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

Report

Managing Compliance and Growth

For banks large and small there is no question about the sheer volume of transformation pressure currently at play. Regulatory changes on the increase, various migration deadlines to implement amid the general shift to real time means that mere survival in itself can seem like a win. More is required of organisations who want to differentiate and compete for and retain the customer’s attention. When risk awareness plays a crucial role how can banks start to carve a safe and secure route to innovation at a speed which meets market demand for new and intuitive services? For smaller and newer organisations, arguably it is easier when they don’t have legacy constraints and are more attuned to the benefits and possibilities of emerging technologies. But as they strive to diversify and grow their volumes, they are often blindsided by the associated risk and indeed the threat of suffocating a start-up culture. Becoming consumed by the here and now and not being able to see the woods for the trees is an all-too-familiar theme for many medium-sized banks. Being able to establish and refine their own agile way of working so they can learn fast and grow fast is key. But when one size does not fit all in terms of scaling projects, it becomes very difficult to take the reins on their own unique journey of growth. This research paper by Finextra, produced in association with Finastra, is based on several interviews with small and medium-sized banks, garnering their perspectives and experiences in their efforts to grow and scale while managing compliance and all that goes with it. Download your copy of the Finextra industry sentiment report to learn more.

14 December 2020 357 downloads

Report

Automation, Resiliency and Agility: Key Drivers of Cloud Adoption and Strategy

A Finextra Research Impact Study in Association with Calypso Technology and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Cloud adoption for financial services firms has been on the rise over the past few years - a trend that has been further bolstered by the wave of digitisation brought on by the global pandemic. A survey of financial services firms’ cloud attitudes conducted by bobsguide in 2020 revealed that nearly 83% of participants were already working on the cloud, with 50% expanding their use and the rest of the respondents having already completed their cloud migration. Financial institutions in the global capital markets space are facing unprecedented regulatory scrutiny, IT rationalisation, and cost pressures while still having to deliver value to their clients, which has shifted the spotlight on cloud from innovative or experimental initiatives to mission-critical workloads that can be made leaner and less expensive to maintain. While cloud has become a common mode of delivery for innovative capital markets firms, recent financial pressure, global macro-economic uncertainty and the need to respond to regulatory change has led to cloud adoption and migration being integrated and considered a crucial part of a financial institution’s business strategy in optimising mission-critical workloads with cloud technology. In this impact study, we discuss the key drivers of cloud adoption, as well as strategies that ensure successful outcomes for customers who want to make the move to cloud. Download your copy of the Impact Study below to learn more.

11 December 2020 390 downloads

Report

Paving the path from Open Banking to Open Finance in Benelux

Open banking has set the pace for differentiation of the financial services ecosystem, invited new players into the mix, challenged traditional meanings of data, value, personal information and the dynamics of ownership, and blurred the hitherto service sectors of society. This has resulted in greater competition and a proliferation of new services and offerings in payment and aggregation, blending activities across verticals and industries, and creating new ways of interacting. The end user is undoubtedly the winner here but there are nuances still to be played out in terms of the perception of value attributed to personal data, ownership of the customer relationship, and the way in which services will shape the way people live their lives and vice versa. Open banking is en route to open finance and beyond to open data, and in this burgeoning economy where new players, partnerships, aggregated services, platforms, apps and ecosystems are sprouting up, merging and shape-shifting at breakneck speed, it could not be more important to ensure at every turn the resilience, safety and security of each system. The Benelux region, at the heart of Europe and straddling the very seat of European financial regulation, is well positioned as a microcosm of how the new economy is unfolding. This research paper from Finextra, in association with Equinix, is based on several interviews with experts in the open banking space and in Benelux who shared their views and insights on the current response to open banking and the future of open finance and open data. Download your copy of this Finextra white paper, produced in association with Equinix, to learn more.

