“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 20 August)

This week’s top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Bitcoin’s Increasing Value Is Its Real Failure
• The Fundamental Role of Payments is Rapidly Evolving
• Infrastructure Bill Threatens the Value of Cryptocurrencies
• Top 5 ransomware operators by income
• Say Good-Bye to the Payment Card Magnetic Stripe
• State Street to vacate NYC offices amid shift to hybrid work
• BlackBerry teams with Car IQ for in-vehicle payments
• Q&A with Amazon Alexa chief Rohit Prasad on the future of ambient computing
• Why CFOs speak to the press (and whether they should)
• Coinbase CFO amassing cash to weather 'crypto winter'
• FX risk: Identifying exposure through a Currency Map
• How much does phishing really cost the enterprise?
• Up to 83M IoT devices at risk of remote access
• Is Mobile banking really out performing Traditional banking in developing economies — Part 1
• PayPal drops BNPL late fees worldwide
• Payments called 'dominant driver' for fintech investment: KPMG
• Facebook Plays the Underdog
• 5 FinTech companies from the Nordics making an impact
• Fintechs much more likely to be linked to suspicious PPP loans, study finds
• Why bitcoin entrepreneurs are flocking to rural Texas - The Guardian
• Consumer dissatisfaction with credit cards continues to rise
• Realizing IoT’s potential with AI and machine learning
• Senators raise privacy concerns about Amazon One

From our Blog

• Apple’s Software Chief Explains ‘Misunderstood’ iPhone Child-Protection Features
• Why China’s Tough Stance on Crypto Mining Is a Boon for Miners Elsewhere
• "Thieves of State": Sarah Chayes on Afghanistan
• New Online Course - Understanding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
• Should we be worried about technology?
• ESG may sound like a PR spin, but you can't dismiss it

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 13 August)

This week’s top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Banks delay return to office as delta variant surges
• Insider risk surges as resignations mount
• Chinese Threat Actors Use Webdav-O Virus to Exploit Federal Agencies in Russia
• Billions of Dollars Later, the U.S. Government Remains as Hackable as Ever
• SEC Brings and Settles First Case in Crypto-Linked DeFi Sector
• Circle seeks national charter to start digital currency bank
• ZenBusiness launches money-management app
• Plaid settles class-action lawsuit for $58 million
• How human instinct can interfere with cyber crisis response
• A Look Into Brazil's Booming Fintech Scene
• Behind the scenes: A day in the life of a cybersecurity "threat hunter"
• Should healthcare organizations pay to settle a ransomware attack?
• Web hosting cybersecurity concerns
• Citi requires vaccines for employees returning to offices
• Amazon strikes back at Visa fees with surcharge
• How ‘Single-Platform’ Tech Solutions Are Shaping the Future of Banking
• Ares CFO-COO fired for inappropriate conduct
• JPMorgan Piloting Real-Time Payment Service
• 55% of the world’s top 100 banks reportedly have crypto and blockchain exposure
• Chinese Cyberattack Targeted Dozens of Israeli Public and Private Organizations
• Citi seeks to pair banks and small businesses
• Banks, finance firms brace for 'recharged' U.S. consumer bureau; fintech, pandemic abuses are priorities
• BlackBerry teams with Car IQ for in-vehicle payments
• Ex-director seeks to stall $2 billion Paytm IPO, company calls it harassment

From our Blog

• Should we be worried about technology?
• ESG may sound like a PR spin, but you can't dismiss it
• Could digital currencies put banks out of business?
• An Introduction to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Criteria - New Online Course
• What if bitcoin went to zero?

Could digital currencies put banks out of business? - The Economist

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been billed as a major disruptor to finance. But digital currencies issued by governments might be even more radical—they may even threaten the future of traditional banking

 

The Fed Pushing For CBDC, "Can't Wrap Their Head Around Not Having It"

 From the Uneducated Economist, an interesting view on the Fed's thinking about a CBDC plus a great take on assets, investments, banking, money and the economy generally.

