Insights

Relationships between cryptocurrency institutions and traditional banks will bolster crypto’s legitimacy, market participants predict. “It appears the reputable, blue chip coins finally have a hard-won place in the mainstream. Institutional grade exchanges finally being accepted into the old boys’ club will do wonders for... read more

Fintech firms expect it will take over a year for their sectors to bounce back from the impacts of the coronavirus, according to a bobsguide survey conducted in April and early May. But while most respondents reported a negative impact from the pandemic – with a sudden drop in sales and quick re-structuring of their business models –... read more

B2B payments may finally see widescale innovation according to some market participants, with both Visa and Mastercard bolstering their business payments services this month. “We’ve seen a huge amount of interest in innovation in general at this stage,” says Paul Raymond, director of strategic relationships, Conferma Pay. The... read more

The IRS is evolving its efforts to crack down on crypto tax non-compliance, recruiting independent contractors obtain cryptocurrency transactions data. On May 12, software provider CryptoTrader.Tax released an email it received from the IRS, in which the government body said it was “placing a few single-case contracts as pilots with a goal... read more

Biometric authentication solutions could open a gateway for governments to drive efficiency and reduce bureaucracy, says Aarti Samani, SVP of product and marketing at iProov. The process utilises the unique biometric of an individual to verify that they are who they claim to be and are therefore authorised to access products and services. As... read more

With banks and financial services closing physical branches and large parts of the population unable to leave their homes, organisations are hoping to utilise digitalised identities – but the fact there are no industry standards or protocols is causing concerns. “We’ve always been quite competitive and this is a whole new world... read more

Effective since 2018, the implementation of Open Banking standards in the UK has established a model across the globe – particularly for ambitious Latin American countries looking to digitise their financial system. Last week, Brazil released its new open banking rules aimed at enabling data sharing and services among financials, payment... read more

UK challenger banks and non-bank lenders could see more SME client acquisitions from offering the government’s Bounce Back Loans (BBL) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), says Kirsty McGregor, founder and chairman, The Corporate Finance Network (CFN). But those unable to adapt may fall out of the ecosystem. “I... read more

Areas of the market in which open banking protocols are implemented without standards could risk seeing new bank monopolies emerge, according to Paul Freemantle, chief technology officer at open source tech provider WSO2 during a panel today at the Open Banking World Congress. “Maybe we’ll get new bullies who will take the market and... read more

As companies adjust to remote working and unprecedented drops in revenue, cash management becomes the chief concern for business continuity, says John Byrne, owner and CEO, Salmon Software. Effective cash management is reliant on strong treasury management systems (TMS) with a focus on data integration and automation of services. ... read more