Letter from the Editor

by Andries Van Der Westhuizen Letter from the Editor:

Digital sovereignty and the broader implications thereof is painting a stark backdrop for our seamless and unified financial future. How would, or could, the internet function without these independent networks using an open set of standards which ensure interoperability?

Perhaps this is a product of the societal and SME outcry against giant tech monopolies igniting a cultural reaction, hopefully, towards a decentralised future. As the spending power of fiat currency is in constant flux, but always in continuous decline for the average saver - we are being presented here, and spurred on by global pandemic, with an opportunity to distance ourselves as individuals from political posturing and the reverberations thereof on international markets. How are you retaining and building on your hard-earned power?

Scott Stornetta, one of the founding fathers of blockchain, may quell the panic for some intermediaries in the payment ecosystem in his macro-level consideration of blockchain and benefits thereof. With a clear message of impending disruption - those resistant to change, or those who change too slowly, will eventually find themselves on the wayside.

Mark Boyd furthers the conversation on change, and those who “cling to the old world order”...mostly banks, will begin to scramble to plug the holes in their boat where open finance and fintech are picking apart their customer relationship with deeper, mobile-first, data-driven insights and offerings. These insights and customer-centric models add to the bottom-line, there’s no denying that. The opportunities are far-reaching into emerging markets with inclusion, as covered by GIFT (Global Impact FinTech), being of supreme importance today, as new models and ease of access to financial services become available to an increasingly connected customer base - affording those great opportunities for socioeconomic upliftment. GIFT furthers the conversation - and to not get caught in the weeds of political discourse and regulations they’re working with governments and regulators, perhaps they also need you?

But where’s the money? Agustin Rubini from The Angel Investor School covers the venture capitalist perspective and how adaption caused some hesitation. However, VC’s are still willing to let their money do the work if you can walk the talk. Embodying this is Fraudio, a startup-spotlight on page 16, covering nextgen fraud-fighting plug and protect SaaS, followed by LittlePay on page 24 - who have revolutionised the modular architecture needed to render transport ‘covid secure’.

In closing, I want to thank all the contributors for their valued time and attention, and also the effort from PCN’s team in putting together this exciting issue. Let’s stay on the forefront of our industry and continually spearhead for not progress alone, but rather an evolution.