Insights

Between storms Dennis, Ciara and Jorge and the global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, global disruption has sent shockwaves across economies in the first half of 2020. Meanwhile, UK businesses are still scrambling to prepare for the real Brexit coming at the end of the year. This complex and volatile environment has put an emphasis on business... read more

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