Dear Subscriber,

As we chew through 2016, we see trends rise and fall; some become necessities others get dismissed as gimmicks and quickly fade into obscurity. Then there are trends like Blockchain that seem to have captured the imagination of some key industry people without actually having being applied in many practical situations. The technology gets repackaged from the murky associations with Bitcoin into this sleek, easy to use technology that will make businesses more efficient, more transparent and safer. Next thing you know, large financial institutions are jumping on the trend and everybody goes around saying they are ‘looking into the technology’.

This week, Hitachi opened an innovation lab in Silicon Valley that will explore blockchain technology and “accelerate research and development”. This will probably come in handy as in another article in this newsletter, a new report finds that whilst a lot of financial services companies ‘understand’ the importance of Blockchain, that importance is abstract as a lot still do not actually understand how best to respond to the trend, or whether they should respond at all.

Speaking of trends, we have a very interesting infographic that picks up on the main beats of fintech hubs around the world. For example, did you know that 37% of German e-commerce transactions are made with a bank transfer?

Also don’t forget to download your copy of our Payments {R}evolution Magazine! With interviews and insights from KPMG, Money20/20 and Lloyds Banking Group it’s not one to miss!

In this interview Lisa Shipley, executive vice president at Transaction Network Services (TNS), tells PaymentEye about entering new verticals and which 2016 trends are exciting her most.

Investment in fintech companies could rise to as much as $150 billion over the next three to five years, according to ‘Blurred Lines: How FinTech is shaping Financial Services’, PwC’s latest report.

As the hype around fintech grows, cities are competing to crow the loudest about their fintech credentials. Here’s a snapshot of the hot hubs to watch this year with key stats, notable exits and who to watch.

The Japanese conglomerate Hitachi has set up a fintech innovation lab in California and it will work together with CSI-NA in areas such as research & development of blockchain technology.

It’s no secret that consumers with low-to-moderate incomes (LMI) have been poorly served by traditional finance players. What’s interesting right now is the new generation of companies leveraging technology to build financial services that better serve underbanked demographics and are helping drive financial inclusion around the globe.