Insights

This week I have been dusting off last September’s Q&A release from the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) regarding the reporting of FX swaps to ensure we have successfully planned for the changes. That Q&A included reference data and transaction reporting scenarios where an FX swap is reported as a single... read more

An obsession with the latest and greatest cybersecurity technology and a lack of empowerment for chief security officers is holding banks and others in financial services back from tackling the real root of the problem – cybercriminals already infesting their networks. “The security industry is obsessed with technology, but not... read more

Mastercard is struggling to give smaller firms the advice they need to navigate potential post-Brexit landscapes, said Scott Abrahams, group head of acceptance and emerging payments, on the sidelines of the PAY360 conference earlier this month in London. “[The challenge of Brexit] is important for the smaller customers because they are... read more

Time is running out to submit entries for the 2019 bobsguide Partnership Awards. With the deadline for submissions just five weeks away, nominations are building up, and the judging team is encouraging market participants to file entries soon to avoid disappointment in what is shaping up to be a hotly contested competition. The awards are... read more

The duopoly of international card schemes are working at odds with Ghana’s own payments plans,  according to Archie Hesse, CEO of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS). “Since we’ve started our scheme there’s been this battle between ourselves and Visa,” said Hesse, speaking on the... read more

The monumental shift from online to mobile trading has gone hand in hand with digital natives and the convenience it provides. But such democratisation comes with a warning – compliance is as critical to mainstream success as ease of use and information quality. Emerging firms now seek to break the stranglehold of the incumbent brokers in... read more

Should the UK’s banks reconsider pricing mechanisms as they leave the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), Société Générale may follow suit according to the French bank’s deputy head of global transaction banking and payment services, Benoit Desserre. “The UK by leaving the SEPA area will gain full... read more

Competition and innovation has been an enormous force for good in driving the speed of change in the payment ecosystem to meet ever increasing customer expectations for excellent payments experiences. Now, with disruption of the payments landscape continuing apace, nimble, creative fintechs are challenging the ground held by established payment... read more

Banks must start small and ensure that incremental development enables them to learn about their systems, while a sudden, “big bang” launch should be avoided at all costs. That’s according to DNB Bank’s senior IT project manager, Carla Padró. “You don’t actually need to have core systems integration... read more

Challenges brought about by the introduction of the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) means that settlement efficiency must improve, according to Adrian Dale, the International Securities Lending Association’s (Isla) director of regulatory policy and market practice. “The Isla CSDR working group is mainly focusing on... read more