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Expert opinions

Srinivasa Atta

Srinivasa Atta Cloud & AI at Google

Beyond the Chatbot — GCP's AI Agents Are a Tectonic Shift for FinTech

For years, AI in the financial technology sector has been synonymous with rudimentary chatbots handling password resets and fraud detection algorithms working silently in the background. While impactful, these applications were siloed and incremental. Today, the introduction of sophisticated, generative AI-powered platforms like Google Cloud's Age...

/ai /inclusion Fintech

Kunal Jhunjhunwala

Kunal Jhunjhunwala Founder at airpay payment services

How Instant UPI Refunds Can Improve Customer Retention in Fintech and Retail

The explosion of digital payments in India over the last few years has been phenomenal, driven largely by new-age instruments. In January 2025, UPI set a new benchmark by facilitating over 16.99 billion payments, collectively valued at ₹23.48 lakh crore, its most active month to date in both volume and value. This remarkable growth reflects a cle...

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Nikunj Gundaniya

Nikunj Gundaniya Product manager at Digipay.guru

How Customer Expectations Are Driving the Shift to eWallets

Your customers no longer see cash or cards as enough. They want an app that stores money, pays instantly, and works without limits. They no longer wait in queues or stick to business hours. They shop while commuting, transfer money at midnight, and split bills with a tap. They expect their banks and financial service providers to keep up. If you c...

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Katherine Chan

Katherine Chan CEO at Juice

Beyond the Optics: Why Inclusion in Fintech Needs More Than a Policy

I’ve always believed that strong businesses are built by strong teams. Yet even in 2025, the tech and fintech sectors are losing talent faster than they can replace it; a reality that’s costing the UK billions and holding back long-term growth. According to the UK Government’s latest tech diversity report, women make up just 21 percent of tech ro...

/startups /inclusion Financial Inclusion

Briana Marbury

Briana Marbury CEO at Interledger Foundation

Can stablecoins avoid the same disjointed fate as traditional payments? Yes–here’s how.

Stablecoins are exploding in both popularity and practicality–launching a new era of fast cross-border payments and seamless transactions. Advancements such as the American GENIUS Act have placed a helpful regulatory framework around the digital currency, improving not only the safety of launching stablecoins, but the safety for end users. And ye...

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Research

Impact Study

Cross-border payments: How is the market addressing G20 targets?

This impact study explores how far along the G20’s cross-border roadmap firms have travelled; why cutting-edge technology platforms are imperative in today’s instant payments world; as well as how financial leaders can go beyond the G20’s objectives, in order to ensure prosperity for the coming decade.  The cross-border payments market is one of the fastest growing money movement markets in the world. It reached $150 trillion in 2017, and by 2027 is expected to reach $250 trillion – a rise of over $100 trillion in just ten years. There are several factors that have led to the increase in global remittances, be they wholesale or retail in origin, including expanding supply chains; globalised investment flows; international trade and e-commerce; as well as the increased global movement of people, resulting in more money being sent across borders.  While cross-border payments are booming, many financial institutions are still struggling to keep their technology platforms up to speed, and the drive toward real-time is having deep ramifications for organisations’ operations. To address these challenges, a gathering of some of the world’s largest economies, known as the Group of Twenty (G20), set out a roadmap in 2021 to improve cross-border payments.  Also providing impetus for widespread modernisation are mandated initiatives like new, and continually evolving, ISO 20022 message and data standards and the European Union (EU)’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) – forcing players in the highly-competitive payments space to invest in smarter services, customer centricity, and on top of that, become the engines of growth.  This Finextra impact study, produced in association with Temenos, explores:   A status update on the G20 cross-border targets;  The need for modernisation - an overview of other factors affecting cross-border payments;  A roadmap for change beyond G20;  Real-life case studies. 

