Pres Trump In the op-ed from Oliver Bussman, former Group Chief Information Officer at UBS, he makes an excellent case to President Trump to remember to focus on the fintech sector, too, as he is ramping up plans to improve the US economy. Mr. Bussman notes that most of President Trump's efforts to date have been on manufacturing, but in fact fintech, is experiencing a rapid rise worldwide and needs to be addressed as well. At FintekNews, we couldn't agree more.

(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)

While every new US administration promises change, the Trump administration has been touting more radical doses of it than most. This includes a promise to increase the competitiveness of American industry by rethinking many of the laws and regulations that currently govern it.

From what it has said so far, the administration seems particularly focused on manufacturing. There are other areas however where the US has a chance – through forward-looking policy – to make significant gains in competiveness. One of the most promising in my opinion is financial services technology, or Fintech.

For those not familiar with it, the term Fintech is used to describe the digital revolution currently taking place in financial services. As with similar revolutions in other sectors like music, this one is characterized by fundamental disruption caused by technology companies from outside the industry.

Products like Apple Pay or Google Wallet are only the most obvious examples of tech companies trying to take a bite out of banking. Other technology mainstays, like Microsoft, IBM and even Facebook, have set their sights on financial services as well. We have also seen an explosion of Fintech startups around the globe along with significant venture capital investment.

The rise has been meteoric. In the seven years from the financial crisis to the end of 2015 the value of the Fintech industry grew from virtually nothing to close to 20 billion US dollars. According to Business Insider, Fintech grew by another 15 billion dollars in the first six months of 2016 alone.

It is a very exciting time. Thanks to the disruptive new technologies these firms are working on, we can expect a financial industry that is far more efficient, safer and more client friendly than the one we have now. Among other things, prices for banking services will drop, while bank customers gain many more options and better tools for managing their money.

Banking regulators around the world have recognized this potential. Many are going out of their way to harness it. They are working with Fintechs to understand the new technologies and so craft sensible regulations for them. Many are taking a proactive business development role by supporting Fintech ecosystems in their jurisdictions..."

Read Full OpEd at Nasdaq.com