Author: vvanama

Here are my views on blockchain in health data:

The blockchain is being applied in the healthcare industry. The physical records of health are going digital one step at a time. Previously, documents like Xrays and CT scan are now available in digital formats which are flexible for hospitals and research. But, this possesses the threat to both consumer records as now they are in digital form they can be modified. Not just this, but the insurance price in many cases dependent on the health condition. In this case, health data is becoming more important even in day to day life. In this situation, we need some technology that can store the data and records safety and validate them. This gives users data protection as data is not distributed. And as other blockchain techs, it is write only so the data is safe. I feel all future healthcare documents including tests, medication should be stored in the blockchain. As always the protection of data would be a concern even though it is a restricted ledger but by gaining access to one ledger entire data can be accessed.

 

 

References: http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/10/14880094/deepmind-health-uk-data-blockchain-audit

Here are my views on Fintech in Insurance:

Insurance is one of the under-tapped markets in both life and nonlife.

Metromile, the auto insurance company product pay per mile is making its way in the market and disrupting the traditional system, here the people can pay only what they use for, unlike the traditional insurance.  It is also introduced products for mixed usage both commercial and residential, this product is becoming relevant in current days because of people like Uber use the same vehicles for both purposes. This would pave a way for the industry to introduce new and competitive products.

Another insurance product where fin tech is gaining is microinsurance. There are several microinsurance companies like GrassRoots Bima which are providing insurance services in underdeveloped countries. This type of companies are not only financially sustainable but also provide services and paving way for financial inclusion.Generally, these markets are small for big players, companies like this providing innovative solutions are solving problems with technological innovation.

In this way, Insurance is one of the sectors being disrupted by fin tech across the markets.

 

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Insurance_Corporation

https://www.fastcompany.com/3066666/5-fintech-startups-to-watch-in-2017

38 FinTech Companies in Kenya to Look out for in 2017

 

Here are my ideas on blockchain in voting system

Currently, we are beginning to use blockchain in a variety of domains like banking, shares. I feel this concept has wider applications like in social like in voting systems. If we can integrate the current system with biometric and blockchain we can make it more transparent and fraud resistant.

Let’s look at the steps in normal voting:

1. Voter goes to respective voting center along with valid Identity
2. Authorized officer checks identity
3. Person votes on paper or electronic voting system

The steps 2,3 are flawed as the identity can be easily modified and system either paper or electronic can easily tamper.

Proposed steps

1. The person can now vote from any voting center or from a mobile phone which supports biometric.
2. His identity would be confirmed by fingerprint and iris scanner
3. The vote would be recorded on system powered by blockchain

Advantages

• Foolproof system if properly implemented
• More flexibility for voters
• More transparency compared to existing system

Difficulties:

• Need proper biometric information to get proper results
• Convincing people for collecting their identity
• Building and maintaining biometric databases as they are high-value information

 

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain_(database)

Here are my views on AI in Fintech:

Artificial intelligence is disrupting the way we live and Fintech would also adopt these in their model. They would be affected in two ways AI used as part of their business model, dealing with AI enable the system.The first way where the lending company can use AI and machine learning to predict the weather a person would return the loan.There are both advantages and disadvantages to this model as the system could predict based on the past model but it cannot look at big picture or future .So a careful assessment should be made and AI should not be the sole authority in crucial steps.While the advantages would be it could confirm the digital identity of the person and would prevent frauds.The second way where the company had to deal with AI enabled system is for example in future a refrigerator might initiate the payment process. The payment company must make sure that it has proper authentication and is valid on the date. So Fintech companies must take careful steps and prepare themselves for upcoming challenges.

 

 

References:

https://thenextweb.com/finance/2017/02/21/fintech-is-not-just-fintech-anymore/#.tnw_odAq24Cp

https://themerkle.com/fintech-will-be-a-culmination-of-blockchain-artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning/

 

Here are my views about Fintech in India:

Fintech companies in India are solving some basic but important problems in the emerging economy time and change amount. Nearly 66% are in payment processing and banking. Three major reasons for success are the convenience, transaction charges and trust. Companies like Paytm -an e-wallet company are able proving bill payment such as electricity, telephone etc. and ticket booking services at the user’s convenience. This may not be new to developed countries but in India previously People need to go to the concerned office and wait in line for hours office to pay the bills. E-wallets also solved an important problem of change amount.An average Indian would do nearly 4 to 5 cash transactions, because of e-wallet, they need not worry about the exact change in their transactions.  In addition to this, they are also disrupting banking sector, companies like BankBazaar, a startup that lets Indian consumers compare financial products online giving more freedom to the customers not to depend on a single bank or insurance for their needs.  I feel that going at the current pace it would solve many other problems in the Indian economy like micro insurance etc.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FinTech_in_India

http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/towards-a-fintech-revolution/262870/

