Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

Survey

Payments Modernisation: The Big Survey 2024

Welcome to the fourth edition of The Big Survey. Our annual report, surveying 350 senior bankers across the globe, offers a unique vantage point on the ever-evolving landscape of payments modernisation. Over the years, we’ve uncovered fresh developments and enduring challenges alike, painting a detailed picture of the industry’s trajectory. As we navigate 2024, the financial services sector is in the midst of profound transformation. Our latest insights highlight the critical need to modernise payment systems swiftly and effectively, driven by rising customer expectations and stringent regulatory demands. Download our 2024 survey to learn about: The current state of capabilities Why payments architecture is more flexible than ever before Financial institutions’ budgets and spending priorities The global drive towards real-time and cross-border And much more.

13 June 2024 842 downloads

Event Report

Mastering DORA: A Strategic Guide to Operational Resilience

In the rapidly evolving fintech world, robust, reliable, and resilient systems are more crucial than ever. The industry must grapple not just with the challenges of instant payments and external cyber threats, but also with the advent of new players, running on varied infrastructures and offering unprecedented uptime levels. DORA, introduced by the European Union, provides a dedicated framework for the EU financial sector, aimed at protecting digital operational resilience—a vital aspect of contemporary business operations. This Finextra webinar report, hosted in association with NTT DATA, offers a strategic guide to mastering DORA. It covers: Understanding DORA and its impact on the financial services industry Why operational resilience is key to business continuity Key aspects of implementation And more. Download our webinar report now to learn more. Click here to watch the webinar on-demand now - DORA: The drive towards better operational resilience.

28 February 2024 581 downloads

Impact Study

AI and Cloud: The Proving Ground for Regulatory Resilience in 2024

The current macroeconomic landscape is marked by exceptional volatility and uncertainty, posing challenges to traditional models in the financial services sector. Despite this new challenging market context, some financial institutions continue to hit pause on using AI and cloud technology, falling behind the curve. Leveraging new technologies can no longer be a zero-sum game. This impact study explores: How can AI and cloud be leveraged to improve back-end processes, rather than just front-end experiences; How migrating to the cloud can fuel new use cases; The regulatory impact of PSD3, DORA and more; The benefits of data sovereignty and data governance; And more. Download this Finextra impact study, produced in association with Microsoft Azure, to learn more.

22 December 2023 649 downloads

Event Report

Cloud innovation paves path to the future

An open banking platform has the power to transform a bank, whether the bank is looking to modernise using technology on-premise, in the cloud or as Software-asa-Service (SaaS). In turn, banks gain access to endless opportunities to engage with customers and scale for massive demand. This event report, in association with Temenos, highlights the key takeaways from Temenos Community Forum 2023 that took place in Vienna, Austria. Bringing industry experts and partners together to explore new opportunities opened up by emerging technologies and the cloud, this year’s overarching event theme was ‘Engage and Grow in a Cloud World’. In this report, we explore the different ways that the cloud is accelerating transformation in the industry, including: Why banks are being disrupted by BaaS and embedded finance services; How agility, innovation, and customer experience are gaining momentum on the cloud; How to build resilient cloud infrastructure for sustainability; And more.

19 December 2023 178 downloads

Sentiment Paper

Payments: The key to unlocking new ecosystems and why merchant services are on the up

To say things have changed in payments, and, as a result, the merchants services space is to understate a dramatic and fast-moving digital and cultural evolution that has driven such change. Digital payments have enabled the establishment of hundreds of merchant businesses, particularly in developing markets, as well as the significant growth of global ecommerce. This Finextra Research report, in association with Ingenico, explores: How banks and acquirers have adapted to the digital frontier; The importance of data-driven business services; Why the Point-of-Sale is the ultimate channel for digital success; What will be the key tenets of the payments ecosystem in the next five to ten years; And more. Download our sentiment paper today to discover more.

