Category Archives: Research

January 30, 2023   FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fintech Services, Innovation and Resources, P2P, Lending, Digital Bonds, BNPL, Private Credit, Payments, Transfers, Rewards, Research   No comments

Payment Trends: Opportunities and Risks Shaping 2023

Capgemini | Nilesh Vaidya | Jan 30, 2023

Capgemini – payment trrends 2023

Image: Capgemini

Top Trends in Payments 2023 contains Capgemini’s perspectives on the top 10 trends for the months ahead

We anticipate widespread opportunity for innovation and growth. Trends include payment providers’ customer-centricity strategies such as buy-now/pay-later and embedded finance, data-safeguarding tokenization, and sustainability protocols focused on eco-friendly payment modes. Also on the radar screen are changing industry dynamics brought on by composable architecture and payment hub modernization, among other actions.

See:  Payments Canada Report: Rebound & Grow – Payment Methods and Trends in 2021

Included Trends

  • BNPL momentum continues despite post-pandemic macroeconomics
  • Embedded finance is leveraging customer data to find new use cases
  • Global adoption of ISO 20022 opens doors to data modernization
  • Central banks gearing up to pilot and implement CBDCs
  • Composable architecture leads to competitive efficiencies
  • Real time cross border payments will improve speed and volume of regional trade
  • End-to-end ecosystems are simplifying payment moderatization
  • Paytech innovation and partnerships seeking to revamp SMB payments
  • Tokenization for scalable and secure payment infrastructure
  • Eco-friendly cards, digital payments, and cloud-based payment hubs will boost sustainability
Capgemini – payment trends graphic

Image: Capgemini

Continue to the full article --> here

Download the 34 page PDF --> here

 

NCFA Jan 2018 resizeThe National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights
NCFA Fintech WhispererNCFA Fintech Fridays PodcastNCFA Weekly Newsletter

 

Read More
January 26, 2023   Blockchain, Crypto, Digital Assets, Tokens, CBDCs, Stablecoins, Metaverse, NFTs, ESG, Financial Inclusion, Sustainable Finance, Fintech International, Innovation and Resources, Research, Venture Funding and Building, Web3, Decentralization, DAOs   No comments

FIS Report: Embedded Finance, Web3 and ESG Lead 2023 Fintech Investment Focus

FIS Release | Kim Snider | Jan 24, 2023

FIS investment trends research 2023A global study of 2,000 executives at firms across markets revealed plans to increase investment in embedded finance, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks, and decentralized finance in 2023, including cautious optimism towards cryptocurrency.

  • Inaugural research by FIS 2023 Global Innovation Report asked c-suite and senior executives in financial services (banks, insurers, capital markets firms, and fintechs) and non-financial businesses (retail, restaurants, travel, gaming and digital content, and technology providers) globally about their key areas of financial investment in 2023.
  • 4% of financial services firms’ executives across the globe say they will invest significantly in developing embedded finance products in 2023 as consumers demand more convenient ways to pay, bank and invest.
  • Nearly two-thirds (61%) of all non-financial services executives told FIS it will be strategically important to have a presence in the metaverse in the next three years.

See: 

Deloitte 2023 Sustainability Report: Most Organizations Have Increased Investment but Tough to Move the Needle

FT Partners Jan 2023 Blockchain and Crypto Market Update Report

  • ESG is top of mind for financial services firms globally, with 60% of executives saying they are developing new ESG products and services.
  • Nearly one-third (29%) of U.S. respondents expressed no interest today in developing cryptocurrency services, only 5% of financial services firms told FIS they do not anticipate offering such capabilities in three years’ time.
    • Financial services firms cited a lack of ecosystem services to support crypto (29%), lack of interoperability between platforms (28%), and lack of clarity around regulations (26%) as key barriers to greater adoption within their organizations.
  • There are concerns about DeFi, with 50% of financial services firms citing poor user experience as a barrier to adoption and 47% saying they need to better understand the risks involved before they will participate.

Continue to the full article --> here

NCFA Jan 2018 resizeThe National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights
NCFA Fintech WhispererNCFA Fintech Fridays PodcastNCFA Weekly Newsletter

 

Read More
January 19, 2023   Blockchain, Crypto, Digital Assets, Tokens, CBDCs, Stablecoins, Metaverse, NFTs, FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fintech International, Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health, Regtech, Compliance, Governance, Research, Stories   No comments

Claw-back Risk: 1 in 3 Members of Congress Received ‘Cash Donation’ from FTX/SBF

Coindesk | Jesse Hamilton, Cheyenne Ligon, Elizabeth Napolitano | Jan 17, 2023

Response by Congress what will they do with FTX donations

More than one in three of the 535 senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress showed up to the new session with FTX baggage, having received campaign support from one of the senior executives of the fraud-ridden crypto giant.

