Converge

Germana Cruz, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank LatAm, and Fady Abdel-Nour, venture capitalist, discuss the impact of open banking on traditional banks, regulation challenges, and security considerations in Latin America. They explore the partnership between traditional banks and fintech companies, Antler Elevate's focus on fintech investments, and the transformative role of open banking in client understanding and product development. The discussion also touches on fintech innovation, cross-border payments, and the importance of secure transactions in the Latin American market.

Get your copy of Fintech2025+ https://convera.com/lp/fintech-2025-report/ We project a significant surge in cross-border payment flows, expected to reach an eye-popping $290 trillion by 2030, driven by the rise of international e-commerce, greater workforce mobility, and advancements in digital payment technologies. This growth highlights the need for robust fintech solutions that enhance transaction speed, transparency, and security. Convera's new report, Fintech2025+ Trends, technology and transformation in global commercial payments is a detailed analysis of the transformative role of fintech in global commerce, focusing on the cross-border payments landscape as a critical element of international trade and finance. We also explore key trends such as blockchain integration, real-time payments, and open banking initiatives, alongside the regulatory dynamics shaping the fintech ecosystem this decade and beyond. Join head of Market Insights, Steve Dooley, and Head of Content & Industry Engagement, Alex Lawrence, as they break down the best bites of the upcoming report.

The US economy has clearly been in a league of its own in the post-pandemic era. And 2024 has underlined the exceptional position of the US economy compared to its peers with inflation and employment data broadly surprising to the upside. The lagging data that is relevant for the National Bureau of Economic Research to make a call on whether the US has entered a recession has remained resilient over the past quarters. Still, a weak GDP print for Q1, the softening of leading indicators and job growth cooling have revived the talk of a potential recession this year. Meanwhile, inflation has remained elevated and proved more sticky than expected going into 2024. This does pose a conundrum for the Fed looking to fulfill its double mandate of full employment and price stability.  Join macro analyst Boris Kovacevic for the latest on the markets and global economy. 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 should not be considered financial advice.

Join Riya Grover, co-founder and CEO of Sequence, as we discuss how her fintech, dubbed "the financial router," is building a flexible toolkit to help companies automate their contract-to-cash process. The move towards usage-based pricing and the adoption of hybrid pricing models are driving the need for tools like Sequence. And while spreadsheets are still useful, they are increasingly limited when it comes to managing complex workflows across today's modern digital organizations. Sequence aims to provide scalability and automation in finops, allowing companies to achieve more with less human effort. We also spoke about how important it is for finance leaders to focus on data-driven approaches, strategic investments, discipline, and regular forecasting during economic downturns - and how technology can help.

April has been about many things. In the United States, it was about inflation surprising to the upside and investors pricing out rate cuts from the Fed. In Asia, it was about a strong dollar leading central banks to verbally or physically intervene in FX markets to prop up demand for their own currencies. And in Europe, it was about confirming the bottoming of economic activity. In this week's Market Update, hear from Boris Kovacevic as we discuss how Jerome Powell failed to promote a hawkish narrative despite inflation remaining elevated and how the strong dollar is more a problem in Asia than it is in Europe.  

It's well known that AI is an incredible tool for productivity, stretching across many use cases. But can AI's tentacles ever reach the C-suite, with the art and science needed to delicately balance the broader needs of an organization? Siqi Chen believes it can. We discuss how finance has lagged behind other areas in terms of software innovation and why it's solving this problem is long overdue, as well as his perspective on the future of AI in the C-Suite and the potential for AI to automate certain aspects of company management. We also cover the importance of leveraging AI as a tool to increase and improve efficiency in business operations. Siqi is the founder and CEO of Runway, a platform looking to make business financials "understandable and accessible to everyone." Join us for this exciting discussion with one of tech's leading visionaries.

The macro markets look a lot different now than they did at the beginning of April, and the story has once again been US economic data to blame for volatility. With the 3-month average jobs growth running at 244 thousand and 3-month annualized core inflation at 4.5%, policy makers will most likely be able to sit out a couple of meetings and hold rates unchanged.   Investors are coming to terms with this. But the adjustment is also complicated by the recent developments in the Middle East and central banks outside the US laying the groundwork for easing policy. All of this has created a perfect environment for the Greenback to shine, as its benefiting from its really unique position as a high yielding, high growth, commodity backed safe haven currency. This demand for the dollar is reflected in the costs for protecting against further upside rising to a 7-month high.   Join macro analyst Boris Kovacevic for the latest breakdown of the global financial markets. 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.

In light of Sam Bankman Fried's recent 25-year prison sentence and the FTX collapse, what are the deeper implications on the crypto industry as we move into a new era of digital asset adoption? In this week's episode, we discuss the erosion of trust, the need for strong governance and risk management controls, and the responsibility of individuals in understanding the risks involved when participating in or operating a business in the crypto space. Join Jessica Cath, Head of Financial Crime for the UK's Thistle Initiatives, and Mardi MacGregor, partner at Fox Williams LLP, as they highlight the high barriers for entry in the UK crypto market and the importance of ongoing compliance and scaling controls as businesses grow. They also discuss the evolving regulatory landscape and regulatory compliance, how the UK might follow the EU in the future of crypto regulations, AML registration, and the need for balanced regulation to protect consumers while fostering innovation.

2024 has so far been about US soft data surprising the consensus to the upside and investors paring back their expectations for rate cuts across the developed world. Naturally, this has led both government bond yields and the US dollar higher. However, the low volatility rate in the FX space means that while the Greenback has risen against 78% of its global peers in the first quarter of 2024, the year-to-date gain has only been slightly above 3%. It will get harder for the US dollar to sustain the momentum given (1) how much Fed easing has already been priced out and (2) that the business cycle is turning positive. Still, the surprising strength of the US economy and central banks outside the US turning dovish has so far shielded the dollar from any negative headwinds. Join macro analyst Boris Kovacevic as he breaks down this week's market news. 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 disbursement of humanitarian aid has been a historical challenge for many organizations aiming to provide relief around the globe. The Stellar Development Foundation's Aid Assist program is aiming to change that. Powered by the Stellar blockchain, Stellar is on a mission to democratize access to financial services, with the goal of revolutionizing how humanitarian aid reaches its recipients through innovative digital wallets - an approach born from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and since expanded to other areas of need. Join Tori Samples, Sr. Product Manager, Stellar Aid Assist, as she sheds light on the recent shift towards cash-based assistance and the pivotal role of blockchain in enhancing transparency, reducing costs, and speeding up transactions in financial aid. Learn how Stellar Aid Assist facilitates secure and efficient fund transfers directly to individuals' phones for fast, affordable, and transparent payments. We also cover: The potential of blockchain to protect against currency devaluation, with Stellar's platform allowing for the creation and issuance of diverse asset types. Stellar's impact on the payroll and disbursement sectors, particularly in cross-border payments and humanitarian efforts. The exciting outlook for the future of blockchain technology, underscored by a commitment to user-friendly, regulation-compliant innovations.