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 30 July)

This week’s top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Visualized: The Biggest Ponzi Schemes in Modern History
• The Emerging Paths Of Quantum Computing
• Neobank HMBradley shifts to invite-only, seeks more partner banks
• How 3 critical infrastructure security executives manage vulnerabilities
• Swift takes on low-value cross-border payments
• FX risk: Identifying exposure through a Currency Map
• Should employers pay for home internet during remote work?
• Fiserv, Goldman strike pact on cross-border payments
• A new leaf for the bank branch
• Mobile wallet use projected to surge
• OT cyberattacks could threaten human safety by 2025: Gartner
• Solving Big AI’s big energy problem
• Payment fintechs attract record $5B
• Ransomware, supply chain attacks put cyber insurers on notice
• Biden Directs Agencies to Develop Cybersecurity Standards for Critical Infrastructure
• Simplifying Small Business Payments
• Data-breached companies face higher bank lending costs
• PayPal builds services as EBay breaks away
• Google Pay taps Marqeta for virtual card
• Data breach costs hit record high due to pandemic

From our Blog

• What New ATM Transaction Types are Consumers Interested in?
• Carlos Ghosn: the rise and fall of a superstar CEO - FT Film
• SWIFT Go - near real-time cross-border payments
• How TikTok's Algorithm Figures You Out - WSJ

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 23 July)

This week’s top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Need to Fit Billions of Transistors on a Chip? Let AI Do It
• The DeFi Hype: Why it matters
• London fintech funding soars in first half of the year
• Banks demand high bar for fintech access to Fed services
• Wells Fargo lays out two-wave strategy for office return
• Why cybersecurity keeps payments executives up at night
• REvil vanished from the internet. But ransomware attackers never fully disappear
• Yellen urges regulators to 'act quickly' on stablecoins
• Visa makes another big bet on fintech, buying UK payments start-up Currencycloud
• Cybersecurity risk: The number of employees going around IT security may surprise you
• How Compliance Professionals Should Shape AI Regulations in Finance
• "Never Trust, Always Verify": Why Your Business Needs to Adopt Zero Trust Principles for Cybersecurity
• Data breach fears cloud optimism as open banking expands
• How to keep business operations running after a cyber incident
• Apple Pay Later's Target: Startups Or Issuers?
• Failed payments cost North American banks $33.7B in 2020: report
• Biden administration readies 3 initiatives to curb ransomware
• Neobank HMBradley shifts to invite-only, seeks more partner banks
• Card companies go green, but hurdles remain
• Cybersecurity is the next frontier for AI and ML
• 8 Fintech Trends Changing Banking Forever

From our Blog

• Consumer Adoption of Voice-Activated Payments is Tepid
• Why Microsoft keeps beating Apple and Google with Windows
• Ranking the Top Used Payment Services for Online Shopping
• Facebook Pay’s Expansion Plans Might Get No ‘Likes’ From Big Tech Rivals
• COVID-19 and its Impact on the Asia Pacific Commercial Credit Card Market

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 16 July)

This week’s top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• NFTs - A hype or a lasting new investment asset class?
• CBDCs could give 'clean slate' for cross-border payments, BIS report says
• 'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb says bitcoin is worth zero and fails as a currency and a hedge
• As SPAC Deals Fade, Banking And FinTech IPOs Step Into Listings Spotlight
• Visa rolls out BNPL for merchants
• PMorgan Suggests Adoption of Bitcoin as Legal Tender Might Break Bitcoin and Hurt El Salvador
• CFPB fines home improvement fintech GreenSky $2.5M, orders $9M in refunds
• China says measures applied to Ant Group to be imposed on other payment firms
• Iranian Hackers Posing as Scholars Target Professors and Writers in Middle-East
• Citi's Q2 profit jumps more than fivefold, but revenue slumps
• Want to quickly recover from ransomware? Plan ahead
• Wells Fargo charges ahead to $6B Q2 profit
• Bank of America's Q2 profit soars as low interest rates dent revenue
• JPMorgan's Q2 profit more than doubles amid slight drop in revenue
• Private credit joins private equity to freeze out banks
• Intuit's new Quickbooks card-reader joins the POS payments fray
• Behind the Firewall: How 6 security execs screen vendors

From our Blog

• Fintechs are becoming part of the establishment
• Using CBDCs for enhanced cross-border payments
• The end of Chinese Bitcoin mining
• Apple Working On 'Apple Pay Later' Monthly Installment Offering
• Non Fungible Tokens - a comprehensive overview

Using CBDCs for enhanced cross-border payments

Cross-border payments are usually criticized for high cost, low speed, limited availability to households and businesses and insufficient transparency, but recent technological advances could help mitigate those issues, according to a Bank for International Settlement report.

