Since the global financial crisis the banking industry has witnessed three mega-trends: slow growth, digitisation and new regulation. None of these trends look likely to abate any time soon and in fact, it appears that all of them are set to intensify in the short to medium term.
Fintech is upending the way we understand the financial sector in Latin America; financial services are experiencing deep transformations as a result of start-ups’ love for change driven by new technologies.
A young woman has made plans to join a friend for dinner at a restaurant across town, and with a few clicks on a mobile device she sets her night in motion. Her go-to ride-sharing service has sent a car, she’s ordered a cappuccino from her favorite coffee shop – this one is free because she’s a loyalty member – and her social app pings her friend to let him know her ETA.
With ten years in fintech under my belt, I have seen the creation of the word itself. I have also seen the rise of various hypes, adoption of buzzwords, sky-high funding rounds, epic failures and a surprising knowledge gap in what is the world’s biggest industry.
The uncertainty produced by the Brexit vote – and the turbulent negotiations since – has led some to question whether the UK can maintain its status as a global fintech capital. But for London as much as for its rivals in the US, China and beyond, the key may lie in capitalising on the next competitive edge for fintech centres.
Watching the recent of smartphone launches, I am taken aback by just how much smartphone manufacturers have led to the normalisation and acceptance of biometrics by consumers.
There is a misconception about blockchain in the industry surrounding the belief that it is a solution to making faster and securer payments. There are some issues around the blockchain that explain why, in its present form, it isn’t an ideal replacement.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been sharing some extracts from a new crime thriller, Trading Down, by Stephen Norman, long serving CIO/CTO of RBS Global Markets. Here, in the third and final extract, we return to the action at the Hamilton Datacentre crisis.
Cyber risks have evolved significantly over the last couple of years across industry sectors. The financial services industry, in particular, has become the target of choice with malicious actors exploring every avenue they can in order to identify areas of vulnerability.
Clearing houses and central clearing counterparties (CCPs) play a pivotal role in managing collateral and counterparty risk, in increasing standardisation and transparency of financial markets, and in the credit enhancement process for clearing banks. For such systemically critical functions, how appropriate are innovative new technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT)?
A report released last year by EY and major Singaporean bank DBS declared China the “undoubted centre of global fintech innovation and adoption”. And China isn’t the only Asian country making waves in the fintech sphere. Overall fintech investments in the Asia-Pacific region reached $10.5 billion in 2016 – the highest amount witnessed to date since 2010, according to CB Insights data.
Trick or treat! It’s Halloween and brands everywhere are using spooky season as a way to have some fun with customers. However, any ghoulish behaviour belongs firmly in the land of fun, and should not creep into everyday customer interactions
Here’s a second extract from Trading Down, by Stephen Norman, which continues the drama in the Hamilton Datacentre.
Banks need to innovate to stay competitive, here’s how.
Building loyalty means delivering convenience. But this means more than just delivering more sophisticated digital services. It means delivering a superior customer experience in every way the consumer interacts with your business.
Paul Taylor of Swift’s Financial Crime Compliance Services Division discusses the evolving compliance landscape and the critical role of technology in helping the industry come together as a whole to combat financial crime.
The UK peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market has flourished in the last decade. Lending volumes among the major platforms are increasing rapidly, pushing the cumulative total above £7 billion for the first time, as the understanding of the investment model continues to grow.
Customers trust financial firms with their details, so to protect the highly-sensitive information organisations must adhere to security and compliance standards. However, this can be challenging for employees as the processes can interfere with day-to-day operations.
A sneak preview of a debut novel by Stephen Norman, long serving CIO/CTO of RBS Global Markets and previously Merrill Lynch. A fast-paced crime thriller – published on 9 November 2017.
The accounting standard Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL), which requires banks to calculate expected credit losses and incorporate resulting provisions into its P&L statements, necessitates a flexible, adaptable technology solution that will enable closer collaboration among finance, risk and reporting functions.
Prepaid International Forum (PIF) recently interviewed Suresh Vaghjiani, Managing Director of Global Processing Services (GPS), about the current state of the fintech sector.
Few ideas have captivated the modern payments and financial services industries like blockchain. Since Bitcoin officially launched in 2008, the noise around the potential of distributed ledgers and blockchain in particular has been incessant, particularly in the last two years.
Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi) has taken giant steps towards solving many of the challenges corporates have faced with cross-border payments.
Amid the hype around distributed ledger technology and blockchain it can seem they are technologies looking for solutions. In the heavily paper-based business of trade finance, such technology looks promising and progress is being made elsewhere.
The global correspondent banking network is under pressure in several countries as some financial institutions close relationships. While financial inclusion continues to climb the agenda of regulatory authorities and financial institutions pledge their support, the de-risking taking place in correspondent banking threatens to scupper inclusion.
Carlo Palmers, market infrastructures market manager, Swift, talks to Daily News at Sibos editor Heather McKenzie.
There is intense interest in instant payments (IP) throughout Europe. Domestic schemes are already live in the UK, Denmark, Poland and Sweden. The success of these schemes shows what’s possible but also teaches many lessons.
In an exclusive interview with Daily News at Sibos, Martin Grunewald, chief payments officer at BankservAfrica, discusses its vision for a modern payments system in Africa and why replication is a good thing. “If we don’t start, we won’t get to the finish line”. There is a lot of planning and talking now, but South […]
In an exclusive interview with Daily News at Sibos, Fabian Vandenreydt, executive chairman of collaborative innovation platform B-Hive, explains what it’s doing for creativity and how it will form a separate company for scale-ups.
With sizeable market shares, China’s mobile payments giants Alipay and WeChat Pay are seeking international expansion. What’s next for the tech giants?
Financial authorities globally are promoting open banking. While it represents a shift in the mindset of traditional banks, Heather McKenzie, editor of Daily News at Sibos, finds they may be up to the challenge.
Ensuring security on Swift’s network doesn’t have to be rocket science. Getting the basics right will help individual institutions and Swift’s community.
With new banking reform on the horizon, Amit Dua, president of Suntec Business Solutions, assesses why customers will improve their financial and life circumstances if heritage banks and young fintech firms find a way to combine their strengths.
As financial authorities express concern about de-risking in correspondent banking, a similar phenomenon is emerging in trade finance, driven by the high costs of KYC compliance.
Financial technology has the potential to radically transform the securities industry. The fast pace of change could lead to disintermediation, according to an Iosco study.
Regulatory technology (regtech) is often cited as the answer to the rising cost of compliance, risk and reporting duties at banks. Will it help financial institutions escape IT silos and enhance control over data?
With myriad domestic instant and real-time payments systems being deployed internationally, is the next logical step cross-border, real-time payments? We asked some Sibos delegates what they think.
Discussing the strategies banks can adopt to choose the right innovation partners.
We live in impatient times – everyone wants to be able to pay who they want when they want, instantly and regardless of location. The UK has had instant payments since 2008; Faster Payments volumes have exceeded all predictions and now exceed 135 million per month.
Escalating customer expectations, regulatory requirements and technological developments are fuelling the need for instant payments. Market providers agree that real-time payments will be the “new normal” and, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
