Latest Security reports and research: Finextra Research

Survey

US Regulation Survey 2025: Compliance at a Crossroads

Assessing financial industry preparedness in a shifting US regulatory landscape as organisations struggle with deadlines, cost, and technology. In an environment of rapidly evolving regulations, driven by legislative and policy shifts at the federal and state levels, the US regulatory landscape is marked by complexity and uncertainty. Understanding the level of preparedness across industries is crucial for ensuring compliance, mitigating risk, and enhancing operational efficiency. This survey was conducted at the beginning of 2025, gathering financial services industry sentiment as the Trump Administration took office and began pivoting on key regulatory elements. With the US financial regulation regime also somewhat in limbo, that uncertainty was – and is – increasingly impacting the views of the 200 organisations surveyed. Analysis of our survey responses provides a comprehensive overview of the state of regulation readiness in the US, differences in reporting obligations, the impacts of automation for compliance, the roles of technology and data, and industry plans for modernisation. We explore: Which regulations will have the biggest impact on US financial services in 2025; Regulatory effects on organisational frameworks, budgets and staffing; How organisations are leveraging technology and partnerships to streamline regulatory compliance.

26 March 2025 170 downloads

Event Report

Risk-based authentication: Enhancing security and user experience in fraud prevention

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the importance of robust cross-channel authentication cannot be overstated. As businesses and consumers increasingly interact across multiple platforms, ensuring secure and seamless authentication processes is paramount. Online platforms have become integral to modern financial activities, which necessitates secure and seamless transactions, backed up by robust authentication mechanisms. Risk-based authentication offers a dynamic security approach, balancing user convenience with stringent fraud prevention. The integration of cross-channel data and advanced technologies like machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) is vital, as well as access and understanding of data. High-quality data is the cornerstone of effective fraud prevention and detection, which is why organisations must invest in robust data engineering practices to ensure collected data is accurate and well-labelled. This investment enables the development of sophisticated models to better identify and prevent fraudulent activities. Prioritising data quality enhances fraud prevention strategies, protecting businesses and their customers from potential threats. So how can organisations holistically address risk-based authentication in a dynamic world? This webinar report summarises the discussion of a Finextra webinar, hosted in association with Mastercard, and explores: Risk-based authentication in fraud prevention; Adapting fraud prevention to evolving threats; Advanced authentication strategies for corporate fraud prevention; Digital IDs, channels, and exclusion.

21 February 2025 269 downloads

Impact Study

Cross-border payments: How is the market addressing G20 targets?

This impact study explores how far along the G20’s cross-border roadmap firms have travelled; why cutting-edge technology platforms are imperative in today’s instant payments world; as well as how financial leaders can go beyond the G20’s objectives, in order to ensure prosperity for the coming decade. The cross-border payments market is one of the fastest growing money movement markets in the world. It reached $150 trillion in 2017, and by 2027 is expected to reach $250 trillion – a rise of over $100 trillion in just ten years. There are several factors that have led to the increase in global remittances, be they wholesale or retail in origin, including expanding supply chains; globalised investment flows; international trade and e-commerce; as well as the increased global movement of people, resulting in more money being sent across borders. While cross-border payments are booming, many financial institutions are still struggling to keep their technology platforms up to speed, and the drive toward real-time is having deep ramifications for organisations’ operations. To address these challenges, a gathering of some of the world’s largest economies, known as the Group of Twenty (G20), set out a roadmap in 2021 to improve cross-border payments. Also providing impetus for widespread modernisation are mandated initiatives like new, and continually evolving, ISO 20022 message and data standards and the European Union (EU)’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) – forcing players in the highly-competitive payments space to invest in smarter services, customer centricity, and on top of that, become the engines of growth. This Finextra impact study, produced in association with Temenos, explores: A status update on the G20 cross-border targets; The need for modernisation - an overview of other factors affecting cross-border payments; A roadmap for change beyond G20; Real-life case studies.

