Page 3 - World Trade Center Delaware

PERIODICALS SUPPLEMENT TO
World Trade Center
Delaware 2020
Founded 2014
A Biweekly Newspaper Serving Delaware’s Business Community © Copyright 2020 by Today Media, All Rights Reserved
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Robert F. Martinelli
Editor: Jacob Owens Production Manager: Donna Hill Art Director: Chris Johnson
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In Memoriam
Chairman: Angelo R Martinelli (1927-2018) Vice President: Ralph A Martinelli (1962-2019)
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Delaware Business Times is printed 26 times per year by Today Media, 3301 Lancaster Pike Suite 5C, Wilmington DE 19805 and is available by subscription at delawarebusinesstimescom/subscribe-now Single copy/back issues are available at the cover price of $200 plus $200 shipping and handling Bulk rates are available, call 3026561809
Inside
Sponsor Profiles 2 Welcome Letter 3 State Secretary Jeffrey Bullock 4 UD FinTech Center 6 Why DE can be home to blockchain 8 Delaware preparing a FinTech workforce 10 FinTech: The view from the World Bank12 The promise of blockchain in agriculture14 WTCD Member Benefits16 About WTCD17 Board of Directors18
This special publication is sponsored by the World Trade Center Delaware and published by Delaware Business Times, 2020
Contributing writers: Jacob Owens, Katie Tabeling
INTERNATIONAL DELAWARE 2020
Welcome
Welcome to the fourth edition of International Delaware, the magazine of the World Trade Center Delaware, which, this year, focuses on Delaware’s FinTech industry. Little did we know when we first discussed the theme for this issue just how timely this edition would be. The use of IT and e-commerce exploded during the past eight months as people sought to limit contact with others in an effort
to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, while
continuing to work, study, or shop for whatever they needed. It is clear that financial technology services, or FinTech, is here to
stay and will grow in the future as e-commerce and increased international trade rely on the marriage of finance and technology to move goods and payments along the supply chain in a timely and secure fashion.
The foundation in Delaware for this fast-evolving industry was laid on
Feb. 18, 1981, when then-Gov. Pierre S. du Pont IV signed the Financial
Center Development Act. This legislation was designed to increase employment in the banking and financial services sector by attracting out-of-state institutions to establish subsidiaries in Delaware. The law eased and modernized tax, usury, and other regulations and practices to make it easier for non-Delaware financial services companies to establish credit card operations while protecting the interests of Delaware’s banking institutions. Today, Delaware is one of the world’s great financial centers that, according to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, employs almost 100,000 people with an average salary of $89,252 in jobs and technologies such as blockchain that did not even exist 40 years ago. Despite our tiny population, over 75% of all FinTech investment in the Philadelphia region is found in Delaware and we have the highest concentration of financial services employment in the entire country.
Delaware has played an important role in the development of new FinTech know-how. The study, “Delaware in a FinTech Future,” reported that Delaware ranks No. 1 per capita for the number of FinTech patents issued over the past 10 years, and No. 5 overall. Discover Bank, this issue’s presenting sponsor, is making a significant contribution to Delaware’s FinTech future. In partnership with the University of Delaware and Delaware Technology Park, Discover
is building a new 100,000-square-foot center for FinTech innovation on the university’s Science Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus that will combine the prowess of academia, government, and industry to support and grow FinTech’s future in Delaware.
We thank Discover and all of our partners who have made this issue of International Delaware possible. Tens of thousands of readers around the world will learn what we already know: FinTech is the future of commerce and Delaware is its home.
Signed,
Carla Stone
World Trade Center Delaware President
WTCDE.COM | WORLD TRADE CENTER 2020 | 3