While it is easy to feel like the whole world’s gone digital, the reality is that there are larger than expected places that are still looking for the right on-ramp into the era of digital finance and commerce. For some industries, cannabis notably, it’s because those on-ramps are legally complicated, while for others, lingering security concerns keep them from looking for one. But the digital train rolls forward, as Index Venture’s Mark Goldberg noted recently – and as more industries get off “pen and paper” management, a new world of innovation can unlock.
Data:
$250 million: How much FinTech infrastructure platform Plaid raised in its last funding round.
60 million: The number of users whose data may have been exposed due to a flaw in the USPS website.
7,500: Approximate number of dating sites worldwide.
33 percent: Share of consumers expected to use smart payments while holiday shopping.
20 percent: The amount that the number of banks offering services to legal cannabis businesses has grown in 2018.