It doesn’t have the most creative name, but millions have embraced it: fintech, the innovative industry straddling the worlds of finance and technology.
Success stories in fintech range from mobile check deposit to robo advisers. The boom in cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technology, too, are often viewed as fintech phenomena.
The industry faces its challenges, despite growing into a global force that attracted $71 billion in investment over 2015 and 2016, according to KPMG estimates.
How much do you know about fintech? Take our quiz to find out. (Answers are on the following page.)
1. Fill in the blank: The chief executive for a fintech startup focused on insurance recently said: “From binding a policy to making a claim, the consumer doesn’t have to ________ to anybody.”
A. pay money
B. speak
C. kowtow
D. watch what they say
2. The number of active mobile-banking users at the three biggest U.S. retail banks jumped to how many in 2017, from 33.8 million in 2012?
A. 57.7 million
B. 71.7 million
C. 89.6 million
D. none of the above
3. Fill in the blank: The chief executive for a fintech startup focused on helping banks vet high-risk clients recently said: “The ________ label gets you further now than ‘fintech’ because you [can] point to legislation that you are solving.”
A. govtech
B. lawtech
C. regtech
D. fixtech
4. True or false: UBS analysts recently wrote that while they are “doubtful cryptocurrencies will ever become a mainstream means of exchange, the underlying technology, blockchain, is likely to have a significant impact in industries ranging from finance to manufacturing, health care and utilities.”
5. What did prominent London-based venture capitalist Eileen Burbidge recently point to as potentially the top threat to the U.K. capital’s position as a fintech hub?
A. Brexit
B. Asia
C. U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
D. London Mayor Sadiq Khan
6. Lending startup Social Finance Inc., or SoFi, has ditched plans to expand into foreign markets and asset management after its chief executive, Mike Cagney, resigned. What prompted his decision to step down?
A. A workplace scandal
B. A controversial change to the company’s name
C. A push to open a banking subsidiary
D. None of the above
7. China’s “insuretech” industry has become known for offbeat insurance products. Which of the following have Chinese insurers offered?
A. Overtime-work insurance
B. Mid-autumn moon insurance
C. Traffic-jam insurance
D. All of the above
8. Fill in the blank: San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams recently said the Fed is “not developing its own digital currency” at the moment, and “this will be ____________ over the next decade.”
A. a very exciting area
B. a disaster zone
C. fun for bankers
D. a source of confusion
9. In mid-2017, Betterment, the largest pure-play robo-adviser startup, topped a big round number in terms of assets under management. What was that number?
A. $1 billion
B. $10 billion
C. $100 billion
D. $1 trillion
10. The U.K. startup with the fastest-growing valuation among all of Britain’s startups is a fintech company, according to a ranking from SyndicateRoom, an investing platform. Which company is it?
A. WorldRemit
B. eToro
C. Nutmeg
D. Transferwise