06 December 2023 678 downloads

White Paper

UK Open Banking API Performance 2022-2023

The UK continues to be at the forefront of the global Open Banking revolution thanks to the proactive attitude of regulators. As the most advanced Open Banking market in the world, the UK provides an example of best practices in the implementation of API-based Open Banking that other jurisdictions can use as a model. In this report, we study the performance of the Open Banking APIs exposed by the large CMA9 UK banks, traditional High Street banks, credit card providers and building societies, and new entrant banks (neobanks). Some of our key findings include: There continue to be significant API performance differences between banks; There is a significant difference in total latency between the fastest and slowest banks; Cloud choice makes a huge difference in performance; And more. Download our analysis of Open Banking API services today to learn more.

07 November 2023 640 downloads

Future of Report

The Future of ESGTech 2024

With every passing year, we are seeing our chances to tackle climate change diminish, but we are not without the opportunity to make a change. The summer of 2023 was the world’s hottest on record according to NASA, with Europe being stuck by the largest wildfires ever recorded, Storm Daniel decimating Libya, and record-breaking downfalls in Hong Kong. The financial sector has a big role to play in changing the trajectory of the world. The opportunities presented by ESGtech (Environmental, Social, and Governance Technology) play a large part in that. This report aims to analyse a variety of the ESGtech options and present a future the impacts they could have on our future. Focusing on sustainability will be pivotal for the financial sector moving into 2024. This Finextra report, produced as part of SustainableFinance.Live, features expert views from Dimitra, HeavyFinance, McKinsey & Company, MVGX, Rimm Sustainability, and Zumo, and explores how financial organisations use ESGtech to make substantial change.

10 October 2023 423 downloads

White Paper

Build, Buy or Bust – Hybrid leapfrogging Legacy

The age-old Build Vs. Buy conundrum has never been brought into sharper focus than it is now. In light of unprecedented unpredictability and economic volatility in recent times, in light of converging pressure brought about as a result of myriad payments systems, real time rails, cross-border implications in a global village, standards development and heightened public awareness and expectation, financial institutions are leaping forwards by falling back on partners to bring systems in line with modern business expectations. Undoubtedly, the advent and availability of open source technology has intensified and strengthened both sides of the Build Vs. Buy argument. For one thing, it has enabled banks and financial organisations to tailor and sculpt new processes and systems around their exact needs, with the availability of non-proprietary technology. For another, it has brought about a plethora of third party ‘enablers’, as well as having inspired fintech services firms by way of creating plug-and-play or pay-as-you-go offerings. And alongside all of this, the development of cloud technology and its permeation throughout the financial services industry has oiled the wheels for the journey, facilitating the bespoke and dynamic capability that open source cloud offers, and compounding the technological know-how and prowess of both banks and fintech providers the world over. There are other influencing factors, such as the API economy, the concepts of open finance, open data; external global, market and economic drivers and events that shape the demand for improved and instant banking services in the first place, putting pressure on operations to the point that banks need to fast-track pretty much every modernisation or product development project they have going, inevitably having to outsource some of this burden. Download this Finextra report, produced in association with Cloudera, to learn more.

22 September 2023 265 downloads

Impact Study

Power your banking value chain with AI/ML at scale

In a world of rapidly advancing technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are essential to a bank's growth strategy. McKinsey cautions that banks that do not prioritise AI adoption are at risk of being overtaken by competition and abandoned by customers who are looking for highly personalised experiences. The consulting firm cites four key trends that are leading banks to incorporate AI/ML into their core strategy and operations: Demanding customer expectations driven by digital banking improvements Competition from leading banks’ use of AI/ML solutions The disintermediation of traditional financial services by digital ecosystems Encroachment of big tech players into or adjacent to traditional financial markets and business models. Forward-looking financial institutions are eager to integrate AI/ML into their operations and leverage rapidly evolving AI/ML tools to more quickly and efficiently deliver hyper-personalized products and services to customers, improve operational efficiency, increase revenue, and drive innovation. International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that the banking and retail industries are set to deliver the most significant investments in AI/ML over the period of 2022-2026, and are projected to account for roughly 25% of all AI spending worldwide. As in any significant transformation journey, banks face a number of considerations and challenges along the way. First, they’re increasingly required to carefully balance the benefits of innovation brought forward by AI/ML solutions, alongside new regulation designed to ensure fair treatment of customers. Additional challenges in banks’ AI/ML journey include skills gaps and the ability to effectively scale AI/ML capabilities beyond pilots and singular use cases. According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, AI applications are increasingly evident across a breadth of financial market activities. However, such use cases are approached in silos leaving an opportunity for firms to embed AI/ML across the end-to-end value chain. Download this Finextra Impact Study, produced in association with Amazon Web Services (AWS), to learn more.

