Meeting the growing demand for cross-border payment solutions
An accelerated shift to instant payments across Europe
EUROPE 4-6 JUNE AMSTERDAM
Max Krupyshev, CEO and co-founder of CoinsPaid, explores crypto adoption trends, the rise of stablecoins and overcoming challenges
Money20/20 Europe gathers the brightest minds in the field, from emerging startups to industry giants, for three days of networking, brainstorming and discussion.
This year’s conference theme is ‘Human x Machine’, looking at how humans and our machine counterparts are creating a new world. This collaboration is more than just technological progress; it's a shift that's redefining our industry and the world around us.
Machines can process vast amounts of data quickly, uncovering patterns and insights that can drive innovation. At the same time, human creativity and empathy are essential in turning these insights into practical and meaningful solutions.
Consider AI-driven customer service that not only understands but anticipates needs, offering personalised solutions. Think about blockchain technology providing enhanced security and transparency, facilitated
by machine logic and overseen by human ethics.
However, embracing this partnership also means addressing important ethical considerations. How do we balance the efficiency of machines with the necessity for human empathy? How do we ensure that technology enhances our experiences rather than detracts from them? These are the questions that will be at the forefront of discussions at Money20/20 Europe.
In this Money20/20 Europe special edition of The Fintech Times, we share insight from some of the companies attending the event, including Ripple, CoinsPaid and Dandelion Payments, and delve into some of the topics from the event’s agenda.
The Fintech Times is at Money 20/20 Europe 2024 – we hope you can join us for a conversation!
CoinsPaid is a licensed crypto payment provider on a mission to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional finance.
The Fintech Times chats to Max Krupyshev, CEO and co-founder of CoinsPaid, to hear more about crypto adoption trends, the rise of stablecoins and overcoming industry challenges.
Can you tell us about the state of crypto adoption? Our payment processing ecosystem offers insights into primarily B2B adoption and payment, so we’d likely have to look a bit further afield to answer this question. The 2023 findings from the Global Crypto Adoption Index by Chainalysis help to give us a broader picture. There are a number of findings that stand out this year.
For one, crypto adoption is on the up in lower middle income (LMI) countries, particularly across Central & Southern Asia and Oceania. This can be explained by the significant economic growth these countries have gone through in the past decades, combined with a lack of public trust and inaccessibility of the traditional banking systems. This disparity creates a fertile ground for crypto adoption, which is used for sending remittances or as a means of payment.
LMI countries represent 40 per cent of the world’s total population. The surging populations and economies of LMI countries coupled with an interest in digital assets suggests that cryptocurrencies
could become an even bigger force within global finance.
The substantial use of DeFi in countries with higher DeFi rankings also points toward a more mature market where crypto is not just held as an investment but is actively being used for transactions and payments. It’s also crucial to mention that the number of crypto users is currently estimated at 580 million users, expected to reach one billion by 2030. Global user penetration in the crypto market is set to hit 10.76 per cent in 2024 and
12.39 per cent by 2028, showcasing the industry's growth and development.
Is Bitcoin still the predominant currency for payments?
Yes, but a better question is – for how long will this remain so? Over the course of 2023, Bitcoin’s share in our total transactions experienced a dip, reducing from 72 per cent at the start of the year to 42 per cent by its close. Meanwhile, we witnessed a notable increase in stablecoin transactions, escalating from 11 per cent in
January to 18 per cent by December. That being said, traditional cryptocurrencies are not entirely going out of fashion. Our data shows that the number of Ethereum transactions rose from four per cent to six per cent throughout the year, while Litecoin usage jumped from six per cent to 20 per cent. It appears users are diversifying their crypto portfolios, increasingly looking for digital assets beyond Bitcoin. This shift in user preference is even more pronounced when we look at transaction volume. Our data shows that in January 2023, stablecoins already made up a staggering 66 per cent of the overall transaction volume. This dominance continued to grow throughout the year, reaching 78 per cent by December. Conversely, the share of other cryptocurrencies (including Bitcoin) in total transaction volume shrunk from 34 per cent to just 22 per cent.
Given that stablecoin value is often pegged to more ‘stable’ assets like fiat currencies, they emerge as a practical solution to the volatility that has traditionally characterised digital currencies like Bitcoin. This makes them particularly suited for a wide range of financial activities, including daily transactions, remittances and serving as a reliable store of value. In essence, stablecoins are proving to be an effective conduit between traditional financial systems and the dynamic realm of crypto finance. The significance of stablecoins extends into DeFi, where they play a critical role in facilitating
lending, borrowing and the accrual of interest within a decentralised and trustless framework. Their appeal is further magnified by the advent of clearer regulatory frameworks in specific jurisdictions, which enhance their attractiveness.
Another factor contributing to this shift might be the limitations of the Bitcoin blockchain. While Bitcoin was once the most popular option, blockchains like Tron, Binance and Solana have emerged with faster transaction speeds and competitive pricing.
What are the current challenges facing cryptocurrency as a payment?
Merchants who are looking to integrate crypto appear primarily concerned with the volatility of digital assets and proper compliance.
Pronounced price fluctuations of many cryptocurrencies can deter both merchants and consumers from adopting them for daily transactions. However, it’s important to clarify a common misconception regarding the volatility of cryptocurrencies as a payment method. Merchants are not required to retain cryptocurrency upon receiving a payment. Crypto gateways, like CoinsPaid, automatically convert crypto assets into fiat currency. When making a payment, we're able to ‘freeze’ the transaction price to avoid fluctuations. These mechanisms safeguard both merchants and customers from risks associated with price swings. Beyond volatility, the issue of legality and proper bookkeeping presents another hurdle for merchant adoption. The lack of clear regulations, the presence of restrictive policies, or even cautious recommendations from authorities in many regions create a challenging environment for both businesses and consumers. While some regulatory bodies completely prohibit crypto transactions, others discourage them without outright bans. In the absence of clear guidelines, crypto payment providers like
ourselves take the burden of navigating the complex details of crypto legislation.
Thus, it is crucial to choose a legal crypto payments provider that fully complies with the regulations. For example, we offer daily or weekly fiat settlements, allowing merchants to automate the withdrawal process for accurate and smooth bookkeeping and categorisation of financial activities.
Scalability can also be challenging. As the adoption of cryptocurrencies grows, the underlying networks must be able to handle a high volume of transactions swiftly and cost-effectively. Solutions like layer-two scaling e.g Lightning Network for Bitcoin and rollups for Ethereum are being developed to address bottlenecks, promising faster and cheaper transactions.