27 November 2020 465 downloads

Report

Securing the API Ecosystem

New and different banking models are emerging as the various influences in financial services today take hold. Change happens at a faster pace than ever, increasing in rate by the year, and this is very much part of the new operating norm. Regardless of the pressure for banks and other financial organisations to adapt, transform and carve a new identity out of an everchanging ecosystem and set of demands and requirements, there cannot be a lapse in the protection of systems, of customer and client data, and hence, trust. This is, after all, arguably the most valuable asset banks have. Security, while not of itself the driver of digital transformation strategies and dialogues, underpins each and every activity, plan and transaction an institution makes or hosts. And the direction of travel that industry transformation is taking places a lot of pressure on reconfiguring systems to be robust, because that direction is branching out into the realm of myriad other players through open banking APIs. In some regions the opening of banking services is mandated, such as in Europe with PSD2; in others, a commercially-driven approach has taken hold, such as in the US. And in others still, where mobile phones have formed the basis of modern banking, it is more an innate approach than a transition or shift, such as in Asia Pacific. APIs are nothing new in financial services, but while they have always been a back office functionality tool, they have now moved very much to the fore in being the connectors of a new, more open financial ecosystem. They have been used to connect developers to payment networks as well as to display billing details on a bank’s website. Through open banking, however, APIs are now being used to allow third parties access to certain data sets, with the requisite consents, and vice versa. They provide democratised, low fidelity, low latency ‘bridges’ between organisations to facilitate the rapid expansion of the ecosystem, competition, and hence choice and empowerment for the consumer. But with such change and opportunity also comes great risk. Download your copy of this Finextra white paper, produced in association with Equinix, to learn more.

26 November 2020 489 downloads

Report

The Future of Payments 2020

The Race Against Time for Payments Transformation. In the age of instant payments and with the first Request to Pay services to go live in 2020, the financial services industry needs to prepare for the impact on the European payments landscape and understand how the growth of digital payments technologies will affect the sector. This report looks at how real-time fraud can be addressed - when KYC remains a challenge – and whether initiatives such as TIBER-EU has the potential to strengthen the resilience of the financial system against cybercrime. The requirements for corporate liquidity management are shifting in the age of instant payments, making way for a more collaborative model to dominate. However, with the availability of mobile devices, payments service providers must prioritise providing their customers a slick customer experience. In parallel to this, financial players must understand the challenges of managing risk in an instant world, which is a paradox that correspondent banking faces. This is where adaptable payments architecture and a smooth standards migration can help banks focus on strategy, rather than the day-to-day processes. Problems with operational efficiency can be overcome with leveraging APIs, but a question is posed when considering whether banks are ready for this technology to be customer-facing and if they would allow account access to third parties. Finextra’s The Future of Payments report will explore how new business models, new operating models and new forms of collaboration are the catalyst for the 2020 payments ecosystem, which in turn, will help banks and payments providers to establish a clear strategy for the future. Organisations interviewed in this report: Bank of England, BNP Paribas, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group Bank AG, EY, ING, JPMorgan, Santander, SEB, Standard Chartered, SWIFT. Download your copy of the report below now to find out more.

24 November 2020 570 downloads

Report

Accelerating Enterprise-Wide Innovation with Cloud Migration and Data Governance

A Finextra Research Impact Study in Association with Collibra and Amazon Web Services (AWS). In today's environment, data is produced and consumed at a rapid pace. However, the way it is currently being stored, accessed, and processed is inefficient. Migration to the cloud promises to change this reality for financial institutions, but there are several obstacles tied to digital transformation that must be addressed in the process. The exponential increase in data generation is set to continue in the coming years, especially as the adoption of mobile technology rises. The risk and opportunity introduced by big data to the financial services industry are unparalleled. As the most data-intensive sector in the global economy, the ability of financial institutions to obtain, process, and analyse their complex data assets – structured or unstructured – is becoming fundamental to market success and remaining competitive. Moving data to the cloud with a partner such as Collibra establishes a governance foundation for banks as ungoverned data lakes can quickly become data swamps. Data intelligence vendors can provide a platform that helps banks gain a unified view of data assets to unlock their true value. These technology companies can help improve trust in data to strengthen analytics and hasten time to insight through machine learning powered features such as automatic data classification, guided stewardship, and auto-discovery functions. Cloud migration and services such as those offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) should be at the centre of banks’ digital transformation, but challenges around lack of executive alignment, technical skillsets, and data lake experience must be overcome in order to become masters of their data. Download your copy of the Impact Study below to learn more.

