At this year’s PAY360 conference held at London’s Excel – one of the largest payment events of the year in the UK –  more than 5,000 payment and finance professionals from around the globe gathered to network and share insights on the hot topics in the industry.

The Fintech Times took the opportunity to catch up with Lloyds Bank and fast-growing fintech CoBa Technology – a cloud-hosted platform that seamlessly connects banks and businesses – to learn more about their recent collaboration.

Robin Scher, head of fintech investment at Lloyds Banking Group and Tom Stoddart, head of market sales at Lloyds Banking Group, were joined by Carl Hasty, CEO and co-founder of CoBa, to discuss their partnership as well as how they are collaborating to enable clients to digitally manage their banking needs through automation and workflow connections.

Investing in startups

According to Scher, Lloyd’s created a £50million fund internally to invest in early-stage fintech startups in order to “reduce the cost of change or increase the pace of change”.

He explained why that included CoBa: “One of the things we look for and we absolutely love is great founders with real vision and an ability to execute. We look at the product-market fit as well, something that we think is going to work in the market. We also invest in things that we are going to learn from, that will innovate with us and partner with us in a true partnership fashion.”

In agreement, Stoddart added: “We look for an aligned philosophy particularly with the purpose that we have as an organisation. An alignment over goals of what looks good from a execution and delivery perspective is absolutely critical.

“What we have found by working with CoBa is that as a large organisation with multiple data sources we can bring that together and hand it to CoBa who are much more nimble and agile in terms of the way that they can deliver solutions for our customers.”

Hasty also added: “We focus on strategic relationships and want to work with a bank right at its core. We’re very much about bringing the bank and the client together.”

To find out more about their collaboration and how the strategic partnership plans to co-create tailored solutions for clients., watch our interview below.

The Fintech Times meets Lloyds Bank and CoBa Technology at PAY360

FinTech Connect returned for its 10th edition at the ExCel in London in December for a two day conference that bought a year in fintech to a close.

The popular ecosystem show saw more than 3,000 global thought leaders explore the challenges and opportunities within the fintech space.

FinTech Connect spanned four key verticals: digital experience, payment technology, Web3 and regtech with discussions on the Bank of England’s regulatory framework for stablecoins, the impact of generative AI on operational efficiency in financial institutions, and keynotes from industry giants like Booking.com, shedding light on the latest payment innovations.

Watch our FinTech Connect 2023 video interviews





Santosh Radhakrishnan at XYB

Kellyann Ripnar at Fincrime Dynamics

 



Michael Carter at Innovate Finance

Steve Tooke at Kosli

 





Barbara Gottardi at Finbridge Global

Hanna Khrystianovych at Sigma Software Group

Glenn Burgess at FINTECH Circle

Over the past decade, a wave of innovation has swept through all corners of the payments landscape. As a result, the needs of market participants have evolved and they continue to do so at a substantial pace.

Edward Metzger, vice president, market planning payments efficiency at LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, shares his predictions for the key payments trends to watch as 2024 unfurls.

1. Account-to-account payments soar 

Account-to-account (A2A) payments bypass intermediaries such as credit card and payment processors, enabling money to be transferred directly from one party’s account to another account instantly. That makes them faster, more convenient and less costly than traditional bank transfers.

Although A2A payments are not new, API technology and the move to open banking have provided the payment rails for A2A payments to take off. We expect rapid growth to continue in step with further adoption worldwide of instant digital payment solutions for retail and corporate use.

2. Payment fraud explodes

With payments moving online and real-time payment systems becoming the norm, authorised push payment (APP) fraud is more prevalent than ever. In fact, it is the number one fraud threat globally, surpassing card fraud and identity theft.⁴

APP fraud is perpetrated when fraudsters use social engineering techniques such as impersonation scams to trick unwary consumers into sending a payment to them. Combatting APP fraud remains a challenge because it happens in real time and cannot be reversed. We expect wider adoption of confirmation of payee (CoP) and similar controls to temper APP fraud going forward.

3. Reducing the cost of payments becomes imperative

A confluence of factors from high interest rates to volatile credit markets are driving up the cost of payments and making liquidity management ever more challenging. Compliance controls, which are especially high for international payments, further increase costs. Automating payments processes to speed processing, reduce failed payments and prevent fraud will remain a top focus for businesses looking to reduce costs in 2024.