19 February 2025 470 downloads

Event Report

AI strategies for scalable, secure and compliant banking

Delving into effective strategies and tools for secure and compliant AI integration in banking, emphasising the importance of open-source models, the role of generative AI, the advantages of synthetic data, and the influence of regulatory frameworks. Integrating AI in banking involves more than just adopting new technologies; it requires aligning these technologies with specific banking use cases to maximise benefits and mitigate risks related to data security and compliance. Open-source models facilitate this transformation by offering a collaborative platform for innovation and transparency, essential for building trust and ensuring the safe use of AI in banking. The journey from proof of concept (POC) to production in AI and machine learning is often lengthy and complex. This extended timeline highlights the challenges organisations face in integrating AI into their operations. Embracing new tools and technologies and learning to utilise them effectively is crucial for overcoming these challenges and applying AI to day-to-day operations, leading to significant benefits in efficiency and innovation. When looking at other markets, the United States has become a hub for tech giants, focusing on fostering innovation, while regions like Japan remain cautious, reflecting their unique regulatory landscapes and societal risk appetites. This diversity in regulatory approaches presents both opportunities and challenges for firms operating globally, necessitating a nuanced understanding of each market’s unique dynamics. This webinar report summarises the discussion of a Finextra webinar, hosted with Red Hat, by a panel of industry experts. Discover: How AI is enhancing innovation, efficiency, and security; Synthetic data and regulatory impact; What factors are holding organisations back from fully adoption AI-driven services; Balancing innovation and regulation; And more.

07 February 2025 330 downloads

Impact Study

Bank Legacy Transformation: Exploring the Solutions

Where do banks stand with legacy transformation today? What are the market factors and changing consumer demands that make transformation increasingly crucial? Legacy transformation is not a new challenge for banks. However, as technology capability continues to advance, along with it the potential for innovation and new business models serving a digital customer base, the pressure of no longer being constrained by legacy infrastructure intensifies. Despite being the central nervous system for banks’ operations for decades serving a business purpose, legacy systems have become inadequate, and those trained to use them may lack the skills needed to meet sophisticated demands for real-time and seamless experiences. Here’s how banks can decouple their systems from each other to evolve and grow, untangle technology challenges to drive digitisation, and invest in technology and employees to ensure obstacles to rapid and gradual modernisation are removed. This impact study, produced in association with Veritran, will: Consider frameworks that prioritise initiatives based on their impact; Explore specific recommendations for each of these challenges; Propose strategies on how to integrate systems that will address data silos; Highlight clear ROI examples, efficiency gains, and enhanced customer outcomes; and Emphasise that there is no need for legacy system abandonment and modernisation can be conducted gradually without disruption.

14 January 2025 446 downloads

White Paper

UK Open Banking API Performance 2023-2024

In this fourth annual report, APIContext evaluated the performance of UK Open Banking APIs from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. The UK’s Open Banking system is arguably the most advanced in the world, having been in place since at least 2018. The time in market for this ecosystem offers lessons and best practices to other countries that are looking to implement similar API-driven financial systems; as well as banks and financial institutions that seek to differentiate through quality customer experiences. In this updated report, APIContext evaluates the performance of Open Banking APIs provided by various types of financial institutions in the UK. These include the major “CMA9” banks (the nine largest banks required by UK law to provide Open Banking services), traditional High Street banks, credit card companies, building societies (similar to credit unions in the United States), and new digital banks, often called neobanks. All the data in this report are based on real API calls, having tested the APIs in real-world conditions using the same process that consumers would go through. These calls followed the FAPI (Financial-grade API) standards, which are specifically designed for securely sharing sensitive financial data. The report includes: Key analysis of the UK's Open Banking API performance 2023 - 2024 Availability and reliability of API endpoints Latency metrics (DNS, TCP connect, SSL handshake, processing, and total time) Performance by cloud provider (AWS, IBM, Azure, and Google) Comparative analysis between different bank types (CMA9, traditional, and neobanks) Cloud provider comparison and other detailed findings Key takeaways and recommendations for various players in the ecosystem

13 January 2025 487 downloads

Event Report

AI’s Role in the US Financial Services Sector

How US organisations are balancing innovation and compliance The regulatory landscape for AI in the US is fragmented, with states proposing their own regulations. California’s recent attempt to regulate AI through SB1047, which included provisions for a kill switch and legal liabilities for tech companies, failed to pass. This illustrates the complexities and challenges in creating a unified regulatory framework across the country. Despite regulatory uncertainties, AI adoption in financial services is growing. About 50% of companies have embraced generative AI, while traditional AI applications have been integral for decades. AI has been crucial in areas such as anti-money laundering, fraud protection, and know-your-customer (KYC) processes. The full potential of AI in data management and client services is yet to be realised, with many applications still in internal testing stages. This report highlights the key takeaways of a discussion had during a Finextra webinar, hosted for the PREDICT 2025 campaign, by a panel of industry experts. It includes: An overview of how AI has been adopted across the US thus far; How generative AI has been integrated into banking; Primary concerns with AI use; and Regional perspectives and approaches to AI regulation.