Cybercriminals have become quite adept at identifying and exploiting weaknesses, leading to some really high-profile security breaches at major crypto platforms
How significant is the rise in security breaches targeting crypto platforms?
Cybercriminals have become quite adept at identifying and exploiting weaknesses, leading to high-profile security breaches at major crypto platforms. Strategies employed by these hackers are alarmingly sophisticated, ranging from cross-site scripting to exploiting smart contract vulnerabilities. The challenge is particularly acute for smaller startups. Limited resources can make it difficult for them to recover from security breaches, sometimes leading to closures that destabilise the entire market. I recommend using established crypto exchange providers as mature companies are typically better equipped to withstand
security incidents and minimise potential consequences.
User vigilance plays a critical role in safeguarding assets. We always advise users to take proactive measures, including using hardware wallets for better protection, setting strong passwords, using two-factor authentication and staying vigilant against phishing scams. Diversifying storage of funds between hot and cold wallets, frequent security checks and utilising multi-signature setups can also enhance asset security.
How will the EU’s MiCA regulation reshape global cryptocurrency markets?
MiCA marks a significant step towards the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets, providing businesses with clear guidelines on working with cryptocurrencies, addressing consumer protection, market integrity and financial stability.
Earlier, we touched on the increasing prominence of stablecoins. The MiCA framework stands here as a good example of regulatory evolution facilitating the adoption of cryptocurrencies, notably through its classification of stablecoins into ‘assetreferenced tokens’ and ‘e-money tokens’. This regulatory clarity is pivotal in simplifying the landscape for crypto adoption, making it more accessible and understandable for all.
By setting clear operational, governance, and transparency standards for crypto assets, including stablecoins, MiCA is poised to enhance the legitimacy and trust in digital finance. This could encourage broader institutional and retail adoption of cryptocurrencies.
MiCA’s influence extends beyond the EU. Its emphasis on consumer protection and market integrity could prompt non-EU countries to adopt similar regulatory measures, leading to a more standardised global approach to crypto regulation. This harmonisation of regulations may facilitate
smoother cross-border transactions and cooperation between crypto businesses, potentially creating a more interconnected and resilient global digital asset market.
What's next for CoinsPaid?
Our plans are deeply rooted in fortifying the trust our customers place in us. Recent challenges have galvanised us to elevate our security infrastructure, essentially creating a digital stronghold for our operations.
But security isn’t our only focus. We’re equally committed to efficiency and reliability. That is why we're actively recruiting top talents and investing in upskilling our existing team, delivering advanced functionality on the market that satisfies every payment need of our merchants. This includes features like mass payouts and integration with faster, more cost-effective blockchains.
Internally, we have optimised and improved company workflows through a comprehensive review of our operating policies. At the same time, we’re expanding our horizons. We’re gearing up to enter the US market and opening new clusters in Poland and Lithuania.
Finally, to ensure our new values and operating principles resonate clearly with our clients and partners, we’ve embarked on a rebranding initiative.
CoinsPaid is a leading payment ecosystem of innovative crypto solutions for businesses. Being an EU-licensed cryptocurrency services provider, CoinsPaid aims to satisfy merchants’ every payment need, and designs products that will help people get ready for the new era of digital assets.
Web: coinspaid.com
Instant payments continue the forward march as the transaction method of choice for consumers and businesses across the European Union and the UK. Entities like the European Commission (EC) are behind the progress, working to build more resilient financial infrastructure and make instant payments universally available. But ambitious projects still come with formidable challenges.
In June 2023, the EC published proposals for the Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR) in an attempt to keep pace with the rapid developments in the electronic payments market.
Minimally, the financial data access and payments package seeks to sustain an efficient market for retail financial services that ensures:
Cassie Craddock is Ripple’s managing director, UK and Europe. She is a marketplace payment expert, with over five years of experience in financial services. She specialises in building relationships with key multinational payments companies, sharing economy platforms and marketplaces, regulation technology, and innovation.
Prior to joining Ripple, Cassie worked for French startup Mangopay, where she successfully launched its UK operations.
■ The same rules across the EU
■ Clear information on payments
■ Fast and instant payments
■ Consumer protection
■ A wide choice of payment services
Today, one in three EU payment service providers does not offer instant euro payments, and up to 70 million payment accounts in the euro area do not allow holders to send and receive instant payments.
In many cases, instant payments cost much more than traditional money transfers – often as much as €30 per payment. PSD3 and PSR measures emphasise creating a better environment for digital transformation including reducing fraud, improving open banking functions, and harmonising administrative rules for over 270 e-money institutions and 800 payment institutions.
The efforts establish clear rights and obligations to manage customer data sharing in the financial sector, even beyond payment accounts.
In practice, this should lead to more innovative financial products and services for users and stimulate competition in the financial sector.
The EU also aims to support a single payment area which lets citizens and businesses make cross-border payments as easily and safely as they would in their home country, and subjects cross-border payments to the same charges as domestic payments.
PROPOSALS SIGNAL
UK PROGRESS
In the UK, the Faster Payments System enables payments to move quickly and securely to and between UK bank accounts, 24 hours a day. In 2022, Faster
Payments saw massive processing growth.
In Q2 of 2023, the system saw 1.2 billion payments processed, a 14 per cent increase over the amount processed at the same time the year prior. The total amount of payments processed during this quarter was £914billion, a 15 per cent increase on total payments processed in Q2 of 2022. These impressive volumes prove that change is imminent for financial institutions with implications across products and services strategy, cash flow, compliance, and customer retention. Through a variety of public-private development initiatives, all payment service providers, including banks and other financial institutions, will have easier access to real-time capabilities.
richer data to accompany transactions, supporting faster allocation and reconciliation of incoming payments.
The expectation is that NPA helps support infrastructure which reduces the cost to serve, reduces the fraud endemic, and lays out the framework for an eventual replacement to the Faster Payments Scheme.
Frustration with traditional correspondent banking models – especially when juxtaposed against the world of always-on, domestic P2P payment services – has catalysed other payments systems and providers to improve their efforts.
