Converge

It's been a year already! Join Convera Macro Analyst Boris Kovacevic for the first episode of the year as we re-cap 2023 and deep-dive into potential market and macro risks for the year ahead, covering geopolitics, inflation, central banking, Germany, China and global FX outlooks. 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.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and the concept of Environmental, Social & Governance investing (or ESG) is at the heart of corporate efforts to reduce it. But why do many businesses find ESG implementation to be such a challenge, and how can they not only get started with it but also embed sustainable ESG practices long term to ensure these important trends aren’t just a fad?  Carbon credits and marketplaces have emerged as one powerful possibility to address accountability and transparency in not only offsetting, but reducing carbon from the atmosphere - a necessity according to many climate scientists. In this week's episode, we speak with Nameer Khan, chairman of the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) Fintech Association and founder of Fils - a fintech API and carbon marketplace connecting carbon credit suppliers with high-capital institutional buyers. We discuss how carbon marketplaces work, and why they an important and increasingly popular option for consumers and businesses to take action towards preventing the climate crisis. We also cover the important emerging role that blockchain and digital assets can play in these marketplaces and why they are the perfect fit to assure data integrity, permanence and transparency. We also cover the biggest learnings, insights & takeaways for organizations from the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Cop28, in Dubai where Nameer was a featured guest and speaker.

This week, in a window of ~60 hours, policy will be set for 60% of the global economy. Gear up for the last important week of the year when the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England set policy on Wednesday and Thursday. Convera global macro strategist, Boris Kovacevic, breaks down the possibilities ahead, with an eye on what the macro data is telling us. We cover: How many basis points the ECB, Fed and BoE might cut rates next year. Why investors are expecting all central banks to push back against aggressive easing bets until the meetings early next year. The single most important thing or data point that Boris is looking out for at the three meetings. And much 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.

In October, the CFPB proposed a rule that would accelerate a shift toward open banking, giving consumers more control over their data and bolstering competition for banks and fintechs to up their game. Plaid, the open banking pioneer that seamlessly connects fintechs and services with banks, has been a key player in this evolution. And now that income and employment data is much more integrated into Plaid services, the company believes a new era with even less friction and greater protection has arrived. Hear from John Pitts, Head of Policy at Plaid and former CFPB employee, as he discusses these exciting advancements as well as potential hurdles ahead in the open banking revolution, the inevitable (healthy) tension between governments and fintechs, the promise of both retail and wholesale real time payments, and the latest developments at Plaid as they further solidify their role in a more open era of banking.

We're kicking off our new bi-weekly market and macroeconomic update series with a bang. Hear from Global Macro Analyst Boris Kovacevic on why November is shaping up to be the best month for risk assets this year as investors have priced in expectations for a major central bank pivot. In our latest global macro podcast, we distill the recent market moves and set out our thesis for why we are anticipating a macro interest rate regime shift going into 2024. We'll cover: 1. The incoming macro interest rate regime shift 2. Why the dollar is on track for its best month this year 3. Why US bonds are set to surge the most since 2008 4. Why markets may be priced for a soft landing and Fed rate cuts 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.

Can financial fairness and inclusivity go hand in hand with profitability? Many often say inclusivity is hard, inclusivity isn't profitable, but in reality, it's one of the strongest core pillars around which to build a business and drive growth. Automation and AI are casting a more inclusive, wider net through technology in financial services, unlocking opportunities in lending, banking and payments that were not available historically. Emerging fintechs are raising the bar for banks and pushing the whole industry to serve more people, unlocking new markets and talent. But challenges remain, and the latest technologies like generative and explainable AI must prove that with radical speed and efficiency, compliance and security can also keep pace. Naré Vardanyan is the co-founder of Ntropy, a financial data standardization and enrichment API seeking to use Large language models (LLMs) to transform the “behind the scenes” of money and unlock opportunity. Nicole Casperson is the founder of Fintech is Femme, a women-in-fintech-focused weekly newsletter with 30k+ readers, and host of the Humans of Fintech podcast, with over 50,000 subscribers and listeners. She was named one of the most inspiring women in the fintech industry in 2022.

B2B financial services are at an inflection point; business infrastructure is moving to the cloud, but financial services are lagging: they are fragmented, run on legacy tech, and lack scale and resiliency. At the nexus of driving this necessary change are integrated ecosystems of fintechs and financial cloud services providers offering businesses and financial institutions a ‘one-stop shop’ in emerging technologies for payment processing, data tokenization, AI/ML capabilities and much more - providing greater transparency, resiliency, speed, and scale. In the next phase of fintech innovation, API-enabled cloud B2B payment platforms will shape new ecosystems and bring together payments, risk, and cash management capabilities under one umbrella. Being cloud-native matters for ecosystems: They enable full customer lifecycle management with common experience across transactions, support, chat and telephony - all native on the cloud. Cloud-native B2B payments ecosystems will have access to a plethora of innovation in tokenization, payments, and AI/ML. Learn how these ecosystems will leverage Explainable-AI (XAI) and Generative AI alongside the “white box” requirements for the compliance and regulatory standards that must be upheld within our industry. Join Dharmesh Syal, Chief Technology Officer at Convera, Mick Fennel, Head of Payments EU for Temenos, and Nilesh Dusane, Head of Intuitional Payments for AWS as they discuss this massive value creation opportunity.

A panel of exceptional female leaders discuss what is being done on the ground in some of the most systemically important institutions and emerging fintechs (Swift, Convera, Ripple and Citi) to shape and implement next gen cross-border payments infrastructures. How are instant and real time payments operating now, and how will they in the future? How are targets set by the G20 for adoption of new technologies as well as ISO20022 influencing the technology roadmaps of global organizations in 2023 and beyond? How has Swift positioned itself as the ‘messenger of the future? And what does the likes of Citi’s Regulated Liability Network mean for the future of inter-bank cross border transactions? Now more than ever, responsible B2B payments innovation is needed while maintaining speed to market and the willingness to think big for customers.   Join Jennifer Parker, CCO of Convera, Kalyani Bhatia, Global Head of Payments & PMI for Swift, Ryan Rugg, Head of Digital Assets, Citi TTS and Pegah Soltani, Head of Payment Products, Ripple, as they discuss this and the impact female leaders have had in moving the needle towards more meaningful innovation in finance and payments.  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.

Who will capture the most value in the cross-border payments ecosystem in the coming years? With new emphasis on instant payments and emerging rails, who stands to win the war for market share, and what models/protocols will be at the nexus of the new era? How do non-banks view this change and the opportunity ahead vs. the big banks and incumbent payment providers? Is “Coopetition” the new reality and interoperability the key to winning business? Where are the opportunities and where must businesses focus on winning in the next 5 years?   This live panel from Money2020 in Las Vegas is guest hosted by David Birch, of Consult Hyperion, and features Jody Visser, COO of Convera, Rich Clow, SVP Emerging Payments for Bank of America, Pankaj Sharma, Head of Remittances at Remitly, and Tom Dye, Managing Director & Partner for Payments, Boston Consulting Group. 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.

Get your full copy of the report, here: Are you ready for 2024? | Convera Join Head of Market Insights Steve Dooley as he shares a taste of the 2024 edition of Convera's annual flagship report to help businesses navigate what promises to be yet another uncertain and volatile year ahead, both geopolitically and macroeconomically. Get the full report at the link above to learn more on: How cross-border trade will be impacted by diverging interest rates  How the global bond and equity market will shift   The impact of tighter credit conditions on housing markets  The immediate future of global trade wars and supply chain de-risking The effect of 2024 elections on the geopolitical landscape  Considerations in new FX risk-management trends 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.