4. Corporates drive for efficiency

Corporates are increasingly bringing payments operations in-house to gain greater control and deliver a better customer experience. This has fuelled the growth of corporate treasury management systems that are able to manage liquidity and deliver efficiency gains by offering a centralised hub for all payments activity, including payment routing. With the faster processing and real-time visibility these systems offer, we expect the number of companies who manage their own payment operations to increase significantly.

5. Banking as a service (BaaS) gains momentum

Banks are transforming their payment service operations and diversifying revenue by offering real-time payments capabilities to corporate and other customers through APIs.

This BaaS approach enables banks to become a channel partner and resell payment routing solutions to end customers, providing companies with a holistic solution to manage the growing complexity of payments routing. With a CAGR of more than 15 per cent ¹⁸ BaaS is expected to gain even wider adoption over the next few years.

To find out more about the ways in which the payments landscape is rapidly changing and the potential impact on your business in 2024, download our latest infographic.

What’s next?

Companies that consider payments processes in relation to the overall customer experience will find themselves ahead of the competition and ahead of the curve. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions can help. Our payment validation tools and data intelligence enable organisations to reduce failed payments, mitigate fraud, improve straight-through processing rates and deliver a better overall customer experience.

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe.

References

1. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/the-2023-mckinsey-global-payments-report
2. https://www.fisglobal.com/en/global-payments-report
3. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/financial-services/publications/financial-services-in-2025/payments-in-2025.html
4. https://investor.aciworldwide.com/news-releases/news-release-details/app-scams-emerge-top-payments-fraud-threat-fraudsters-changing
5. https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/fraud-losses-realtime-payments-banks-aci-push-payment-scams/653219/
6. https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/news-and-insight/press-release/over-ps12-billion-stolen-through-fraud-in-2022-nearly-80-cent-app
7. https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/fraud-losses-realtime-payments-banks-aci-push-payment-scams/653219/
8. State,opportunities%20related%20to%20risk%20management
9. https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252527286/APP-fraud-volumes-expected-to-double-by-2026-says-report
10. https://www.paystand.com/blog/benefits-automated-payment-solutions
11. https://risk.lexisnexis.com/insights-resources/research/true-impact-of-failed-payments
12. https://risk.lexisnexis.com/insights-resources/research/true-cost-of-financial-crime-compliance-study-global-report
13. https://risk.lexisnexis.com/insights-resources/research/us-ca-true-cost-of-fraud-study#:~:text=Every%20%241%20of%20fraud%20now,was%20 conducted%20during%20the%20pandemic.
14. State,opportunities%20related%20to%20risk%20management.
15. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230921857012/en/Nine-of-10-Companies-Face-Problems-with-Payment-Operations-39-Still-ManualNew-Modern-Treasury-Research-Reveals
16. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/ceo-survey-2023.htmll
17. https://assets.ctfassets.net/h83dujey17us/59MRqbPnl4xJU0UufqxrhS/e84dc98d4d671e163a03b5489c202e35/2022_AFP_Payments_Cost_Survey_Final_ Report__u1_.pdf
18. https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/03/30/2637634/0/en/Banking-As-A-Service-Market-Worth-USD-65-95-Billion-at-a-15-1-CAGRby-2030-Report-by-Market-Research-Future-MRFR.html
19. https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/03/30/2637634/0/en/Banking-As-A-Service-Market-Worth-USD-65-95-Billion-at-a-15-1-CAGRby-2030-Report-by-Market-Research-Future-MRFR.html
20. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-banking-as-a-service-market

This document is for informational purposes only. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions does not warrant this document is complete or error-free. If written by a third party, the opinions may not represent the opinions of LexisNexis® Risk Solutions. LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of RELX Inc.

Bitcoin (BTC) faces an uphill struggle to reignite its uptrend after its biggest one-day losses of 2023.

The largest cryptocurrency continues to claw back lost ground after falling to lows of $40,200 after the Dec. 10 weekly close, the latest data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.

With BTC price action taking a break from relentless gains — one which many argue was overdue — new key support and resistance levels are coming into play.