According to a PwC survey, 42 per cent of respondents
While Europe is already making headway with new payment rails to bolster the region’s economies, its technological lead and digital-first approach stands to put it at an even greater competitive advantage
Although the UK has long been considered a pioneer in real-time payments, urgency still exists to stay ahead of other G7 economies with respect to payments architecture. Notably, the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is advancing its New Payments Architecture (NPA) programme, an initiative designed to better accommodate interbank payments, including the clearing and settlement of payments from one account to another. The initiative also aims to consolidate current systems used for processing payments like Faster Payments, cheque, and credit clearing.
The NPA will drive adoption of the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard and deliver new real-time payment products. Moving to the messaging standard allows
A few key trends have buttressed the accelerated adoption of instant payment methods across Europe. First, both the B2B and B2C payments landscape is rapidly modernising. There is increased expectation from both consumers and businesses that international payment rails function as seamlessly as domestic rails.
The European Central Bank is well underway exploring a digital euro – or some equivalent digital means of payment – that is universally accepted throughout the euro area. According to the ECB, a digital euro would offer a pan-European payment solution under European governance that would help make the European payments landscape more resilient, competitive, and innovative.
global peers, and in 2023, the Riksbank revealed it would be testing the technical solution for the e-krona, performing studies aimed to capture end user feedback, and preparing for the possible procurement of an issuable e-krona. So, while Europe is already making headway with new payment rails to bolster the region’s economies, its technological lead and digital-first approach stands to put it at an even greater competitive advantage.
Download the Trends in Regional Payments eBook for more insight into payments progress shaping the industry. https://ripple. com/lp/trends-in-regionalpayments-ebook
felt strongly that there would be an acceleration of cross-border, cross-currency, instant B2B payments in the next five years.
However, ambitious pan-European payments collaborations often face challenges, punctuated by the European Payment initiative and the more recent P27 initiative. Even across wellintentioned campaigns, conflicting interests and misalignment among coalitions, plus a lack of critical mass participants, are problematic.
In the case of P27 – a Nordic-led, highly-anticipated cross-border payments initiative – none of the scalable mobile payment schemes (e.g MobilePay and Vipps) were supported and project complexities eventually doomed the operating model.
The European Central Bank is on track to begin its digital euro pilot ahead of a possible launch in 2028. Financial institutions will need to move quickly to onboard and implement institutional-grade digital asset software infrastructure in order to keep up with demand and offer digital euro services to their customers. Otherwise, they risk the ECB likely overtaking the market and enabling direct to consumer digital euro apps.
Also encouraging the shift to digital is bullishness around more efficient distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain. Moreover, sovereigns everywhere are expressing a desire to break dependency from international card schemes for on- and offline payments.
Over 90 per cent of central banks globally are researching or piloting CBDCs, including Swedish central bank Riksbank which started investigating digital currencies in 2017. The country is well ahead of
Ripple is the leader in enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, transforming how the world moves, manages, tokenises and stores value. Ripple’s business solutions are faster, more transparent, and more cost effectivesolving inefficiencies that have long defined the status quo. And together with partners and the larger developer community, it identifies use cases where crypto technology will inspire new business models and create opportunity for more people. With every solution, it is realising a more sustainable global economy and planet – increasing access to inclusive and scalable financial systems while leveraging blockchain technology and a green digital asset, XRP. This is how it delivers on its mission to build crypto solutions for a world without economic borders. Web: ripple.com
Legacy systems, fragmented regulatory environments and other roadblocks have slowed cross-border payment progress down for several years, resulting in high associated costs, slow transfer speeds and a lack of transparency.
Dandelion Payments, the largest real-time, cross-border payments network in the world, has been busy building infrastructure enabling financial institutions to offer instant, frictionless cross-border payments without the need to invest significant resources and time.
And, according to Dandelion's Cecilia Tamez, there is a lucrative opportunity for banks and fintech companies to step in and capitalise on the growing demand for efficient crossborder payment solutions.
The Fintech Times: How large is the opportunity presented by cross-border payments?
Cecilia Tamez: If we think about them in general, cross-border payments have flows that exceed $150trillion, and it’s expected that these flows will double in the next five years or so. Historically, banks, at least in developed countries, have focused on transfers in established markets,
and have avoided emerging markets and low-to-middleincome (LMI) countries. However, in the last 10 years, 66 per cent of GDP growth has been happening in emerging markets.
Almost eight out of 10 consumer cross-border payments are sent to LMI countries. Recently, banks have woken up to the fact that as a result, they’ve only been addressing 20 per cent of the consumer cross-border payments market – which presents a massive opportunity for revenue growth.
Historically, banks have referred to these as ‘nuisance’ payments because they are generally lower value (and high frequency) transactions that
flow into a lot of low-to-middleincome countries, making them harder to process, requiring multiple intermediaries and days to complete a transaction. So, they’ve largely decided to ignore this space – which has opened up this opportunity for fintechs to get in and take advantage of this massive opportunity.
TFT: So what’s stopping financial institutions from unlocking this huge opportunity?
CT: The reality is that crossborder payments on legacy payment rails have been operationally deficient. The payments have been slow, unpredictable, clunky, and require institutions to build a
correspondent network. Building an infrastructure that can meet modern customers’ expectations at scale is challenging and could involve thousands of relationships with correspondent banks, systems, or wallets. It’s also costly, resource-intensive and time-consuming. It can take years, if not decades, to build that kind of network – which is a huge barrier to entry for new entrants and even incumbents seeking growth.
If you look at where this opportunity is the largest, like emerging markets, you see that’s also where the highest concentration of the underbanked population is. These countries are addressing this issue with mobile wallets and alternative payments. However, traditional crossborder payment brands are generally bank-to-bank, which means banks are excluding themselves from these huge opportunities if they don’t embrace interoperability.
TFT: Where is this need for alternative payments felt most acutely?
CT: The evolution of alternative payments has very different levels of maturity around the world. A lot of people assume that it's low-to-middle-income countries that lag behind.
But we’ve seen a transformation in the payments environment in Kenya, India, Singapore, and other emerging markets. They’ve been building mobile wallet networks to enable their underbanked populations to access the digital economy which is the lifeline of their economies and their people.
Domestically, a lot of LMI countries have leapfrogged legacy banking systems. Only around 30 per cent of Kenya’s population were able to access banking services in 2007, but now over 96 per cent of the population has access to a mobile wallet. Emerging
markets often don’t have much existing infrastructure – which makes it really easy to transform because they don’t have massive legacy systems to change.
