Latest long reads: Finextra Research

What SoftBank’s PayPay IPO float means for embedded finance in Japan

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What SoftBank’s PayPay IPO float means for embedded finance in Japan

Last week Reuters reported that SoftBank has picked investment banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho and Morgan Stanley to support a potential US IPO for its Japanese payments app operator, PayPay. In what could be as early as Q4’25, PayPay could raise over $2 billion from investors, but timing and the amount are subject to market conditio...

11 August 2025 /payments

The changing face of international payments

Manish Kohli Head of Global Payments Solutions at HSBC

The changing face of international payments

By 2030, the global payments landscape is set to undergo a profound transformation. At the heart of this shift will be real-time processing, enhanced cross-border interoperability, and a growth in blockchain-based innovations – all driving forward a smarter, faster and more connected global financial system. This transformation is being driven by ...

07 August 2025 /payments

What are debt-for-nature swaps and what is their impact on climate financing?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What are debt-for-nature swaps and what is their impact on climate financing?

Debt-for-nature swaps have become more common among nations in attempts to boost conservation efforts and refinancing climate. The concept of debt-for-nature swaps is for creditors to forgive governmental debt in return for their commitment to sustainable and green initiatives, allowing for indebted countries to ease their financial burden whilst f...

06 August 2025 /sustainable

Would you trust a machine with your money?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Would you trust a machine with your money?

Deciding how to manage finances can be a significant step. In a world where algorithms manage portfolios, rebalance assets, and offer retirement advice, a question remains: do people trust robo-advisors? And if they do, why? The psychology of trust in robo-advisors Polaris Market Research expects the global robo advisory market to reach $72 bill...

05 August 2025 /wealth

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is supply chain finance?

Supply chain finance (SCF) – also known as reverse factoring – was birthed by globalisation and the increasingly complex, multi-party supply chains that enable it. While the use of SCF necessarily fluctuates in line with the health of the geopolitical landscape (as well as the shifting weight of regulatory and reporting requirements) it will remai...

05 August 2025 /wholesale

Is the UK 'overestimating the risk and underestimating the opportunity' of stablecoins?

Chris Holmes Peer at House of Lords

Is the UK 'overestimating the risk and underestimating the opportunity' of stablecoins?

I remember writing about the introduction of the Financial Services and Markets Bill in July 2022 and reflecting how the (then) Chancellor’s Mansion House speech had claimed “it reinforces the UK’s position as a leading centre for technology as we safely adopt crypto assets” stressing a “vision to make the UK one of the most dynamic financial cent...

04 August 2025 /regulation

The top payments stories you missed in July 2025

Dominique Dierks Senior Content Manager at Finextra

The top payments stories you missed in July 2025

Catch up on Finextra’s most-read Payments stories from last month. Australian banks launch nationwide Confirmation of Payee scheme Confirmation of Payee (CoP) has officially arrived in Australia, with Australian banks having started the roll-out of the nationwide scheme early in July. Even though Australia is one of the only countries where scam lo...

01 August 2025 /payments

How long before the GENIUS Act helps your business run faster and cheaper?

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

How long before the GENIUS Act helps your business run faster and cheaper?

If you conduct business internationally to or from the US, you might be able to save a lot of money, especially on cross-border payments - and also get those payments done much more quickly - in the near future thanks to stablecoin adoption. Even better, with blockchain encryption and security in place for everyone, it could be safer and easier to...

01 August 2025 /crypto

FedNow upgrade introduces more risk controls, but will financial institutions hit “send”?

David Payne SVP, Payments Risk & Compliance at Southern Financial Exchange

FedNow upgrade introduces more risk controls, but will financial institutions hit “send”?

The FedNow® Service recently celebrated its second anniversary with around 1,400 participating financial institutions (FIs) across all 50 states. To mark this milestone, the Fed announced the addition of a new account threshold feature that allows financial institutions to enhance risk mitigation by adjusting value and transaction levels based on ...

31 July 2025 /payments

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Can AI and quantum computing turn the tide?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Can AI and quantum computing turn the tide?

Marked on 30 July, International Human Trafficking Day, otherwise known as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, was established in response to a request for the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to host a meeting to counter the buying and selling of fellow humans in 2006. Fast forward to 2015, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda...

30 July 2025 /crime

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is treasury technology?

According to PwC’s 2025 Global Treasury Survey, in today’s volatile “macroeconomic environment, a ‘cash-first’ operating model is no longer optional. Treasury must lead with forecasting accuracy, real-time visibility and centralised control.” The only effective means for organisations to achieve these goals – as well as weather the headwinds of st...

29 July 2025 /ai

The AI energy crisis: Why chatbots are using up our drinking water

Dominique Dierks Senior Content Manager at Finextra

The AI energy crisis: Why chatbots are using up our drinking water

Just this week, the Trump administration has introduced its new ‘AI Action Plan’ with the direct aim to speed up the adoption of AI and the build of more data centres, all the while cutting regulation to enable this. As the world continues its AI race, how much is too much? Concerns have long been raised about the amount of energy AI uses. The In...

25 July 2025 /ai

Long reads