Europe’s leading fintech event, Money 20/20 Europe, comes to Amsterdam from 3 to 5 June 2019. There could hardly be a better location. More than 400 companies were active in the Dutch fintech market in 2018, and that number is growing every day. The Netherlands is also a leader in fintech innovation, with a thriving start-up scene.
One topic of discussion in the financial sector is the integration of technology with the traditional services offered by banks and insurers. As in the United Kingdom, Dutch companies embrace the innovation and transparency of fintech start-ups and support them wherever they can.
The mix of traditional banks and fintech start-ups attending Money 20/20, together with the rapid growth of financial innovation in the Netherlands, demonstrates this willingness to collaborate. The Dutch government is also taking proactive steps to ensure that fintech entrepreneurs, start-ups and the wider financial sector can access the knowledge they need to succeed and comply with the rules. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), for example, established an InnovationHub where businesses can ask the two regulators questions informally. Two hundred questions were asked and answered in its first year.
The issues shaping the Dutch fintech scene
Data
It is often said that data is now more valuable than oil; it has become a kind of currency. This is particularly true in fintech and banking, where consumers expect a seamless, intuitive and transparent customer experience. Analysing data and drawing insights from it can help improve that experience. One example is AI-focused banking software provider and Money 20/20 sponsor W.UP, which uses data to improve the customer experience through:
- A mobile-first approach to serve 3.8 billion smartphones.
- A focus on a single product, reflecting a cited average consumer attention span of 8.25 seconds.
- A focus on a specific demographic, with millennials accounting for 30 per cent.
W.UP’s mission is to change how banks generate digital revenue and communicate with customers through AI-based solutions. This brings us to the next important subject: AI.
Artificial intelligence
Four out of five Dutch CEOs view data, analytics and AI as crucial to their company’s growth. That is according to a Forrester report commissioned by Experian, a client of Progress Communications.
Another study, by Trends in Fintech, identified AI as the innovation likely to have the greatest impact on financial technology in both the short and long term. One emerging fintech trend is full automation, or “intelligent automation”, as a Capgemini report describes it. This combines continuing innovation in AI, robotic process automation (RPA) and the automation of financial business processes.
Security
Cybersecurity remains a top priority in the financial sector. To illustrate the challenge, more than half of companies were reported to be struggling to secure their payment systems. From preventing data breaches and securing mobile payments to changes around PSD2 and open banking, the risks involved in protecting financial assets and data continue to grow. Verify-U, a pioneer in video and photo identification, offers a secure way to onboard customers through an international online Know Your Customer (KYC) process designed to meet anti-money-laundering requirements.
Quantexa, a PHA Group client, is a leading data analytics business offering technology to uncover new insights and combat financial crime such as money laundering. Another example is IdentityWorks Premium, an identity-fraud prevention solution developed by Progress Communications client Experian. It monitors the dark web to help protect customers against the financial and reputational damage caused by identity fraud.
Customer engagement
Banking and insurance customers prefer fully personalised offers and want better integration between physical and digital channels. Consumer trust in financial institutions is also high and growing. These findings come from the Global Financial Services Consumer Study by Accenture, a Progress Communications client. Fintech contributes by enabling personalisation, seamless integration and improved user experience for traditional banks and insurers.
Compliance: an opportunity rather than a restriction
The Netherlands has a distinctive approach to compliance. Dutch businesses increasingly recognise that regulatory technology, or RegTech, can create competitive advantages. This helps explain why many companies view compliance as an opportunity rather than an afterthought or an unwelcome task. RegTech’s ultimate goal is to allow businesses to integrate governance, risk management and compliance seamlessly, replacing awkward databases and separate compliance, risk and fraud functions.
Leading trends in Dutch fintech
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding has grown rapidly in the Netherlands in recent years. A total of €329 million was raised in 2018, 48 per cent more than the €223 million raised in 2017. Dedicated Dutch platforms help SMEs find growth capital. In the wider funding market, Deposit Solutions helps banks find funding, explore new markets and attract new customer groups without building and managing their own retail infrastructure. Account holders can access offers without opening a new account at another bank.
Open banking and digitalisation
For a long time, it was normal to stay with one bank or financial services provider throughout your financial life, turning to it for savings and current accounts, mortgages, investments and insurance. Consumers now use different providers to find the best value, user experience and convenience. Someone might invest through GIRO or BUX, hold current accounts with ING, Rabobank or ABN AMRO, or an online bank such as KNAB, choose an online mortgage provider, manage savings through Moneyou and arrange foreign currency quickly through Franx.
Blockchain and ICOs
The Netherlands is not yet benefiting from everything blockchain could offer, but interest in this global trend is growing. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are of particular interest in the financial sector: businesses use crypto tokens to finance projects. Dutch companies have been cautious about ICOs. One reason is the AFM’s warning about fraud risks associated with the anonymous nature of transactions. The regulator considered the risks sufficient to advise that ICOs were not suitable for retail investors at the time. Nevertheless, blockchain technology continued to attract interest among Dutch entrepreneurs and investors.
Would you like your technology business to become more visible in mainstream media? Visit Progress Communications or The PHA Group to learn how we can help in the Benelux and the United Kingdom. 
Authors: Iwanna de Jonge, PR Consultant at Progress Communications, Amsterdam, and Ben Cossor, Fintech Account Director at The PHA Group, London.
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