CONTENTS PAYTECH FOCUS 21 Payments: the path to peace? Payments have been on the front line like never before. But could the West’s response to war in Ukraine strengthen its arsenal in repelling a wider assault on the integrity of the financial system?
34 The curtain call Adam Smyth from NatWest, Pay.UK’s Simon Brooks and Louise Shorthouse from Icon Solutions, on why Request To Pay is still waiting in the wings
49 Payments’ blockbuster moment? Could PSPs be about to follow the likes of Netflix, offering customers an experience they don’t even know they want yet? We ask Workato’s Jonny Gaffney and Neil Drennan from Currencycloud
61 Where to now? It’s commonly assumed that COVID-19 sparked a dramatic directional shift in payments. But it was already happening, say Ray Brash from PPS and 11:FS’ Simon Taylor, as they predict more twists and turns
INNOVATION AND TRANSFORMATION 6
State of the Unions Can America’s credit unions adapt their unique customer relationships to the digital age? They can and must, say Matthew Williamson and Ruby Walia of digital experience consultancy Mobiquity, and Cyrus Taheri, from Mambu
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2022 ISSUE#11
Who could have predicted our focus would shift, in this latest issue, from how the payments industry is using technology to adapt to the post-pandemic world… to how it’s using technology to fight a war? If you, like me, have been glued to the news over recent weeks, you'll have seen how payments and the systems that underpin them have become our principle weapon in defence of besieged Ukrainians facing down the Kremlin’s military aggression. Our commentary on the industry’s role in the unfolding conflict in Eastern Europe features digital identity expert Trulioo on why this is the moment for governments to be brave – to follow through on sanctions threats and make sure there’s nowhere for persons of interest and their money to hide. Ironically, the war sparked a compassionate flow of cryptocurrency donations into Ukraine – ironic because it’s often maligned as the currency of bad actors and here was the first major demonstration of how alternative finance can play its part on the side of the good.
Away from the conflict, in this issue we show how transformation is gripping the sector, with developments from super-apps to green solutions, changing the world for the better. And, yes, we’re still talking about ISO 20022 – and particularly how to manage the transition by SWIFT, the behind-the-scenes financial messaging system that, thanks to the current conflict, everyone now knows about. Payments really are helping to shape a new world order. Our last issue’s spine tingler, 'I'm something of a scientist myself', is a quote uttered by the character Norman Osborn (played by Willem Dafoe) in the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man. Tracy Fletcher, Editor
11 Every Cloud…
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While acquirers battle to maintain their share of a stormy market, Bill Farris of ACI Worldwide see blue skies ahead
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