But as the attack surface expands with the growing use of social media and external digital platforms, many FinServ security teams are blind to a new wave of digital threats outside the firewall.

Here Anthony Perridge, VP International at ThreatQuotient, discusses how all businesses need to fully understand the threats they can face on social media and how to prevent them, and specifically how FS’s can protect their institutions online.

More than three billion people around the world use social media each month, with 90% of those users accessing their chosen platforms via mobile devices. While, historically, financial services (FinServ) institutions discouraged the use of social media, it has become a channel that can no longer be ignored.

FinServ institutions are widely recognised as leaders in cybersecurity, employing layers of defence and highly skilled security experts to protect their organisations. But as the attack surface expands with the growing use of social media and external digital platforms, many FinServ security teams are blind to a new wave of digital threats outside the firewall.

Social media is a morass of information flooding the Internet with billions of posts per day that comprise text, images, hashtags and different types of syntax. It is as broad as it is deep and requires an equally broad and deep combination of defences to identify and mitigate the risk it presents.

Understanding prevalent social media threats

Analysis of prevalent social media risks shows the breadth and depth of these types of attacks. A deeper understanding of how bad actors are using social media and digital platforms for malicious purposes is extremely valuable as FinServ institutions strive to strengthen their defense-in-depth architectures and mitigate risk to their institutions, brands, employees and customers.

To gain visibility, reduce risk and automate protection, leaders in the financial industry are expanding their threat models to include these threat vectors. They are embracing a data-driven approach that uses automation and machine learning to keep pace with these persistent and continuously evolving threats, automatically finding fraudulent accounts, spear phishing attacks, customer scams, exposed personally identifiable information (PII), account takeovers and more.

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They are aggregating this data into a central repository so that their threat intelligence teams can trace attacks back to malicious profiles, posts, comments or pages, as well as pivot between these different social media objects for context. Network security teams can block their users from accessing malicious social objects to help prevent attacks, and incident response teams can compare their organisation’s telemetry of incidents with known indicators of compromise to mitigate damage.

Employee education is also a critical component of standard defences. Raising awareness of these threats through regular training and instituting policies to improve social media security hygiene with respect to company and personal accounts goes a long way to preventing these attacks in the first place.

A Checklist for Financial Institutions

This checklist that encompasses people, process and technology will go a long way toward helping FS teams better protect their institutions, brands, employees and customers.

1. IDENTIFY the institution’s social media and digital footprint, including accounts for the company, brands, locations, executives and key individuals.
2. OBTAIN “Verified Accounts” for company and brand accounts on social media. This provides assurance to customers that they are interacting with legitimate accounts and prevents impersonators from usurping a “Verified Account.”
3. ENABLE two-factor authentication for social media accounts to deter hijacking and include corporate and brand social media accounts in IT password policy requirements.
4. MONITOR for spoofed and impersonator accounts and, when malicious, arrange for takedown
5. IDENTIFY scams, fraud, money-flipping and more by monitoring for corporate and brand social media pages.
6. MONITOR for signs of corporate and executive social media account hijacking. Early warning indicators are important to protecting the organisation’s brand.
7. DEPLOY employee training and policies on social media security hygiene.
8. INCORPORATE a social media and digital threat feed into a threat intelligence platform as part of an overall defense-in-depth approach. This allows teams to ingest, correlate and take action faster on attacks made against their institution via social media.

The prediction from Nigel Green, the chief executive of deVere Group, comes after the world’s largest cryptocurrency experienced a 20 per cent price surge over the weekend.

Mr Green commented: “Bitcoin has registered some impressive gains over the last 48 hours after being in a lull period in recent weeks.

“As of now, it has defied the so-called Death Cross – a bearish pattern that takes place when the 50-day moving average falls below the 200-day moving average.

“The $8,500 support has previously acted as a crucial support for Bitcoin. I believe that if Bitcoin bulls can keep the price above this over the next week, the world’s dominant cryptocurrency will experience a breakout and will hit $12,000 before the end of the year.”

He continued: “This latest surge in Bitcoin was triggered by China’s President Xi calling the adoption of blockchain – the technology on which cryptocurrencies run - an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies.