We’re now seeing countries in regions like Asia, Latin America and Africa, creating interconnected networks that embrace alternative payments and cross-border payments. As a result, it's now, banks in established markets who are the ones being left behind. The customers of these banks are suffering the most due to the lack of connectivity to alternative payments, so I think established markets are the ones with the most acute need to connect to these alternative payment rails.
TFT: Which technological innovations have made the largest impact on cross-border payments?
CT: The impact of mobile wallets is undeniable. Around 5.2 billion people are expected to be using mobile wallets by 2026 – a huge proportion of the
payments. Customers expect their payments to be as fast as a text message. The reality is there’s no reason why we can’t achieve this. We have every capability and technology in the world to be able to do it.
TFT: How is Dandelion helping financial institutions address barriers to entry?
CT: A bank’s main challenge is the fact they change slowly and can't transform quickly. Meanwhile, many fintechs, struggle to scale globally at speed in a highly competitive and increasingly profit-driven marketplace. We’ve spent over 35 years developing a platform that seamlessly supports transformation for both of these types of financial institutions.
Mobile wallets are changing the world, by driving accessibility in emerging markets
global population. Around one in five people in the world remain underbanked – 1.4 billion out of 7.9 billion people (over 17 per cent). Mobile wallets are changing the world, by driving accessibility in emerging markets.
Instant, real-time payments are also hugely important. There are around 80 countries that offer real-time payment schemes around the world, which don’t interact or connect because there’s such a focus on domestic real-time payments.
The challenge is how we connect these real-time payments schemes around the world, to ensure that we also have real-time cross-border
Initiatively we built that connectivity for ourselves, and now, much like Amazon did with AWS, we’ve made it available to the wider industry. We built a technology layer, which institutions can access with a single, flexible API integration. Critically, that integration is built for and proven to work with both modern and legacy infrastructures. Now, instead of building integrations into every single correspondent bank, or wallet, our API integration connects banks and fintech to absolutely everything. That’s over 195 countries, RTP capabilities even where RTP schemas don’t already exist, over two billion mobile wallet accounts, over 4.1 billion bank accounts, and more than 550,000 cash pickup locations.
With Dandelion, you get access to everything, and it doesn't matter if you have one payment or a million payments to any one region. You can use as much, or as little, of it as you want – so it's instant scale.
TFT: How does Dandelion approach varying regulatory challenges across the globe?
CT: The global regulatory environment is really complex. We have a localised global
compliance team that has subject matter expertise in all of the regions where we send money from and to, so we understand how those interplay. We have over 30 years of experience with global compliance at a localised level, which enables us to offer guidance to our partners. Lastly, we've been working with AI for real-time risk management for several years now. People are talking about AI as this new technology, but it isn’t new. We've been leveraging AI for real-time risk management for some time now. This is something that a lot of institutions are really struggling to embrace because it's complex and requires a different way to operate. And that's one area we've really been making inroads in modernising our systems.
n If you’d like to find out more about how to benefit from growth opportunities in cross-border payments, you can speak to the Dandelion team at Money20/20 on Stand 1G30. Use this QR code to download its most recent white paper ‘Gaining the competitive advantage in cross-border payments.’
Dandelion, a Euronet Service, is the largest real-time, cross-border payments network in the world, including built-in settlement, compliance and support. It enables payments to over 195 countries. With one simple API integration, banks and fintechs can connect to over four billion bank accounts, two billion mobile wallet accounts, as well as 550,000-plus cash pick-up locations. www.dandelion payments.com
Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, tokens and digital securities, have introduced new avenues for investment, financial inclusion and technological advancement. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have become well-known, while blockchain technology ensures transparency and security.
As the digital asset ecosystem expands, regulatory scrutiny has increased, aiming to create a secure and structured environment for both investors and market participants. Let's explore the impact of these regulatory changes on the digital assets ecosystem.
Crypto asset ETPs have changed the game
According to Natalia Łątka, director of public policy and regulatory affairs at Merkle Science, the crypto risk management and threat
detection platform, the acceptance of exchangetraded products has increased digital assets’ legitimacy.
“A significant part of crypto assets’ transformation in the public eye is due to the regulatory approvals of crypto asset exchange-traded products. These approvals are catalysts for institutional and retail adoption. When regulatory bodies approve crypto ETPs, they offer a level of security and legitimacy that was previously unavailable in the crypto asset markets. For instance, the SEC‘s endorsement of Bitcoin ETFs has been viewed as a turning point for the broader adoption of crypto assets.
“It not only fosters the integration of crypto assetrelated products into a regulated environment but also narrows the divide between the crypto sector and the traditional financial industry. The approval of crypto ETPs allows large-scale investors to engage with crypto assets within a framework that aligns with
their operational and regulatory requirements.
“Institutional-grade ETPs provide a safer, more transparent, and more efficient means of investing, which, in turn, encourages institutions to allocate part of their portfolios to these assets.
“On the retail side, the approval of crypto ETPs democratises access to crypto assets. Retail investors can now participate in the crypto asset market through familiar investment avenues, and this reduces the technological and financial barriers that typically prevent individual investors from buying, holding, and trading crypto assets directly.”
Better communication leads to greater acceptance
Analysing how regulations are creating better communication channels by bettering transparency, Oz Olivo, VP of product management for Inrupt, the data infrastructure software provider, says: “2023 saw the need for regulatory compliance and practical deployment scenarios change the narrative in a big way. Blockchain has faded as the focus of the discussion
as organisations realised that completely overhauling their infrastructure was not practical.
“With the passage of yet more data privacy legislation (The Australian Data Availability and Transparency Act for example), the conversation is shifting to data transparency, data sharing, and consent and how these capabilities can be achieved in a way that complements existing infrastructure and technology. Overall, I expect more constructive advances in the space this year the core requirements are the area of focus, as opposed to excitement and buzz over specific technologies.”
Bitcoin was a good start. On to the next one
The approval of Bitcoin ETFs has had a massive impact on the fintech industry. However, there are other cryptocurrencies that need to be looked at says Kadan Stadelmann, CTO at Komodo, the open-source tech workshop.
“The idea that the SEC has suddenly started debating if
Ethereum (ETH) is or isn’t a security presents a major obstacle for the digital assets space. Major players are not only pushing for the approval of Ether ETFs but also already using the Ethereum blockchain for various financial products and applications. The lack of regulatory clarity – and the potential impact of a similar ruling on other cryptocurrencies besides ETH – is preventing crypto innovation and adoption.”
