“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 21 May)

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

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Is Bitcoin worth the energy and environmental costs?
• WannaCry lesson still echoes: Patch
• US Digital Banking Report: How 4 Companies Have Created and Own Niches in a Very Crowded Category
• DarkSide ransomware group suffers setbacks following Colonial Pipeline attack
• Colonial Pipeline hack highlights grid disruption risks even with IT-focused cyberattack
• Facebook-backed Diem withdraws FINMA application, shifts to US
• Bank of America to pay $75M to settle class action on overdraft fees
• US banks could cut 200,000 jobs over next decade, top analyst says
• COVID's silver lining: The race to cloud-based cybersecurity quickens
• What executives are saying about the future of hybrid work
• China bans financial, payment institutions from cryptocurrency business

From our Blog

• Are banks still needed?
• American Branch Banking is dying - Why?
• The Clearing House urges firms to buy into its real-time system
• Significant Cyber Attacks from 2006-2020

American Branch Banking is dying - Why?

The 2008-09 financial crisis was triggered by reckless banking practices that morphed into the global economic system. Though the world has since recovered and moved on from the crash, the banking system that ignited such damage has in some ways never been the same.

In the last decade, 27,943 bank branches have closed in the U.S. The increasing prominence of mobile and digital banking is leading to lighter demand for in-person banking services 

Check out the infographic HERE.

Significant Cyber Attacks from 2006-2020

Committing a cyber crime can have serious consequences. In the U.S., a cyber criminal can receive up to 20 years in prison for hacking into a government institution if it compromises national security.

Yet, despite the consequences, cyber criminals continue to wreak havoc across the globe. But some countries seem to be targeted more than others.

Using data from Specops Software, this graphic looks at the countries that have experienced the most significant cyber attacks over the last two decades.

To view the infographic and the full post click HERE. 

Are banks still needed?

Technological change is turning the world of finance upside down  as the clout of payment platforms and tech firms grows and central banks begin to issue their own digital currencies. But can you imagine a world without banks? Rachana Shanbhogue explores the future of banking with Alice Fulwood, The Economist’s Wall Street correspondent, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Patrick Collison, cofounder and CEO of Stripe, Kahina van Dyke, head of digital and data at Standard Chartered, and Jean-Pierre Landau, former deputy-governor of the Banque de France. 

Listen HERE on Economist Radio Podcasts.

The Clearing House urges firms to buy into its real-time system

The Clearing House, the New York based, bank-owned operator of one of only two U.S. payments systems, has been building out the real-time payments system since 2017. The only other operator of a U.S. payments system, the Federal Reserve Board, is also seeking to build a competing real-time payments system called the FedNow Service, but that's not expected to launch until 2023.

The Clearing House has invested $320 million in creating a U.S. real-time payments network, and now it wants businesses to step up and invest in their own technology to use the system.

Read the full article on PAYMENTS DRIVE HERE.

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week ending 14 May)

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

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• A future with fewer banks
• How fintech will eat into banks’ business
• Google Pay launches P2P cross-border payments
• Revlon says it has replaced Citi as agent on revolver loan
• Colonial Pipeline disconnects OT systems to silo ransomware IT threat
• Researchers say they've uncovered a massive Facebook bot farm from the 2020 rlection
• Lessons from a Bank Chief Transformation Officer
• Cybersecurity Fosters Competitive Advantage - Security Boulevard
• Artificial Intelligence is the Most Disruptive Technology of the Century
• The Best Malware Removal and Protection Software for 2021
• Cybersecurity: These two basic flaws make it easy for hackers to break into your systems
• How to Accept WhatsApp's New Policy Manually
• BABB Is Building a Mobile Bank on Blockchain Tech — But Sticking With Fiat
• McDonald's Workers Will Strike for $15 an Hour in 15 Cities
• The digital currencies that matter
• 'We cannot stay still': Inside Green Dot's path to BaaS growth
• Traditional banks mirror challengers with new digital offerings
• Pandemic altered consumers' payment patterns; US lags globally in contactless, study finds
• Traditional banks mirror challengers with new digital offerings
• LendingClub Teams With FinTron On Mobile Banking

From our Blog

• Cryptocurrency fuels ransomware payments
• Managing Inflation Risk
• High-Frequency Trading: A Sociologist’s Take
• Robinhood’s Big Gamble

Robinhood’s Big Gamble

In eliminating barriers to investing in the stock market, is the app democratizing finance or encouraging risky behavior? The app gives new investors an easy way to buy and sell stocks. Its founders say that it could help reduce inequality, but critics fear that it will only reinforce the wealth gap.

Read Sheelah Kolhatkar's article in The New Yorker HERE.