“This is a clear signal that the leader of the world’s second-largest economy is moving towards embracing the technology – in which Bitcoin plays a vital part – and therefore taken as a positive boost for the whole digital currencies sector.  

“Perhaps quite sensibly, investors could not ignore the comments and sentiment expressed by President Xi and reacted by increasing exposure to Bitcoin.

“It also comes as China is said to be developing its own national digital currency, which is further proof that in some form or another, digital currency is the future.”

He added: “As history teaches us, it’s likely that momentum, perhaps partly driven by FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out), will now pick-up pace again in the cryptocurrency sector.  Should this be maintained this week, I’m confident it will take Bitcoin to $12,000 before the start of 2020.

“The crypto momentum will also be driven by underlying fundamentals that will come back into focus.

“These include geopolitical issues - such as the U.S.-China trade war and the chaos of Brexit - and the global economic slowdown. These are encouraging exposure to decentralised, non-sovereign, secure digital currencies.

“Also, the technical network improvements that have further enhanced the performance of cryptocurrencies, as well as the forthcoming 2020 Bitcoin halving will also fuel price gains.”

The code for mining Bitcoin halves around every four years and the next one is set for May 2020. When the code halves, miners receive 50 per cent fewer coins every few minutes.  History shows that there is typically a considerable Bitcoin surge resulting from halving events.

“But perhaps the most important one is that public awareness is consistently growing. Cryptocurrencies, and in particular Bitcoin, are increasingly part of mainstream finance.

“This is evidenced not only in the financial sector, in which all major banks are increasingly looking at blockchain and crypto, but by the growing interest of governments and institutions, plus the major players within the tech and retail sectors too.”

Nigel Green concluded: “$8,500 is a key support for Bitcoin.  Should the Bitcoin price stay above this level, positive sentiment will be amplified, and we would see near year-highs.”

Channel director and finance expert at moneyguru.com, Deborah Vickers has the lowdown on a raft of innovative and exciting companies making their mark on the retail banking sector in 2019. So, if you’re thinking of making the switch, here are just some of the banks and their benefits.

1. N26

It’s surprising to think that N26 only launched in the US and UK last year, considering how popular they have become. Their three current account products appeal to customers looking for an equivalent to a standard or packaged current account, with easy options to save by creating ‘Spaces’ within the app.

Alongside their banking app, they also provide a desktop version called N26 Web, so customers can gain access to their account from practically any device. In addition, they’re working on an overdraft facility that should be available soon in the UK.

2. Revolut

Launched back in 2015, Revolut is one of the largest challenger banks in the market. In March 2019 they reported they had hit 4.5 million customers, with 1.6 million being UK-based.

They are one of the only challengers to allow customers to exchange money into cryptocurrencies and you can earn cashback with any purchase made on their Metal card. Their version of a savings account comes in the form of Vaults, which can be set up straight from the app.

3. Starling Bank

Having recently celebrated their two-year anniversary, Starling is a challenger bank going from strength-to-strength in the UK. They have recently developed Marketplace, making it easier for customers to access financial products from partner companies.

Despite not offering a premium current account, Starling offer an overdraft facility and a personal loan option, being one of the only challenger banks to do so. They became known for offering a portrait-style, teal debit card, but customers have flocked to the bank for other features such as saving money via Goals and analysing their accounts through Spending Insights.

4. Monese

Monese prides itself on being the simple alternative to high-street banks, built for customers who would like an easy route into managing their money. They have one free current account and two premium accounts that charge a monthly fee.

This hassle-free approach to banking appeals particularly to those who have emigrated from another country to the UK, as Monese doesn’t require proof of address or a credit history, making it much easier to apply and be accepted.

5. Cashplus

Cashplus are a challenger who have entered both the personal banking and business banking sectors, allowing those with a bad credit score to still benefit from a secure bank account that suits them.

Both of their current account offerings have a monthly fee, but don’t require a credit check, making it much easier to apply and keeping your credit score intact. Through the Creditbuilder feature, you can also start to make improvements to your credit score over 12 months, with no risk to yourself.