Marcus Hughes, crypto exchange Kraken’s global head of regulatory strategy, notes how education to help regulators is paramount to ensuring a blossoming ecosystem.
“Crypto is experiencing a resurgence of interest.
Regulators and legislators across the globe have dedicated time and resources over the past few years to understand this emerging asset class and begin to build regulatory frameworks.
“In most jurisdictions, the industry has had an early indication as to whether their
government and regulators’ approach to digital assets will help to support the responsible growth of the crypto ecosystem or could hinder overall progress.
“From a Kraken standpoint, we are focused on educating regulators and legislators in their efforts to build out their regulatory frameworks along with others on a global stage. Aligning these regimes effectively ensures that crypto investors and institutional adopters have clear and consistent rules of engagement, regardless of where in the world they are based.
“The past year has seen significant regulatory developments in the digital assets space. Appetite for regulation in the UK is growing as the risks in the digital assets space are better understood. There is certainly more to come.”
“Last October’s extension of the UK financial promotions
regime to cover qualifying cryptoassets is a case in point, and now firms wishing to market investments in certain types of cryptoassets must do so in accordance with the rules on financial promotions, or risk committing a criminal offence,” says Charles Maurice, commercial and technology partner at law firm Stevens & Bolton.
The Financial Services and Markets Act also sets the landscape for further legislation in this space and with the UK Government promising to expand the regulation of cryptoassets, we should be prepared for new regulations on fiat-backed stablecoins and then on other digital assets and related services. The UK’s approach appears intended to offer greater flexibility than other jurisdictions, though of
course that can create its own challenges.”
According to Jeremy Baber, CEO of payment card provider Lanister, in Brazil, there have been some significant regulatory changes in recent months.
“For one, investments or payments in cryptocurrencies must now abide by the Brazilian Penal Code. This means that any fraud or financial crime attached to crypto will be treated as a crime within the existing legal framework. This change can only be positive as consumers need to be confident they can use crypto without fear.”
Eurosystem explores distributed ledger technology to improve efficiency, security and transparency in financial transactions
The Eurosystem, the monetary authority of the eurozone, has been exploring how distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be used for wholesale settlements in central bank money. The first experiment using DLT has now been completed, providing a glimpse into the technology's potential benefits.
Over the next six months, onboarded companies will conduct trials on three proposed Eurosystem interoperability solutions for central bank money settlement of wholesale financial transactions on DLT platforms. These tests will continue to evaluate the viability and advantages of using DLT for these settlements.
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks of the euro area are among the pioneers in exploring the viable use of DLT. Initially, 16 private companies will conduct trials involving actual settlements in central bank money and mock settlements in test environments. This exploratory work will offer the Eurosystem insights into how
TARGET Services and DLT platforms could interact in wholesale financial markets.
The first experiment, conducted by Oesterreichische Nationalbank, involved the tokenisation and simulated delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlement of government bonds in a secondary market transaction against central bank money.
Preparations for further trials and experiments are ongoing and will cover a variety of use cases. This includes DvP transactions in primary and secondary markets, securities lifecycle management, automated wholesale payments and payment-versuspayment transactions.
Edvards Margevics, co-partner at fintech company CONCRYT, said: “As the Eurosystem embarks on these trials, we will hopefully witness a pivotal moment in the evolution of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
“Eurosystem is involving private companies and central banks in live trials. As a result, it is demonstrating a commitment to exploring innovative solutions for enhanced
efficiency and security in financial markets. These trials offer valuable insights into the potential benefits of DLT integration in wholesale financial transactions. They are also paving the way for future advancements in blockchain infrastructure.
“However, Eurosystem’s exploratory work does not necessarily constitute a commitment to provide any steady-state solution(s) in the future. Nor does it need to make any changes to its current infrastructure. The responsibility for making DLT a success is on industry players. Additionally, if the market wants to go in this direction, it is on the ECB to find out what the cost-benefit of any solution will be. Therefore, the entire crypto industry will be interested in the outcome of these trials.”
Neil Vernon, chief product and innovation officer at global fintech Gresham Technologies, says the Eurosystem’s successful trial indicates that the fintech sector is setting up for significant change in the next five to 10 years.
“Systems will improve, speed up and carry more ability than ever before. With T+1 settlement times entering the fray, and huge advancements in AI and automation shaping how we view technology, the fintech we know today could be unrecognisable sooner than we expect.”
For Robert Brown, head of strategic development at MAS Markets, the flexible multi-asset liquidity firm, the Eurosystem’s successful experiment with new technologies for settling wholesale transactions in central bank money marks a significant step toward modernising financial infrastructures.
“DLT offers potential benefits such as increased efficiency, reduced reliance on intermediaries, and enhanced compliance through transparent, immutable transaction records. These advancements could aid in monitoring cross-border payments and reducing fraud. However, DLT adoption may require central banks to adjust their infrastructures, enabling DLT platforms to interface with existing systems or offering central bank money in a DLT-compatible form.”
Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam’s RAI saw more than 8,500 attendees walk the Money20/20 show floor last year – this included over 2,300 companies and 390-plus sponsors.
This year’s event is set to welcome more than 350 speakers, with leaders from global banks such as Deutsche Bank and ING; fintech players including Adyen and Revolut, senior representatives from the European Central Bank and the European Commission,
and blockchain solution providers such as Ripple.
Under the theme of ‘Human X Machine’, Money20/20 Europe 2024 will explore the dynamic relationship between humans and intelligent machines, focusing on how the partnership between artificial and human intelligence will forge a new era in finance.
According to event organisers, this metamorphosis will redefine experiences and increase efficiency in unimaginable
ways, affecting every aspect of our ecosystem.
Money20/20 will highlight the stories of exceptional individuals, or ‘superhumans’, who bravely navigate this uncharted territory.
In line with this, Money20/20 Europe also welcomes the CEOs of AI firms including Mistral AI, Datasnipper and Deeploy, alongside executives from the world of cryptocurrency including Kraken and Fireblocks. Nvidia and AWS are back again co-hosting a
summit with Money20/20 deep diving into AI.
Scarlett Sieber, Money20/20's chief strategy and growth officer, emphasised, explains: "As I will discuss with Former French President François Hollande in our fireside chat, Human X Machine encapsulates the essence of our rapidly evolving financial landscape and underscores the critical intersection of human ingenuity and artificial intelligence in shaping our financial future.
