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News and resources on regulation, compliance, legal and governance issues for banks and fintechs.

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Expert opinions

Francesco Fulcoli

Francesco Fulcoli Chief Compliance and Risk Officer at Flagstone

Big Tech and Digital Wallets: Next Steps from the FCA and PSR Feedback Statement

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator PSR) have released their latest Feedback Statement (FS25/1) on Big Tech and digital wallets. This comprehensive document consolidates feedback received from stakeholders following their July 2024 Call for Information (CFI). It highlights the rapid adoption of digital wallets...

/payments /regulation Fintech

Francesco Fulcoli

Francesco Fulcoli Chief Compliance and Risk Officer at Flagstone

FCA's 2025 Priorities for Payments Firms: What You Need to Know

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently published its updated priorities for payments firms, providing crucial guidance on what is expected of Payment Institutions (PIs), Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), and Registered Account Information Service Providers (RAISPs). These firms must align with the National Payments Vision, whi...

/payments /regulation Fintech

Ivan Aleksandrov

Ivan Aleksandrov CSO | Core banking, BaaS, Fintech Advisory at Advapay

EU Payment and E-Money Licenses: 2024 Data and Three-Year Trends

This article offers insights into the number of e-money and payment institution licenses issued in the EU in 2024, along with a three-year comparison. If you're evaluating the best jurisdiction for your business, this comprehensive analysis will help you make an informed decision. Licensing Data Used in the Analysis This analysis presents combined...

/regulation /startups Fintech

Steve Wilcockson

Steve Wilcockson Technical Product Marketing at Quantexa

The Data Structures That Drive Quant and AI

Our BizDev team at work asked me to explain why Data Management developed different cultures and languages to that of Data Science. I found this hard, in part because some of my background comes from engineering maths, which, for many years, was tightly coupled with the arguably adjacent Financial Services discipline of Quant, or Financial Enginee...

/ai /regulation Artificial Intelligence and Financial Services

Kristine Jakovleva

Kristine Jakovleva Chief Marketing Officer at Advapay

Advantages and Challenges of Launching a Business with MSB Registration in Canada

Canada's Money Services Business (MSB) registration is gaining traction among fintech entrepreneurs looking for a swift and cost-effective way to enter the financial services market. This article explores the benefits and drawbacks of launching a business under the MSB registration, comparing it to licensing options in the EU. Advantages of MSB Re...

/regulation /startups Fintech

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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. 

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Event Report

AI strategies for scalable, secure and compliant banking

Delving into effective strategies and tools for secure and compliant AI integration in banking, emphasising the importance of open-source models, the role of generative AI, the advantages of synthetic data, and the influence of regulatory frameworks. Integrating AI in banking involves more than just adopting new technologies; it requires aligning these technologies with specific banking use cases to maximise benefits and mitigate risks related to data security and compliance. Open-source models facilitate this transformation by offering a collaborative platform for innovation and transparency, essential for building trust and ensuring the safe use of AI in banking.  The journey from proof of concept (POC) to production in AI and machine learning is often lengthy and complex. This extended timeline highlights the challenges organisations face in integrating AI into their operations. Embracing new tools and technologies and learning to utilise them effectively is crucial for overcoming these challenges and applying AI to day-to-day operations, leading to significant benefits in efficiency and innovation.  When looking at other markets, the United States has become a hub for tech giants, focusing on fostering innovation, while regions like Japan remain cautious, reflecting their unique regulatory landscapes and societal risk appetites. This diversity in regulatory approaches presents both opportunities and challenges for firms operating globally, necessitating a nuanced understanding of each market’s unique dynamics.  This webinar report summarises the discussion of a Finextra webinar, hosted with Red Hat, by a panel of industry experts. Discover:  How AI is enhancing innovation, efficiency, and security;  Synthetic data and regulatory impact;  What factors are holding organisations back from fully adoption AI-driven services;  Balancing innovation and regulation;  And more. 

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Impact Study

Are you ready for CBPR+? Accelerating modernisation and efficiency through ISO 20022

Challenges and strategies for financial messaging professionals to be CBPR+ compliant by November 2025.  Financial institutions’ ISO 20022 for CBPR+ migration timelines vary enormously, yet the deadline is the same for all financial institutions – whether they have fully adopted ISO 20022 or are yet to make significant progress. By November 2025, ISO 20022 will become the sole globally recognised standard for interbank cross-border payments, and the new MX messaging format will fully replace the old MT messaging format.  Concerningly, adoption has not picked up as significantly since the co-existence period began in November 2023. In January 2024, the ISO 20022 adoption rate of the top 175 financial institutions stood at 19%. By December 2024, this number had grown to 32.9%. It’s clear that institutions need to significantly accelerate their migration efforts over the next few months – or risk the consequences of non-compliance.  ISO 20022 is not just a compliance update – the data-rich format enables organisations to enhance their analytical capabilities, improve their service offering, improve straight-through processing, strengthen anti-money laundering and compliance efforts, and more.  This impact study explores readiness for the impending ISO 20022 for CBPR+ deadline and features commentary from experts at Finastra and Visa. It answers:  What needs to happen between today and November?  What are the main challenges institutions have been facing?  How can they streamline successful strategies to hit compliance by November and beyond?  What happens in November 2025 for organisations that have not made the deadline?    Join the Finextra webinar, 'The ISO 20022 for CBPR+ deadline is looming: Are financial organisations prepared?', hosted with Finastra, to learn more.  

152 downloads

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FinextraTV

How Finance Can be a Conduit for Environmental Health

Over the last 2 years, countries around the world have been working to improve the health of the world's biodiversity. The Kungming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) - made up of 23 Targets - framed the majority of the talk at the recent COP 16 conference, discussing how finance can phase out, reverse or reduce harm. Following the conference, FinextraTV caught up with Jessica Smith, Nature Lead at UNEP Finance Initiative, to discuss her reflections, as well as her optimisms and future predictions. Smith discusses innovative examples from the UK, Australia, EU and South Africa, as well as setting the understanding of who is responsible for a better future. A strong tracking system, mainstreaming of nature into infrastructure, agriculture and real estate all feature as high priorities

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Long reads

Scott Hamilton

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

What’s happening to the US CFPB?

What’s in store for America’s consumer financial services watchdog agency – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)? Nobody really knows. But many open banking and data protection and control advocates are saying: “please don’t lose sight of the benefits of personal financial data rights,” amid the heated debate over its sponsoring agency’...

Sehrish Alikhan

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

How greenwashing is approached in the UK and EU

Last week, the Association of Financial Markets (AFME) in Europe released a report revealing how the UK and EU’s approach to greenwashing differ in the financial market. The report analysed how financial institution regulators approach greenwashing mitigation, taking into account sustainability-related statements and laws in place, such as the U...

Chris Holmes

Chris Holmes Peer at House of Lords

2025 trends: UK regulatory predictions and upcoming legislation

A traditional job for this time of year is thinking about what might be coming up in the year ahead. For me this is a combination of likely trends and priorities in the areas I work in which involves fintech from both a business perspective and related legislation. My top five headlines for 2025 (so far) are fraud, AI, stablecoins, smart data and ...