08 January 2025 352 downloads

Impact Study

2024 Fraud Trends in Banking, Insurance, and Beyond

How generative AI is boosting fraud protection in an increasingly complex environment. As technology progresses, so do the capabilities of institutions to secure data and systems. Over 2024, the fraud landscape has been complex, and organisations must push the boundaries of innovation while maintaining a high security bar as the availability and democratisation of AI increases as we're going into 2025. The tidal wave of incoming regulation in the financial sector is an aspect that will help banking and insurance companies to safeguard their customers and data in the best way possible. Yet regulation alone does not address fraud – it’s up to individual organisations to leverage the potential of technology, and review their solutions, processes, and thus ensure compliance and safety. As fraud and regulation increase in the space, technology is one of the key factors that will help banks and insurance companies to address these increased fraud risks. Generative AI enables organisations to deliver hyper-personalised customer experiences, and combining these capabilities with carrier network insights can not only help them significantly reduce authentication fraud, but also ensure regulatory compliance. This impact study, produced in association with AWS and Vonage, examines the current fraud landscape across financial services, banking, and insurance, highlighting how generative AI and network APIs can help prevent fraud while enhancing the customer experience. Explore: Fraud trends in 2024 The impact of regulation Why data is the new gold How organisations can innovate with generative AI Best practices

31 October 2024 590 downloads

Future of Report

The Future of Embedded Finance in Africa 2025

Embedded finance is changing the payment landscape in Africa. The question now is: what will it take for embedded finance to truly scale across Africa? The global embedded finance market is set to grow beyond $228 billion by 2028 according to Juniper Research. As this market matures and consumer confidence in the technology grows, this will likely prove to be a significant chunk of global financial services. In Africa, this emerging trend has the potential to unlock new economic opportunities. As a less mature market, it is not as hindered by legacy payments systems, making it ripe for payment innovation from embedded finance. It has the potential to reshape the continent’s current payments landscape, broaden innovation opportunities, and drive financial inclusion. As a market Africa is very adaptable to different technologies, and embracing of newer, more agile services. A lot of the population to the majority of their banking through their mobile phones, making embedded finance fit seamlessly into financial worlds of the populace. Yet there are many factors which will alter and develop the ability for embedded finance to take hold. This Finextra report, sponsored by Kora, received contributions from Binance, Indelible Inc., Mojaloop Foundation, and Nikulipe. It explores: Making embedded cross-border payments work in Africa; Unlocking the opportunities of embedded e-commerce in the African market; Embedded finance: Encouraging African financial inclusion; Why personalisation in embedded finance is the next step for African fintech; Regulating Africa to encourage embedded finance innovation.

10 October 2024 306 downloads

Impact Study

Adding GenAI To Your Fraud Prevention Strategy

We explore the numerous benefits of generative AI for fighting fraud. In an instant payment, cross-border world, fraud is more nefarious and prevalent than ever. Recent research shows that worldwide, APP (Authorised Push Payment) fraud now represents 75% of all digital banking fraud on a dollar-value basis. By 2026, losses are expected to reach $5.25 billion – revealing that APP fraud is one of the biggest threats to financial institutions (FIs) globally. The next pre-emptive step in the fight against fraud is generative AI (GenAI), which uses Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate new content like text, audio, video and even new computer code. While GenAI is still in the fledgling stages of adoption within fraud prevention, it will soon become a true differentiator. But how exactly are scammers deploying AI to their advantage? What are the best ways to incorporate GenAI into a fraud prevention strategy? How should consumer privacy be managed? This impact study answers these questions and casts an eye over the current fraud landscape, the regulatory implications, and the vital role of innovation. This Finextra impact study, produced in association with Outseer, explores: The evolution of scams; The role of AI; Technology and the impact of generative AI; How to embed AI in the best way possible; Addressing regulatory challenges and concerns; And more.