“The power of the Money20/20 platform is that the collective ecosystem of money at the most senior level comes together to have active discussions on the most important topics, breaking news, and work together to pave the way for a more resilient and inclusive financial ecosystem.”
Sessions at Money20/20 Europe will revolve around FIVE key topic areas within the show’s Human X Machine theme.
■ A Customer Universe of One: Finance is becoming a Universe of One; a place where hyperpersonalisation occurs at a microscopic level across every touchpoint.
■ The Age of Atomic Finance: The Universe of One is made possible by monumental technological advancements, from artificial intelligence and cryptography to quantum computing. These leaps in technology have delivered atomic-level precision, unlocking the potential for a Universe of One.
■ Meet the Architects: From the leaders of trailblazing startups to changemakers in agile incumbents, the event showcases the architects of the new dawn; the visionaries who create new landscapes for our financial futures.
■ Signal Vs Noise: The pace of financial innovation continues accelerating, fuelled by emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and Web3. Yet visionary breakthroughs live alongside hype-driven tangents.
■ The Business of Money: Hear from founders, key decision-makers, consultants, investors, and disruptors as they delve into the actions that led to success.
There are several stages to look out for with sessions ranging from news and insights to debates and podcasts, including:
The Exchange Stage
Described as a futuristic shipping container meets sports commentary box meets DJ booth, The Exchange is set to feature some of fintech's most influential superstars, including Microsoft and NVIDIA addressing the latest trends in AI, and whistleblower Pav Gill discussing his mission to “put the G back in ESG”.
The Na.i.ture Stage
A stage full of ‘enchanting fusion of organic allure and synthetic innovation’ is set to host ‘transformative discussions and relaxing, yet engaging panels’. Hear from David Tirado Blanco, Revolut's VP for profitability and global business, as he lays out the roadmap for both Revolut and the future of neobanks.
The Singularity Stage
This ‘hidden gem’ will offer deep-dive sessions into pivotal industry queries and discussions, such as the launch of the second edition of Decoding AI in Financial, with technology strategist Clara Durodié sharing insights.
The Summits Stage
Crowned by a towering industrial robot, the Summits Stage will drive immersive, thoughtprovoking discussions deep into the heart of Money20/20's key themes. After each Summit, join dedicated networking sessions with food and beverages.
The Horizon Stage
A place for sessions that get straight to the point, with digestible content sessions hosted by some of the industry's notable leaders.
Former Mastercard CEO and the founder of Global Paytech Ventures, Javier Perez, is set to offer an honest assessment of the latest trends in payments, and explain which underlying technologies and themes he's more likely to invest in.
OUR BOOKMARKED SESSIONS….
Dirk Kuyt: Liverpool FC Legend talks Leadership and Elite Performance
Former Liverpool FC and Feyenoord legend Dirk Kuyt joins Standard Chartered at Money20/20 Amsterdam to discuss leadership, elite performance and grass roots action, sharing anecdotes and learnings from his storied career as a football player and manager.
When: Tuesday 4 June, 15:10–15:35
Where: The Na.i.ture Stage
Web3 in Financial Services: Book Launch and Deep Dive
Rita Martins will launch her book, "Web3 in Financial Services," at Money20/20. The book explores the impact
of Web3 technologies on the financial sector, highlighting key use cases, business opportunities, and challenges. Drawing on her extensive experience, Martins demystifies complex concepts and provides actionable insights for navigating the evolving landscape of finance. The book includes exclusive interviews with industry leaders from JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, Coinbase, Ripple, and Circle. Attendees (only 50 places available) can receive a signed copy and engage in a deep dive session with Martins on the transformative potential of Web3.
When: Wednesday 5 June, 10:00–10:40
Where: The Singularity Stage
Former French President François Hollande: In Conversation François Hollande was the President of the French Republic from May 2012 to May 2017 and is credited with introducing policies that have cemented France’s status as a leading global fintech hub. From the creation of Station F, to championing the French Tech initiative, successive governments have kept the initial ideas of tax breaks for early-stage investment and additional R&D funding. Cementing the country as a leader in emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain. He chats to Money20/20’s Scarlett Sieber in a fireside chat.
When: Wednesday 5 June, 13:20–13:55
Where: The Exchange Stage
Collaborating to Hack Market Share: Will it Disrupt the Ecosystem? Are strategic partnerships the key to disrupting the payments landscape? In this session, Adyen will discuss its partnership with BT Etc. to launch 'BT Pay', an app that targets 1.7 million existing SMB customers and enables them to accept card payments on a mobile phone in seconds. This session will be moderated by The Fintech Times’ Claire Woffenden, and will feature John Gutch, chief product officer, BT Etc and Alexa von Bismarck, president – EMEA at Adyen.
When: Wednesday 5 June, 16:10–16:30
Where: The Na.i.ture Stage
Crypto Survival Guide: Building Infrastructure Fundamentals
Crypto and blockchain technologies have long promised to improve global financial systems. Without essential digital asset infrastructure components such as on and off ramps, liquidity, custody, and compliance services – emulating traditional markets, this promise will never be realised. Fresh from Ripple’s win against the SEC, in this fireside chat Ripple’s president Monica Long will highlight the factors financial institutions need to consider regarding the value digital assets can bring to their business, the infrastructure needed for implementation and the compliance required for achieving long-term success.
When: Thursday 6 June, 12:05–12:40
Where: The Exchange Stage
Embedding finance into everyday products enhances transactions and unlocks new business opportunities
While digital payments continue to make significant strides, friction still exists at various points in all industries. By embedding payment processing, lending, and insurance into non-financial offerings and products, it is possible to not only streamline payments, but also create new revenue streams for businesses, improve financial inclusion, and foster collaboration between various industries. As embedded finance
becomes more prevalent, it could transform how businesses and consumers interact with the world of financial services alike.
But how likely is this in reality? What needs to happen within the embedded finance space to ensure we can enjoy these benefits? If these innovations can happen, what kind of impact could we see worldwide?
Embedded finance is set to have a hugely significant impact on the world of finance, says Andrew Martin, CEO of SMEB, a fintech company supporting small businesses in the UK.
“Embedded finance will lead to some amazing innovations such as individualised pricing based on your history, credit rating, and loyalty. It will bring financial freedom to spending while making all activity real-time.
