Canada-Africa Fintech Summit – Canada-Africa Fintech Convergence – Nurturing Talents, Fueling Growth, Forging Cross-Border Prosperity for Sustainability
For more info., check here: www.cafsummit.com
Securing Africa’s financial sector in the age of fintech and digital banking
Africa’s financial sector stands at the forefront of a digital revolution, driven by the rapid expansion of fintech and digital banking. This transformative wave has unlocked remarkable opportunities but also heightened exposure to cyber threats, challenging the continent’s readiness to safeguard its systems.
In the race for market dominance, business leaders often prioritise rapid deployment over security, treating cybersecurity as an afterthought. This approach, while tempting, is fraught with risks. Cyberattacks are no longer distant concerns—they are present and escalating. According to the African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2024 by Interpol, cyberattacks on organisations across Africa surged by 23 percent last year alone. The threats range from AI-powered phishing scams to ransomware attacks, posing severe risks to financial stability, customer trust, and institutional integrity.
Why financial technology can make global payments a frictionless process
Discussing some of the major developments surrounding this particular type of technology in a FinextraTV interview, Gautam Pillai, head of fintech research, Peel Hunt said: “The conversation in global payments is threefold right now: much of the buzz and excitement is around embedded payments, cross-border payments and generative AI within payments”
All three of the conversation topics mentioned surround the objective of increasing a more interconnected system that works faster and serves its users more efficiently. Global payments represent a large pool of consumers who want to send money abroad – often to families – as well as businesses that use global payments within their payroll and supplier operations. As such, an effective, easy-to-use system is essential for growth and retention. Pillai explains this further:
“If you think about it – apart from these big global e-commerce vendors, you go to a normal kind of e-commerce website and you might have observed that at the time of checkout, you are taken to a different environment which adds friction to the process […] what embedded payments try to do is embed that payment experience in the website or the app and hence reduce friction for customers and increase customer retention for businesses.”
Mobile payments surge in Oman as CBO advances digital systems
Muscat: In a clear sign of shifting financial behaviours, mobile payments in Oman experienced a remarkable rise in 2023, marking a pivotal trend in the country’s move towards digital financial solutions. The surge reflects a broader transformation in the nation’s payment landscape, driven by the Central Bank of Oman’s ongoing efforts to modernise and secure the country’s payment systems.
The impressive growth in mobile payments is part of a larger vision aligned with Oman Vision 2040, positioning the Sultanate as a leader in the region’s digital financial evolution.
The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has made significant strides in strengthening the national economy by adopting the latest technologies to enhance financial infrastructure.
UK regulator PSR plans cap on cross-border card fees
Over the course of 2021 and 2022, Mastercard and Visa raised their cross-border interchange fees fivefold from 0.2% to 1.15% for debit cards and 0.3% to 1.5% for credit cards. This post-Brexit increase, says the PSR, is costing businesses £150-200 million extra per year.
As the PSR publishes its final report into the issue, the watchdog’s MD, David Geale, says: “Our findings confirm that, due to a lack of competition, Mastercard and Visa were able to raise cross-border interchange fees to an unduly high level, costing UK businesses hundreds of millions of pounds.”
In response, the PSR is launching a consultation on a price cap that wold come in two stages. A short-term, interim cap on fees could see fees set at the levels that were in place before the schemes raised them. The PSR says it is open to other options.
Read more: https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/45219/uk-regulator-psr-plans-cap-on-cross-border-card-fees
SocGen completes repo transaction on public blockchain
SocGen’s SG-Forgeis digital assets-focused subsidiary is claiming the first repo transaction in digital securities with a Eurosystem central bank.
The French lender deposited bonds issued in 2020 as collateral with the Banque de France on the public Ethereum blockchain in exchange for CBDC issued by the central bank on its DL3S blockchain.
SocGen says the transaction demonstrates the technical feasibility of interbank refinancing operations directly on blockchain. It also shows the potential of a CBDC to improve the liquidity of digital financial securities.
Read more: https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/45220/socgen-completes-repo-transaction-on-public-blockchain