20 November 2020 309 downloads

Report

Innovate and Launch: How banks can securely leverage cloud to expand into new markets

A Finextra Research Impact Study in Association with Mambu and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The cloud can power innovation for financial institutions. According to McKinsey, 70% of banks are reviewing their core banking platforms and are beginning to leverage the potential that cloud-native services can deliver, as well as the offerings provided by technology vendors. When a bank or payments provider moves to a digital banking platform, cloud migration is a fundamental part of the process. Deloitte highlights that success with process re-engineering and efforts at digitalisation with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are dependent on cloud computing. Cloud migration, for any firm, is complex and no two firms will have the same journey. The key factor here for financial institutions is to collaborate with the right cloud services provider and the right technology partner. In order to stay agile, launch new products quickly and cost effectively, cloud is essential for banks and payments providers. This will even allow traditional players to compete with nimble fintech startups and well-funded financial services firms. Security and compliance are primary considerations for banks and payments services providers adopting the cloud. SaaS banking platforms that support composable API-enabled architectures allow banking and payments firms to operate like technology companies. Working with providers like Mambu running on Amazon Web Services (AWS), firms can scale their core banking business and innovate faster while operating in a secure, compliant environment. Download your copy of the Impact Study below to learn more.

13 November 2020 576 downloads

Report

Digital Transformation Accelerated

A Sibos 2020 Report produced by Finextra in association with Intel. As the global coronavirus pandemic pushed the annual Sibos event into virtual mode for the first time in 2020, it’s not surprising that everyone was keen to talk about how this has changed things in the key areas that the industry gathers to review at this time of year- technology, digitisation, innovation and the future of finance. There was broad consensus that COVID-19 has led to two years’ worth of digital transformation in just two months, as the lockdowns kicked in at the end of March. Financial institutions were affected internally, with a major emptying-out of financial centres and distribution of their IT estates amid rigorous oversight of new workflows, security practices and productivity. But they also had to react to the new expectations and behaviours of retail customers in lockdown and corporates who have themselves had to embrace remote and hybrid working for their financial and supply chain management. As the situation demanded- and continues to demand- flexibility, and economic fears push cost and efficiency to the fore, change resistors within financial services organisations, corporate customers and regulators alike have been forced to become change adopters. 2020 has been far from a positive year for many. But if financial industry and technology people are looking for a silver lining, it could be found in the results of this forced digital transformation. It will be interesting to see how much can be achieved through this accelerated change by this time next year. Download the full report below to find out more.

06 November 2020 710 downloads

Report

Increasing Resilience in Collaborative Financial Services

Data is the lifeblood of every business. In the rapidly evolving ecosystem of financial services, the establishment of a robust and efficient cloud-based information management platform to govern this data is integral to a firm’s ability to remain resilient in uncertain times while building market share. While the financial services industry increasingly leverages the value of data, the way in which it is collected, stored and deployed is evolving to keep pace with customer expectation, regulatory demands and seismic innovation in technology. Collaboration between banks, partners, customers, or third-party providers represents a key shift in financial institutions’ approach to data, yet, ensuring the systems that are in place work to both protect and share data between these players is challenging to navigate. Building cloud-based information management systems from the ground up is often an unrealistic premise, particularly in financial services. Firms operate with pre-existing systems, and the reality remains that these legacy systems will build the backbone or springboard from which resilient information management systems will emerge. It is vital that firms understand the need to collaborate with external providers to extend the availability of this data across diverse hybrid environments if they are to effectively implement these technological advancements. Directives and regulations pushing banks to open access to their information assets puts a hard deadline on the calendar for such projects and means that those which act early can benefit from being first to market with solutions that not only meet compliance requirements but capitalise on new opportunities. Interoperability is a fundamental tenet of this collaborative ecosystem. It is the ability of financial institutions to work collaboratively with providers to deliver this type of efficient, secure and resilient data management platform which will determine their success in this new information-sharing climate. Download the full white paper below to find out more.

