Fintech
Initiative of the year: Bank of England’s FinTech Accelerator
The UK central bank has embraced fintech service providers in a controlled manner to bolster its cyber-security and payments capabilities
Consultancy and advisory provider of the year (data and regulatory management): BearingPoint
BearingPoint’s expertise in data and reporting has informed a number of high-level bodies over the past year, including the Basel Committee and the IMF, following groundbreaking work in Austria
Russia raises capital ratios, launches fintech consultations
Systemically important banks must increase capital ratios; smaller banks can choose “basic” or “universal” licences
HKMA launches consultation on open API framework
Open API enables personalised services for bank users but requires access to customer data
Bank of Lithuania set to board the blockchain
Central bank in the process of creating blockchain-specific sandbox that will grant firms access to its own platform, LBChain; hoping to launch in 2019
Patrick Njoroge on reshaping banking and finance to work for the masses
The Central Bank of Kenya governor speaks to Christopher Jeffery and Rachael King about exchange rate intervention, food prices, banking reform and financial inclusion
FCA mulls use of AI to tackle money laundering
Crime unit head says the financial regulator views machine learning as a complement to human judgement, not a replacement
Italian central bank launches fintech initiative
New communication channel will allow firms to directly engage with the central bank
BoJ working closely with fintech firms, says Kuroda
Fintech can make contributions to both emerging and developed countries, but needs close monitoring, Haruhiko Kuroda says
Asian banks vulnerable to fintech disruption, report finds
Banks reliant on transaction fees will struggle to compete with fintech firms who will offer cheaper alternatives; banks in HK, Korea and Singapore all at risk
How crypto is my currency?
Richard Heckinger examines how central banks are grappling with new ideas on crypto-currency and distributed ledgers
Singapore broadens push into e-payments
Singapore expands payments regulation frameworks and launches a common QR code for e-payments
Singapore unveils cross-border fintech push
Singapore plans to work with central banks in Hong Kong, Canada and Thailand on fintech
Book notes: Hole in the Wall, by James Shepherd-Barron
Cash machines have changed the way cash is managed, but is there a future for such machines in a world looking to go cashless?
AI adoption lag could explain productivity shortfall – research
Erik Brynjolfsson, Daniel Rock and Chad Syverson argue the productivity slowdown is not as surprising as it may seem, and there are reasons to be hopeful
Philippine banks face tougher cyber rules
The Central Bank of the Philippines wants more complex banks to implement a round-the-clock “security operations centre”
MAS unveils plans to transform financial service sector
Authority hopes road map will boost financial services growth to nearly double that of the overall economy
DLT has ‘more potential for change’ outside US – Boston Fed VP
Jim Cuhna says distributed ledger technology can transform financial services not only in payments but also in securities settlement; challenge is finding use cases
Hong Kong and Singapore to collaborate on fintech
The first joint initiative of the two rival cities is to link the trade finance platforms with a DLT-backed interface
UK’s FCA claims success after first year of ‘sandbox’
Regulatory ‘sandbox’ has had high success rate, but there have been some issues, says regulator
Kenya’s digital transformation
The use of innovative digital financial services has transformed financial inclusion in Kenya, writes the chairman of the Central Bank of Kenya
Fed’s Powell: banks still have important role in payments
Fintech is disrupting the sector, but banks still form a major part of payments infrastructure, so they must be included in work on faster payments, says governor
Fintech is the future – Menon
Central bankers weigh in on potential of fintech, agreeing there is a need to separate use cases from the hype
Research can help BoE keep pace with automation – Salmon
As algorithms continue to make markets faster, regulation will need to be adapted, says BoE director; academic research will aid central bank efforts