04 September 2023 428 downloads

Event Report

Entering New and Niche Markets with BaaS

A Financial Cloud Series Report Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) has emerged as a prominent and steady trend in the banking sector, significantly disrupting the industry and introducing consumers to faster and more personalised services. Working hand-in-hand with embedded finance, BaaS allows third-party distributors to provide banking services, essentially integrating financial services in non-banking infrastructures. Research revealed that the BaaS market is expected to reach $11.34 billion globally by 2030, a huge jump from $2.41 billion in 2020. The rapid acceleration of the BaaS market is due to the speed of digital transformation currently occurring in the financial industry, with a sharply increasing number of banks and consumers seeking to integrate BaaS services into their offerings in order to provide quicker and more efficient experiences. The rapid growth of third-party non-bank platforms has grown exponentially in recent years to incorporate BaaS services into their offerings. The global market has embraced BaaS and new innovations are pushing the trend to become even more significant in the financial industry. BaaS opens up new opportunities for smaller businesses and for a diverse range of companies to facilitate banking operations on a wider scale. The banking sector has evolved and become more diverse and sophisticated through BaaS, which allows companies to focus on what is best for both businesses and banks. To understand how embedded finance and banking as a service can help to transform the backbone of business operations, experts came together for a Finextra webinar, hosted in association with Temenos, 'Entering new and niche markets with BaaS'. The panel explored how banks can best diversify their product offering with cloud.

16 August 2023 298 downloads

Event Report

Keeping Pace with Customer Experience Demands during Cloud Migration

A Financial Cloud Series Report It has been widely established that the cloud is the next big step for financial institutions to become more agile, flexible, and scalable. The financial industry has become a storm as more and more companies flock to the cloud for data, real-time efficiency, and broader accessibility. According to Google, by 2027 over 50% of enterprises will have shifted to the cloud to boost their businesses and create more accessible and efficient platforms for their services. Cloud is seeing massive growth from all industries, and prominently from the fintech and banking sectors as industry leaders rush to get ahead of their competitors. However the move to the cloud is no easy task, as financial institutions require funds, time, energy, and talent to support the transition. As enterprises embark on their modernisation and digital transformation journeys, they are looking to new technologies to aid as they transition such as AI-driven technology. 72% of cloud experts see digital transformation as more than a simple task of “lifting and shifting” of company data to the cloud. The complexity of restructuring a company’s infrastructure with the help of a third-party in a new space is daunting, and requires a significant amount of prior planning and decision-making. To discuss how financial institutions are adapting to consumer demand and security concerns in the cloud transition, experts came together for a Finextra webinar, hosted in association with Temenos, ‘Keeping pace with customer experience demands during cloud migration’. The panel explored how banks are approaching digitisation on the cloud and using new technologies to scale up and expand.

