And we’re kicking off the week with new analysis and opinions on investing, open banking, metaverse and more. Dive into the latest fintech insights and have a great start of the week!
Is there any limit to how much banks can innovate? (Accenture)
When banks move past the status quo and adopt an “everything is possible” attitude, they have the power to do truly transformative things. This is evident each year at the Qorus-Accenture Banking Innovation Awards, formerly the Efma-Accenture Banking Innovation Awards. The sheer diversity of the entries testifies to the creative thinking that’s happening at leading-edge banks around the world. The 2022 awards are in full swing, and banks have only until the end of this month to make submissions. This year’s winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony in Barcelona on November 30. In the meantime, let’s shine a spotlight on some of the winners from 2021. With their innovations, these banks are helping to redefine the roles that banks play in today’s world. Read more
Contextual Commerce: The Next Big Thing in Digital (Finextra)
Over the past two decades, retail has come a long way from brick-and-mortar to online. The future is even more exciting as contextual commerce promises to transform the customer experience. So, what is contextual commerce? Simply put, you can buy goods and services while you are engaged in your usual activities—like browsing the Internet, cooking, watching a movie, or commuting. It’s more similar to a “hidden” or “transparent” approach to buying. Contextual commerce is not about all or nothing and is also not restricted to using specific technologies. Therefore, it can be equally applied, though in a limited way, to brick-and-mortar stores. For example, Amazon Go and other retailers are experimenting with different technologies to cut the checkout process from the buying experience. Read more
Access to finance for farmers: the rise of agrifintech (Fintech Magazine)
From ruined crops due to heatwaves, grain hostage taking in the Black Sea and worrying levels of food price inflation, agricultural sustainability and food security have suddenly been catapulted into mainstream news from relative obscurity. At the same time, investments in the space, in particular agritech and its subset agrifintech, are growing rapidly. The smart agriculture market, for example, is forecast by some to grow by 10% CAGR to US$20.8bn by 2026, while others put the number of the global agtech market as a whole at US$32.5bn by 2027. With demand for food set to increase by 70% by 2050 while the world’s resources are being rapidly depleted, it is no surprise that agriculture has become a hotbed for innovation in the last few years. Having come under the spotlight as an industry has also laid bare one of the biggest obstacles for farmers to thrive and adopt more sustainable practices: access to finance. Read more
How OpenWay is powering digital payments in the age of pandemics and other disasters (Paypers)
What happened to the payments industry during the pandemic? In the past, innovations in our industry were mostly driven by banks, fintechs, and ecommerce. But during the pandemic, digital payments became critical for the survival of entire communities, and because of that, they became a priority for a variety of companies, from small merchants to global enterprises. If before the pandemic we were used to customers walking into stores and paying with cash, curfews made this scenario less likely and less desirable. During the pandemic, financial institutions had to learn quickly from the situation and improve their disaster preparedness so that their customers who were stuck at home could still pay for food delivery and make other purchases electronically. Similar challenges have been observed before during wars, also during natural disasters, including those related to climate change. These events are no longer like black swans, but a tragic normality. Read more
How to choose a Bitcoin sports betting site (BusinessCloud)
There has been a huge upturn in the popularity and use of online sports betting sites in recent years. The industry just seems to be getting bigger and more profitable – even with everything that has been going on in the wider world. One of the reasons for this is the use of cryptocurrencies and the emergence of Bitcoin betting sites. Some of these are exclusively Bitcoin. But the real increase has been the number of existing betting sites that are now accepting cryptocurrencies – including Bitcoin – as a payment method. If you are new to online sports betting – or are interested in digital currencies – you should take a look at this guide to betting with Bitcoin. Read more
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