How wearables will change everything
The next wave of technological transformation will be driven by the rise of wearable technology.
Features
SEPA – are we there yet?
The payments industry was dragged kicking and screaming into the single euro payments area (SEPA), but on 28 January 2018, the initiative will celebrate its tenth anniversary. No doubt former doubters will sing its praises.
Payments: contactless charitable cases
Charities large and small are waking up to the need to embrace contactless payments. Banking Technology looks at the drivers, challenges and opportunities.
Regulatory reporting automation: mid-size banks face increased regulatory scrutiny
As regulations evolve globally, data has become both an essential currency and a pain point for financial institutions.
PSD2: regulation as a catalyst for innovation
PSD2 comes into force on 13 January 2018. It aims to open up the European payments market to greater competition and transparency, but its effect will be more far-reaching, acting as a catalyst for innovation not just in payments, but in the wider financial services market.
GDPR vs PSD2: a challenging contradiction or two sides of the same coin?
Are GDPR and PSD2 really that dissimilar and incompatible? Or do they combine to create a robust security mind set?
Fintech companies will be a new kind of business in 2018
Fintech companies will find that they are a different kind of business in 2018 than they were in 2017.
What is the future of digital cash?
The recent World Economic Forum (WED) report “Sweden could stop using cash by 2023”, says that the country is moving towards favouring cards and mobile payment apps. Yet retailers are expected to accept cash for at least a couple of years afterwards.
Passport to success: optimising treasury technology in the connected age
To reap the real benefits of technology, treasurers should be thinking about an extended journey, not a day trip.
Debunking six myths on regulatory sandboxes
We are living through a period of unprecedented innovation in finance, and regulators know they need to adapt to keep up with the fast pace of change. To understand and manage the risks posed by new products, services, and business models, many financial authorities are setting up regulatory sandboxes or reglabs.
What a Swell Sibos we had
One of the more entertaining aspects of this year’s Sibos in Toronto was the continuation of the rivalry between the event’s host, Swift, and distributed ledger technology (DLT) firm Ripple.
Core banking: true digital banking requires innovation on all layers
By adopting a layered model that moves the focus from presentation to orchestration, banks can deliver an omni-access digital service that truly works for customers, says Peter-Jan Van de Venn, CCO of Dutch digital core banking platform provider Five Degrees.
A new edge for fintech centres in a post-Brexit world
The uncertainty produced by the Brexit vote – and the turbulent negotiations since – has led some to question whether the UK can maintain its status as a global fintech capital. But for London as much as for its rivals in the US, China and beyond, the key may lie in capitalising on the next competitive edge for fintech centres.
Why blockchain won’t fix payments
There is a misconception about blockchain in the industry surrounding the belief that it is a solution to making faster and securer payments. There are some issues around the blockchain that explain why, in its present form, it isn’t an ideal replacement.
Case study: the technology behind P2P
The UK peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market has flourished in the last decade. Lending volumes among the major platforms are increasing rapidly, pushing the cumulative total above £7 billion for the first time, as the understanding of the investment model continues to grow.
CECL: managing implementation through collaboration
The accounting standard Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL), which requires banks to calculate expected credit losses and incorporate resulting provisions into its P&L statements, necessitates a flexible, adaptable technology solution that will enable closer collaboration among finance, risk and reporting functions.
Corporate banking: clear sky thinking
Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi) has taken giant steps towards solving many of the challenges corporates have faced with cross-border payments.
Blockchain: a world of possibilities
Amid the hype around distributed ledger technology and blockchain it can seem they are technologies looking for solutions. In the heavily paper-based business of trade finance, such technology looks promising and progress is being made elsewhere.
Correspondent banking: it takes two to tango
The global correspondent banking network is under pressure in several countries as some financial institutions close relationships. While financial inclusion continues to climb the agenda of regulatory authorities and financial institutions pledge their support, the de-risking taking place in correspondent banking threatens to scupper inclusion.
Instant payments in Europe: a recipe for success
There is intense interest in instant payments (IP) throughout Europe. Domestic schemes are already live in the UK, Denmark, Poland and Sweden. The success of these schemes shows what’s possible but also teaches many lessons.
