Converge

Grab your copy of our Are You Ready For 2025? report. With 2025 on the horizon, economic uncertainty looms. Will the world economy finds its balance, or are we still bracing for the next curve? If real wage growth falters, consumer spending could take a hit. Businesses need to be prepared for shifts in consumer behavior and tighten their risk management focus. This week, we're sharing our rece...

Grab your copy of our US Election Guide for FX Markets! Voters are heading to the polls on November 5th to vote for the 47th President and 50th Vice President of the United States. The most important political event of the year will be accompanied by elections for both chambers of Congress. The composition of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives will be crucial for the domestic ec...

This week, we hosted a lively discussion with the founding team of Algbra, a UK-based fintech startup focused on ethical finance and combating financial exclusion. Algbra is a Certified B Corporation, sitting among a global network of businesses that meet high social and environmental impact standards. We explore Algebra's unique dual business model, which includes both B2C and B2B services, t...

Powell pushed the large 50 basis point cut over the line with the help of the market. This has given investors the green light to scream for more easing as early as November. Wall Street is reading between the lines: if the Fed's willing to cut 50 now, why not again in November? Volatility surrounding major macro events and rate decisions will persist going into year end. US policy makers have...

This week, we sat down with Rahul Bhargava, consultant for The World Bank, about the evolving landscape of cross-border payments. The G20's roadmap for faster payments faces key milestones over the next two years, and the significance of BIS projects like Project Nexus have been instrumental in illustrating how faster, more secure, more transparent global payments could become a reality. We di...

Global macro finds itself at a crossroads. The last job report left investors scratching their heads due to the mixed picture it painted but yesterday’s higher than expected inflation print likely confirmed that the Fed will cut interest rates by 25 basis points next week. It will be all about how the Fed wants to be perceived by markets. What is important for investors is that the global easing c...

This week, we sit down with Venture Capitalist and Fintech consultant Kimberly Ofori to discuss the concept of Camels (slow and sustainable companies) versus Unicorns (fast and disruptive companies) in the fintech landscape, and why camels are gaining more attention in 2024. But what about Zebras? These purpose-driven companies prioritize profit and social impact. We discuss the importance of bala...

The expectation of easier monetary policy in the United States has led investors away from the Greenback and has pushed the euro, pound, and yen to yearly highs. Speculators are now simultaneously bullish on all three currencies for the first time since early 2021. Meanwhile, investors seem to have all but forgotten the volatility shock from three weeks ago. Global equity benchmarks are approachin...

This week we're joined by Thomas Mueller and Fatemeh Nikayin , co-founders of Rivero , a SaaS platform focusing on modernizing the most challenging aspects of payment operations (PayOps), including fraud recovery, scheme compliance, and dispute management. We discuss the significant growth that Rivero has experienced in the past year, their focus on providing solutions for card payment operati...

Global markets have worked through their largest volatility shock so far this year with bravura as the dollar, equities and bond yields are trading like last Monday's historic sell-off never happened. However, some things are unlikely to fully revert back as sentiment seems to have changed materially. Investors will remember the massive unwind of trades that had been popular all throughout 202...

Paymentology CEO Jeff Parker discusses the transformative role of embedded finance in the payment card industry. Discover how customers' engagement with brands is shifting their focus away from traditional finance service providers. Parker explores key innovations like digitalization, mobile wallets, and contactless payments, and explains how payment cards are central to enhancing customer exp...

Central banks are at a crucial turning point going from a global tightening to a easing cycle while trying to engineer a soft landing. Policy makers continue to be unusually data dependent and there is a significant uncertainty band around our inflation and labor market forecast. So the incoming data matters, even in summer. And if you then add the US election on top of that, you get volatility. A...

In this week's episode, Nicole Casperson, founder of Fintech is Femme , and Julie Armstrong , V.P. and Global Head of Verticalized Industry & Partnerships at Convera, share their journeys as women shaping the fintech landscape from the perspectives of Gen Z and Gen X, respectively. Both discuss the incredible resilience and audacity required to navigate and transform an industry that often...

