Tagged: Research Report

January 7, 2023 @ 5:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

More than half (51%) of consumers in the United Kingdom believe physical wallets will become a lot less relevant as virtual payments continue to grow in adoption. This, according to the latest research shared by Mastercard (NYSE: MA). Mastercard teamed up Central Saint Martins on… Read More

January 5, 2023 @ 5:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fraud spikes during periods of uncertainty and instability, and “the COVID-19 pandemic was no exception to this,” according to an update from Onfido. Onfido noted that the years 2020 to 2021 “saw all-time highs in the number of fraudulent attempts.” However as the world has… Read More

January 4, 2023 @ 11:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Historically, London has enjoyed an “outsized” role in euro-denominated financial transactions, according to an update shared by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). BIS has examined the latest evidence on whether Brexit has “affected its central role in trading of interest rate derivatives, foreign exchange,… Read More

January 4, 2023 @ 6:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

After years of growth, the US Insurtech market faces “a sharp decline in valuations,” according to an update from McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company notes that for nearly a decade, Insurtechs have “experienced rapid growth and skyrocketing valuations.” But in 2022, investors’ optimism has… Read More

January 3, 2023 @ 12:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies are the backbone of the global economy, according to an update from the World Economic Forum (WEF). They create “close to 70% of jobs and GDP worldwide.” But, amid warnings of a global recession, research from the… Read More

January 3, 2023 @ 9:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bitcoin market has evolved “dramatically” since its launch in 2009, according to an update from Kraken. The team at Kraken notes that what was once an “intimately small” group of tech enthusiasts has grown into a global community of investors. Some 40 million crypto… Read More

January 2, 2023 @ 5:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Millions of consumers are offering financial support to friends and family members residing abroad. However, when it comes to getting those (remittances) to the intended recepients, it is a lot more costly than it should be, according to an update from Fintech firm Wise (LSE:WISE)…. Read More

January 2, 2023 @ 1:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Charles Guillemet, Ledger’s CTO, looks back at the most “critical” crypto events of 2022 and argues that “the failure of centralized entities has emphasized more than ever the importance of self-custody in ensuring inalienable ownership rights.” Ledger notes in a blog post that 2022 was… Read More

January 2, 2023 @ 8:49 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In 2022, several notable federal indictments, sentences, and seizures related to cryptocurrency were “made public in the United States,” the CertiK team noted. To understand the extent and nature of government activity in Web3, CertiK has conducted research and analysis “on the state of federal… Read More

January 1, 2023 @ 6:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pacaso, the real estate platform that helps people buy and co-own a luxury second home, released a report “identifying the top ten luxury second home markets across the U.S. in 2022.” To determine the top U.S. markets, Pacaso reportedly “analyzed second home mortgage rate lock… Read More

December 31, 2022 @ 7:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to Mastercard SpendingPulseTM, U.S. retail sales excluding automotive “increased 7.6% year-over-year this holiday season, running from November 1 through December 24.” Mastercard SpendingPulse “measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment and is not adjusted for inflation.” Steve Sadove, senior advisor… Read More

December 28, 2022 @ 4:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As digital assets became more widely accepted, the need “for corresponding tooling to meet accounting, reporting and tax requirements of both individuals and corporate users grew,” according to an update from FT Partners. Initially operating largely out of sight, tax authorities across the globe “noted… Read More

December 28, 2022 @ 11:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As Chainalysis discussed recently, the collapse of FTX and resulting market action prompted large net outflows “from centralized exchanges, as many users shifted their funds to personal wallets, also commonly referred to as ‘unhosted wallets’.” Chainalysis found that while the trend wasn’t “as pronounced as… Read More

December 27, 2022 @ 2:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As this year’s slowdown in venture capital continued through Q3, VCs increasingly used bridge rounds “to keep their portfolio companies afloat—or to position them for a stronger rebound when dealmaking picks up,” according to an update from Carta. Bridge rounds are “unpriced financing rounds that… Read More

December 27, 2022 @ 1:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to a survey, removing disputes from the payments ecosystem has “become the number one concern for sellers, with a tertiary concern of first-party-misuse1.” As noted in an update from Verifi, the question is – how do you stop disputes and still do right by… Read More

December 26, 2022 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Deal activity (mergers & acquisitions [M&A], private equity, and venture financing deals) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region “continues to bear the brunt of the ongoing global geopolitical issues and volatile market conditions on the back of rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in some… Read More

December 24, 2022 @ 11:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The World Economic Forum has launched the ASEAN Digital Generation Report 2022, the sixth edition of the report since 2017. This year’s report “examines digital financial services, gaps in access and where businesses, governments, and civil society organizations need to improve financial inclusion.” The report… Read More

December 22, 2022 @ 5:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to Mastercard (NASDAQ: MQ) SpendingPulseTM, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, Canadian retail sales, “excluding automotive, increased +3.8% YOY, (+15.6% YO3Y) in November.” While E-commerce sales were :down this month -3% YOY, growth remains strong since pre-pandemic at… Read More

December 22, 2022 @ 8:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Group-IB, which claims to be one of the global cybersecurity leaders, has presented its findings about Godfather, an Android banking Trojan that is currently being utilized by cybercriminals “to attack users of leading banking and crypto exchange applications in 16 countries.” To date, Godfather has… Read More

December 21, 2022 @ 10:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

When it comes to payments, Latin America is “diving deeper into alternatives,” according to an update from EBANX. Beyond Borders 2022/2023, a recent study by EBANX, a Brazilian fintech that processes payments for global players in rising markets, “shows that alternative payment methods (APMs) have… Read More