the technology behind the chatbot Ernest. So, summed up, this will make interfacing with the robo-advisor more intuitive. If you're like me, you pretty much hate chatbots, so if you can make them more comfortable for the ACTUAL HUMANS on the other end of the keyboard, so much the better. Watch for this trend to marry AI with wealth management to take hold with other robos here in the US as well.

In fact, Bank Innovation is reporting that TD Bank is looking to use a "conversational AI platform" within its mobile banking app as well. See a trend here? If you're playing in the bank space, keep an eye out for more utilization of artificial intelligence in the user experience.

And in another look at how technology is affecting the payments space, I received the following press release today...."Individuals in developing countries will now have the option of paying fines and fees on the spot, rather than being required to travel significant distances to courthouses or other government offices.

"Distance is a major challenge in North Africa, our initial market"

, said Eric Fouchard, president of TazTag,

"The spaces are immense, and travel takes people away from families or jobs for unacceptably long periods of time. TazPoS directly solves this challenge, giving governments the ability to bring essential services out to people where they live, rather than the other way around".

How do they propose to accomplish this? With a mobile fingerprint scanner......"TazTag and Integrated Biometrics have released TazPoS, a mobile fingerprint scanner with built-in point-of-sale (PoS) capabilities for law enforcement in the developing world to validate identity in the field."

This product is specifically positioned to the developing world and will initially be launched in North Africa, but the firm plans to expand the roll out over time.

So - technology applications in the payments sector continue to march on.