This year’s election looks set to be a fractious confrontation that centres on huge policy considerations such as cost of living, the NHS and immigration. But whichever one of you triumphs, can you promise that your government won’t dismantle one of the UK’s few success stories – our global leadership in fintech?

World leaders gathered at the Davos World Economic Forum in January and told us what we already know – that the global economy is still highly volatile. Geopolitical conflicts, disruption to Red Sea trade routes, high-profile elections, energy price hikes and the ongoing climate crisis were just a few of the factors cited by policymakers and thought leaders as contributing to the current sense of unpredictability and fragility.

Even with the turbulent and chronically under-regulated waves of cryptocurrencies and crypto exchanges that have followed, the arrival of Bitcoin (and blockchain) stands out as a pivotal moment for the financial services sector. Now it is CBDC’s turn. Alessandro Hatami writes

FinTech Magazine speaks to Pacemakers.io MD of Strategic Consultancy Alessandro Hatami, on why community banks are anticipating growth in the coming months amid an economic downturn.

La maggior parte dei partecipanti a convegni FinTech (in presenza o virtuali) organizzati negli ultimi 12-18 mesi avrà ascoltato qualcuno fare una o più affermazioni simili a queste: i canali digitali stanno rimpiazzando i tradizionali punti di interazione tra le banche e i loro clienti. Nella maggior parte dei Paesi europei il cellulare è diventato la principale interfaccia tra banca e cliente.

2023 is underway, and as is becoming the norm, uncertainty is the dominant theme. One question is whether this year could be even more unstable than 2022? From the economic slowdown and even recession in most of the world, the socio-political impact of inflation and its unexpected consequences, to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the outlook appears bleak. The only positive news is that political leaders across the globe are starting to behave like technocrats not autocrats. In countries as diverse as Brazil, Italy and China, much of the fiery rhetoric of the past few years is being toned down.

With more than eight million people fleeing Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion, many face the secondary problem of accessing basic financial services in the country they’ve sought refuge in.

Covid-19 reshaped how customers interact with their banks forever — but has anyone told the banks? At recent banking innovation events including Money 2020 and the Paris Fintech Forum, we found banks still focused mainly on improving the present, not creating the future. Like a carriages conference in 1895, everyone was thinking about making the horses faster and not how to use cars.

Why Italy is bucking a downward trend, and some take-aways from the 2023 Milan Fintech Summit…

magine life without access to a bank account. If you’re able to earn a living without one -and it’s a big if – the only choice you have when buying goods and services is to pay cash in physical stores.

The most effective means to achieve economic and social welfare is our ability to earn a living. Earning a fair living is inexorably linked to our access to financial services. I

What goes up must come down – an adage fintechs know only too well right now, as startups across the sector grapple with funding following breakneck growth. Like any economic crisis, however, the global headwinds bearing down on 2023 will herald in both winners and losers.

I got my first iPod in 2002 – it was my first Apple product. I had had a Sony Walkman for a long time and had recently moved on to their MiniDisc player, but the iPod was so much better.

e banche tradizionali, sotto alcuni punti di vista, sono state superate dalle fintech, come gli store musicali lo furono da iTunes e come quest’ultimo lo fu dallo streaming on demand.

Regulators across the globe are keen to regulate the new digital currencies, financial products and exchanges. The recent announcement by the US regulator CFTC (Commodities and Futures Trading Commission) is a recent example. All regulators say that they aim to provide market protection for consumers and reduce risks in the space.

Buoyancy and Italian banking do not often go hand in hand. And yet in my third year of chairing the Milan Fintech Summit and despite the grim global financial outlook, what struck me was a pervasive feeling of optimism and opportunity.

Regulators across the globe are keen to regulate the new digital currencies, financial products and exchanges. The recent announcement by the US regulator CFTC (Commodities and Futures Trading Commission) is a recent example.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is arguably the biggest shake-up in consumer finance since the launch of credit cards.

Central banks front and centre, of course — but little is straightforward in the biggest currency jump we’ve faced since shells went out of fashion…

A global pandemic, a hot war in Europe, 80s’ style inflation: even Nostradamus might have struggled to predict the scale of the upheaval of the last three years.

For the longest time traditional banks ignored the neo banks because the new entrants were only capturing a fraction of the business. Was this a mistake?

Digitalisation – once seen by some banks as an optional choice – has today become a necessity. A necessity not just driven by competition, but by a growing customer demand.

Digitalizzazione dei servizi finanziari, accesso al credito, crisi pandemica e voglia di ripartire: ai tempi del Covid-19 il Finance Technology rappresenta la chiave per la ripresa dell’economia.

“US regulators are not that savvy as far as financial services are concerned,” Hatami said. “They’ve either been oblivious on regulation, or incredibly strict.”

The downround is a difficult pill to swallow, but investors insist it's not a serious indicator of Monzo's fate.

Deals with organisations like the Post Office are likely to become the new norm for digital banks. “I think you will see an increasing number of unusual partnerships, such as Starling’s with the Post Office, to fill the gaps.”

Today all banks and financial institutions know that their business is being disrupted by digital innovation. They also know that not responding to this threat will have existential consequences.

“The vast majority of the leadership of banks don’t understand exactly how digital works and are very worried about the digital bank.”

Europe’s top challenger banks saw a drop in digital downloads last month in a sign that the coronavirus lockdown may be negatively impacting business.