Converge

Part 2 of our 3-part series. Although it's early days for DeFi, tokenization of real-world assets shows promise for bringing much-needed liquidity to existing and newly emerging asset classes. Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) open even more opportunities and solutions for enterprises and companies within the realm of tokenization, but the regulatory circle needs to be 'squared.' How can we expect organizations to regulate assets without proper governance and regulations? For innovation to continue and grow, there needs to be a clear path forward - but leaps are being made for a secure DeFi environment, including private ledgers and Zero Knowledge Proofs. What impact might these have in the financial world in the coming years, and are they sufficient to address the level of privacy needed? Join Ian Horne, Micky Tesfaye and Scott Johnson as they tackle all this and more. Disclaimer: Converge is Convera’s new podcast that discusses a range of financial services topics. We want to remind our listeners that the information shared on this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please note that the opinions expressed on Converge are solely the opinions of the host and the guests, not Convera’s.

The podcast explores the importance of decentralized finance (DeFi) and its relationship to blockchain and cryptocurrencies. It discusses the benefits and challenges of upgrading money, the inefficiency of cross-border payments and the potential role of cryptocurrencies in addressing those issues. The podcast also explores the applicability of DeFi and digital currencies in the business world, including cross-border payments and settlement.

India now outpaces China in wealth creation and GDP per capita, and the number of their students able to afford high quality education overseas is projected to grow. Overall, the demographics of students who study abroad are shifting dramatically, presenting new opportunities and challenges for students, payment providers and higher education institutions. Furthermore, 60% of international students consider alternative payment methods as important, but alternative payment methods differ from country to region around the world. Universities and higher education institutions will need rely even more on providers that can handle rapidly changing payments methods and diverse currencies. Join Dino Leo, Convera Head of Education for EU, Naz Ali, Convera Global Head of Market Insights, Graham Smith, IODM's Head of Business Development for the UK and Keith Adams, Assistant Director of Finance at the London School of Economics, as they break down these emerging mobility and payment trends affecting finance in the education sector. Disclaimer: Converge is Convera’s new podcast that discusses a range of financial services topics. We want to remind our listeners that the information shared on this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please note that the opinions expressed on Converge are solely the opinions of the host and the guests, not Convera’s.

The European Payments Initiative (EPI), an ambitious European payments scheme backed by a consortium of 16 banks, has been in the news lately. It is gearing up to pilot an instant payments scheme this year after agreeing to acquire two fintechs, Dutch payment scheme iDeal and mobile payments app Payconiq. The pilot will comprise a digital wallet and instant payments system using open banking in Germany and France before rolling out to other European countries. EPI also intends on adding buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing and digital identity features. Thomas Mueller from Swiss payments resolution 'regtech' Rivero joins Converge to discuss how this new scheme might impact competition, cooperation across the bloc, and keep Apple and Google Pay on their toes in Europe.

In recent years, the United Kingdom has seen a massive uptick in financial crime. The need for better controls against fraud, both human and machine, are more important than ever. And while many types of financial fraud remain the same, new channels have emerged posing unknown risks. Customer oversight has become nebulous making data-sharing crucial among global organizations. Those who can leverage and embrace new technologies while understanding the ever important role of human-powered intervention stand to gain the most. Join Alex Beavan, Head of Ethics and Anti-Corruption at Convera, and Jessica Cath, Head of Financial Crime at UK consulting firm Thistle Initiatives, as they discuss all this and more.

Download Convera's Q3 Economic Outlook here: Convera Global Economic Outlook 2023 Q3 Edition | As we enter H2 of 2023, businesses are growing increasingly concerned about the tightening monetary conditions. Despite one of the sharpest sequences of policy tightening in living memory, inflation, especially core inflation, remains too high. Only Canada is forecast to fall below the 3% upper tolerance threshold by the end of 2023. Canada is forecast to submerge into a recession for the duration of 2023, while US is expected to dip into a brief and shallow technical recession in Q1 2024. Industrial production and manufacturing sectors are forecast to contract in H2 due to their high exposure to long-term capital investment and faltering demand. The growth momentum for financial and businesses services expected to stall in Q3. Monetary policy, market volatility and changes in global risk sentiment will continue to drive currency trends. As we are approaching the apex of the tightening cycle for most major banks, heightened FX volatility is on the horizon. Join Nawaz Ali, Convera's Head of Market Insights, as he breaks down Convera's Q3 quarterly economic outlook in detail.

Within today's complex regulatory environment, blockchain and crypto-enabled payments provider Ripple has stood out for their continued growth. Their commitment to working with the current system has led to meaningful partnerships across the banking sector, and despite legal challenges in the US, ongoing expansion globally as well as important acquisitions. Hear from Sendi Young, Ripple's EU Managing Director and UK Board Director, on the company's future, the role of their native digital asset XRP, ways that blockchain can increase financial inclusivity, and the road ahead for the ever-evolving digital asset regulatory landscape.

While blockchain use cases have seen considerable growth in the past 5 years, there's still a long road ahead in the world of payments and the tokenization of real-world assets of value. Join Ryan Rugg, Head of Digital Assets for Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions and Convera CEO Patrick Gauthier for an enlivening discussion on emerging digital asset tech, Citi's exploration in the space, focusing on customer needs over new technologies, Citi's GPS report on the trillion-dollar trade finance tokenization opportunity, and new regulations that could drive significant adoption in the near future.

Hear Mick Fennell, Global Business Line Director - Payments at Temenos, one of the largest banking cloud services providers, discuss the importance of progressive modernization for both incumbents and startups. From Temenos: "Progressive Modernization helps banks to de-compose monolithic core technology and use interchangeable capabilities to consume, compose and extend banking services, on infrastructure that scales to any size, for any segment and in any region." Learn about new AI models for rapid decisioning, ISO20022 harmonization between domestic and cross-border payments, and how cloud-enabled API services can help financial industry players improve processes, increase speed, and streamline the customer experience.

Rapid growth in Brazil's payments industry has been driven by a new crop of fintech companies, enabled by Central Bank initiatives like the low-cost, always on Pix payments platform. As a result, since the beginning of the pandemic, it is estimated an additional 16 million Brazilians have become part of the financial system. More broadly in Latin America, in 2021 there were more than 300 million users of digital payments in the region. At the center of it all? An unbridled obsession over the customer experience that we all can take a note from. Meet Inter's Super App, a one-stop, bank-based app that did its homework on where customers love to shop and integrated the ecommerce experience right into their preferred banking platform. If banks see embedded finance as a threat, here's one company proving that banks can stay firmly at the center of the consumer's mind and wallet. Join us as we chat with Aloisio Matos, executive director of cross-border payments at Inter, for a look at the fascinating and inspiring growth in LatAm with a focus on Brazil.