The Future of Digital Finance
In the future, financial transactions will eventually “be digital, universal and almost free.”
Bill Gates, Co-founder, Microsoft
The Digital Finance Institute is a not-for-profit organization representing a strategic link in digital finance between industry, academia, financial regulators and policy makers to promote sector vibrancy, resiliency and integrity through leadership, advocacy, research and education.
Our goal is to support the development of digital finance technology and commerce, digital finance regulation and financial inclusion through facilitating better regulation and market provision of digital finance services. We do this by conducting research, providing advice and developing capacity-building programs for industry, regulators, market players and affected members of the market.
Knowledge
The DFI aggregates market intelligence, and conducts research and analyzes trends with a focus on digital banking, mobile transactions and cryptocurrency protocols. it also monitors regulatory performance and reform for effective consumer and investor protection in digital finance.
Direction
The DFI provides advisory services and develops capacity-building programs for industry, regulators, market players and affected members of the digital finance market. The DFI is an advocate for greater participation for women in financial technology.
Communication
The DFI provides support for peer learning and capacity building for members to coordinate efforts and share knowledge and experiences on digital finance. The DFI facilitates public-private dialogue and engagement to identify and mitigate barriers to financial inclusion.
With the evolution of the Internet of Things and Bitcoin for example, fintech is developing at an incredible pace globally and it is important that we start balancing innovation and regulation to ensure that digital fintech can thrive without overly burdensome regulation and without causing more of a financial inclusion problem around the world.
It’s time to go back to the drawing board on financial regulation to achieve a better balance, fix financial exclusion problems and bring women into that dialogue in a meaningful way.
Christine DuhaimeConsumer protection is paramount. We have a lot of work to do in educating people about the bitcoin technology. We need to engage them at the right level and give people what they want, and make the offerings user-friendly and secure at the end of the day.
They could pay for purchases, exchange money, use loyalty cards, and even set up smart contracts, which allow one party to pay another automatically, once a task is completed. No third party has to participate in this contract, because the payment automatically goes through once a task has been done.
Manie EagarWhy do I invest in start-ups? Because they are the job creators and innovators of the future.
Finance is another area where I see exciting opportunities. Indiegogo, a crowdfunding platform, allows entrepreneurs better and cheaper access to the seed financing they need to get their business up and running. Similarly, Bitcoin is creating an entirely new form of currency. I was happy to see PayPal announce they will integrate BitPay into their website, and we are also accepting Bitcoin on Virgin Galactic.
Richard Branson