Sehrish Alikhan - Community Author: Finextra Research

COP16 roundup: What is the future of nature financing?

The UN’s Biodiversity Summit (COP16) took place from 22 October – 8 November this year in Cali, Colombia, bringing together 196 government representatives to discuss the future of global biodiversity. The summit started off with lots of questions and ended with many left unanswered. The conference was plagued by loss of attendees, as many represent...

18 November 2024 /sustainable

What are the benefits to the biometric payments rollout?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What are the benefits to the biometric payments rollout?

With the advent of numerous new technologies in payments, biometrics has taken a lead in authentication processes and accessibility. According to Global Market Insights, the biometric payment market was valued at $8.83 billion in 2023, and is expected to grow around 17.1% between 2024 and 2032. Biometric cards have further become a trend amongst p...

13 November 2024 /payments

Correspondent banking and cross border payments need modernisation

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

Correspondent banking and cross border payments need modernisation

This is an excerpt from the Future of Payments 2025 report. The decline in the number of correspondent banking relationships globally has been widely noted, leaving many communities who rely on it for cross-border payments without many other choices. This is in part because of a heightened focus on high-risk jurisdictions, which is known as de-ris...

22 October 2024 /Sibos

Embedded finance: Encouraging African financial inclusion

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

Embedded finance: Encouraging African financial inclusion

This is an excerpt from the Future of Embedded Finance in Africa 2025 report. Africa is leading the world in growing mobile banking and embedded finance solutions. The growth in technology hubs in African nations has led to mass adoption of digital banking apps and high mobile penetration among the population. With more digital adoption in African...

21 October 2024 /Sibos

Biodiversity loss could threaten the global GDP: Why nature-based financing is essential

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

Biodiversity loss could threaten the global GDP: Why nature-based financing is essential

The CDP, a nonprofit organisation that runs a global disclosure system, recently released a report outlining the need to de-risk nature-based finance in Asia, outlining how biodiversity loss is impacting the GDP of numerous countries. The report indicated that the threat to nature and biodiversity to low-income and nature-reliant countries in Asia...

16 October 2024 /Sibos

What is B Corp certification and how does it work?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What is B Corp certification and how does it work?

B Corporation certification has taken off in the sustainability sector, with more and more companies working on getting B Corp certified to establish themselves as environmentally-focused and socially ethical. Currently, there are a lot of businesses that have become B Corp certified, such as The Body Shop, Ben & Jerry’s, Aesop, Illy Caffe, Co...

03 October 2024 /sustainable

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What are A2A payments?

The European Payments Initiative recently released a report stating that A2A payments are going to spike usage in the next few years; which begs the question, what are A2A payments and how to they differ from other digital payments methods? A2A payments, short for account-to-account payments, are the transfer of funds from one bank account to anot...

25 September 2024 /payments

The UK’s renting and mortgage nightmare: Tools to combat crisis

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

The UK’s renting and mortgage nightmare: Tools to combat crisis

The current UK rental market is a disaster of epic proportions. The cost of living has spiked, the rental market is a jungle, and salaries have remained the same despite inflation and rising prices. Adding a cherry on top, wage growth is at its lowest in almost two years. Due to these dire circumstances, the UK public is clearly struggling. The a...

18 September 2024 /markets

AI is eating up our energy – how will sustainable ambitions survive?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

AI is eating up our energy – how will sustainable ambitions survive?

It has become clear to everyone that uses the internet that artificial intelligence (AI) is the next big thing. Nearly every company is releasing an AI chatbot/AI product/AI service to enhance their customer experience and improve efficiency of their products. It is true that AI can improve the lives of customers in many ways, such as facilitating ...

11 September 2024 /ai

What is the water crisis and what role does climate finance play?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What is the water crisis and what role does climate finance play?

We are killing the planet in so many ways! Climate change and global warming have caused a major water crisis. There are two billion people worldwide who do not have access to safe drinking water according to the UN. Water supply available has been decreasing due to rise of sea-levels, rise in sea temperatures, and the melting of glaciers and icec...

21 August 2024 /sustainable

Why aren’t older adults in the US equipped to handle financial shocks?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

Why aren’t older adults in the US equipped to handle financial shocks?

A study from the Aspen Institute revealed that 47% of older adults in the US are not prepared to handle financial shocks, such as medical expenses, emergencies, or a sudden loss of income. The study outlines how older individuals are relying on financial tools that take advantage of them by abusing penalties, interest rates, and fees, in order to ...

20 August 2024 /inclusion

Allocating green capital to housing: Why energy efficiency needs to be prioritised

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

Allocating green capital to housing: Why energy efficiency needs to be prioritised

The climate crisis and cost of living crisis are both well underway and wreaking considerable damage on the livelihoods and fiscal capabilities of the UK public. Financial institutions and the government need to step up green initiatives to make housing more sustainable and more affordable. While these may seem like two different, and even opposin...

08 August 2024 /sustainable

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