Converge

Global investors have become comfortable pricing in the eventual turn of the global monetary policy cycle to a more accommodative stance. However, the big macro theme in early 2024 has been the paring of G3 policy easing bets against the backdrop of somewhat rebounding inflation rates. This has led to a rebound in bond yields and the Greenback, without putting pressure on equity markets. Volatility across assets remains low, though, despite the ambiguity surrounding the future policy path of central banks. One reason for the lack of price movement in FX: the synchronization of policy pricing.  Join macro analyst Boris Kovacevic as he breaks down this week's global market news.

This week, we sat down with Raja Chakravorti, Head of Universal Access at Plaid, to broadly discuss the state of the fintech industry in 2024 and the evolving consumer attitudes that are shaping it. Why has fintech become so ubiquitous and where is it headed in 2024? How has the definition of fintech evolved over time, and what roles will we increasingly see AI play across financial services? Learn why pay by bank, emerging alternatives for credit scoring, new methods for financial inclusion, and the importance of fintech education in building consumer confidence are crucial to the industry's growth and success. 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.

March will be an interesting month in financial markets, driven by three major themes: inflation, paring back of interest rate cut expectations, and the lack of volatility despite underlying risks. Upcoming events in March, including central bank rate decisions, will be significant and could induce price action. Will we see a continuation of the disinflationary trend, a potential end to the US exceptionalism sentiment, and possible changes in central bank policies? Global Macro Analyst Boris Kovacevic breaks down this week's most notable macroeconomic 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.

Payments in Africa are "1% built," presenting a massive opportunity to unlock growth for businesses and improve lives - not just on the continent itself but also around the globe where migrants proliferate and prosper. Join Benjamin Fernandes, CEO of Nala, a cross-border payments and remittances fintech focusing on building Africa's modern payment infrastructure, to discuss the challenges and opportunities in African payments. With unconscionably high costs and complexities, payments within and to/from Africa illustrate the pressing need for infrastructure and regulatory improvements - and Benjamin and Nala are at the helm. Co-hosted with Money2020's Micky Tesfaye. 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.

Register for Convera Live! https://convera.com/events/convera-live/ Last week's economic data deluge, including the latest inflation reports that called into question the timing of rate cuts, triggered some significant volatility across financial markets, creating a modest case of whiplash. Could this become more frequent as central banks begin policy easing this year? Meanwhile, the carry trade has become more popular, benefitting the high-yielding dollar which has already climbed 6% against the yen this year on top of the massive gains in 2023. But the pound is also in demand, reaching its highest level against the Japanese yen since 2015. Evidence like this shows that low volatility like we’ve had has helped promote risk appetite and a hunt for yield or rather a higher return from risk assets. Will it continue? Join Lead FX Strategist George Vessey as he breaks down the latest in the global macroeconomic and FX landscapes. 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. Listen to more episodes

Fraud feels like one of the inevitabilities of our financial system - if we had a system that was 100% fraud free, it would be so restrictive and buttoned down that it would be almost impossible to use.  And because we still rely on many antiquated systems to confirm the identity of customers, fraud continues to be a major problem.   Passwords persist as the dominant auth method despite their fragility, and newer, more promising auth methods like Passkeys championed by the FIDO alliance for a few years now are just beginning to take foot. WebAuthentication has added a lot of rigor to the security mix with biometrics, multi-factor, multi-device methods – but there are still gaps, and maintaining a customer-centric UX has been a crucial challenge to solve.  Enter knowledge-based authentication (KBA). Hear from Alloy CTO and co-founder Charles Hearn on how KBA integrates with diverse data sources, leverages AI and stays "a few step ahead" to provide accurate identity verification in financial services - one of the industry's most stubborn challenges. 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.

This past week, in a rare mainstream media appearance, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell joined 60 Minutes and within that time sent expectations for a US March rate cut plunging. Regardless, major global financial markets are broadly looking for around the same moves over the next 18 months – about 200 basis points of cuts. Yet not all conditions are moving in parallel, and while wages are easing lower in the US, they continue to press higher in Europe and the UK. If some central banks cut as other stay on hold, this could drive some big moves in the form of more volatility. Tune in for Head of Market Insights Steven Dooley's always insightful breakdown of the current state of our global markets on this week's Converge Market Update.

Venture capital investors in the fintech industry are facing challenges due to uncertain future ROI and reduced valuations. Valuations have shifted from art to science, requiring startups to understand what VCs are solving for. The podcast explores the innovations in fintech catching the attention of next-gen investors and discusses the current VC environment. The speaker shares their passion for B2B space innovations and their efforts to bring more female founders into fintech.

January has been all about the broad pushback of policy makers and the economic data against the trend of lower bond yields that started in November. Central bankers have won the first round against investors that had hoped to see the first rate cuts from the Fed, ECB and BoE already in March. However, the month-to-date advance of bond yields and the US dollar have not been able to dent the attractiveness of US equities, which continued to outperform their global peers, reaching a new all-time high this week. At the same time, China is nearing a watershed moment, as policy makers are starting to get uncomfortable with the 40% drawdown in Chinese equities. Are we getting closer to the peak of US outperformance vs. Europe and China?   Join Convera Macro Analyst Boris Kovacevic as he breaks down the latest in global markets.

Erica Dorfman, Head of Financial Products for spend management platform, discusses the strategy behind using AI and the latest tech to streamline company spend and expense management. They explore the challenges and solutions for global expansion in fintech, the evolution of Brex's customer base, and the innovation and challenges in CFOs' job of spend management.