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Do you think that Apple will launch a bank? Will Google and Facebook compete with asset managers?

The tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Apple will continue their expansion into financial services from their payments beach head, and should not be underestimated. However the most aggressive entrants could be the Asian groups such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu.

is finance and Fintech an integral part of their strategies? In the case of Amazon, it would have to be a Yes. To simplify to the extreme, Amazon is the ultimate virtual supermarket, selling to consumers, and buying from suppliers. Which means that handling money and payment is part of its DNA, and offering financial services is a natural extension of its business — similarly to Walmart credit cards or Tesco Bank in the brick and mortar world. It is therefore not a surprise that Amazon Lending was extended to an additional 8 countries this year — despite having only financed a few hundred million dollars in its first couple of years. Or that they hired an ex-Paypal executive to lead their new payment projects.

Tags

asia, payments, wealth management