Latest long reads: Finextra Research

The fintech sentiment: BNPL regulation welcomed by fintech firms

The UK government has announced its consultation for the regulation of buy now pay later (BNPL). This decision comes after the publication of the Woolard Review - a review of change and innovation in the unsecured credit market earlier this year, which highlighted some of the potential consumer risks of BNPL. The consultation notes that there has...

26 October 2021 /regulation

Fintech in the USA: 4 trends, their implications, and the way forward in 2022

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Fintech in the USA: 4 trends, their implications, and the way forward in 2022

To disprove the zeitgeist often associated with the arguably stagnant US financial services industry, the new kids on the block – fintech firms – are now actively solving problems that have lasted and hindered consumer financial lives for too long. According to Insider Intelligence, in-store mobile payments for the US are set to hit $125 billion i...

22 October 2021 /predictions

Enabling better, faster lending decisions through automation

Alex Cannon Director, Senior Strategist at Moody's Analytics

Enabling better, faster lending decisions through automation

New technology is emerging at a rapid pace in financial services, enabling the reimagining of previously manual processes, streamlining of decisions, and transformation of the way financial institutions interact with their customers. Profitable growth has always depended upon making the right offers to the right customers at the right time; but in...

21 October 2021 /cloud

The fintech sentiment: is the £100 contactless limit a step towards a cashless society?

Níamh Curran

The fintech sentiment: is the £100 contactless limit a step towards a cashless society?

The British Government has announced that they have approved the contactless limit being raised to £100 from 15 October 2021. In response to this news, Starling Bank immediately stated their plan to allow customers to choose their own contactless limit, citing consumer concerns and little demand for the change. When contactless was initially launc...

20 October 2021 /retail

How to prepare investment portfolios for possible inflation

Marco Mottadelli Head of Global Brokerage at Fineco Bank

How to prepare investment portfolios for possible inflation

After a long period of very low inflation in Western Europe and the States, a combination of factors has led to a rather sudden change. Eurozone inflation hit an estimated 3% in August, with one recent study estimating that Britain could see inflation at 3.9% by next year. Much ink has been spilled over the past quarter about whether this represen...

15 October 2021 /markets

Sibos 2021: Using the Swift platform as a springboard to digital

Paige McNamee

Sibos 2021: Using the Swift platform as a springboard to digital

Exploring the significant work Swift has undertaken to reinvigorate the evolution of its comprehensive platform, Finextra compiled key insights from Swift leaders and experts from the payments industry during Sibos 2021 to better understand the cooperative’s strategy for this year and beyond. During the conference’s opening plenary, Yawar Shah, cha...

14 October 2021 /Sibos

The globe is on the cusp of DLT regulation and industry input is essential

The Hon Albert Isola Minister for Digital and Financial Services at HM at Government of Gibraltar

The globe is on the cusp of DLT regulation and industry input is essential

Over the last two years, there has been an explosion of institutional and mainstream interest in DeFi and blockchain. The rise in Total Value Locked (TVL) across the crypto sphere, which hit $78B in August, and the ever multiplying projects involved in the space, have led regulators who have previously watched from the sidelines, to sit up and tak...

13 October 2021 /regulation

The Westminster Series: Crypto regulation in the UK

Chris Holmes Peer at House of Lords

The Westminster Series: Crypto regulation in the UK

There is an unrivalled opportunity for the UK to lead in crypto in terms of rules, regulations, words and welcome. Crypto is not a silver bullet nor indeed the solution to all our ills, but it holds a real and sustainable opportunity for us all in the UK and we must consider carefully what we require from Government to make this possibility a purp...

12 October 2021 /regulation

Core banking on the cloud, the catalyst for innovation, agility and efficiency

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Core banking on the cloud, the catalyst for innovation, agility and efficiency

For financial institutions, business growth and cost reduction continue to be of paramount importance, which are often tied to establishing a cloud focused approach to enable banking agility and efficiency. With many intermediate steps between consumer need and fulfilment in traditional banking, newer players are entering the market with a lower c...

11 October 2021 /cloud

Cloud migration: What is the best and most secure route to take?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Cloud migration: What is the best and most secure route to take?

Now that the financial services industry acknowledges that cloud migration is crucial to the success of innovative initiatives, industry voices share the view that clarity around the best and most secure route to take needs to be provided. While a phased approach where tests are conducted and security settings are validated is one route to reaping ...

08 October 2021 /cloud

How should banks grapple with regulation when crafting their cloud strategy?

Paige McNamee

How should banks grapple with regulation when crafting their cloud strategy?

Digital transformation is becoming further intertwined with cloud migration across financial services. The flexibility, scalability, security, and resilience that cloud environments offer are far superior and incomparable with their predecessors, and financial institutions across the board recognise this value. They appreciate that to compete with...

06 October 2021 /cloud

Why embedded finance isn’t about finance

Annerie Vreugdenhil Chief Innovation Officer at ING

Why embedded finance isn’t about finance

Financial services. For centuries, they were a birthright for banks only. Tough restrictions made it impossible for others to offer them, making banks the only game in town. Enter embedded finance, and now any brand can offer financial services to its customers. Chances are you’ve already experienced it – in food delivery, taxi services, or shoppin...

05 October 2021 /retail

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