“The financial ecosystem will change dramatically as decision-making will become real-time with no need for deferred decisions. Even our customer support will morph into augmented advisors, enabling the easy and automated utility switching to more suited providers.”
Embedded finance is one term that has generated a significant amount of interest and excitement across the fintech industry for a number of years.
Vanessa Colella, global head of innovation and digital partnerships at Visa, believes this hype is justified and explains how embedding payments could positively impact the global economy.
“There’s a $1.7trillion gap between the goods flowing around the world and liquidity
in the supply chain. That means that some suppliers are having to wait to get paid. If you’re a big, important supplier, you’re able to say, I get paid on Tuesdays.
“If you’re a smaller long tail supplier, you’re going to have to wait through that whole process until you can get paid, because you don’t have the clout to set the terms. This results in a significant part of the world’s economy actually being financed by the smallest and the long tail of global supply chains, which is totally counterintuitive.
“Those are not the businesses that can afford to finance everything. So what if we can embed payments all the way through the supply chain and logistics? And what have you can use that to shrink that $1.7trillion gap, and then lift that burden off of the long tail suppliers. Then you’d see its growth and increased GDP in many places around the world.”
“Embedded finance is set to transform both the payment process and revenue streams for merchants and buyers,” says Andy Davies, senior global payments specialist at Endava.
“Last year, EY conducted a survey of 20 global financial technology leaders of whom 94 per cent ‘believe the key to success is the relevance of a financial product in addressing customers’ real-time needs’. Customer centricity will be at the centre of the favoured innovations.
“Through integrating financial services into their offering, businesses are ensuring a succinct customer experience, whether in retail, automotive, insurance, or banking. Consumer expectations are changing, and reduced friction sits at the heart of many consumer buying journeys. In the future, you can expect to be able to park your car and walk away. Through embedded finance models, the car will take care of paying for the space when you leave, like a virtual valet.
“These joined-up approaches to service and finance make it far simpler to gather richer data insights, including customer location, visiting frequency, and their preferred payment method.
“Data collection is essential to the rapidly evolving AI market. For example, AI can be used to analyse activity to automate the prevention of fraudulent activity. We expect to see it play a fundamental role in detecting
both fraud and potential security breaches. Looking ahead, it will become a necessity as immediate payments become more widespread.
“Over the next 10 years, I predict a continuation of the move towards embedded payments as the new norm. For some markets, it already is. As adoption continues to increase, we can expect to see more options to create extra revenue streams, and innovative tools introduced to protect both consumers and merchants themselves.”
As embedding financial services into various business operations becomes more commonplace, so too could collaboration across industries. Denise Johansson, co-founder and co-CEO of Enfuce, the femaleled issuer processor, explains.
“One big benefit of embedded finance is how it encourages collaboration between retailers, payment providers, banks and tech companies. This collaboration leads to innovative new solutions, pushing a whole range of industries forward and creating individual offerings that are exceptional in their specific area.
One big benefit of embedded finance is how it encourages collaboration between retailers, payment providers, banks and tech companies
“More personalised offers, specifically tailored to our needs, is just the beginning. Banking-as-a-Service will empower businesses outside the traditional banking space to provide financial services, sparking innovation in
unexpected places like retail, healthcare and infrastructure. It’s safe to say we can expect a brighter, more convenient financial future.”
The huge potential impact of embedded finance is clear, and looks set to become increasingly prevalent across industries. But which technological innovations will be the enablers of this growth?
Joan McGowan, head of US financial services consulting at analytics platform provider SAS, offers some answers.
“Generative AI and AIpowered algorithms will drive the most meaningful innovation by enabling institutions to contextually analyse vast amounts of data to offer real-time financial insights, fraud detection, personalised recommendations and inclusivity. The Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable devices offer opportunities to further integrate financial services into everyday objects and experiences. For instance, IoT-enabled devices could facilitate automatic payments for utility bills or groceries based on consumption data.
“Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have the potential to make transactions more secure, efficient and transparent. We might see innovations such as decentralised finance protocols integrated into various platforms for lending, borrowing and other financial activities.
“Embedded finance holds immense potential for transforming how consumers and businesses access and interact with financial services. But it will be essential to address challenges such as security, privacy, and regulatory compliance for solution providers, merchants and consumers alike to realise the full benefits and potential of these innovations.”
Six-month countdown to compliance in European finance
The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) came into effect in January 2023 but is enforceable from 17 January 2025, demanding attention and action from industry players across Europe.
DORA solves an important problem, says the European Commission. As the digital transformation of the financial sector accelerates, it also increases the exposure of companies to the risk of a major disruption if technology fails whether through a deliberate cyberattack or ICT system flaws and disruptions. Highlighting the crucial need for the industry to strengthen its operational resilience and security, DORA introduces a unified supervisory approach across various financial market participants, including banks, payment firms and investment entities.
It also lays down stringent requirements to ensure consistent security practices throughout the European Union, covering key areas such as ICT risk management,
incident management and reporting, operational resilience testing, third-party risk management, and information sharing.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?
“The significance of DORA cannot be overstated,” says Katarina Pranjic, head of policy and regulation at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a provider of data and advanced analytics.
“In an era marked by escalating cyber threats and technological dependencies, DORA’s core objective of enhancing operational
DORA promotes not only regulatory adherence, but a culture of proactive risk management and collaboration
resilience within the financial sector is undeniably important. The alignment of regulatory standards across Europe is also a substantial step in the right direction towards harmonisation and standardisation.
“DORA promotes not only regulatory adherence, but a culture of proactive risk management and
collaboration. For fintechs, this should be seen as a strategic opportunity. Those firms that prove best at reducing operational risk and building resilience will not only see a rise in credibility, but undoubtedly improved competitiveness gains too.”
Fadl Mantash, chief information security officer at Tribe Payments, the UK-based issuer and acquirer processor, highlights the significant attention needed on system updates and operational risk reduction.
“Compliance with DORA could require major investment in system overhauls – the cost of compliance is something that large payment and fintech firms can afford, but it could place intense financial burdens on smaller players. However, reducing operational risk now has the potential to pay massive dividends in the future, in the form of increased client confidence and collaboration opportunities.
While Wing To, general manager of intelligent devops at technology firm Digital.ai, advises that banks and financial businesses should
adopt strategies that translate DORA into actionable steps, given the absence of specific regulatory instructions.