  • CoinDesk has identified 196 members of the new Congress who took cash from Sam Bankman-Fried or other senior executives at FTX, a crypto exchange that filed for bankruptcy in Delaware in November after CoinDesk revealed unusually close ties between FTX and Alameda Research, an affiliated hedge fund. The names in Congress range from the heights of both chambers, including new Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), down to a list of recipients new to high-level politics.

See:  FTX Recovered $5 Billion to Payback Creditors Estimated at $8 Billion

  • After the lawmakers received the money, it became clear – according to the work of journalists, the criminal charges and admissions of guilt from FTX insiders – that the funds sprang from this colossal financial swindle. CoinDesk reached out to all 196 lawmakers to ask what they would do with the money.
    • Of the 53 campaigns that responded on the record, 64% decided to forward the donated amounts to nonprofit causes.  However, the campaigns channeling tainted money to favored charities may not escape the reach of FTX’s bankruptcy case. And even the organizations they give to could be roped in.
    • Clawbacks are coming: If, during FTX’s bankruptcy process, the money its executives gave to campaigns (as well as other causes) is deemed “fraudulent conveyances,” the recipients have to give it back to FTX’s estate.
  • Several campaign managers who spoke to CoinDesk expressed frustration with the situation, saying they don’t know how to give the funds back.
    • Matt Lusty, a campaign adviser for Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who received money from Ryan Salame, the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, told CoinDesk the campaign was “looking for an appropriate place to make a donation in that amount.  There is nowhere to return the donation since his assets have been seized."
    • Some of Congress’ most crypto-friendly members, including Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who received $8,700 from Salame and Zach Dexter (the CEO of FTX US subsidiary LedgerX), have kept mum on the subject.

See:  BIS Publishes Report on Options to Address Crypto Risks: Ban, Contain, Regulate, Or?

  • All of the direct donations that politicians are scrambling to cleanse from their campaigns came from the executives’ personal money, and so until a legal determination emerges that the funds really should be considered part of the company’s bankruptcy, Sabino, the St. John’s professor, said a clawback process “does not affect donations [Bankman-Fried] made with his own money.”

Continue to the full article --> here

NCFA Jan 2018 resizeThe National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights
NCFA Fintech WhispererNCFA Fintech Fridays PodcastNCFA Weekly Newsletter

 

Read More
January 18, 2023   Enterprise, Scaleup, Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Small Businesses, FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fintech International, Innovation and Resources, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health, Research, Voices   No comments

Davos: Almost 40% of CEOs ‘Fear Their Multinational Companies will be Unviable within 10 Years

The Guardian | Larry Elliott and Graeme Wearden | Jan 16, 2023

DavosAlmost two in five of the bosses of global companies fear their businesses will be unviable within a decade because of the struggle to find talented workers and the need to adapt to technological change.

  • As the World Economic Forum got under way in Davos on Monday evening, a survey of chief executives by the consultancy firm PwC was released, showing a downbeat mood about the immediate global outlook and longer-term survival prospects.
  • Tech Capabilities: The PwC survey found that 40% of UK CEOs believed their company’s tech capabilities were not good enough to meet their strategic objectives, and thought the problem would get worse without urgent action. As a result, 86% of UK chief executives said they were automating processes and 74% were upgrading skills in key areas of their businesses.

See:  Davos: Cooperation in a Fragmented World: In Data We Trust

  • Existential:  Of the UK CEOs questioned, 21% said they could not see their businesses lasting a decade on their current trajectories, rising to 39% for global CEOs. Almost three-quarters of CEOs (73%) from around the world said global growth would decline over the coming year – the most pessimistic finding since the question was first asked 12 years ago.
  • In a separate piece of research, two-thirds of a group of 22 private and public sector chief economists surveyed by the WEF thought there was likely to be a global recession in 2023, with almost one in five saying it is extremely likely to occur.

Kevin Ellis, the chair and senior partner at PwC UK:

Businesses have already undergone massive change this decade, with hybrid working and cloud computing among the big shifts. But this is the tip of the iceberg – many CEOs believe their current business models are unsustainable and this means more change ahead.

Continue to the full article --> here

NCFA Jan 2018 resizeThe National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights
NCFA Fintech WhispererNCFA Fintech Fridays PodcastNCFA Weekly Newsletter

 

Read More
January 17, 2023   ESG, Financial Inclusion, Sustainable Finance, FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fintech International, Fintech Opinions, Innovation and Resources, Online Funding / Investing Campaigns, Research, Stories   No comments

Deloitte 2023 Sustainability Report: Most Organizations Have Increased Investment but Tough to Move the Needle

Deloitte | Release | Jan 16, 2023

Deloitte 2023 sustainability report75% of CxOs said their organizations have increased their sustainability investments over the past year

  • Deloitte built upon past research by surveying more than 2,000 CxOs across 24 countries to gauge concerns and actions from business leaders on climate change and sustainability.
  • While every CxO surveyed responded that their organization felt the impacts of climate change this past year, some concerns:
    • CxOs reported “resource scarcity/cost of resources” as the top issue already impacting their companies (46%),
    • 45% highlighted “changing consumption patterns or preferences related to climate change”
    • 43% reported “regulation of emissions” as other top issues impacting their companies.
    • Additionally, around a third of executives said climate change is negatively affecting their employees’ physical (37%) and mental (32%) health.
  • 82% of executives said they have been personally impacted by climate events over the past year, with extreme heat the most frequently cited issue, and 62% said they feel concerned or worried about climate change all or most of the time.

