FinTech, or Financial Technology, entails new technologies and innovations that aim to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. The term FinTech has spread rapidly across the world in recent years, and while the impact of FinTech is wide ranging and varied, FinTech products and startups are putting pressure on traditional financial institutions. Examples include non-banks enabling more efficient payments; crowdfunding by local cafés, educational programs, and healthcare providers; financial product offerings for previously "unbanked" individuals in developing countries; and traditional government-backed currencies even being challenged by emerging cryptocurrencies. 

Sweden has a long tradition of financial service innovations and more recently the country has generated some FinTech stars that have risen to international acclaim. FinTech startups are being launched at an increasing pace, and the technological disruption that they are generating is enabling end-customers and companies to access new and better financial services.

The book includes multiple case studies examining topics such as the adoption of online banking in Sweden, the identification and classification of different FinTech services, process innovation developments within traditional banking, developments within the Venture Capital (VC) landscape in Sweden, and discussions of trust, digital traces, and the blockchain in financial services. Additionally, the authors address the following questions:

• What are the factors that will likely drive the adoption of FinTech services in the future?
• What is the future role of banks in the context of FinTech and digitalization?
• How is the regulatory landscape shaping the future of FinTech?
• What are the policies and government initiatives that aim to support the FinTech ecosystem in Sweden?

This book is the fourth research deliverable from the three-year research project, The Internet and its Direct and Indirect Effects on Innovation and the Swedish Economy under the leadership of Robin Teigland, Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, and is funded by The Internet Foundation in Sweden (Internetstiftelsen i Sverige, IIS) and the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation (MWF). Currently, the project is working on a new book project with the tentative title, The Digital Disruption of Public Services: An Investigative Study of the Societal Impact in Sweden and Beyond, with an expected publication date in early 2019.

The book is available for open access at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351183611

Press contact at SSE for this report: 

Shahryar Siri, Researcher and Project Manager
Email: shahryar.siri@hhs.se

Press contact at The Internet Foundation, IIS for this report: 

Elisabeth Standár, Head of PR
Tel: +46704075829
E-mail: elisabeth.standar@iis.se