Latest long reads: Finextra Research

The death of liveness detection: Why your current security measures are obsolete

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

The death of liveness detection: Why your current security measures are obsolete

Your liveness check isn’t broken, it’s lying to you. Blinking and tilting your head no longer proves a person is real. Today’s deepfakes can even mimic photoplethysmography (PPG), tiny skin colour changes caused by blood flow that many systems treat as proof of life. Something needs to change, because deepfakes are not theoretical; they are active...

4 hours /crime

Why African banks should lead urban infrastructure projects

Sepo Haihambo Former CEO of Commercial Banking at FNB Namibia

Why African banks should lead urban infrastructure projects

Africa’s newest megacities need infrastructure. Urban populations will double over the next 25 years, requiring wise investment in housing, electricity, and transport links. This presents African banks and institutional investors with a golden opportunity to finance, manage, and resource domestic infrastructure schemes, transitioning from foreign ...

19 November 2025 /markets

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

Why did Peter Thiel sell his AI stocks?

A regulatory filing has revealed that in Q3 2025 Peter Thiel offloaded all his AI stocks. The move – coupled with SoftBank's selloff of its own Nvidia holdings – is fuelling speculation that the tech industry is due an uncomfortable correction. So, who is Peter Thiel, and why did he sell all his Nvidia stocks? In this instalment of Finextra’s Exp...

18 November 2025 /ai

What is CASS 15, the new FCA safeguarding framework for UK payment and e-money firms?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What is CASS 15, the new FCA safeguarding framework for UK payment and e-money firms?

Coming in to force on 7 May 2026, a new regime – CASS 15 – enacted by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) aims to strengthen weaknesses in payment and e-money firms, protect customers when those organisations fail, and mark a shift from resilient to proactive financial regulation. Here’s all you need to know about CASS 15. Why CASS 15 matte...

17 November 2025 /regulation

Backing Britain’s builders: How SEIS and EIS power UK startups

Ed Prior Head of Investor Services at SFC Capital

Backing Britain’s builders: How SEIS and EIS power UK startups

For many individual investors in the UK, early stage equity once felt like a closed door: the realm of venture capital firms or exclusive angel clubs. You could buy shares in public companies or invest via mainstream funds - but the moment when a founder takes that first traction step, hires their first few employees, secures product-market fit an...

17 November 2025 /startups

‘Tis the season for holiday scams: How to stay safe and shop smart

Dominique Dierks Senior Content Manager at Finextra

‘Tis the season for holiday scams: How to stay safe and shop smart

The holiday season brings joy, celebration and a surge in online shopping. But as consumers hunt for thoughtful gifts, the latest tech, and the best deals, scammers are also busy — making Black Friday and Christmas one of the riskiest times for fraud. And with digital commerce booming, the threat landscape is evolving faster than ever before. To u...

13 November 2025 /payments

The UK Government’s financial inclusion strategy is light on fintech

Chris Holmes Peer at House of Lords

The UK Government’s financial inclusion strategy is light on fintech

Last Wednesday, the Government launched its long awaited financial inclusion strategy. I welcome its publication and there is much to be positive about. Financial inclusion has been a key policy area for me since I entered the House of Lords, not least as part of a special Select Committee considering financial exclusion which I was privileged to...

12 November 2025 /inclusion

The AI bubble: Is Nvidia artificially engineering chip demand?

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

The AI bubble: Is Nvidia artificially engineering chip demand?

Some of the UK’s biggest financial institutions (FIs) are investing in artificial intelligence (AI). In November this year, Lloyds unveiled the UK’s first multi-feature AI-powered financial assistant; in September, HSBC launched its generative AI-powered platform; and in March, NatWest became the first UK bank to partner with OpenAI. Appetite am...

11 November 2025 /ai

Why liquidity, not just solvency, is the UK's real stablecoin challenge

Bazil Sansom Research Fellow at Warwick Business School

Why liquidity, not just solvency, is the UK's real stablecoin challenge

Over recent weeks, the Bank of England’s leadership has outlined its most detailed vision yet for how innovation in money will be governed in the UK. In a 3 September speech at the WBS Gillmore Centre, Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden described a future in which central bank money, traditional and tokenised deposits, and stablecoins can coexist—bound...

11 November 2025 /crypto

Stablecoins starting to lower costs, speed transactions, and raise bank pricing concerns

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

Stablecoins starting to lower costs, speed transactions, and raise bank pricing concerns

Stablecoins are already lowering costs, raising transaction speeds, and extending available windows to complete payment transactions to 24/7. They’re doing this for larger retail banking and corporate financial institution customers, and it’s likely that banks will be offering stablecoin payment and receivables options to more clients in the comin...

10 November 2025 /crypto

Are AI agents tailored to financial services ready for prime time?

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

Are AI agents tailored to financial services ready for prime time?

Separating hype from reality is more important than ever in today’s banking world. Everyone wants to know how – and how soon - new artificial intelligence technology and innovative practises will impact the industry and its customers. That’s why I’m sharing what I learned from two distinct forums examining the current state of financial services A...

07 November 2025 /ai

From wallets to agents: The next great shift in payments infrastructure

Tom Hay Principal Consultant at Payment Systems Europe

From wallets to agents: The next great shift in payments infrastructure

There is a house in Istanbul famous for being built on the foundations of homes built as far back as the Roman Empire. For two thousand years, the Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire, and modern Turkish Republic decided that it was easier to build atop what had come before rather than tear everything down and start from scratch. The payments industr...

06 November 2025 /ai

Long reads