What is digital finance?
Digital finance is a term used to describe the impact of new technologies on the financial services industry. It includes a variety of products, applications, processes and business models that have transformed the traditional way of providing banking and financial services.
While technological innovation in finance is not new, investment in new technologies has substantially increased in recent years and the pace of innovation is exponential. We now interact with our bank using mobile technology. We make payments, transfer money and make investments using a variety of new tools that were not there a few years ago. Artificial intelligence, social networks, machine learning, mobile applications, distributed ledger technology, cloud computing and big data analytics have given rise to new services and business models by established financial institutions and new market entrants.
All these technologies can benefit both consumers and companies by enabling greater access to financial services, offering wider choice and increasing efficiency of operations. They can also contribute to bringing down national barriers and spurring competition in areas such as online banking, online payment and transfer services, peer-to-peer lending and personal investment advice and services.
What is Digital finance outreach 2020?
The digital finance outreach 2020 is a series of events in the Member States in March-early May 2020 on fintech and digital innovation in the financial sector to prepare the new EU digital finance strategy.
The objectives
These events would be an opportunity to learn about the best practices applied in these local ecosystems but also the challenges that they are facing – for example when seeking to expand beyond their national borders.
This will be an occasion to:
- Meet the key stakeholders in digital finance around the EU;
- Create awareness around the Commission’s ongoing and forthcoming work on digital finance;
- Generating publicity to stimulate responses on the current and upcoming public consultations;
- Create more collaboration between the various EU fintech hubs in line with the Commission's priority in creating a single market for digital finance.
Upcoming events
- 24 March - Lisbon - Portugal
- 24 March - Vilnius - Lithuania
- 25 March - Brussels - Belgium - Workshop on digital sustainable finance organised by Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union
- 26-27 March - Zagreb - Croatia
- 7 April - The Hague - Netherlands
- 23 April - Paris - France
- 28 April - Valletta - Malta
- 29 April - Dublin - Ireland
- 4 May - Berlin - Germany
- 5 May - Nicosia - Cyprus
- 12-13 May - Luxembourg - Luxembourg - ICT Spring Europe
- 13 May - Madrid - Spain