The report, entitled "Central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments," was published in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s committee on payments and market infrastructures.  It was prepared for the G20 group of nations' forum.

Get more information and access the full report HERE. 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 9 July)

This week’s top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Banks prepare for 2021's second act with office-return, banker-pay pledges
• Cloud targeted in widespread brute force campaign
• Cybersecurity Ignorance Is Dangerous
• Risk management rises to No. 1 accounting priority during pandemic: ACCA
• Wells Fargo shuts down personal lines of credit
• Bank of America becomes last US SIFI to make crypto push
• Kaseya: What's known (and unknown) about the ransomware attack
• Tech savviness soars following pandemic but personal touch still key to customer experience
• If open banking were a colour - it would be green
• DeFi Is Ready to Disrupt Fintech
• World’s First Mobile Banking Service for Migrants MAJORITY Expands to the US
• Chime, Current lead U.S. banking app downloads in first half of 2021: report
• Paysafe builds up online betting, gaming payments systems
• Crypto exchange Binance responds to Barclays move to halt payments
• The pandemic pushed us toward a cashless economy. It could be the new normal
• Clash over debit card routing persists in comments to Fed

From our Blog

• Regulating digital payment services and e-money
• Could digital currencies make money more fragile?
• Could digital currencies put banks out of business? - The Economist
• Robinhood Warns of Meme Frenzy & Britain Wins Key Tax Exemption
• Facebook Rolls Out Live Audio Rooms, Its Competitor To Clubhouse

Regulating digital payment services and e-money

Improvements in technology, coupled with growing demand for digital payment methods, are increasingly reshaping the way payments are made. Non-bank institutions now offer a wide range of retail payment services. This raises the question of where the regulatory perimeter should be drawn. Financial authorities now face the task of deciding whether the risk profile of different payment services are appropriately reflected in their regulatory frameworks. A sound understanding of the regulatory approaches in other jurisdictions contributes to this assessment.

Johannes Ehrentraud, Jermy Prenio, Codruta Boar, Mathilde Janfils and Aidan Lawson have had a paper published by the BIS' Financial Stability Unit entitled "Fintech and payments: regulating digital payment services and e-money".

Download an read it HERE.

Could digital currencies make money more fragile?

While the future is unpredictable, one where digital currencies dominate both money and payments seems a reasonable possibility. The benefits of convenience, lower cost and the possibility of greater financial inclusion seem irresistible. 

However, An area that hasn’t attracted sufficient attention is the potential increased fragility of money. And this has nothing to do with volatile cryptocurrency valuations. 

Find out more HERE.

Could digital currencies put banks out of business? - The Economist

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been billed as a major disruptor to finance. But digital currencies issued by governments (CBDC) might be even more radical—they may even threaten the future of traditional banking.Could they even bankrupt banks?

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 2 July)

This week’s top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Robinhood agrees to pay nearly $70M in FINRA settlement
• Will Artificial Intelligence Robots Do the Majority of Our Work in the Coming Decade?
• British regulator warns Binance to halt UK activity
• Citi launches digital assets unit, confirming crypto plans
• On-demand pay catches on, but scrutiny persists
• New consumer tech gadgets modernize payments
• Quarles: Fed-backed currency poses 'significant' risks, 'unclear' benefits
• How multi-accelerated Kenyan fintech startup Kwara is building an international operation
• Critical goods industries face existential ransomware decisions
• Users Clueless About Cybersecurity Risks: Study
• Whistleblowers risk getting nothing from bankrupt companies
• Scant evidence that cyber insurance boom is leading to better security
• Automating invoices becomes a hot payments play

From our Blog

• CBDC and Cryptocurrencies are NOT the same
• Is the rush to CBDCs just a fad driven by FOMO?
• CBDCs and the opportunities for the monetary system
• Key Steps on the Road to Digital Modernization in Corporate Banking
• Crypto: will the bitcoin dream succeed?

CBDC and Cryptocurrencies are NOT the same

As millions of people start to take an interest in the world of crypto, it is important to understand the difference between a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and a Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.

The growth of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum has led to a greater interest in the technology behind these currencies from startups, individuals and governments alike.

There are many pros and cons to the CBDC economy. Jumping to conclusions based on incomplete understanding of the CBDC world is rife, especially since misinformation abounds and not much has been made public about the launch of the CBDCs by some of the economic giants in the world. 

