We were honored to partner with the Monetary Authority of Singapore on their first week-long global Singapore FinTech Festival in November which coincided with our Singapore campus opening. The Festival attracted more than 11,000 from all over the world.
No, we did not learn his presidential preferences (although that was a pressing topic). Vikram Pandit, the former CEO of Citigroup Inc. was a guest speaker at the Economist’s Finance Disrupted (#FinanceDisrupted) conference recently in New York City put on by Economist Events (great job Stephanie and Maria) The theme, “Collaborate or Die,” featured fireside chats with leading FinTech experts on topics such as blockchain, financial inclusion, insurance and more. The Economist news desk Editor-In-Chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, chatted with Pandit in the late afternoon. In attempts to make this coverage “hot off the press” before the conference ends (!)
Overall Vikram was a diplomat avoiding the moderator’s attempts to extract a true opinion (for instance, he avoided her question “does the US suck with regulation?")
Stay tuned for a more extensive follow-up on the Economist’s FinTech Disrupted conference…
Liked what you read? Checkout Byte Academy's Software Development and Intro to Python courses.
In early February, Finovate Europe, a sold-out, two-day conference in London brought together more than 1500 on a guest list composed of the “who’s who in FinTech” – VC’s, founders, press and more. The conference is perhaps only surpassed in size by its original, Finovate Fall in New York. Products were launched by 70 companies from around the world - both startups and larger veterans. However, no matter what the size or founder's native language, a few themes were common. These included personalization, big data, machine learning and white labeling. Some even indicated a shift from Finovate Fall a few months prior.
Nathaniel - "Nat" - Greenwald, a statistics major in his twenties, decided to break into data science by enrolling in Byte Academy coding bootcamp. Nat now has an exciting career working as a data integration engineer in the AdTech industry. Read about Nat's personal experience learning to code in addition to his career tips and advice to those who may want to follow in his footsteps.
Below we interview Gabby, a former Wealth Planning Analyst who enrolled in Byte Academy’s Intro To Python program. Although he could not persuade his classmates, Gabby signed up for his first hackathon - the Linnia Protocol Blockchain Hackathon run by Consensys, one of the leading companies in the blockchain space. Gabby both won the hack and advanced his career. Read how he did it:
Collaboration maybe a manifestation of competition. Hong Kong, Singapore and China race to lead the FinTech revolution. Passionate debate at Hong Kong FinTech Breakfast Briefing and The Economist #FinanceDisrupted conference
In April the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore announced that Singapore would hold its inaugural FinTech Festival in November. He made the announcement regarding the week-long global event in New York City.
Hong Kong FinTech Breakfast Briefing, Oct. 12, 2016 Princeton Club, New York City
Invest Hong Kong announced on September 21st that it would be holding its first “FinTech Week.” This will kick off with Finovate and end a couple days before the Singapore event. Although both Singapore and Hong Kong may say that the current atmosphere is collaborative, the FinTech event race suggests competition. This has been true historically for both countries.
Hong Kong’s FinTech Facilitation Office (FFO) Plan to promote FinTech development, Oct. 12, 2016
Hong Kong Breakfast Briefing speakers hinted at current competition when they pointed out that Hong Kong did not need to provide large subsidies to encourage companies to innovate in the country. However, Singapore “has to.”
The sense of competition thickened the next day at The Economist’s Finance Disrupted event. The theme of the day long conference, “collaborate or die” attracted a few hundred attendees paying $2200 per ticket. Viewpoints during the afternoon's Oxford style debate, “the house believes that China will win the FinTech revolution” suggested that China's domination relied heavily on mobilizing its peoples' technology and other professional skills.
Other views suggested that China is separated from global financial power players and has a long journey to advance. One of the supports for this: although the largest banks are in China the most powerful citizens don’t trust these banks. Instead, they go to American banks such as Goldman Sachs.
#FinanceDisrupted Conference by The Economist Oct. 13, 2016 New York City. Theme? “Collaborate or Die”
Other interesting points brought up that day? The Economist used to be banned in Singapore but now it is allowed. The government has relaxed its regulatory measures too. Global leaders such as Vikram Pandit, former CEO Citigroup Inc. pointed this out as reasoning for his faith in Singapore FinTech.
Vikram Pandit, Former CEO Citigroup Inc. Professing His Love For Singapore to the Editor-In-Chief of the The Economist at Finance Disrupted, Oct. 13While it may still be warm enough to turn over those hamburgers on the grill, the days are getting shorter, clothes are getting darker; and, although we may resist it, fall is here. We will soon be spending more time indoors and our extracurricular activities will also be making the switch. So, how do we keep ourselves stimulated and occupied (without the sun, sand and water)?
Recently Matt Gertler, cryptocurrency attorney at Digital Asset Research answered a big question on many minds recently: are we in a cryptocurrency bubble? Particularly with the rise of ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) and China's recent ban on them, this has been on many minds recently.
Finovate 2015, one of the world’s largest FinTech gatherings, was held mid September in New York City, the same city where the conference was first held in 2007. For 2 days, 1500 innovators gathered at this demo-focused conference series focused on showcasing the best and most innovative new financial and banking technologies. Like in past years, Finovate attracted a high-impact audience of senior financial and banking executives. In addition to New York, the event takes place in different locations around the world throughout the year including San Francisco, London and Singapore. The 24 events over the years have attracted more than 16,000 attendees.
