Latest opinions that Helghardt Avenant has shared on Finextra

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Helghardt Avenant

CEO

Rehive

Member since

27 Nov 2019

Location

San Francisco

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Helghardt's opinions

A case for non-custodial neobanks

Imagine a neobank that operates entirely onchain, free from the constraints of traditional banking systems. What once seemed futuristic is now within reach. The question is—who will be the first to launch a truly non-custodial neobank? More importantly, why is this model better than the traditional ones? Neobanks have revolutionized banking, makin...

29 August 2024 /retail /inclusion

Innovation inclusion is a key building block to financial inclusion

In many ways, technology makes the world go round, not money. It is hard to imagine life without cars, planes, instant messaging, video streaming, and even social media. As we have seen in history, new inventions and technology are powerful growth multipliers for societies and set some apart from others. Times have changed and in the modern age of...

23 November 2022 /retail /inclusion Banking Strategy, Digital and Transformation

The business case for niche banks

The neobanking industry is estimated to be worth $300 billion, with 400 neobanks around the world. Despite mass consumer adoption and lots of attention, and capital, from investors, only 5% of neobanks are profitable. In my previous article I discussed the emergence of the niche banking trend. Perhaps thinking "smaller" is the solution ...

14 September 2022 /payments /retail Banking Strategy, Digital and Transformation

The emergence of niche banking

There is no need for brick-and-mortar banks. The days of traditional banks are gone. The reasons they have not disappeared yet? Three major reasons: They don’t have the right software or skills to serve customers virtually. They occupy and carry big real estate assets on their balance sheets which will lose a lot of value if they decide to vacate ...

01 August 2022 /retail /inclusion Banking Strategy, Digital and Transformation

Why do cards reveal the secret?

All things considered, card as a payment method is still king, but a backward one. In particular, it does not make sense that your card reveals a sensitive code for anyone to copy and use without your permission. By "code" I mean account number, expiry date and CVV. [I could not find anything online suggesting that card networks are work...

16 July 2022 /payments /retail Banking Strategy, Digital and Transformation

The embedded finance opportunity for marketplaces and gig-platforms

The US will have more than 86 million gig workers by 2027, and 50% of online spending will take place on marketplaces by 2030. In Europe, 28 million workers are active on gig-platforms and this is expected to double by 2030. The rise of gig-economy marketplaces has led to an increase in competition in the space. Gone are the days when Uber was t...

21 June 2022 /payments /retail Embedded Finance

Banking-as-a-Service rising competition

Competition in the BaaS layer is cooking! There are now over 20 US providers competing in this category: Column, Wyre, Stripe, Solid, Unit, TreasuryPrime, ModernTreasury, Hydrogen, Synctera, Bond, etc. Two weeks ago, I unpacked the rise of competition in marketplaces and how embedded finance can help increase customer retention and open new revenue...

06 June 2022 /payments /retail Fintech

Embedded finance: embeddable modules or standalone applications?

When it comes to embedded finance, there are two ways to go about incorporating it into your business - through embedded modules or through standalone applications. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages that should be considered before making a decision. At face value, embedded modules may sound like a feasible product decision, but it ...

27 May 2022 /payments Fintech

How much money does a fintech app make per user?

Payments are a key building block for any fintech-orientated business model. Let’s look at payment giants Venmo and Cash App to get a sense of the market opportunity. What they have in common are peer-to-peer payments, business payments, debit cards, and the ability to buy/sell crypto in-app. Venmo started out in 2009 as a way to pay each other wi...

26 May 2022 /payments Fintech

Embedded finance: a retention strategy for marketplaces

We are experiencing the largest fundamental shift in consumer spending since the emergence of e-commerce in the 1990s. A report by OC&C partners predicts that the unstoppable growth of online marketplace spending will equal $2tn by 2025 (excluding Greater China) – that’s 50% of online spending. This growth means, everyone wants a piece of the...

25 May 2022 /payments /inclusion Embedded Finance