The US dollar is coming off its worst two-week streak this year as slower US growth and inflation lead investors to bet on more aggressive policy easing from the Federal Reserve. However, the losses have been somewhat limited this week as politics remains front and center in the US and China. FX markets have been caught in this tug of war between macro and politics and between the Fed and Trump. I...

This week, we discuss the challenges of growing a fintech company internationally with Hong Fang , President of OKX crypto exchange , and Nicola Ebmeyer , Co-founder and CEO of Gain. Pro . We cover the recent developments and challenges in the crypto industry, the state of the private markets, language and cultural considerations in international expansion, regulatory requirements, how to sustain...

Recorded live at Money2020 EU! Payments in the air are often overlooked and undervalued, but they are a significant part of the travel experience for many. What might the future of airline payments look like as airlines move towards a marketplace model driven by customer-centricity and simplicity? At Money2020 EU, The Paypers Managing Director, Melisande Mual , spoke with two experts in the airlin...

Signs are emerging that the US economy is beginning to feel the pain from the high interest rate regime. Procyclical data has been underperforming for more than two years now. The beacon of hope and the driver of the US exceptionalism thesis, the consumer and labor market, have surprised to the downside as well in recent weeks. The macro and yields based support the Greenback has enjoyed for the m...

Emerging markets like Africa are strategically important geographies brimming with immense talent. In this week's episode, fintech guru Matteo Rizzi and Money2020's Micky Tesfaye discuss the importance of supporting entrepreneurs in emerging markets, particularly in Africa. Matteo shares his experience with TimePledge, an initiative that provides free coaching and support to African entrep...

Recorded live at Money2020 EU on 6/5/2024! We sat down with Rita Martins , author of the new book 'Web 3 in Financial Services', to discuss the innovations happening in the payment space and the potential of Web3-related technologies in the financial services industry. We cover the use of stablecoins for remittances in emerging markets, the tokenization of real-world assets for loans, the...

The aftershock of President Emmanuel Macron calling for a snap election continues to work its way through markets. FX options are pricing in higher volatility and a stronger bias against the common currency as the French yield premium rose by the most on record last week. In the United States, the narrative of the disinflation story continues to gain credibility among investors again as the consum...

Recorded live at Money2020 EU on 6/4/24! Join Ryan Rugg , Head of Digital Assets for Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions, as we discuss tokenization and its likely impacts on the financial sector. Tokenization is the digital representation of an asset and can be used for various purposes, including tokenizing cash, real-world assets, and central bank digital currencies. There have been several...

Recorded live on 6/4/24 at Money2020 EU! Alisa DiCaprio is the Chief Economist for R3, one of the biggest technology and service providers in the blockchain space, focused on enterprise blockchain software. R3 traces its origins to a consortium of banks, and the company's focus on secure and confidential blockchain-based transactions has made them an ideal partner for many financial services o...

Recorded live on 6/4/2024 at Money2020 EU! Join Convera's Market Insights team for special candid discussion on the policy and geopolitical events shaping the global markets, including the European elections, ECB rate decision, US-China tensions, and the impact of political uncertainty on monetary policy. We cover the implications of the impending US and UK elections in 2024, non-farm payrolls...

In this week's episode, we explore the growth of open banking in Latin America, featuring insights from Germana Cruz , CEO and Head of Financial Institutions for Standard Chartered Bank Latin America, and Fady Abdel-Nour , Venture Capitalist and LatAM fintech investor with Antler Elevate . There are many opportunities for finance professionals in leveraging open banking innovations in Latin Am...

Get your copy of Fintech2025+ https://convera.com/lp/fintech-2025-report/ We project a significant surge in cross-border payment flows, expected to reach an eye-popping $290 trillion by 2030, driven by the rise of international e-commerce, greater workforce mobility, and advancements in digital payment technologies. This growth highlights the need for robust fintech solutions that enhance transact...