Belgium Seeks FinTech Solutions in Israel
The Government of Belgium, along with 12 other partners, established the B-Hive Company for the purpose of advancing future technologies that would serve the banking and insurance sector in Belgium and Europe. Exclusive interview with Fabian Vandenreydt, the Chairman of B-Hive's Board of Directors
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 27/07/2017
Illustration: Bigstock
The Government of Belgium has launched an initiative aimed at positioning Belgium at the forefront of the evolving FinTech (Financial Technology) world. To do that, the Government of Belgium, along with 12 other partners, established the B-Hive Company, for the purpose of advancing future technologies that would serve the banking and insurance sector in Belgium, Europe, and hopefully – the rest of the world.
"Israeli companies willing to land and expand in Europe can find in B-Hive a strong helping hand that provides support and guidance through multiple partners, from traditional financial players to dynamic start-up companies on a large scale – as well as to the government. On the other hand, we help our European partners find the technologies they need in Israel," the Company's website states.
Belgium's aspiration of becoming a leader in the FinTech field is not surprising. Belgium is the home of the Swift Company that serves about 8000 banks worldwide by enabling international transactions. In 2009, the Swift Company embarked on an innovation program intended to find new technologies for the benefit of the banks using the Company's service. Fabian Vandenreydt, the Chairman of B-Hive's Board of Directors, leads the Company's initiative. Vandenreydt is also the leader of Swift's innovation program.
Swift over Blockchain
"When we initiated the innovation program at Swift, we envisioned it primarily for the retail field. Today we see it operating between businesses. Blockchain is just one example. We have seen innovation in cybersecurity, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and the implementation of regulation. We even have a development, a prototype, for Swift over a Blockchain infrastructure," says Vandenreydt in an exclusive interview to Israel Defense.
Regarding the Blockchain infrastructure, Vandenreydt says that its advantage stems from the fact that it can represent almost any asset using a token which can be transferred between people relatively easily – and securely. "The Blockchain infrastructure will enable trading in assets in a less complex manner. The question that still hangs in the air is how you convert a diamond, land ownership or a loan into a token, so that we may trade in it – that is the question.
"But I am here in Israel under my B-Hive hat," explains Vandenreydt. "B-Hive is a joint venture of the Government of Belgium and 12 other investors, whose objective is to find FinTech solutions that may benefit everyone. Instead of each one of us developing on his own, we will develop together and everyone will benefit. Our focus at the moment is on Belgium and Europe, but in the future, the idea is to provide solutions to the financial world along the same lines as Swift."
One of the challenges the B-Hive Company wants to address is the challenge of testing the solution and adapting it to the operational systems of the banks and insurance companies. In most cases, the life cycle of the process of testing such a solution is at least one year, and most start-up companies do not have the resources to bear such a burden. B-Hive attempts to solve that problem by an initial design that would be more appropriate for the final user.
"Another technological activity that is of interest to us is the cloud," explains Vandenreydt. "The cloud is not necessarily less secure than private infrastructures, and it is expected to serve the financial system through an extensive range of applications. There are several questions regarding the cloud, like linking together the individual clouds of different companies, securing information in the cloud and the management of data stored in clouds in different countries. Identity verification in the cloud is another interesting issue."
Can we expect to see European cloud-based banks that do not have their own infrastructures? "It is reasonable to assume that we will see such banks emerging, but such a process will require legislation revisions in Europe. As far as the technological aspect is concerned, the use of API enables small players to develop banking services like Lego, based on cloud services."
Searching for Israeli Technology
"We have established the B-Hive branch in Israel in order to bridge between Israeli technologies and the needs of the financial sector in Belgium and Europe," says Vandenreydt. "The Israeli branch will employ individuals who would establish the connection between Tel-Aviv and Brussels. We have branches in Brussels, London, New York, Singapore and now in Tel-Aviv as well. We expect to examine some 4-5 solutions per year at each of our five branches, and out of these solutions select some 10 products for practical trial in our systems."