“EU DORA is an evolving framework that effectively stipulates that a company needs to stabilise everything it can (technologically) to protect its customers. Regulators have not provided specific instruction yet as to how a company should do it, so there is a necessity for companies to translate DORA into actionable items to be able to understand their state of risk in anticipation of what will be asked. If you don’t have visibility, you’re going to have to scramble to measure or justify what you’re doing.
“The only way to minimise surprises on the backend is to establish a repeatable, agile and highly visible software development lifecycle (SDLC) process that can scale to the size of the organisation, and flag potential problems along the way before becoming full-blown incidents.
“Code is an abstract asset, and it requires the same regard as more tangible infrastructure assets. Banks that see their applications as part of their infrastructure are less likely to be blindsided later.”
Project Nemo’s mission to transform the industry with a series of impactful events to educate and inspire industry leaders on accessibility and diversity
Project Nemo is a disability inclusion initiative seeking to accelerate disability inclusion journeys across the fintech world over the next 12 months.
Led by Joanne Dewar, former CEO at payments platform GPS (now Thredd), Project Nemo urges fintech organisations to better serve the world’s largest minority and accelerate their disability inclusion efforts.
More than one in five people live with a disability in the UK, representing an estimated £274billion a year in spending power. Although 24 per cent of the British working age population has a disclosed disability, there is also anecdotal evidence indicating low levels of disability employment in fintech.
A key focus of Project Nemo's agenda is the Fintech Festival of Inclusion, an events programme taking place over the next few months designed to empower fintech business leaders to understand the importance of
inclusion and accessibility and embrace 'incremental changes for their enduring journey toward inclusion'.
“Right now, the fintech community and disability community don’t know each other,” says Dewar. “So what Project Nemo is about is bringing those two communities together, hosting a series of educational events which are going to be addressing specific subtopics of the universe of disability inclusion and accessibility in terms of our products and services and communications.”
Each workshop event will focus on a different topic to start the education journey, bringing together disability expertise, champions and success stories with the fintech community to help leaders in the industry see where they can implement change.
All these events will lead to a practical guide in the form of an e-book and podcast series. By the end of the festival,
Project Nemo will create a comprehensive how-to guide on inclusion and even a template for how other industries can follow in fintech’s footsteps.
On the importance of disability inclusion, Shani Dhanda, a disability activist and Britain’s ‘most influential person with a disability in 2023’, comments: “People aren’t usually disabled by their
If you aren’t part of the disability community today, then you’re going to be one day. And I’m not saying that to scare you, it’s just the reality. We as a society don’t design for our future selves
condition, it’s the barriers and the bias that we face that really disable us. And we all contribute to that in many different ways. By default, we’re pretty exclusionary people.
“Another thing to know is, when you think about disability, people can either be born with or acquire conditions and impairments, and the majority of disabled people were not born with their condition – they acquired it.
“So, if you aren’t part of the disability community today, then you’re going to be one day. And I’m not saying that to scare you, it’s just the reality. We as a society don’t design for our future selves.
“My question to everybody is: what side of the coin do you want to be on? Do you want to be on the inclusionary side or the exclusionary side? You can be an ally, the bridge between a marginalised community and you can make their voice travel further… that is the power of allyship.”
Project Nemo is hosting a workshop on the business case and value for disability inclusion in the beachclub on Thursday 6 June 2024 at Money20/20 Europe.
Konsentus highlights the increase in third-party providers and the expansion of fintech services across the European Economic Area, alongside rising security challenges
Open banking in Europe is undergoing a significant transformation with a growing global interest around cross-border initiatives and alliances between different trade corridors and regions. By facilitating transparent and controlled financial operations, open banking and open finance ensure maximum data security and privacy.
Research from Konsentus, which provides advisory services and technology solutions to support the national implementation of open finance ecosystems, reveals growth in cross-border and an increase in third-party providers (TPPs) authorised to make payments on an account holder's behalf.
As of 31 March 2024, there are 367 regulated TPPs in the European Economic Area (EEA). Germany leads with the highest number of domestic TPPs, totalling 37, while Italy stands out with 149 non-domestic TPPs, reflecting a broader trend of fintech companies expanding their reach beyond their home markets.
This expansion is evident in the rising percentage of TPPs
that passport their services to other EEA markets. In September 2019, only 34 per cent of TPPs could offer their services outside their home country. By March 2024, this figure had jumped to 52 per cent. Additionally, the ability of TPPs to initiate payments on behalf of account holders has also seen significant growth. In 2019, 52 per cent of TPPs were authorised to initiate payments; today, that number has risen to 66 per cent.
Banks must make sure they’re fully prepared to respond to the changing landscape and continue to keep their customers’ data and funds safe and secure
As the sector grows, it brings both opportunities and challenges. The increase in cross-border transactions and the rising number of fintechs capable of initiating payments heighten security risks for banks.
An opinion paper published by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in April 2024, underscores these risks, noting
that cross-border fraud rates for both card payments and credit transfers are approximately nine times higher than for domestic transactions.
Mike Woods, CEO at Konsentus, said: “In the early years of PSD2, fintechs spent their time and effort building APIs and connecting to the banks. They are now capitalising on all that early hard work, monetising their services and earning revenue. Our data reinforces that although quarter-by-quarter change is marginal, the difference is significant when you compare the figures from 2019 with today.
“For the first time since we launched our tracker in 2019, the number of EEA TPPs passporting their open banking services into other markets has surpassed the 50 per cent mark. This confirms the future and emphatically reinforces the need for having technology systems and processes in place that can identify authorised entities conducting business outside of their home regulated market.
“Banks must make sure they’re fully prepared to respond to the changing landscape and continue to keep their customers’ data and funds safe and secure.“
n Germany regains top position by highest number of home-regulated TPPs, at 37, due to two new entities being granted regulatory approval in the last three months.
n Italy still has the highest number of passported-in TPPs (149), but Belgium (147) extends its lead on Germany (146) and Spain (144).
n TPPs from eight different EEA markets gained regulatory approval during the first quarter of 2024: Belgium (1), Cyprus (2), France (2), Germany (2), Iceland (1), Lithuania (1), Netherlands (1), Spain (1).
n TPPs from five different EEA countries had their permissions removed: Belgium (2), France (1), Malta (2), Spain (1), Sweden (2).
n Latvia and Liechtenstein once again remain the only two markets with no home TPPs.
n Between September 2023 and March 2024, each country gained on average nine additional passported-in TPPs, mirroring the increase over the previous six months.
Source: Konsentus
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