BANKING

Manuel Sandhofer In the world of realtime global payments , we ’ re already seeing a widening pool of use cases for financial institutions , payroll platforms and online marketplaces as demand for faster , cheaper , more transparent cross-border pay-outs continues to rise .

In 2024 , we expect to see this drive even more traditional banks to partner with fintechs in order to stay ahead of the curve and meet the needs of their business customers .

In addition , next year we hope to see the materialisation of reforms that have been under way for some time , such as the EU ’ s Payment Services Directive 3 and New Payments Architecture ( NPA ) in the UK .

Regulators ’ and policymakers ’ commitment to fintech reform over the last few years has been clear and catalysed by the onset of open banking , the publication of the Kalifa Review , and more recently the creation of the Centre for Finance , Innovation and Technology .

While 2024 may not be the year for a Big Bang 2.0 , it will be the year that the industry builds on these foundations and continues to grow with confidence .

Ville Sointu Next year , anticipate the term “ explainable AI ” to permeate the collective consciousness and emerge as a key concern within the financial sector .

This concept took centre stage at the G20 summit , where leaders resoundingly called for global oversight and heightened transparency surrounding the rapidly evolving field of AI .

Increasingly , crucial decisions are being delegated to AI assistants , like credit scoring and determining loan approvals .

However , it is imperative for both customers and providers to possess a comprehensive understanding of the AI decision-making processes and not simply rely on AI blindly . People should have the capacity to understand the reason behind their eligibility for or exclusion from specific services on a more profound level than “ because the AI said so ”.

In 2024 , more strides will be made on a country-by-country basis to establish the foundation for transparency and accountability , with the goal of establishing a collaborative global framework .

Additionally , 2024 will witness a burgeoning adoption of self-sovereign identity ( SSI ) systems in response to widespread concerns over financial data privacy and autonomy .

Pilot projects such as the European Digital Identity Wallet ( EUDI ) – the lead initiative of the EU Commission ’ s recent eIDAS 2 Regulation – will grant crossborder e-ID available to any citizen of an EU member state who requests one by 2024 . This marks a dramatic shift away from traditional paper-form systems , and citizens , governments and businesses alike all stand to benefit .

EUDIs will be interoperable across the EU , giving wallet holders unprecedented choice and security over their data , and will unlock an array of online and offline public and private services like easily opening a bank account , filing tax returns , proving age ,

82 December 2023