Mounir Mahjoubi, the French secretary of state for digital affairs, spoke to Joy Macknight at the Money 20/20 Europe conference about the value created through bank-fintech partnerships and how France is fostering an attractive environment for fintechs, which is of growing importance due to Brexit.
As the hype around blockchain technology ebbs, real-world applications are coming to life, particularly in trade finance. Joy Macknight examines market initiatives, lessons learned and the role that blockchain could play in driving the digitalisation and growth of global trade.
Swift, together with 45 member banks, launched the global payments innovation (gpi) initiative in early 2016, to increase the speed, transparency and predictability of cross-border payments. More than 180 banks have signed up to the service, with over 60 banks now live. As of May 24, 25% of all Swift cross-border payments traffic is now being sent as gpi. Joy Macknight talks to Wim Raymaekers, Swift’s gpi programme director, about the latest developments.