The coming days are already set to offer plenty of potential volatility triggers — United States macro data releases begin on Dec. 12, with the Federal Reserve interest rate decision and commentary from Chair Jerome Powell following a day later.

The stage is set for a showdown which may involve more than crypto markets.

Cointelegraph takes a look at some of the popular BTC price lines in the sand now on the radar for traders and analysts as Bitcoin narrowly preserves the $40,000 mark.

Bollinger Bands: BTC bounced “where it was supposed to”

While painful for late longs, the 7.5% BTC price dip which followed the weekly close offered a form of reset for frantic crypto markets.

#Bitcoin has now dropped 7.5% today, which would be the single biggest 1-day drop in 2023.

It has overtaken the drop in March during the banking collapse; -6.2%, bottomed out at $20,000.

Also dropped -7.2% in August when Bitcoin bottomed out at $26,000. pic.twitter.com/WFYiyURO3J

— James Van Straten (@jimmyvs24) December 11, 2023

This was needed, consensus agrees, as unchecked upside typically results in a violent reaction the longer it continues.

“Very overextended, so a pullback was due,” John Bollinger, creator of the Bollinger Bands volatility indicator, argued in a reaction on X (formerly Twitter).

“Stopped right were it was supposed to. That doesn’t happen too often. Now we look to see if support can hold.”

Bollinger referred to Bollinger Bands data, with an accompanying chart showing, among other things, the forcefulness of the latest upside within the context of broader recent BTC price strength.

On daily timeframes, the dip took Bitcoin straight to the middle band within the Bollinger channel, making the correction something of a textbook move and cause for optimism going forward.

The air is getting a bit thin up here, but all we see as of now are signs of strength. We are outside both the daily and weekly BBs with no divergences. The last controlling formation was the 2 bar reversal at the middle BB completed on 21 Nov. $BTCUSDhttps://t.co/B4ZU3vpTvV

— John Bollinger (@bbands) December 5, 2023

The week prior, meanwhile, Bollinger warned of increasingly constrictive conditions which could be warning over a local top in advance.

Large Bitcoin buyers may play “buy the dip, sell the rip”

Looking at the behavior of large-volume traders, some commentators see encouraging signs after the open interest flush at the hands of the dip.

Uploading a print of BTC/USDT order book liquidity on largest global exchange Binance overnight, trading resource Material Indicators revealed a new band of support at $38,500.

While lower than both $40,000 and this week’s bottom, Material Indicators suggested that “institutional sized” bids could now be returning — but that there could be a caveat.

Accompanying analysis concluded that “it’s not yet clear whether they are legitimately starting to accumulate at these levels or just buying dips and selling rips.”

“After all, we have a Fed Rate Hike decision coming this week and #JPow’s speeches are typically good for some volatility,” it added.

Continuing on Dec. 12, popular trader Skew likewise considered the odds of manipulation among larger players.

“Seeing a bit of change in the mindset of large spot players whom were actively chasing price before,” he told X followers about the Binance order book.

“Current mindset seems to be buy the dip & sell the rip till bid depth & liquidity improves for large capital to return.”

Skew put the key BTC price areas to watch at $38,000-$40,000 and $44,000-$45,000, respectively.

Analyst: Bitcoin will greet yearly close in “new range”

In terms of major support, popular trader Ali additionally noted the range around $38,000 as a formidable barrier against major downside.

Related: Price analysis 12/11: SPX, DXY, BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, SOL, ADA, DOGE, AVAX

“In case of a deeper correction, Bitcoin finds solid support between $37,150 and $38,360. This zone is backed by 1.52 million addresses holding 534,000 $BTC,” he showed alongside data.

“Also, watch out for two resistance walls that could keep the BTC uptrend at bay: one at $43,850 and another at $46,400.”

Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of MN Trading, meanwhile flagged a floor zone slightly lower at $36,500.

Bitcoin, he believes, should end 2023 in a “new range.”

Crucial levels to hold for #Bitcoin are, on higher timeframes, $36,500-38,000.

With this correction, we’ll see bounces coming from $39,500-40,000 back to the $42K+ mark.#Bitcoin is likely going to create a new range before the end of the year. pic.twitter.com/bmQIREzEW8

— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) December 11, 2023

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.