Decentralised financial technologies 
Financial Stability Board

This report looks at decentralised financial technologies from the point of view of financial stability, and regulatory and governance implications.  Here, the paper looks at a few forms of decentralisation in financial services and locates tech that is, or will decentralise the sector, and makes an initial assessment of which financial services will take on said decentralising tech.

An Introduction to Libra 
Libra Association Members

Without a doubt, one of the most talked and opined about pieces of news this week has been Facebook’s crypto, Libra. This white paper lays it all out, explaining what the stablecoin is, and explains key facts like how Facebook doesn’t actually own Libra and how it’s a closed blockchain project, with the intent to be open in the future.

Beyond banking: How banks can use ecosystems to win in the SME market 
McKinsey

It’s no secret that SMEs make up a huge part of businesses in most places in the world, and that they are underserved by most traditional banks. This report surveyed over 500 SME business owners in the US to better understand their pain points, concluding that this group wants to spend the majority of their time running their companies and not on administrative tasks. Here, ecosystems can offer a broad range of services to fit SME needs into a single platform, where banks can provider their financial services.

Annual Impact Investor Survey 2019
Global Impact Investing Network

This report overviews what’s going on in the world on impact investing, including highlighting new sectors where impact investing is taking off—diversity and inclusion—and considering the role governments have in impact investing. Key take-aways are that the industry is growing and maturing, and impact investors’ returns, both financial and impact-wise, meet expectations.

Is China’s new payment system the future? 
Aaron Klein, Brookings

It’s no secret that China is on a different level when it comes to payments, and that they have completely skipped cards, preferring wallets of the digital kind. This paper looks into the future of China’s system, whether a system like it will replace the US’s payment system, and the implications when payments systems begin migrating from banks to the tech world.

Deloitte’s 2019 Global Blockchain Survey 
Deloitte

This paper presents the results of a survey of over 1,300 executives around the global and 30 blockchain disruptors to gain the former’s insights on what they think and are doing about the tech and the latter’s attitudes on and investments in blockchain. Results include over half of executives saying the tech is a critical priority and evidence of a maturing market.