6. Monzo

Cited as one of the most popular challengers in the UK (according to the BACS switching statistics), Monzo Bank is now used by more than 2 million people, since their launch in early 2015. They pride themselves on being transparent with customers and have an active community forum with 40k users.

They have recently launched a premium account option called Monzo Plus, which is in early development but has started with a monthly fee of £3. You can then add on extras such as travel insurance, with many more options in the pipeline.

7. Tandem

Tandem focus on being a companion to your existing current account, helping you work in tandem with your finances. All you need to do is download their free app and start saving.

Unlike other major challengers, Tandem concentrates on offering savings accounts and credit cards to customers, alongside their money management app. Use of the app creates a seamless transition between your existing current account and a savings pot, which rounds up to the nearest pound using Autosavings and puts the change into a pot for later use. They are looking at implementing a full current account very soon, along with support for Apple Pay and Google Pay too.

8. Atom Bank

Atom Bank have entered the challenger space by providing savings accounts, mortgages and business loans to customers, all available by applying online and managing through their app. Like Tandem, Atom Bank are a challenger that you can use alongside your existing current account to help with saving for the future.

Along with providing competitive rates for their fixed savers accounts, they are also the only challenger in our list to provide mortgages, meaning potential homeowners can find an alternative to high-street banks when looking for funding.

Cryptocurrencies followers forecast Bitcoin to replace fiat currency and become the only method of value exchange. With bitcoin induced demonetization, Bitcoin should change people’s relationship with money. The fact that people will be the owner of their money and its value is seen as one of the distinctions that will make most people avoid fiat currencies.

Bitcoin prices have become a bellwether for the market. While still difficult to nail down an exact characterization of cryptocurrency and how it fits within the modern financial pattern — whether a currency, digital asset or a commodity — by evaluating the price action in the context of its more established analogs, it becomes apparent that Bitcoin and its peers have reached significant milestones.

Apps Affiliated with Bitcoin Trading Performance

The acuteness of the cryptocurrency market has made it obligatory for traders to make quicker decisions and perform transactions faster. These demands led to the development of the Bitcoin apps to offer traders an automated trading platform and more leverage in the market.

The Bitcoin apps enhanced a unique algorithm that can interpret and process the market signals faster such as the bitcoin revolution. If the bitcoin revolution is over then the users are forced to invest from the beginning, without trying the platform first.

Cryptocurrency Crash

The price of Bitcoin has fallen from $13,200 to $9,684, with major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase, recording a 26.6% drop within a period of seven days. The recent fall of Bitcoin is widely believed to be a technical factor that was pushed by sellers who took control of the market once the dominant crypto asset went below key support levels at $11,500 and $10,500.

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Bitcoin Price Faces Third Monthly Loss of 2019

• Bitcoin is on track to test $9,000, having dived out of a narrowing price range earlier this week. The cryptocurrency is likely to end August on a negative note, having suffered losses in July and January.
• BTC may suffer a deeper price drop over the next few months, possibly to the 200-day moving average near $7,400, if prices print a UTC close below $9,049 on Saturday, confirming a bearish reversal on the monthly chart.
• A minor price bounce, possibly to the Aug. 22 low of $9,755, could be seen before a drop to $9,000, as an hourly chart indicator is reporting bullish conditions.
• The short-term bearish case would be invalidated if prices find acceptance above $ 10,280, although that looks unlikely. A weekly close above $12,000 for bullish revival, as discussed earlier this month.

Why Did Bitcoin Drop 20% in October? 

The recent rise was not a rise at all but in fact a fall. in other words, the value of Tether (controversial cryptocurrency with tokens) dropped so in order for altcoins to keep their value up they needed to rise against Tether, when bitcoin rises (assuming Tether is worth $1) altcoins seemingly rise up but not because they keep their value, in fact, they fall in value against USD and BTC but because this fall is not equal to bitcoin price rise, the final result is a rise.

For example, if bitcoin is $1000 and some altcoin is worth 0.1BTC and then bitcoin goes up to $2000 that altcoin if it remains 0.1BTC, will rise to $200 which is impossible for that coin to happen because there is nobody buying it.