27 September 2024 424 downloads

Survey

The Global Fight Against Trade-Based Financial Crime

Broken inside, broken outside: Uncovering the internal weaknesses and external pressures fuelling a $1.6 trillion challenge. Trade-Based Financial Crime (TBFC) is a global issue, draining $1.6 trillion annually from economies—funds that could otherwise fuel development, build infrastructure, and stabilise financial systems. Instead, these resources are diverted into criminal networks that operate across borders, exploiting the very institutions meant to protect global finance. This is a crisis that goes beyond numbers; it strikes at the core of trust and stability in the financial world. This global survey, conducted in the summer of 2024, revealed the alarming extent to which financial institutions remain unprepared in the face of the growing threat of TBFC and sheds light on the significant challenges, technology gaps, and fragmented risk management strategies that enable significant financial crime. Input from leaders at ING and ITFA reinforces the critical role of technology in combating TBFC, while also acknowledging the operational challenges that remain. Implementing AI-driven solutions at scale is proving to be a significant obstacle for many institutions, with the timeline for action growing ever tighter. Download this Finextra survey, produced in association with Eastnets, to explore: Why TBFC is a growing global crisis What internal roadblocks institutions are facing An investigation into the external challenges of combatting TBFC Recommendations for what risk leaders should do next And more Click here to join us for the Finextra webinar, Global Trade Based Financial Crime: Where Trade and Payments Meet, and hear from our panel of industry experts discuss the finding from this survey and the current state of trade-based financial crime globally.

25 September 2024 297 downloads

Impact Study

Microservices Architecture: Future-Proofing Payments Technology

It is high time for banks to move away from legacy thinking and embrace modernisation to remain competitive in the industry. Financial institutions have long been threatened by innovative, tech-savvy fintech firms that do not have to maintain decades-old back-office systems. Core banking systems within banks have evolved, but with additional pressure from incoming regulation and subsequent reporting, progression and modernisation has not kept pace with industry developments. In the US alone, the real-time payments market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 31% until 2030. An institution’s success in scaling their payment processing in response to this shift will rest heavily on how their systems are set up. Cloud-native payments processing is the most viable option to keep pace with innovation demand and competition; enabling banks to build upon flexibility, at low cost and risk. These enablers also make cloud infrastructure – both public and private – attractive for banks that have struggled to streamline, maintain and upgrade their legacy infrastructures. This Finextra research paper, produced in association with Diebold Nixdorf, explores the opportunities of microservices architecture. It discusses: Then & Now: Monolithic vs. microservices architecture Overcoming microservice challenges The benefits of a micro-approach Real-world examples and cases studies And more. Click here to join the Finextra webinar, hosted in association with Diebold Nixdorf, to watch as our panel of iindustry experts explore the benefits of microservices architecture, and what needs to be done to ensure migrations are streamlined.

27 August 2024 431 downloads

Impact Study

Payment Fraud in 2024: Who is Liable?

Fraud is a billion-dollar business in the Instant Payments era. Statistics show that ecommerce fraud is predicted to exceed $48 billion globally by the end of 2023 alone and could exceed $362 billion between 2023 and 2028. In 2024, banks will not only contend with the changing liability landscape, but the upcoming adoption of ISO 20022 as well. Both represent a historical shift in the financial services industry. To prepare for a higher degree of liability in a data-rich environment, banks need to address the holistic landscape of fraud mitigation. This Finextra impact study, produced in association with NICE Actimize, addresses the changing liability landscape and what banks need to do to prepare for regulatory changes and increased fraud protection. We cover: Shifting liability and the impact of new PSR regulation ISO 20022’s impact on the financial industry Financial industry priorities in 2024 And more.

08 July 2024 639 downloads

Impact Study

Fraud and AML Case Management: How to Operate at the Speed of Risk

The digital revolution has fuelled a surge in transactions, while economic turmoil, geopolitical tensions and shifting regulations have emboldened sophisticated financial criminals. As a result, fraud is costing financial institutions more than ever before. Traditional siloed systems and manual process have left financial institutions vulnerable by drowning investigators and analysts in data, while starving them of actionable insights to stay ahead of risk. This Finextra impact study, produced in association with NICE Actimize, explore how institutions can bolster their fraud management and anti-money laundering (AML) prevention systems to stay ahead of risk, reduce operational costs and investigations time, and meet changing business and regulatory requirements. We cover: How to resolve siloed case management How to fix fractured data How to create a faster, more intelligent workflow And more.

16 May 2024 392 downloads

Survey

Definitive Differentiators - Forging a future-proof payments model

Over the last few decades, banks have been forced to reconsider their business model for transaction services. During the era of low-interest rates, the focus shifted to transaction revenues, and while the pendulum is now pivoting back to utilising the balance sheet for revenue growth, the amount of new regulations impacting the industry is ever-increasing. New technology and market regulation have fostered innovation and new market entrants. This “perfect storm” is exposing a number of potential threats for banks, but also new opportunities to expand the share of customer wallet and time to market, and drive cost efficiency through standardization. This Finextra survey report, produced in collaboration with Tietoevry, explores the key factors driving changes to payment models for different financial institutions and how they can wield continued or differentiated success in the evolving landscape.

18 March 2024 599 downloads