FinTech

Revolut, the London-based fintech, has completed a fundraising process which values the company at $75 billion. The fundraising involved a share sale which saw NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm, investing in the company.

Employees of Revolut were able to sell their shares if they wished to do so, making this the fifth time Revolut has afforded them this opportunity. The valuation and fundraising come as we near the end of a year in which the fintech gained banking authorization in Mexico, earned its banking incorporation licence in Colombia, and prepare to launch in another key market – India.

Banks, fintechs, and crypto platforms are ramping up investment in fraud prevention and identity verification (IDV), positioning it as the next layer of cyber defense, according to a new survey.

The study from Regula shows banks are leading this trend: the share of institutions intending to increase IDV budgets by more than 50 percent is nearly tripling -- from 4.4 percent to 15 percent in just two years.

A study into harmful personal finance trends on TikTok has found that the hashtag “side hustle” is the most common trending term. #sidehustle was found attached to millions of posts on a daily basis, with many providing misleading, incorrect or costly advice.

There has long been concern about the negative impact of social media influencers, and a key area of alarm is financial guidance. A particular worry is that Gen Z is increasingly turning to social media platforms such as TikTok for financial advice, or ideas about how to make money quickly.

The financial services industry is in the midst of an unprecedented AI arms race. Criminal organizations are getting smarter, using cutting-edge tech to launch elaborate attacks on financial systems. In response, financial institutions (FIs) are turning to AI and machine learning (ML) to level the playing field. That’s right -- FIs are keeping pace with their criminal counterparts, thwarting malicious activity much more reliably and efficiently.

Having spent my career at the intersection of finance and technology, I've seen the constant race to stay ahead of evolving criminal operations. Rules-based systems, while foundational, simply can't match the speed and adaptability of modern financial crime. But now, through advanced pattern detection, adaptive defense mechanisms, and dramatically improved accuracy in identifying suspicious activity, AI is fundamentally reshaping how we fight financial crime -- and winning.

The banking and finance sector has already seen some major changes in technology use in recent years. These show no signs of slowing down but newer developments like AI are starting to have an impact too.

Here are some expert views on what may be in store for the fintech sector in the year to come.

In the financial services industry, competition has never been steeper. As fintechs and neobanks accelerate the pace of innovation and digital banking demand soars, financial institutions (FIs) can't afford to postpone digital transformation initiatives. However, despite the widespread recognition of its importance, many FIs find themselves stuck in the initial phases of their digital transformation journeys. Research shows that a staggering 70 percent of FIs are unable to move beyond the planning stages of migration.

One of the primary reasons for this sluggish progress is the burden of tech debt and fragmented processes. Over the years, FIs have accumulated a complex web of systems and applications that hinder seamless operations and impede transformation efforts. The proliferation of disparate systems and applications across departments has left most organizations with a hybrid operating environment full of systems that don’t integrate well -- if at all. On average, a typical FI manages more than 200 applications, resulting in a fragmented infrastructure that consumes a significant portion of the IT budget -- 90 percent dedicated to maintenance alone.

There is no shortage of news headlines about companies falling victim to cyber breaches and the astounding costs associated with them. According to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, the global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, a 15 percent increase since 2020. For the financial services industry, the cost is even higher at $5.9 million per breach; that is 28 percent above the global average. 

In addition to the higher price tag associated with a cyber breach, companies within the financial industry must also adhere to evolving compliance regulations that dictate how they respond to an attack and where they must invest to reduce the total risk.

As more companies look to embrace AI technology, professional services and consultancy providers must make sure they're ready to help their customers respond to the opportunities that it presents. Indeed, professional services teams also need to look at how using AI in their own organizations can help them to adapt as well.

But how can they ensure that they take full advantage of what is on offer, and not just fall foul of the latest hyped technology trend? We spoke to Andy Campbell, director, solutions marketing at Certinia, to find out.

The proliferation of APIs in the financial services industry has created a vast and complex attack surface that traditional security measures cannot adequately protect.

API security specialist Traceable AI surveyed over 150 cybersecurity professionals in the US, uncovering critical vulnerabilities, concerns, and current API security practices in the financial sector.

The financial sector in the UK is under constant attack and that it is grappling to keep pace with ever-evolving cyber threats, according to a new report from security awareness training company KnowBe4.

The frequency of ransomware attacks on the financial sector in the UK doubled in 2023, showcasing an alarming escalation. Phishing and Business Email Compromise (BEC) remain the top threats to organizations including financial institutions.

The digital revolution continues at pace. Yet, whilst many industries are looking to harness the transformative impact of AI and other innovative tech, there are many firms in financial services that are simply unprepared and unable to capitalize on the latest advancements.

A reliance on legacy systems and the use of paper-based forms of communication and record-keeping is holding the sector back. Now is the time for the industry to fully embrace digital transformation strategies or risk being left behind. The benefits of going digital for businesses in the financial services industry are huge, encompassing benefits from streamlining operations and cutting costs, to improving customer experience and overall functionality. Whilst adopting new technologies undoubtedly comes with risks, the sector can ill-afford to stand still in the face of such a rapidly changing world.

What factors do you take into account when choosing a bank? How good the interest they offer on your savings is perhaps? Whether there's a convenient branch nearby? How easy the website is to navigate? A new study shows that 23 percent of US and UK consumers say that a bank's approach to cybersecurity is a factor when they consider opening an account.

The research from CybSafe finds that 85 percent of customers feel it important that their bank offers training about staying safe online and avoiding scams to those who want it, with 42 percent of respondents stating that such measures are 'very important'.

Much of the online world relies on things being random. Gamers trust that their players re-spawn at completely random locations, similarly, gamblers trust that online slot machines are giving them random outcomes.

Ensuring things are properly random is also important for things like decentralized finance and blockchain transactions. But how can you be sure that something is properly random?

In recent years, the financial sector has seen some of the biggest changes in the way technology is used. New regulations and disruptive technologies like blockchain, along with the rise of open banking, have seen traditional players scrambling to keep up with more agile newcomers.

So what does the fintech sector have in store in 2024? Here are the views of some industry experts.

It’s no secret that cybersecurity has a significant skills shortage. According to ISC2 research, the worldwide shortage is as high as 3.4 million cybersecurity workers. As a result, security professionals’ skills are in very high demand, making finding and retaining talent challenging. Swimlane’s own research shows that 82 percent of organizations report it takes three months or longer to fill a cybersecurity role, with 34 percent reporting it takes seven months or more.

The situation isn’t improving either. Some 70 percent of companies also report that it takes longer to fill a cybersecurity role now than it did two years ago. The challenge has led one-third (33 percent) of organizations to believe they will never have a fully-staffed security team with the proper skills, according to Swimlane’s survey