Old world aces new world
With sizeable market shares, China’s mobile payments giants Alipay and WeChat Pay are seeking international expansion. What’s next for the tech giants?
Open banking: nothing personal
Financial authorities globally are promoting open banking. While it represents a shift in the mindset of traditional banks, Heather McKenzie, editor of Daily News at Sibos, finds they may be up to the challenge.
Compliance: back to basics
Ensuring security on Swift’s network doesn’t have to be rocket science. Getting the basics right will help individual institutions and Swift’s community.
Open Banking brings increased revenue to those who can collaborate
With new banking reform on the horizon, Amit Dua, president of Suntec Business Solutions, assesses why customers will improve their financial and life circumstances if heritage banks and young fintech firms find a way to combine their strengths.
De-risking in trade finance: time to act
As financial authorities express concern about de-risking in correspondent banking, a similar phenomenon is emerging in trade finance, driven by the high costs of KYC compliance.
Securities markets: standing at the crossroads
Financial technology has the potential to radically transform the securities industry. The fast pace of change could lead to disintermediation, according to an Iosco study.
Regtech to the rescue
Regulatory technology (regtech) is often cited as the answer to the rising cost of compliance, risk and reporting duties at banks. Will it help financial institutions escape IT silos and enhance control over data?
Talking heads: real-time payments – instant gratification
With myriad domestic instant and real-time payments systems being deployed internationally, is the next logical step cross-border, real-time payments? We asked some Sibos delegates what they think.
Innovation hubs – where do you begin?
Discussing the strategies banks can adopt to choose the right innovation partners.
Instant payments in Europe: moving from theory to practice
We live in impatient times – everyone wants to be able to pay who they want when they want, instantly and regardless of location. The UK has had instant payments since 2008; Faster Payments volumes have exceeded all predictions and now exceed 135 million per month.
Real-time payments: forging path to the “new normal”
Escalating customer expectations, regulatory requirements and technological developments are fuelling the need for instant payments. Market providers agree that real-time payments will be the “new normal” and, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
Liquidity management: real-time nostro time?
As part of its global payments innovation initiative, Swift and a group of banks have been trialling distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the reconciliation of nostro databases in real-time.
Artificial intelligence: the shape of things to come
Many financial services industry firms are examining the potential of distributed ledger and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Is it too early for any meaningful deployment?
Cybersecurity: into the data breach
Cybersecurity has become a significant issue as attacks are increasing. In the new payments ecosystem, where third-party developers can directly interact with banks’ customers, data privacy and security become paramount, according to the World Payments Report 2017.
The modern trade landscape: banks and digitalisation
Innovative technologies are increasingly sparking enhancements to trade processes. BNY Mellon Treasury Services’ Dominic Broom, global head of trade business development, and Joon Kim, head of global trade product, discuss how the industry – with banks at the helm – can drive forward new capabilities and help to support trade growth through digitalisation.
Payments: I spy gpi
Much of the focus for correspondent bankers at this year’s Sibos will again be Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi) initiative. More than 110 transactions banks from Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Americas have signed up to the initiative, which opened for live payments in January 2017.
Banking on a new competitive environment – marketplace banking
Marketplace banking has the potential to deliver an interconnected financial services industry where banks can get closer to their small business customers explains Five Degrees’ Peter-Jan Van de Venn.
Fintechs – friends or foes?
Visa employees have a saying that “cash is our biggest competitor.” Mightier threats, however, are looming.
Analysis: the trend toward best practice in institutional FX settlement
Marisa Kurk, senior managing director and COO of Mesirow Financial Currency Management group, explores best practices in foreign exchange (FX) settlement.
What’s hot and what’s not in US fintech
Finovate (Banking Technology‘s sister company) teamed up with the Fintech Cocktail Club earlier this month to play another game of Fintech Tinder (otherwise known as hot or not), writes Julie Muhn. Here are the rules – we shouted out a list of 20 fintech trends and our cocktail-fuelled audience shouted their opinion on whether the […]