11 August 2023 156 downloads

Future of Report

The Future of Fintech in Africa 2023

Across fintech - digital banking, digital payments, personal finance, lending, and investment - data is central to the function of all these technologies and the most important source for the analysis of financial products and services, bridging the gap between data security and customer satisfaction. Many organisations, countries and regions have forged ahead in leveraging data, cloud, blockchain and AI to their advantage – one such continent is Africa. Two years after the global financial crisis, Kenyan payments, money transfer and micro-financing service M-Pesa became the most successful mobile phone based financial service in the developing world. This was also just three years after its launch by network operators Vodafone and Safaricom. Further to this, transaction flows sent by banks have grown by an average of 10% year-on-year during this 10-year period. Alongside this, mobile money payments have exploded, with the monthly value of transactions increasing 25 times over between 2010 and 2018. The digital payments market has matured faster in Africa than it has in Europe: the number of electronic payments in France grew from 33 million in 2009 to 61.5 million in 2018, but in Nigeria, the number of electronic payment transactions grew from 66 million in 2008 to over two billion in 2018, according to Statista. Further to this, the number of digital payments users is slated to amount to a staggering 611 million users by 2027. However, Africa’s largest market will be digital investment with a total transaction value of $994 million in 2023 and the digital assets market is expected to show a revenue growth of 36% in 2024. It is evident that Africa is on the rise and leveraging technologies such as AI, blockchain, cloud, and data will only allow the continent’s fintech firms to excel across the digital banking, digital payments, personal finance, lending, and investment sectors. This Finextra report, produced in association with Kora, compiles expert insights from a range of firms, including: Binance, Cloud Africa, Data Scientists Network, JUMO, Mojaloop Foundation, TymeBank, and Yoco, and provides predictions for the future of fintech in Africa.

20 July 2023 571 downloads

Event Report

How to Formulate an Actionable Cloud Strategy

A Financial Cloud Series Report. Discover the power of the cloud with our comprehensive event report on formulating an actionable cloud strategy. As part of the Financial Cloud Series, Finextra explores the transformative potential of the cloud for the financial and technology industries. Gain insights from industry experts as they discuss how banks are accelerating digital transformation, leveraging the cloud's capacity and scalability, and setting themselves up for success on their cloud journey. Learn about striking the right balance between in-house technology and outsourcing, managing cost-effectiveness and transparency, and navigating hybrid cloud strategies. With an actionable cloud strategy, your organization can unlock innovation, agility, and growth in the digital era. Get your copy now and embark on your cloud journey with confidence. Watch the Finextra Financial Cloud Series webinar - How to Formulate and Actionable Cloud Strategy - on which this report is based. If you would like to get involved in our Financial Cloud Series conference on 7th March 2024 in London, please email us at events@finextra.com

13 July 2023 212 downloads

Survey

Payments Modernisation: The Big Survey 2023

Embracing payments modernisation in a dynamic landscape. Building on the previous 2021 and 2022 industry surveys, the latest 2023 edition captures and examines ongoing priorities within payments modernisation, with a particular focus on the growth or need for partnerships and cloud-facilitated account-to-account (A2A) payment applications and payments-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings. The report analysis will provide a comprehensive overview of the status and adoption of real-time payment networks within domestic markets and increasingly through intra-regional schemes and cross-border networks globally. The background context of shifting regulatory requirements and nonmandated initiatives alongside standards development will give colour and add depth to the state of adoption and implementation one more year on, giving a clear status check and trajectory of the overriding trends and attitudes in the space. Download your copy of this Finextra Survey Report, produced in association with Volante Technologies, to explore further.

07 July 2023 1385 downloads

White Paper

Can FIs lead the World's ESG charge with Pioneering and Transparent Data Visualisation?

Financial Services are quickly adapting to the changing sustainability demands of customers and new regulatory frameworks. Regulation is being dramatically reshaped such that financial organisations become increasingly obligated to make consciously ethical investment decisions, becoming responsible for non-compliant ESG parties in their own value chains. However, different rules and formats apply in different countries, which causes significant compliance challenges. At the same time, the client or consumer is becoming more aware and more expectant of sustainable and green policies committed to by their financial service provider. Sustainable financing comes handy in the wake of both risks and opportunities. There is an urgent requirement to enable and provide a level of transparency to customers around ESG markers and data. An increasing need for firms to obtain quantifiable and comparable metrics to determine the sustainability and longevity of a business they may invest in or work with. Download this Finextra report, produced in association with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which takes a view on the rapidly unfolding story of ESG within banking and financial services at large.

30 June 2023 335 downloads