16 September 2020 84 downloads

Report

The Future of Fintech 2020

Disrupt, reset, re-launch. The fintech industry has evolved from competing and collaborating with banks and has now entered a new era of partnerships, with those at the forefront of digital transformation prioritising technology and legacy participants working with new financial players. In addition to this, traditional financial institutions are partnering with challenger banks to provide refined products and services that attest to putting the customer first. However, questions have been raised about how an alliance with a neobank would be preferable to a merger or an acquisition. The concept of a ‘challenger bank’ will also be examined in this report, and why, after years of development and progress, it has become difficult to differentiate between the vast number of neobanks in the industry because their offerings are vastly similar. Finextra’s The Future of Fintech 2020 report will explore how banks have embraced innovation and what benefits have emerged from establishing technology initiatives, partnering with neobanks and investing in fintech firms. Further, the report explores what and how the industry should behave in the face of a crisis and how to bounce back stronger than ever. We will also consider whether customers would benefit from financial institutions merging all their services onto one application as the digital age welcomes the platform ecosystem, which has seen success in Asia and is being gradually implemented in Europe and the US. Download your copy of the report now.

03 September 2020 959 downloads

Report

Sustainable Finance Live - Investment and Asset Management ESG Solutions

A Visual Record from the Sustainable Finance Live workshops. In June 2020, Finextra Research welcomed industry experts to Sustainable Finance Live, the first virtual, interactive workshop to discuss how financial services firms and technology companies can achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Debunking the myth that revenue cannot be generated through trustworthy implementation of ESG measures, this co-creation event targeted the subsector of investment and asset management and explored specific challenges and opportunities, following a lean back, lean in and learn model. The workshop defined what investors require in order to track and securitise with confidence and what asset managers need to build portfolios that institutional investors will select. Diving deep into the practical challenges of investment and asset management, the sessions considered data access and reporting, with speakers providing advice on how to embrace sustainable finance. With a top down approach, a clear focus of the sustainability components and trying to infer the process of assessing the following, the workshop focused on: The investment gap in new technologies and models Information acquisition through third party suppliers to help the risk function Incentivisation schemes to promote better sustainability norms The role of technology in validating ESG activities Download the full report below to find out more.

27 July 2020 271 downloads

Report

Wealth Management: Driving Transformation through a 360° Client Lens

A 360 degree customer view is fast becoming essential for financial organisations and wealth managers to compete and win in the digital economy – but integrating the vast and changing data sources is often a major challenge. In recent years, advances in technology, as well as global digitalisation, have ushered in new capabilities for banks, enabling them to understand their clientele better and, hence, serve them in a more efficient and tailored fashion. The customer 360 view has become a familiar term as organisations utilise increased data analysis to capture holistically customer behaviour and account patterns leading to more intuitive offerings and responses, stronger security and faster processes. It is the ‘who, what, why, when and where’ of customer lifecycle management. Wealth management, hitherto later to the digital party than other financial services segments, is recognising the benefits to be gleaned from data-led transformation – both those operating independently and those part of larger banks. Growth, leaner operating functions, easier compliance processes and cost savings are just some of the benefits to be had. Cloud is called upon to deliver new and differentiated service levels and organisations are increasingly looking for new and scarce skillsets. This Finextra paper, produced in association with MarkLogic, is based on several discussions with senior financial services and wealth management experts covering key business and technical drivers for creating the need for a 360 degree customer view, the challenges to be overcome in the process and the long-term benefits to be gleaned as a result. Download the full report below to find out more.