What happens is that the rise of bitcoin from $1000 to $1000+ will start creating arbitrage opportunity in ALT/BTC and ALT/USD and as traders arbitrage this the final value of that coin will go somewhere between $100 and $200 and closer to lower bound. So the final result will be an altcoin worth around 0.06BTC which is a big fall but thanks to arbitrage traders the value of it rose a little to $120 in a fake manner.

Applications to MBA programs across the US are declining. WSJ's Jason Bellini traveled to Boston University's Questrom Business School to hear from students who explain why the investment is worth it.

Philip Hammond says that the UK fintech industry is currently worth £7 billion, employing more than 60,000 people. These massive, tech-driven disruptions are proof that fintech has finally emerged as a mainstream industry. Not only that, but these changes have also created numerous new trends that will benefit both businesses and consumers. Here are some to watch out for this year that will affect the financial industry:

Voice technology will grow in banking

Consumers can already operate a handful of things by voice, including music, TV, GPS, and even home security. Currently, banking is slowly catching up in order to improve customer service and prevent fraud. HSBC have reportedly saved £300 million in fraud through voice biometrics. Customers repeat a phrase after giving the bank their details over the phone in order to provide an extra level of security. Expect more banks to follow suit this year and for voice biometrics to become even more widely used.

Faster payment processing

Bloomberg reports that customers can expect banks to speed up checkout lines through a wider adoption of contactless cards. Payment Relationship Management CEO Peter Gordon said large banks do not want to be displaced so they’ll do what they can to be more efficient. In Singapore, they opened their first real-time and round-the-clock payment system called FAST. Singapore Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung talked about it at the launch of SGQR, Singapore’s single and standardised QR code for e-payment. "We will allow non-bank players to have direct access to FAST. This is to enable their e-wallets to bring greater convenience to consumers," he said. Expect e-wallets to become more widely used this year.

Blockchain-powered freelance market

The global recession along with the advancements in technology has led businesses to embrace alternative work arrangements particularly for freelancing, which is becoming increasing popular in the finance industry. In fact, the world’s first blockchain-powered freelance market has already been launched in the UK. The Fintech Times highlights how the marketplace gives employers instant access to a talent pool of freelancers. Work and skills are continuously validated and recorded, and the platform allows freelancers to create smart contracts, which ensures they get paid on time. This brings transparency and fairness to the gig economy. And Yoss explains how the current state of freelance recruitment now includes “highly rigorous skills validation and qualification tests,” as the demand for specialists in areas such as AI increases. The blockchain platform will allow companies to find freelancers based on the quality of their work rather than the quantity, which will benefit both businesses and those looking for jobs.

Alternative Finance for SMEs

Resesarch by American Express found that 30% of SMEs find it difficult to access the finance they need, despite the fact that 68% think cash flow is important to their business. In the UK an increasing number of SMEs are moving away from traditional financial avenues like bank loans. This has led to a 13% increase in the use of peer-to-peer lending in the past 12-months. Peer-to-peer collaboration is a much more streamlined way for SMEs to access financial support. For instance, micro-lenders mainly operate online, which helps reduce overhead costs and takes out the middleman.

Chatbots and robots

Apart from speeding up transaction times, fintech is also revolutionising customer service through chatbots and AI. Today’s chatbots are already able to not only understand what the customer needs but also the entire context of the conversation. This will help reduce the amount of time customers spend waiting for answers or on being hold. The technology will also mean that banking apps will become the primary form of communication between customers and their banks in the future. This will reduce costs and allow for a more streamlined service.

The finance industry is not only opening doors to faster transactions and better customer service, but it’s also creating more opportunities to work in a fast-evolving and lucrative industry. Chris Renardson points out that if anyone wants to make it in the industry, it takes more than technical and numerical know-how. So follow the above trends to stay ahead of the competition.

The customer pain point defined by the limited function of outdated banking monoliths was realised some time ago. And, as we look at the state of the market in 2019, there are many vendors out there all vying to do the same thing: to bring banking to the state of digital usability that other industries such as e-commerce and entertainment reached a long time ago. Below, Finance Monthly hears from Tobias Neale, Head of Delivery at Contis  on the three key areas to look at in order to be a successful FinTech in 2019.

