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Education

Looking ahead: Eastern European countries

Fintech in 2017 are home to the development
of popular tools used by
By Don Bush cybercriminals all over the world,
Kount Inc. so Apple Pay will likely become a

everal weeks into the new year, we've put 2016 significant target for these groups
behind us, and here at Kount, we've looked into
the rearview mirror to highlight the top five and a major testing ground for
S events that shook 2016 so hard the reverbera- Apple Pay's security measures and
tions will impact the financial tech industry the rest of this
year and beyond. So, what do we have to look forward to? mobile payments overall.

1. Brexit
One of the hallmark events that took 2016 by storm was industry to continue, perhaps with new light shed on which
Brexit, where over 50 percent of British voters supported entrepreneurs are developing technology and for whom.
Britain's exit from the European Union. Uncertainty As the new president's policies take shape – including
about the referendum's repercussions will likely continue implications over data and international collaboration – the
throughout 2017 as the British navigate the complexities industry will have to react accordingly.
of exiting. We anticipate new regulations and treaties 3. Samsung Galaxy Note explosion
with each European country, meaning vast implications
for doing business in the U.K. and larger challenges for Some of last year's events were just plain explosive. Only
merchants as they conduct business across borders. a month after its initial unveiling, Samsung recalled
2. New administration millions of its new Galaxy Note 7 phones due to battery
issues that caused the device to explode, ultimately leading
The ups and downs of the U.S. presidential election the smartphone maker to discontinue the device series
dominated headlines throughout 2016, ending with the completely.
inauguration of Donald Trump in January. His leadership
has many new policy implications that will become clearer The fallout from the recalls has continued to plague the
as he works to maximize the impact of his first 100 days in company and will likely have a halo effect that will also
office. We anticipate innovation within the financial tech slow down the expansion of Samsung Pay. We anticipate
Apple Pay to take the
lead over Samsung Pay
in the mobile payments
race, especially with its
expansion into Japan
and Russia this year.
However, eastern Euro-
pean countries are home
to the development of
popular tools used by
cybercriminals all over
the world, so Apple Pay
will likely become a sig-
nificant target for these
groups and a major test-
ing ground for Apple
Pay's security measures
and mobile payments
overall.
4. Yahoo's data breach

Yahoo reported not one,
but two record data
breaches in 2016, both
of which took place over
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