18 June 2020 558 downloads

Report

Instant Payments: Why Covid-19 is Bringing the Roadmap Forward

Business continuity has never been a more valuable asset for financial institutions. Fundamental changes to 'business as usual' as a result of Covid-19 have exposed the need for resilient, reliable, and efficient systems to maintain essential payment services and protect the interests of all ecosystem participants, from consumers to the largest corporations. At the same time, in the lead up to the European Single Market Infrastructure Gateway's (ESMIG) 'big bang' migration at the end of 2021, EU financial institutions are understandably consumed with ensuring that they are appropriately equipped to manage the systemic changes the migration will demand. While ESMIG provides a hard deadline to work towards, every institution bears unique targets and objectives, making the structure and execution of these plans more challenging than ever. In this context, it might seem that the adoption of real-time or instant payments—immediate settlement of account-to-account payments on a 24x7 basis, domestically and cross-border—should reasonably take a back seat to more pressing existential concerns. After all, while the ESMIG migration is mandatory, instant payments are not, and financial institutions could be forgiven for focusing solely on compliance-driven projects at the expense of optional ones. This impact study will outline why the reverse is true: that in fact, the move to instant payments takes on an increased urgency in the coronavirus age. It explores the benefits of instant payments for banks' internal operations as well as their customer value propositions. It also examines shifting approaches to business case development, and the increasing relevance of cloud and as-a-service models for instant payment processing. Find out more by downloading your copy below.

11 June 2020 639 downloads

Report

A 3 Step Guide to Driving Customer-Centricity with Big Data

As a result of increased competition and rapidly changing consumer expectations, banks are under increased pressure to develop the way they target and appeal to customers and in turn, maintain a profitable personal relationship. In addition to this, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the US have set a foundation for data consent management and ensuring that customers’ personal information is always protected and secured. Now they are breaking down their data silos, banks are struggling to harness the information that is key to unlocking customer relationships in this ever-changing market. While they are navigating their way through such a volatile environment, traditional financial services companies are often reluctant to change and may find it difficult to implement new technology from which they can derive value. This is partly because they have had bad experiences with tech projects in the past that did not deliver or bring changes as expected. However, smart technology and out-of-the-box solutions in the form of powerful customer data platforms (CDPs) are readily available and deliver a competitive edge and value to financial institutions. Find out more by downloading your copy of the research paper below.

19 May 2020 406 downloads

Report

How to Adopt SWIFT gpi by the 2020 Deadline - Build, Buy, Outsource or Collaborate?

The need for speed, certainty, and seamless integration in cross-border payments is becoming increasingly apparent. SWIFT’s Global Payment Initiative, more commonly known as gpi, is fast becoming the standard for global funds transfers. The need for speed, certainty, and seamless integration in cross-border payments is driven by user expectations of instant services, the digitalisation of traditional payment services, and the streamlining of financial supply chains by banks and corporates. For SWIFT’s community, payment confirmations represent the next piece in the puzzle in the path towards creating a seamless, cross-border payments experience for every financial institution and corporate member, and each of their customers. Financial institutions must position and prepare themselves to adopt the requirement on schedule or run the risk of sending non-compliant cross-border payments - if such transactions can be sent at all. For firms seeking to keep pace with the cross-border payments evolution, banks and corporates alike are faced with the challenge of identifying and adopting an effective strategy to adopt SWIFT gpi. The question firms must answer, as they juggle the real-world pressures of cost, competition and cumbersome legacy systems, is whether it is best to build, buy, outsource or collaborate. Find out more by downloading your copy below.

08 April 2020 693 downloads