Latest long reads: Finextra Research

How to fortify your business against cybersecurity attacks in 2024

Simon West Director of Customer Engagement at Resilience

How to fortify your business against cybersecurity attacks in 2024

As we anticipate the cybersecurity challenges of 2024, it's important to reflect on the shifts and priorities that have shaped the past year. Driven by evolving perspectives on the significance of cyber risk and government-led legislation, organisations have redefined strategies, emphasising the need to encourage communications between business fu...

20 December 2023 /security

The transformative potential of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill

Chris Holmes Peer at House of Lords

The transformative potential of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill

If it’s all about the data, then the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill must matter, and it does. Having completed its initial Commons stages it will receive second reading in the House of Lords today (19th December 2023). I will be exploring the vast opportunities afforded by the bill – as well as questioning the government on some of t...

19 December 2023 /regulation

What are instant payments? Understanding real-time payment rails

Dominique Dierks Content Manager at Finextra

What are instant payments? Understanding real-time payment rails

Over the last few years, instant payments – also referred to as real-time payments, faster payments or immediate payments – have increasingly come into focus for authorities and financial institutions alike. As transformation continues to accelerate in the financial sector, the need for instant payments has grown tremendously. Yet what is the infra...

18 December 2023 /payments

Who benefits from cutting interchange fees?

Níamh Curran Senior Reporter at Finextra

Who benefits from cutting interchange fees?

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has recommended a cap on cross-border interchange fees after its market review into the fees. This is not the only interchange fees story to hit the headlines this week. Earlier this week, the Canadian government came to an agreement with Visa and Mastercard to lower their interchange fees. From next Autumn, sm...

14 December 2023 /payments

COP28: Why climate science is critical for banking regulation

Lukky Ahmed CEO at Climate X

COP28: Why climate science is critical for banking regulation

Science is at the heart of COP28 Against a backdrop of record global temperatures and associated extreme weather events, climate diplomats from 198 countries are wrapping up intense negotiations at COP28, the biggest U.N. climate summit to date. A major feature of the summit has been the completion of the first ‘global stocktake’ of progress towar...

14 December 2023 /sustainable

Generative AI cannot replace branch banking – Niamh’s hot take of the month

Níamh Curran Senior Reporter at Finextra

Generative AI cannot replace branch banking – Niamh’s hot take of the month

NatWest announced in November 2023 that they were integrating generative AI into their chatbot tool Cora, which saw the launch of Cora+. Generative AI has been one of the hottest topics throughout 2023, and that is only likely to continue into 2024 as companies like OpenAI expand their products and capabilities. The technology offers a lot of ...

13 December 2023 /inclusion /ai

3 components of a successful embedded finance strategy

George Toumbev Chief Commercial Officer at NatWest Boxed

3 components of a successful embedded finance strategy

From talk to action Embedded finance is a growing and potentially very valuable opportunity for companies that get it right. The ability to build financial products that are designed around the needs of customers and offered at the heart of the customer journey can be a winning formula. Getting it right means the chance to build long-lasting custo...

11 December 2023 /retail

What is CBDC? Understanding digital currencies

Dominique Dierks Content Manager at Finextra

What is CBDC? Understanding digital currencies

CBDC (central bank digital currency) is a form of digital currency that a country’s central bank can issue alongside cash. Their value is linked to the issuing country’s official currency. For example, if the UK were to release a CBDC, it would be called the digital pound. While cash is a physical commodity, a CBDC is a digital currency that can b...

08 December 2023 /payments

5 ways to stop sabotaging your interview success

Amanda Kavanagh Contributor at Jobbio

5 ways to stop sabotaging your interview success

Lateness is the obvious cardinal sin of sabotaging your interview success, but once you’re in the door – and on time – it’s soft skills that trip job hunters up. Realistically, hiring managers know from your CV if you have skills to do the job, so the interview is often more of a vibe check. From it, they’ll determine your working style, your attit...

08 December 2023 /people

What are the top COP28 takeaways for banks – thus far?

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

What are the top COP28 takeaways for banks – thus far?

Amid all of the high hopes and sometimes lofty or overstated goals, achievements, and elusive dreams of the COP28 conference, continuing through to the 12th of December, financial services remained one of the top industries to watch. Noted by environmental scientists and experts the world over as key influencers of potential action, on their own p...

07 December 2023 /sustainable

What is the carbon market and how does it work?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What is the carbon market and how does it work?

The carbon market is a complex and often convoluted industry that has emerged in recent years amid the ESG and sustainability boom that has rocked the financial services sector. Numerous new carbon accounting start-ups have emerged that have contributed to the carbon market, which calculate the carbon emissions that a company is making and advise o...

06 December 2023 /sustainable

New data shows the embedded finance opportunity for SaaS platforms and marketplaces

Ryan O'Holleran Head of Sales, Enterprise, EMEA at Airwallex

New data shows the embedded finance opportunity for SaaS platforms and marketplaces

As embedded finance began gaining traction throughout 2023, Airwallex wanted to explore the appetite among small and medium-sized businesses to receive financial services through their software or marketplace provider. We commissioned Edgar, Dunn & Co to run a comprehensive, global survey of 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in th...

06 December 2023 /payments

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