See:  While Sustainability Software Booms, Investors Demand Climate Data Proof

  • Organizations are feeling broad pressure to act on climate change from across their stakeholder groups:
    • board members and management, regulators and government, and consumers and clients. Organizations are also feeling pressure from their shareholders and investors (66%), employees (64%), and civil society (64%).
  • Employee activism is specifically driving increased action, with more than half of CxOs saying employee pressure on climate matters led their organizations to increase sustainability actions over the last year
  • Nearly a quarter of CxOs said the difficulty of measuring their organizations’ environmental impact was a top barrier to increased action, and nearly one-fifth cited cost and focus on near-term issues as barriers.

Continue to the press release --> here

Download the 23 page PDF report --> here

NCFA Jan 2018 resizeThe National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights
NCFA Fintech WhispererNCFA Fintech Fridays PodcastNCFA Weekly Newsletter

 

Read More
January 16, 2023   Blockchain, Crypto, Digital Assets Regulations, Blockchain, Crypto, Digital Assets, Tokens, CBDCs, Stablecoins, Metaverse, NFTs, FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fintech International, Legal Issues, Regulation, Consultation, Research, Voices, Web3, Decentralization, DAOs   No comments

BIS Publishes Report on Options to Address Crypto Risks: Ban, Contain, Regulate, Or?

Ledger Insights | Jan 12, 2023

BIS – Options to ban, contain, regulate crypto

Image: BIS

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a brief paper exploring the options to address the risk of cryptocurrencies, or as it likes to call them, crypto-assets.

  • Heightened Risks:  It argues that cryptocurrencies feature many of the risks of TradFi, but while similar, the risks tend to be exaggerated. These include the extensive use of leverage, liquidity and maturity mismatches, and significant asymmetries in information.
    • The BIS report highlights that DeFi often is not decentralized because founders have significant token stakes or others can acquire major influence.
    • It also points to the critical roles of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges as crypto onramps.
    • Another observation we have is that decentralized wallets increasingly enable direct onramps using credit cards which over time may partially erode the onramp role of exchanges.

See:  BIS Limits Banks to Hold 1% of Reserves in Bitcoin –> “Banks Won’t HOLDL”

  • The three direct routes to control crypto risks are to ban, contain, or regulate it.
    • The BIS recognizes that banning it may not be acceptable for free societies. Also, bans can be circumvented and it could inhibit innovation.
    • By containing crypto the BIS means ringfencing crypto, so the minimal overlap with TradFi is maintained.
    • Regulate. A common approach is mapping crypto activities to conventional activities to apply the same risks and rules. But the mapping is not always straight forward. For example, some jurisdictions will regulate stablecoin issuers as banks, some as payment systems and others as banks. A second challenge is identifying the entity in a decentralized world.

Continue to the full article --> here

Download the 9 page PDF report --> here

NCFA Jan 2018 resizeThe National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights
NCFA Fintech WhispererNCFA Fintech Fridays PodcastNCFA Weekly Newsletter

 

Read More
January 9, 2023   FinTech and Alternative Finance, Fintech International, Fintech Opinions, Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Innovation and Resources, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health, Online Funding / Investing Campaigns, Research, Venture Funding and Building   No comments

McKinsey Magazine: Investor Allocations are Shifting

McKinsey & Co | Jan 8, 2023

McKinsey on investingIt’s a turbulent—and busy—time in private markets. Portfolios are fuller than ever and there is significant dry powder across the industry. Yet fundraising and deal making for larger transactions are well off 2021’s highs. The slowdown in exits, coupled with declining public market valuations and the resulting denominator effect, has shifted investor allocations.

As a result, the current fundraising environment is far more challenging than in the past several years. The latest issue of McKinsey on Investing—brought to you by senior partners Pontus Averstad, Pooneh Baghai, Alejandro Beltrán, and others—steps back from the immediate challenge of the market, and the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, to present a longer-term perspective on how investment firms are evolving.

See:  What Is the Best Age to Begin Investing?

Individual article links or download the research report here.

Continue to the full article --> here

Download the 122 page PDF research report --> here

NCFA Jan 2018 resizeThe National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights
NCFA Fintech WhispererNCFA Fintech Fridays PodcastNCFA Weekly Newsletter

 

Read More
« Older posts
Newer posts »