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Expert opinions

Nikunj Gundaniya

Nikunj Gundaniya Product manager at Digipay.guru

How Banks and Fintechs Can Use Prepaid Cards to Capture the Nigerian Market

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy with over 220 million people, most of them young and tech-driven. Yet, about 36% of adults remain unbanked, which limits access to formal banking. And this gap presents a huge opportunity for banks and fintechs like you. But how can you bridge this gap, and with what? Well, here’s the answer. Prepaid cards bri...

/payments /inclusion

Laurent Descout

Laurent Descout CEO at NEO Capital Markets

Money 20/20 USA 2025: Key themes to look out for

It’s that time of year again! Money20/20 USA is returning and promises to be bigger, bolder and more future-focused than ever. From October 26-29, over 11,000 from the money community are set to descend on Las Vegas’s Venetian Hotel to build influential partnerships, accelerate deals and explore the key trends driving innovation in fintech. This ...

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Dr Ritesh Jain

Dr Ritesh Jain Advisor at WorldBank

Programmable money: how we turn access into real, measurable inclusion

Programmability doesn’t replace access — it multiplies the value of access. That’s the simple but powerful idea behind India’s CD Token and similar initiatives: when money can carry rules, proofs and intent, we stop forcing people to fit into financial products and instead design products to fit people’s lives. Opening a bank account is necessary,...

/payments /inclusion Innovation in Financial Services

Stanley Epstein

Stanley Epstein Associate at Citadel Advantage Group

Understanding Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): A Guide to the Core Concerns

1. Introduction: What is a CBDC? A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital currency issued directly by a country's central bank, such as the Federal Reserve in the United States or the European Central Bank. Unlike physical cash, which is anonymous, or commercial bank deposits, which are liabilities of private banks, a CBDC would be a di...

/payments /regulation

Mandy Lamb

Mandy Lamb Visa Europe’s Head of Value-Added Services at Visa

Instant Payments Will Transform Europe's Economy – But Trust Must Be At The Core

This October marks a pivotal moment for Europe's financial system, with the latest deadline in the EU's Instant Payments Regulation requiring all banks in the eurozone to send instant payments in addition to just receiving them. It's a technical milestone with transformative potential. Consumers and businesses will be able to move money across th

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Research

Event Report

Tackling the next ISO 20022 milestone: Structured addresses

Unstructured address data will be phased out in November 2026. What do banks need to do to prepare?  The first critical ISO 20022 deadline is upon us in November 2025, as the CBPR+ coexistence period ends. However, the transition does not stop there and the next migration is right ahead: from unstructured to structured addresses. Whereas traditionally, addresses could be entered both in both structured and unstructured formats, in November 2025, a hybrid option will become available. In November 2026, unstructured address formats will be phased out. Migrating to ISO 20022 structured addresses offers banks a strategic opportunity to modernise their payments infrastructure. However, this transition demands a comprehensive overhaul of address data management, storage, and utilisation across systems. This report highlights the key takeaways of a Finextra webinar, hosted in association with RedCompass Labs, by a panel of industry experts. Discover:  Industry readiness for the ISO 20022 structured address migration;  How banks can create strong data strategies;  The roadmap toward structured addresses; and  How to overcome the key migration challenges. 

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Impact Study

AI’s promise-delivery gap: Bridging the chasm with process orchestration

As financial services’ AI arms race accelerates, institutions must now begin to produce concrete results for the benefit of their clients, internal operations, and investors. How can FIs ensure their AI implementations live up to expectations? The financial services industry is past the point of experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI). Statista finds that AI investment across the sector reached an estimated $45 billion USD in 2024 versus $35 billion in 2023 – with almost 70% of financial services firms having reported AI-driven revenue increases. Yet, despite this overwhelming buy-in, it seems that countless institutions still do not access the full potential of their investments. Gartner predicts that over 40% of agentic AI projects (one of the technology’s latest use cases) will be cancelled by the end of 2027. In the United States, meanwhile, bank productivity is declining despite the sector’s high technology spend, underlining an urgent need to more effectively implement AI. The key to unlocking AI’s enterprise value is embedding it within orchestrated, automated processes. This provides AI with governance, auditability, and the flexibility to adapt in real-time. In fact, the firms that embed AI within orchestrated, governed processes will lead the next era of technological transformation. This Finextra impact study, in association with Appian, analyses the gap between AI’s potential and its current impact. We explore: The current state of AI in financial services; The orchestration imperative; How to successfully scale AI; and Case studies for real-world AI implementation.

108 downloads

Event Report

Faster & further: 2025 insights on the evolution of the Nordic payments landscape

What's shaping Nordic payments? As NextGen Nordics 2025 unfolded in Stockholm, Sweden, there was a keen sense of discussion and debate. In particular, the conversation focused on how the Nordic region has been evolving to meet the intersection of instant and cross-border payments. As a discussion, some remained optimistic and positive about the efforts made, whilst others were less impressed and more cynical about the region’s ability to meet regulatory deadlines and improve its readiness.  Sourced from FinextraTV interviews filmed at the event, this report helps to break down some of the key talking points. From the impact of fraud on faster cross-border payments to the inability of banks to catch up to customer expectations, this report guides you through the (sometimes clashing) consensus on Nordic payments progress.  Discover:  Why cross-border payments demands outpace banks;  How digital first players are reshaping the industry;  How the Nordics are maintaining instant payments progress;  The necessity of strong safeguards;  And more.    Save the date for NextGen Nordics 2026 in Stockholm – Tuesday, 28th April 2026  Get involved – Register your interest here. 

123 downloads

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FinextraTV

Innovation in Payments: Analytics, AI and PaaS

At Sibos 2025 in Frankfurt, Nadish Lad, Global Head of Product and Strategic Business, Volante Technologies spoke with FinextraTV about the changing face of payments, from AI to PaaS solutions. Detailing his three key use cases for AI in payments, across exception handling, smart routing and SLA management, Lad reiterates the fact that AI is not new and must now be viewed through the lens of what is the right use case for each business. Speaking to the evolution of PaaS, Lad explains the benefits of moving from a CapEx model to OpEx model, noting this change as more cost-effective and less cumbersome to manage.

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Events

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Long reads

Hamish Monk

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

Pre-payment KYP: The next frontier for cross-border payments

Tackling fraud and misdirected payments is a war of two fronts: it must be waged both domestically and across borders. Thus far, the fight against domestic fraud has been something of a success, with local pre-payment checks – such as the United Kingdom’s Confirmation of Payee (CoP), introduced in 2020, and Europe’s Verification of Payee (VoP), eff...

Hamish Monk

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is Open Finance?

On 13 October 2025, the FCA announced a partnership to accelerate the delivery of Open Finance in the UK: “We've been working with the industry to deliver Open Finance,” it said in a press release, “which will give people control over how they manage their money and plan their finances for the future.” This news came ahead of the launch of the FC...

Hamish Monk

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

Could FX strategies be a game-changer for corporate treasurers?

With the macroeconomic outlook seeming more unpredictable than it has in years, the foreign exchange (FX) market is experiencing considerable volatility. Shifting trade policies are proving a notable headwind – driving liquidity and working capital challenges, as well as geopolitical uncertainty. Fortunately, there are opportunities to be seized a...