Fintech seems to be the new buzzword the world over, and
Malta is no different. Accenture reports that Global investment
in Fintech in the first three months of 2016 reached $5.3 billion,
a 67 percent increase over the same period last year
1.
Fintech is not new. Startups like Oscar or Metromile in
insurance, Transferwise, Venmo or Square in payments, Kickstarter
and Indiegogo in funding, are just a few of the thousands already
in existence - anything from accounting software to brokerage to
currencies is up for disruption.
Fintech startups all come with the promise to increase speed,
improve quality and, more importantly, reduce costs to the
consumers or businesses they serve. The T-shirt-wearing disruptors
hope to take on the financial establishment in the same way that
TripAdvisor or Airbnb severely dented the travel agent model.The
prospect of flabby incumbents being forced to improve their service
already has Maltese customers and businesses who tried to open
