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Madhvi Mavadiya

Madhvi Mavadiya Head of Content at Finextra

Finextra’s top long reads of 2023

With 2023 drawing to a close, we take a look back at our most viewed long reads over the course of the past year. Top long reads of 2023 10. 5 predictions for fintech in 2023: What’s next after a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year? Arvin Abraham, partner at Goodwin Procter, explored how fintech is still in its adolescence, but opportunities...

/payments

Luther Liang

Luther Liang Director of Product at Grasshopper – serving US startups and SMBs

Why established digital banks are the best choice for startups in 2024

In the ever-evolving landscape of finance, startups face unique challenges that demand innovative solutions. Choosing the right financial partner can be a make-or-break decision for these companies, especially in an era of technological acceleration, which is why digital banks have risen as a compelling alternative to traditional institutions and ...

/startups

Amanda Kavanagh

Amanda Kavanagh Contributor at Jobbio

CEO survey predicts full return to in-office working by 2026

KPMG’s latest CEO Outlook survey makes for grim reading for those currently enjoying remote and hybrid working. Out of 1,300 global CEOs of some of the world’s largest businesses, two-thirds (68%) predict a full return to in-office working by 2026. And worse still, 87% of leaders believe financial rewards, favourable assignments, and promotion opp...

/people

Sandi Wassmer

Sandi Wassmer CEO at enei

Fixing the disability employment gap in the financial services sector

The career prospects for disabled people in the UK are pretty bleak. Disabled people face barriers in education, seeking employment, getting paid fairly when in employment, and in progressing into management and leadership roles. Although these exist across every sector, the financial services sector employs fewer disabled people than most others ...

/people

Simon West

Simon West Director of Customer Engagement at Resilience

How to fortify your business against cybersecurity attacks in 2024

As we anticipate the cybersecurity challenges of 2024, it's important to reflect on the shifts and priorities that have shaped the past year. Driven by evolving perspectives on the significance of cyber risk and government-led legislation, organisations have redefined strategies, emphasising the need to encourage communications between business fu...

/security

Chris Holmes

Chris Holmes Peer at House of Lords

The transformative potential of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill

If it’s all about the data, then the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill must matter, and it does. Having completed its initial Commons stages it will receive second reading in the House of Lords today (19th December 2023). I will be exploring the vast opportunities afforded by the bill – as well as questioning the government on some of t...

/regulation

Dominique Dierks

Dominique Dierks Content Manager at Finextra

What are instant payments? Understanding real-time payment rails

Over the last few years, instant payments – also referred to as real-time payments, faster payments or immediate payments – have increasingly come into focus for authorities and financial institutions alike. As transformation continues to accelerate in the financial sector, the need for instant payments has grown tremendously. Yet what is the infra...

/payments

Níamh Curran

Níamh Curran Senior Reporter at Finextra

Who benefits from cutting interchange fees?

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has recommended a cap on cross-border interchange fees after its market review into the fees. This is not the only interchange fees story to hit the headlines this week. Earlier this week, the Canadian government came to an agreement with Visa and Mastercard to lower their interchange fees. From next Autumn, sm...

/payments

Lukky Ahmed

Lukky Ahmed CEO at Climate X

COP28: Why climate science is critical for banking regulation

Science is at the heart of COP28 Against a backdrop of record global temperatures and associated extreme weather events, climate diplomats from 198 countries are wrapping up intense negotiations at COP28, the biggest U.N. climate summit to date. A major feature of the summit has been the completion of the first ‘global stocktake’ of progress towar...

/sustainable

Níamh Curran

Níamh Curran Senior Reporter at Finextra

Generative AI cannot replace branch banking – Niamh’s hot take of the month

NatWest announced in November 2023 that they were integrating generative AI into their chatbot tool Cora, which saw the launch of Cora+. Generative AI has been one of the hottest topics throughout 2023, and that is only likely to continue into 2024 as companies like OpenAI expand their products and capabilities. The technology offers a lot of ...

/inclusion

George Toumbev

George Toumbev Chief Commercial Officer at NatWest Boxed

3 components of a successful embedded finance strategy

From talk to action Embedded finance is a growing and potentially very valuable opportunity for companies that get it right. The ability to build financial products that are designed around the needs of customers and offered at the heart of the customer journey can be a winning formula. Getting it right means the chance to build long-lasting custo...

/retail

Dominique Dierks

Dominique Dierks Content Manager at Finextra

What is CBDC? Understanding digital currencies

CBDC (central bank digital currency) is a form of digital currency that a country’s central bank can issue alongside cash. Their value is linked to the issuing country’s official currency. For example, if the UK were to release a CBDC, it would be called the digital pound. While cash is a physical commodity, a CBDC is a digital currency that can b...

/payments