I spent last night and this morning getting to know some of the world’s most prominent financial technology (fintech) start-up champions such as Chris Larsen of Ripple and Daumantas Dvilinskas of TransferGo. These are just two of the entrepreneurs who are disrupting the traditional world of finance with faster, cheaper options for everyday consumers. Now, the very word disruption conjures up images of destruction in many people’s minds. Are these new digital platforms going to bring banks crashing to their knees? It does appear that the new kids on the block certainly are gunning for the established big players, if TransferWise boss Taavet Hinrikus is anything to go by. “Why should a money transfer cost so much money?” he asked at an event hosted by the online technology magazine TechCrunch last night. “I am confused as to why a bank should charge 10% for something that’s as easy as sending an email.” But are blockchain, TransferWise and other new money transfer ...