Naturally, like any crowded marketplace, brand differentiation is vital in order to stay competitive in FinTech. After all, when there is an approximated £20 billion in annual revenue up for grabs in the UK alone, it makes sense that there are plenty of incumbents as well as new players joining every year, aiming to get a piece of the pie.

So, what truly makes a successful FinTech company stand out right now? Where are the areas that brands can truly get ahead? Also, and perhaps most importantly to consider, does FinTech look set to eclipse traditional banking altogether, or is there a way the two can grow closer?

Innovation

Building new infrastructure for financial services is not a new venture – the big payment giants have been shaking up the financial solutions market through regular technology investment projects for some time. However, given the recent wave of innovation instrumented by new and emerging rivals, it is increasingly evident that innovation has gone mainstream – beyond the big banks – and that continuous development is integral to keep pace for everyone, whether new or established. These new entrants, who put technology innovation at the forefront of their business, recognise that it is not just a case of creating technologies to contend with the big banking and payment giants, but also creating with them in order to integrate with and support them.

Agility

FinTech moves fast, and the pace at which a service provider can be disruptive is that which sets competitors apart. Start-ups have the advantage of being free of legacy systems that often prove a huge inhibitor to modernising quickly enough to keep pace for their long-standing and well-established counterparts. As a result, new entrants will do well to take advantage of this agile upper hand by ‘moving fast and breaking things’ with mobile-focused products. By quickly adapting to fill gaps left by traditional banking providers they can deliver services in record time.

Customer service at the core

In recent years, customer trust in the banking and payments industry from both the has been put to the test thanks to disruptions and data breaches affecting both businesses and consumers alike . This means that there is ample room for disruptors to capitalise on the need for a reliable and trustworthy provider that offers great services, extensive support and guidance, particularly for prospects that are looking to establish their first increment of banking services into their ecosystem.

What is important to remember is that disruption is not all about overtaking older established rivals – part of what makes a successful FinTech in 2019 is the ability to integrate with these institutions and move digital transformation for the industry and shared customers. Keeping innovation, agility and customer service at the core of a company’s proposition is what will truly define those looking to follow the success of companies like Monzo and Revolut, in 2019 and far, far beyond.

Each year, technology introduces new trends and benefits into the healthcare industry. So, what can we expect to see throughout the coming year? Here, we’ll look at some of the key health care technology predictions for 2019.

1. More focus will be given to digitalisation

This is perhaps the most unsurprising trend the healthcare sector is expected to focus on in 2019. More providers will be looking into adopting Electric Patient Records, helping to better monitor and manage patient treatment. Allowing practitioners to receive updates and records in real-time, this digitalisation is gradually revolutionising the industry.

It’s also likely more services will become digitalised, such as booking appointments, and managing repeat prescriptions.

2. Security and privacy will dominate

Due to changes in data privacy, it’s likely the healthcare sector will see policy changes adopted in 2019. As the sector becomes more comfortable managing its data, it’s also expected there will be a move from big cloud data storage to smaller, more specialised cloud storage.

Security wise, cyber attacks are expected to become more prevalent over the next year, forcing healthcare providers to tighten their security.

3. Patients will be able to monitor their own health

There has already been an increase in the number of at-home monitoring devices introduced onto the market. However, as pressure is placed onto the sector due to cost cuts, it’s likely we’ll see an increase in patient-controlled health monitoring.

Currently, patients can purchase testing kits for a range of illnesses and conditions, as well as test things such as their cholesterol and blood pressure. As technology continues to advance, we’ll likely start seeing more testing and monitoring devices introduced onto the market.

4. Collaboration with innovators

Innovation is a big factor all businesses should be concerned about. In 2019, it’s thought the healthcare sector is going to focus a lot of its efforts into innovation. Pharmaceutical companies in particular, will be seeking out innovators to boost their portfolio. From digital health companies to biotech upstarts and AI start-ups – there will be a lot of collaboration taking place within the healthcare sector this year.