The Government of Belgium, along with 12 other partners, established the B-Hive Company for the purpose of advancing future technologies that would serve the banking and insurance sector in Belgium and Europe. Exclusive interview with Fabian Vandenreydt, the Chairman of B-Hive's Board of Directors
Illustration: Bigstock
The Government of Belgium has launched an initiative aimed at positioning Belgium at the forefront of the evolving FinTech (Financial Technology) world. To do that, the Government of Belgium, along with 12 other partners, established the B-Hive Company, for the purpose of advancing future technologies that would serve the banking and insurance sector in Belgium, Europe, and hopefully – the rest of the world.
"Israeli companies willing to land and expand in Europe can find in B-Hive a strong helping hand that provides support and guidance through multiple partners, from traditional financial players to dynamic start-up companies on a large scale – as well as to the government. On the other hand, we help our European partners find the technologies they need in Israel," the Company's website states.
Belgium's aspiration of becoming a leader in the FinTech field is not surprising. Belgium is the home of the Swift Company that serves about 8000 banks worldwide by enabling international transactions. In 2009, the Swift Company embarked on an innovation program intended to find new technologies for the benefit of the banks using the Company's service. Fabian Vandenreydt, the Chairman of B-Hive's Board of Directors, leads the Company's initiative. Vandenreydt is also the leader of Swift's innovation program.
Swift over Blockchain
"When we initiated the innovation program at Swift, we envisioned it primarily for the retail field. Today we see it operating between businesses. Blockchain is just one example. We have seen innovation in cybersecurity, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and the implementation of regulation. We even have a development, a prototype, for Swift over a Blockchain infrastructure," says Vandenreydt in an exclusive interview to Israel Defense.
Regarding the Blockchain infrastructure, Vandenreydt says that its advantage stems from the fact that it can represent almost any asset using a token which can be transferred between people relatively easily – and securely. "The Blockchain infrastructure will enable trading in assets in a less complex manner. The question that still hangs in the air is how you convert a diamond, land ownership or a loan into a token, so that we may trade in it – that is the question.
"But I am here in Israel under my B-Hive hat," explains Vandenreydt. "B-Hive is a joint venture of the Government of Belgium and 12 other investors, whose objective is to find FinTech solutions that may benefit everyone. Instead of each one of us developing on his own, we will develop together and everyone will benefit. Our focus at the moment is on Belgium and Europe, but in the future, the idea is to provide solutions to the financial world along the same lines as Swift."
One of the challenges the B-Hive Company wants to address is the challenge of testing the solution and adapting it to the operational systems of the banks and insurance companies. In most cases, the life cycle of the process of testing such a solution is at least one year, and most start-up companies do not have the resources to bear such a burden. B-Hive attempts to solve that problem by an initial design that would be more appropriate for the final user.
"Another technological activity that is of interest to us is the cloud," explains Vandenreydt. "The cloud is not necessarily less secure than private infrastructures, and it is expected to serve the financial system through an extensive range of applications. There are several questions regarding the cloud, like linking together the individual clouds of different companies, securing information in the cloud and the management of data stored in clouds in different countries. Identity verification in the cloud is another interesting issue."
Can we expect to see European cloud-based banks that do not have their own infrastructures? "It is reasonable to assume that we will see such banks emerging, but such a process will require legislation revisions in Europe. As far as the technological aspect is concerned, the use of API enables small players to develop banking services like Lego, based on cloud services."
Searching for Israeli Technology
"We have established the B-Hive branch in Israel in order to bridge between Israeli technologies and the needs of the financial sector in Belgium and Europe," says Vandenreydt. "The Israeli branch will employ individuals who would establish the connection between Tel-Aviv and Brussels. We have branches in Brussels, London, New York, Singapore and now in Tel-Aviv as well. We expect to examine some 4-5 solutions per year at each of our five branches, and out of these solutions select some 10 products for practical trial in our systems."
