There have been many new developments in the banking and Fintech space with new research predicting growth across various areas of the fast-evolving sector.
The team at payments specialist Banking Circle notes that they were recognized at Money 20/20 by two industry awards. Banking Circle was shortlisted in four different categories each for the 2021 Payments Awards and the 2021 Banking Tech Awards, the company wrote in a blog post.
The firm’s Chief Growth Officer, Søren Skov Mogensen, was joined by speakers from McKinsey & Company during a webinar covering the evolving payments landscape.
Banking Cirlce Co-founder and CEO, Anders la Cour, had also shared his views on the major Fintech trends that are transforming the payments sector.
The Banking Circle team further noted that their research has determined that many business organizations have skills gaps that may “hold them back from capitalizing on the latest technology, seriously undermining their post-COVID recovery.”
The Banking Circle team also shared other updates:
- The value of instant payments is set “to increase by 470% within five years”;
- New data has shown that “the value of instant payments is expected to exceed $27.7 trillion by 2026 – an increase of 470% from the $4.8 trillion recorded earlier this year”;
- The new Instant Payments – Reshaping the Payments Ecosystem report from Juniper Research “credits the future growth to improved cost and transparency for instant payment schemes, when compared with legacy systems such as ACH or CHAPs.”
The report also notes that Central Bank Digital Currencies or CDBCs (which may be designed with cross-border use-cases in mind from the beginning), could play a key role in streamlining digital transfers.
The report from Banking Circle further noted that in June, the European Commission (EC) had proposed a regulation “establishing a framework for a European Digital Identity, which would make it possible to offer faster onboarding processes and improve customers’ user experience while making sure to maintain the same level of security as face-to-face onboarding.”
The European Credit Sector Associations (ECSAs) has provided feedback on the Commission’s initiative, “expressing its appreciation of the cooperation between the European institutions, Member States, and the private sector,” the report added.
It has reportedly “expressed its belief that the banking sector should also be involved in the development of the Toolbox, stating that they can be key partners in creating a roadmap that ensures successful e-IP adoption,” the Banking Circle team added in their blog post.
They also noted:
“Rising numbers of fraud attacks since the pandemic are being described as a ‘national security threat’ by the UK’s trade association for the banking and financial services sector. The body claims the problem now requires government-coordinated action across industries. £754 million has been stolen through bank frauds in the first half of 2021, a 30% increase on the same time period the year before.”
Bank losses from authorized push payment (APP) fraud are also up, “increasing by 71% in the first six months of this year, meaning this has now overtaken the amount stolen through card fraud for the first time.”
The report also mentioned that lenders are “calling for tougher action on fraud by government and industry bodies.”
The Banking Circle team added that there’s been a new landmark partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was announced by the UK government on September 17, 2021 with Home Secretary, Priti Patel, noting that the agreement “bolsters both our countries’ efforts in going after the terrorists and serious and organised crime gangs that seek to do us harm. The partnership will help to keep the public safe, protect our prosperity, and bring dangerous criminals to justice.”
The partnership is “designed to enhance intelligence sharing and joint operations between the UK and the UAE against organized crime networks, focusing particularly on countering money laundering in high-risk areas like real estate, as well as emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies,” Banking Circle’s blog post noted.
The blog post also mentioned that this is not the first time the United Kingdom has “taken bold steps in the fight against AML and CFT without the backing of the EU, as seen with the recent Myanmar sanctions, and it comes following the 2020 Spending Review, where the UK committed a further £63 million to tackle economic crime and fraud.”
While sharing other Fintech industry updates, the report pointed out that the new whitepaper from Transact Payments Ltd reveals that “the UK, Germany, Spain, and the Nordic countries, will be best placed to be at the forefront of powering the payments industry over the coming years.”
The report highlights “the opportunities available across markets, and the chances to create products which respond to those opportunities.” It also “exposes just how fast the payments business is changing, and the subsequent challenges that come with attempting to do everything in-house.”
For more details on these updates, check here.