490 downloads

Future of Report

The Future of Embedded Finance in Africa 2025

Embedded finance is changing the payment landscape in Africa. The question now is: what will it take for embedded finance to truly scale across Africa? The global embedded finance market is set to grow beyond $228 billion by 2028 according to Juniper Research. As this market matures and consumer confidence in the technology grows, this will likely prove to be a significant chunk of global financial services. In Africa, this emerging trend has the potential to unlock new economic opportunities. As a less mature market, it is not as hindered by legacy payments systems, making it ripe for payment innovation from embedded finance. It has the potential to reshape the continent’s current payments landscape, broaden innovation opportunities, and drive financial inclusion. As a market Africa is very adaptable to different technologies, and embracing of newer, more agile services. A lot of the population to the majority of their banking through their mobile phones, making embedded finance fit seamlessly into financial worlds of the populace. Yet there are many factors which will alter and develop the ability for embedded finance to take hold. This Finextra report, sponsored by Kora, received contributions from Binance, Indelible Inc., Mojaloop Foundation, and Nikulipe. It explores:  Making embedded cross-border payments work in Africa; Unlocking the opportunities of embedded e-commerce in the African market; Embedded finance: Encouraging African financial inclusion; Why personalisation in embedded finance is the next step for African fintech; Regulating Africa to encourage embedded finance innovation.

317 downloads

Future of Report

The Future of the Global Financial Ecosystem 2024

A Sibos Special Edition. Our world has experienced several unexpected and unprecedented events over the last few years, which show no signs of slowing down. This year’s Sibos aims to connect those in the financial services community who have experienced fragmentation, in the hope that tackling this will help with some of the biggest issues facing banking. The role that financial institutions play in the global environment will continue to be placed under the microscope as situations continue to develop. In light of this, there has never been a better time for those in finance to come together and have frank and open conversations about their future. This applies to not only environmental and social goals for banks, but also the adoption of and adaptation to new technologies. No longer can these issues be placed on the side and given lip service, they need to become an integrated part of each financial institution’s core policies and practices. However, ever increasing this challenge are the continuously changing global circumstances. Due to these circumstances, communication and collaboration are essential drivers for 2024. This Finextra report, produced in association with Swift, includes commentary from BBVA, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, ING, JP Morgan, Lloyds, McKinsey, NatWest, SEB, Standard Chartered, UniCredit, and Wells Fargo.

1060 downloads

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FinextraTV

How Technology Has Democratised The Wealth Management Sector

Speaking with FinextraTV at the Communify Insights Experience, Andrew Bresler, CEO, Saxo shared his opinion on how wealth management is experiencing evolving transformation. Discussing how technology has helped to democratise wealth and provide more inclusivity, Bresler also describes AI as a company's exoskeleton: everything they can do but faster, better and more intelligent.

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Long reads

Amish Patel

Amish Patel Coverage Banker at Absa

Africa’s cross-border payments boom: Why stablecoins and AI are key to the next financial leap

Remittances to Africa have hit record highs, but sky-high fees and inefficiencies in Africa’s payments landscape still hold back economic potential. This article explains why stablecoins and AI could reshape cross-border payments and inclusion across the continent. Africa is experiencing a cross-border payments boom, with data from the World Bank ...

Scott Hamilton

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

Is financial literacy still important? New survey says now more than ever

Money – acquiring it and managing it safely and effectively - is causing more household stress now than ever, and not just among parents, but kids too. It’s not a huge surprise to hear this message arising from a recent survey of more than 1,000 full-time working parents of children 8-18. The study was conducted by Greenlight – an Atlanta-based co...

Hamish Monk

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

To ESG or not to ESG? Britain’s ‘Big Four’ banks buck the trend of DEI retreat

A counterbalance to claims of trans-Atlantic ESG de-prioritisation, Finextra’s investigation into the UK’s top financial institutions prove that some industries are keeping ESG front of mind. On Sunday 6 June 2025, The Observer published an article in its business and economics section which revealed how leading British firms had “re-written” thei...