5. More tech for mental health

It’s no secret that the mental health sector is under extreme pressure due to lack of funding and staff shortages. So, in order to try and bridge the gap, in 2019 focus is being placed upon introducing more tech into the sector. This will allow patients to monitor and manage their mental health much more effectively. There will also likely be more tech introduced to help treat and support mental health patients.

The above are just some of the health care technology predictions of 2019. There are certainly a lot of changes occurring within the sector at the moment. Digitalisation in particular, is going to be a huge focus and one of the biggest benefits to the industry.

In an economy that produces somewhere in the region of $80 trillion of gross domestic product a year, oil and gas drilling make up somewhere between 2% and 3% of the global economy.

Technologies thought unthinkable only a few years ago have revolutionised the way business go about finding their resources and the attitudes to the future of the oil business.

Here, we look at some of the trends and challenges currently circulating in the industry.

The Trends

The ‘Smart-Oilfield’

The oil industry is currently enjoying significant investment to create digitalised oilfields that offer integrated data communication across wellheads, pipelines and mechanical systems.

This collective data produces real-time analytics for data centres that can regulate oil-flows to optimise production.

Experts believe this extra intelligence has the potential to increase the net value of oil and gas assets by an eye-watering 25%.

Technology Striking Rich

Within the last decade, worry around the quantity of oil left remaining dominated the industry. Thanks to the technological advances of the last five or so years, oil companies have discovered resources so significant that these once very real concerns are now a distant memory.

4D seismic technology has created huge benefits in reservoir monitoring and is now used universally to maximise return on investment.

The development of the Subsea oilfields has reduced both infrastructure and production costs, with deeper exploration providing greater profits and risks in equal measure.

While controversial in its application, fracking of shale basins has taken US crude oil output to its highest peak since 1989, and overseas developments are in process and set to have a significant impact on the industry.

Finally, advances in oil recovery technology offer the potential to make enormous efficiency improvements. As it stands, only around one third of oil is recovered in drilling processes, meaning there are huge financial gains to be had through improving the infrastructure.

Even with some of these processes still in their infancy, the tech-revolution is offering the potential for unfathomable gains.

The Challenges

The Competition for Talent

As with any industry, the competition for top talent is fierce, but with an aging and shrinking talent pool, the oil industry’s big guns are having to invest more than ever into attracting the best people to their business.

Adding to the above trends, this means the oil industry is a good one to be in, with notable increases in base salaries alongside additional incentives and perks in recent years.

However, with specialised experience lying predominantly with the older age groups, oil companies face a key challenge in recruiting and training the next generation, not to mention matching the staffing demands of a starved sector.

The Obituary of Oil?

Despite new found and untapped resources, there are several challenges facing the oil industry that collectively pose the question: is the end of the industry nigh?

With an ever-growing market in sustainable energy, continuing price volatility and inflationary costs on wages and raw materials, oil companies face serious challenges in remaining competitively priced and diversifying their services to keep going in fluctuating market.

Even with the rise of green technologies like the electric car market, fossil fuels still have a major part to play in the next few decades of global industry. It is, however, simply a case of proving that to investors who have an eye on the future.

Less well known, however, is another more imminent deadline. The PSD2 regulation requires banks to implement facilities for these third parties to test their functionality against a simulated bank environment six months prior to the September deadline, which means that these environments must be in place by 14th March. Below Nick Caley, VP of Financial Services and Regulatory at ForgeRock,  explains that despite the importance of this fast-approaching deadline, many of the thousands of eligible banks are significantly challenged in meeting either deadline. And, while there are no formal penalties for not complying with it, there will certainly be consequences that could have long lasting commercial, technical and reputational effects.

Consequences of non-compliance

Banks which fail to meet the March deadline will need to implement fallback ‘screen-scraping’ - where customers essentially share their security credentials so third parties can access their banking information via the customer interface and collect the data for their own services - as a contingency mechanism at the same time as implementing their PSD2 API by the September deadline, something that would not be in the interests of banks, or their customers, and could lead to graver problems further down the line.