Blockchain technology consists of a network of computers to maintain a collective book keeping via the internet. The advantage of this is this is neither closed nor in control of any single party. It’s public and available in one digital ledger which is fully distributed across the network. Each node in a network owns a full copy of ledger.In blockchain, all transactions are logged including information of time, date, participants and amount of every single transaction. Based on mathematical principles the transactions are verified by bitcoin miners. These are also devised in a way that they agree on the current state of the ledger if anyone tried to tamper with the transaction there will be no consensus and hence will refuse to incorporate the transaction. of open forms a core of Bitcoin. This is how blockchain and bitcoin functions.

Bitcoin is one of the possible technologies for blockchain instead of bitcoin it can be an identity like a digital signature to verify the documents example companies: Onename. The basic unit might also be stocks, bonds, land titles, and frequent flyer miles. ex: NASDAQ, Chain, Openchain .

References:

https://www.quora.com/What-are-non-Bitcoin-applications-of-blockchain-technology

Fintech is revolutionizing the traditional businesses. Lets, look at lending which was traditionally done by banks and financial institutions, the Lending club which has become the change of face in the industry. The way it operates is enabled borrowers to create unsecured personal loans between $1,000 and $40,000.  Investors can search and browse the loan listings on Lending Club website and select loans that they want to invest in based on the information supplied by the borrower, amount of loan, loan grade, and loan purpose. Investors make money from interest. Lending Club makes money by charging borrowers an origination fee and investors a service fee.

My view about this it is a welcome move as people are getting an alternative source of funds for their needs. When we look at the three companies business models Amazon, Uber, and Lending club all three are just acting as intermediaries. They just provide a system where supply meets demand. Having said that it could not replace traditional banking system as it provides a safe ecosystem for a multitude of services like home loan, a business loan which can’t be provided by P to P lending.

 

References: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-fintech-regulation-report-2017-2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lending_Club

Chip card security is the latest standard in credit card security.  The data on chip cards is constantly changing, making it extremely hard to isolate and extract. To clone, someone would have to get into the physical chip circuit and manipulate things to get your bank information.

U.S. retailers who have implemented EMV have seen counterfeit fraud costs decrease 54 percent (compared to the period of April 2015 to April 2016). Meanwhile, counterfeit fraud costs increased by 77 percent YOY among merchants who haven’t yet upgraded Chip cards are different in that they have sophisticated encryption built right into the chip.

In 2014 US card Fraud,45% of them are online,37% counterfeit, 14 % lost/stolen 4% others. Overall we can see even though there would be proposed decrease of frauds like theft or duplicating other kinds of frauds like online frauds would not be affected by this change in features of the card.

Next generation of devices like Coin which can store debit, credit cards can be used for payment or cards stored in e-wallets like apple pay. As no card is physically visible in my view it would be difficult even to copy the card number which could make online fraud difficult.

References:http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/emv-faq-chip-cards-answers-1264.php

http://www.vanillaplus.com/2015/08/07/10551-history-of-cashless-payments/https://squareup.com/townsquare/why-are-chip-cards-more-secure-than-magnetic-stripe-cards/

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/emv-faq-chip-cards-answers-1264.php

http://creditcardforum.com/blog/credit-card-statistics/http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-security-id-theft-fraud-statistics-1276.php

http://www.smartcardalliance.org/publications-end-to-end-encryption-and-chip-cards-in-the-us-payments-industry/http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38174011

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and payment system introduced in 2008. New bitcoins are created by a process called mining where users are rewarded by bitcoins for providing their computational power for providing computing power to verify the transactions.

In the http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-chinas-central-bank-fears-bitcoin-192321568.html article shows how the counties are increasingly monitoring virtual currencies and operators.  This has resulted in changing of terms for the firms. In my view, this might cause people to refrain from using this currency.

Here are my views on Bitcoin advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

• Global currency can be used anywhere.
• Can be transferred anywhere in the world in very less time across the world.
• Protects from geographic and currency fluctuations
• Reduced no of intermediaries in payment system

Disadvantages:

• No physical backing: can collapse anytime
• Illegal activists can use it to avoid any suspension
• Bitcoin price volatility greatly affecting its holders
• A Safe haven for holders. Difficult to be monitored by countries
• Countries like china are increased monitoring the bitcoin companies

 

Reference: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-chinas-central-bank-fears-bitcoin-192321568.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin

http://www.coindesk.com/china-bitcoin-exchanges-trading-policy-updates/