Fintech

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, exhorted developers to think about unintended consequences, saying he felt guilty over the digital divide and the proliferation of fake news.

Minorities are more likely to turn to a financial technology firm than a bank when seeking a business loan, but they may pay higher interest rates, according to the preliminary results of a congressional investigation released Monday.

With issuance of marketplace securitizations now exploding — rising 300% cumulatively in the past two years — the idea of online lending as a niche is quickly deteriorating.

Bankers need to set aside their post-crisis aversion to risk, recapture some of the magic they once practiced as innovators, fear fintechs less, and worry about the Googles and Amazons more, says Peter Memon, a bank IT veteran turned global consultant.

In experimenting with a chatbot on its mobile app, TD Bank will have to tackle the same issue facing several of its rivals — how to automate conversations with consumers and decide at what point it’s time to switch to a human.