There are multiple problems associated with screen-scraping. Firstly, there are the significant security risks it poses. Screen-scraping involves customers sharing their banking security credentials with third parties, which is an outright, bad security practice. No-one should ever feel comfortable sharing a password to a system, let alone one that provides access to a bank account. Such credentials, whilst clearly able to provide access to banking data, also unlock numerous other account functionalities that should only be available to the account owner. Any increase in the risk that banking credentials could be compromised will not build the confidence of consumers.

Alongside security considerations, there are also cost implications since maintaining more than one interface increases the resources required. Each interface will require strict and ongoing monitoring and reporting to the National Competent Authority. While larger tier one banks might be able to absorb this extra cost, for smaller banks this will further compound the already serious burden of compliance with the regulatory technical standard (RTS).

Beyond these very practical concerns, failing to comply with the March deadline will mean banks are left playing catch up on the developments set to be made as PSD2 comes into effect. Avoiding such pitfalls would mean banks can significantly boost their long-term prospects, giving themselves a strong foundation to stay on top of PSD2, meeting regulatory deadlines whilst crucially increasing their ability to compete in the new era of customer-centric financial services.

Despite the clear importance of the March deadline, many banks are still largely focused on developing their production APIs ahead of the September deadline, rather than their testing facilities. For those banks who haven’t yet found a solution, having development teams put a testing facility live in such a short space of time might seem like an impossible task. The good news is that there are ready-made developer sandboxes that banks can deploy in a short space of time to stay on top of the requirement for a testing facility. These sandboxes are essentially turnkey solutions that are fully compliant with the defined API standards, making the March 14th deadline much easier to digest. Banks should look to these ready-made sandboxes if they haven’t already found a solution.

Looking further ahead

As the trusted holders of customer banking information, PSD2 gives banks an unrivalled opportunity to add value for their customers. Through development of new interfaces, modernization of authentication methods and the redesign of customer journeys, banks can achieve the new holy grail for any business; delivering intuitive, secure digital services and experiences that are personalised to the customer offering far greater insights and advice.

With the focus on complying with deadlines, it’s also important for banks to keep an eye on the competition. The promise of PSD2 is to provide a level playing field to encourage competition and innovation. There are certainly plenty of new competitors: Account Info Service Providers (AISPs), and Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs), retailers and internet giants, all have the opportunity to introduce their own payment and financial management products and services that integrate directly with the established banks.

At the same time, the challenger banks built from the very beginning to be ‘digital natives’ have been leading the way with innovative customer-first experiences and third-party marketplaces that go beyond what is currently on offer from traditional players. This means banks will need to provide better digital services to stay competitive, giving people more freedom and choice in the way they interact with financial services.

The March deadline is the first litmus test for which banks are keeping up with PSD2, and which are falling behind. However, as we have seen, the far-reaching changes that PSD2 heralds means this upcoming deadline won’t just be a test of a bank’s ability to meet technical regulations - it will be a strong indication as to how well each bank will be prepared to stay competitive in our increasingly digital future.

Constant turmoil surrounding Brexit, Trump and populist movements across the world make for a very volatile trading landscape.

Here are Samuel Leach’s top trends and events that will cause currency fluctuations in 2019.

Brexit

No Deal 

Parliament is saying that there’s no chance of a no-deal Brexit; however, May's deal has little hope of being passed in parliament.

This is causing huge uncertainty in the market and we could see GBP fall against its pairs along with weakness in FTSE. Evidence to the current uncertainty has been strengthened by the government emergency testing at Dover. A pile-up of lorries would be expected at customs if no deal is the outcome. There are stocks that could benefit from a weak pound due to most of its income coming from exports.

Deal

Although this is increasingly unlikely, if a deal is passed, I would expect the pound to strengthen against its pairs due to more certainty in the market. All indices have been in a bear market in the final quarter of 2018, so predicting the FTSE to go against the trend of its peers is unlikely. If we see other indices turn bullish there is no doubt that FTSE will follow.

Second Referendum

May reiterates that under no circumstance is this an option, however, it must be contemplated. If this does occur, a pop in GBP will be expected in the short term, and only when a result is concluded would a long-term trend be evaluated. If the public voted to leave again, we could see GBP/USD back to its low of 1.1/1.2. On the other hand, if the UK were to stay in the EU, there is no reason GBP/USD won't return to its pre-referendum price of 1.4.

