Latest long reads: Finextra Research

The UK’s legislative approach: Substance over style

Chris Holmes Peer at House of Lords

The UK’s legislative approach: Substance over style

The UK’s recent regulatory moves on digital assets and stablecoins have been fairly solid on substance but could benefit from a bit more style. By substance I’m thinking of the Electronic Trade Documents Act, the recently introduced Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill and just launched Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). This ‘substance over style’...

11 October 2024 /regulation

Hurricane Milton: How to avoid natural disaster scams and fraud

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Hurricane Milton: How to avoid natural disaster scams and fraud

As Hurricane Milton gradually tracks away from Florida, leaving deadly storm surges, flooding rain and high winds in its path, it is an unfortunate reality that fraudsters will try and capitalise on the misfortune and vulnerability of those affected. This week, the US Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financi...

10 October 2024 /crime

What will it take to grow and scale embedded finance in Africa?

Dickson Nsofor Chief Executive Officer at Kora

What will it take to grow and scale embedded finance in Africa?

This is an excerpt from the Future of Embedded Finance in Africa 2025 report. Embedded finance is changing the payment landscape in Africa. With it, non-financial businesses are offering specialised services to consumers across the continent. Now, there are BNPL platforms with virtual accounts customers can fund to pay for products and services. R...

10 October 2024 /markets

DORA takes effect: Digital resilience and cybersecurity in the EU

Renate Prinz Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP

DORA takes effect: Digital resilience and cybersecurity in the EU

European financial supervision has a clear enemy that needs to be mitigated: cyber risks. The idea that a major banking or payment system could be hacked triggers fear of major economic crises, depending on the scale of such a hack. Thus, there is a clear focus on IT security in the banking system to ensure the stability of the financial market, e...

09 October 2024 /Sibos

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is digital identity?

Digital identity is the sum of online information on an individual. This can be any form of data associated with a person’s name – be it date of birth, address, email, or even social media posts and interactions. As such, digital identity can be thought of as an online avatar, representing the spheres of one’s personal and professional life. The c...

08 October 2024 /identity

What you need to know about APP reimbursement

Níamh Curran

What you need to know about APP reimbursement

Authorised Push Payment (APP) victim reimbursement scheme comes into effect today under rules from the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). Payment service providers (PSPs) are now required to reimburse victims of APP fraud, up to £85,000, split evenly between the sending and receiving PSP. Reimbursement is likely great news for many consumers, howeve...

07 October 2024 /crime

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

Richard Ellis Partner at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Do fintechs need to be FCA-authorised?

When asked why they founded their fintech business, few entrepreneurs would reply “Because I really wanted to engage with the intricacies of financial services regulation”. At first glance, fintech and financial regulation may not appear to be a match made in heaven. The former often moves more quickly than the latter. Given this, regulation can s...

02 October 2024 /regulation

What California's AI Safety Bill SB 1047 means for fintech

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What California's AI Safety Bill SB 1047 means for fintech

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that SB 1047, the first-of-its-kind, controversial AI safety state bill that had Silicon Valley tech giants such as Meta, Google and OpenAI divided, had been vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Here’s everything you need to know. What is SB 1047? Also known as the Safe and Secure Innovation fo...

01 October 2024 /ai

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is Open Banking?

After the financial crisis, there was a recognition that banking concentration could be disadvantageous – both in terms of competition and systemic risk. Since then, regulatory measures have sought to boost diversity in financial services, the most notable of which is Open Banking. Launched in the United Kingdom on 13th January 2018 following the ...

01 October 2024 /payments

How can a nonprofit become a for-profit?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

How can a nonprofit become a for-profit?

OpenAI is restructuring to no longer be led by a non-profit board, and will become a for-profit company, as exclusively reported by Reuters. The ChatGPT creator will own a minority stake in the for-profit and CEO Sam Altman will receive equity in OpenAI, predicted to be worth $150 billion and removing the cap on returns for investors. This news ...

30 September 2024 /ai

The 'good stuff' happening in sustainable lending in the US

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

The 'good stuff' happening in sustainable lending in the US

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed by the US Congress in 2022 and signed into law by President Biden, is working as intended, and America’s major banks are getting onboard with sustainable lending. That’s what we’re hearing from leaders of the financial institution wing of Boston-based Ceres – the nonprofit advocacy organisation formed in ...

30 September 2024 /sustainable

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