Find out what these differences are in Arti Agarwal's article "Why CBDCs Are NOT The Same as Cryptocurrencies Like Bitcoin" HERE.

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Is the rush to CBDCs just a fad driven by FOMO?

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal K. Quarles called the global rush to roll out central bank digital currencies (CBDC) akin to the 1980s parachute pants fad and FOMO, or the “fear of missing out.”

He was speaking at  the 113th Annual Utah Bankers Association Convention, Sun Valley, Idaho.

He drew a parallel to the world’s knee-jerk infatuation with digital currencies.

“Before we get carried away with the novelty, I think we need to subject the promises of a CBDC to a careful critical analysis,” he said in his remarks.

You can read his full speech "Parachute Pants and Central Bank Money" HERE.

Other comments from PYMNTS.com HERE.

CBDCs and the opportunities for the monetary system

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) offer in digital form the unique advantages of central bank money: settlement finality, liquidity and integrity. CBDCs are an advanced representation of money for the digital age and the digital economy.

Digital money should be designed with the public interest in mind. Like the latest generation of instant retail payment systems, retail CBDCs could ensure open payment platforms and a competitive level playing field that is conducive to innovation.

The BIS, in its Annual Report, to be published later today, has a full chapter on central bank digital currencies. Read the full chapter HERE.

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 25 June)

This week's top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Attacks against container supply chains grow more sophisticated
• Legacy medical devices, growing hacker threats create perfect storm of cybersecurity risks
• BIS report shows growing divide on crypto
• Gensler says alternative to LIBOR poses risk of manipulation
• HSBC to sell French retail banking operations to Cerberus-backed entity
• PayPal to increase merchant fees in August
• Buy now-pay later drawbacks emerge for consumers, study says
• Morgan Stanley to bar unvaccinated staff from NY offices starting July 12
• VPN exploitation rose in 2020, organizations slow to patch critical flaws
• Mastercard faces pushback over ex-CEO's $27.7M pay package
• Visa pilots US merchant phone-tap system

From our Blog

• Elon Musk: CO2 saint or sinner? - FT Film
• Regulators Probe Market Amid Rising Meme Stocks
• Bitcoin Price Falters on China Crackdown
• Did covid-19 leak from a Chinese lab? - The Economist

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 18 June)

The latest top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management and much more

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• The Merging Of Human And Machine. Two Frontiers Of Emerging Technologies
• Banks' pandemic-era flexibility reaches its pivot point
• Are Consumers Ready for a World Without Bank Branches?
• AI Will Fuel the Financial-Services Revolution. Here's What to Know
• Basel suggests strictest risk weighting for crypto
• Gig economy workers gravitating to faster pay
• Morgan Stanley, Bank of America CEOs break relative silence on office returns
• The Biggest Business Risks Around the World in 2021
• How payments became a magnet for money
• Mastercard faces pushback over executive pay
• Overlap concerns grow as more federal cyber officials join the ranks
• CFOs rethinking cost savings of just-in-time supply chains
• JPMorgan to buy robo-adviser Nutmeg to bolster UK footprint
• Visa pilots US merchant phone-tap system
• CFOs rethinking cost savings of just-in-time supply chains

From our Blog

• What are today's biggest business risks?
• ESG - What is next and what do you need to do?
• Who is going to win the digital money competition?
• Elon Musk’s Power Over Crypto, Explained - WSJ
• Crypto: will the bitcoin dream succeed? - The Economist

Who is going to win the digital money competition?

In a posting in Finextra, Janne Jutila, Managing Director at Internos Partners writes;

‘The two main drivers of competition in digital money are geopolitical and technological – and they are intertwined. China is fast becoming the largest economy in the world and is already almost cashless as commerce is done on mobile platforms like Alipay and WeChat pay. China aims to further boost economic growth, whilst increasing state control, as it imminently plans to scale the use of digital yuan. As digital yuan transactions can be monitored and controlled by Chinese government, it could well allow more freedom in its use outside the country. How much boost the digital yuan will give remains to be seen but enough to add urgency on ECB and FED to progress on their competing digital currency projects.’

Read the full article on Finextra HERE.

Crypto: will the bitcoin dream succeed? - The Economist

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies set out to upend the financial order and replace conventional money. Bitcoin has certainly disrupted the global financial system, but can it ever live up to the hype? 

You can read more in The Economist's latest report on cryptocurrency- https://econ.st/3wnYfRr