If China does start to go into a recession as many expect, this is likely to travel around the world and other economies will follow.

US/China Trade relations

The US Dollar has been strong throughout 2018, however during the last few months of the year, we saw it starting to weaken. Bad trade relations have started to put pressure on both economies, with tariffs of up to 40% on exports like Soybeans from some US exporters, which has led to farmers becoming reliant on a $12billion bailout.

Even Apple has blamed its recent slowdown in iPhone sales on a weak Chinese economy. If China does start to go into a recession as many expect, this is likely to travel around the world and other economies will follow. China’s central bank has even cut the amount of cash it requires banks to hold in reserve for the 5th time in a year which has freed up $116biliion in cash for lending.

How this effects the dollar against the Yuan depends on which economy has the upper hand if more tariffs are implemented once the trade deal deadline passes. Trump has already increased import tax of $200billion on Chinese imports and is threatening with another $300billion, which would be crippling for the Chinese economy. In this case, I would expect to see the Yuan fall.

The Chinese government has made a statement saying it won't let the Yuan sustainably fall below 7 against the dollar. Many analysts suggest that the government has plenty of ways of stopping the Yuan from depreciating, and as The People’s Bank of China has successfully intervened in the past, there is no reason for them not to do it again if things were to worsen.

We should all be watching US interest rate hikes very closely over the next year.

Emerging economies to watch

Many analysts believe Indonesia is expected to be a leader in the emerging market within 2019. The country has low inflation compared to other emerging markets with high stability. Most analysts don’t see this trend slowing down in the region. If the US becomes more dovish with its rate hikes, this is expected to be beneficial to emerging markets and give a boost to emerging economies.

The area experienced a slight slowdown towards the end of 2018, which prompted the Bank of Indonesia to raise interest rates by 125 basis points since May and intervene in both the currency and bond market in the attempt to curb any losses. However, this economy is in a good place to benefit from any bounce in global economies.

US Interest rates

We should all be watching US interest rate hikes very closely over the next year, as this has a strong correlation to all US indices and the dollar index. The Fed is looking to be more dovish on its interest rates, however, two hikes are expected in 2019.

2019 will be characterised by uncertainty, and several geopolitical events will impact the foreign exchange markets. As with every form of trading, keeping on top of political events will be key for FX traders; the above are particular areas to stay on top of.

Here, we will look at 3 challenges not for profit organisations are facing and how they can be overcome.

1. Property challenges

Charities are allowed to own property, but it is important to realise that any trustees listed on the registry understand they cannot benefit personally from the property. There are challenges relating to buying and disposing of a charitable property. For example, when purchasing a premise, trustees need to be aware of any restrictions which might impact the non-profits use of the property.

To avoid falling into difficulties while acquiring property, it is recommended non profit organisations consult a professional real estate firm with experience in the sector, such as Avison Young. They will be able to advise you throughout every step of the process, as well as help the organisation to find the perfect premises.

2. Lack of resources

Resources are another major challenge not for profit organisations face; particularly in today’s economic climate. However, many charities have discovered the benefits of connecting with similar organisations to pool their resources.

Finding key partnerships is key to running a successful not for profit business. Charities should ask themselves which types of partnerships they can make. Find similar organisations which share the same values and beliefs. The more not for profit organisations you can partner with, the more resources you will be able to pool.

Not for profit organisations can also reach out to local businesses. Today, businesses are focused on becoming greener and doing their part for the community. Therefore, they may be more open to partnering and contributing to local not for profit organisations.

3. Funding

Finally, funding is another key challenge faced in the not for profit sector. As governments continue to seek ways to cut costs, funding has been held back for numerous not for profit organisations. There has also been a substantial increase in the number of not for profit organisations set up. The increased competition for funding has also presented problems, particularly when it comes to attracting new donors.

The above are 3 of the most common challenges faced by not for profit organisations today. In order to ensure they are running a sustainable charity, these organisations need to be aware of the challenges, and come up with an action plan to overcome them. Pooling resources is a great way for charities to reduce costs and continue operating even during the toughest of climates.