Industry roundup: 22 December
by Kylene Casanova
Mastercard, Thales and FPC launch biometric cards, Visa Direct connecting multiple regions and currencies, B2B and B2C payment methods in Africa
Africa
Industry roundup: 7 December
by Graham Buck
More cyber risk insurance captives expected in 2022; Standard Chartered Tanzania opens digital branch; Standard Bank sweet on AfCFTA’s potential
Industry roundup: 1 December
by Kylene Casanova
Revolutionizing payment solutions in Indonesia, South Korea and Worldline enhance cross-border payment transactions, South Africa joins ecommerce game
Industry roundup: 18 November
by Graham Buck
Reserve Bank of Australia hedges bets on digital currency; Absa Bank partners with the IFC on trade finance ; SA payments fintech Ozow raises US$48m
The impact on information technology (IT) spending in EMEA
by Kylene Casanova
Gartner’s latest analysis forecasts IT spending in EMEA to grow 4.7% in 2022, a total of $1.3 trillion.
Africa’s first digital currency launched
by Graham Buck
The Central Bank of Nigeria announced that the eNaira finally made its debut on Monday after missing its original 1 October launch date
Roundup: 2 September
by Jack Large
Your daily news briefing featuring sustainable finance, crypto payments in Switzerland, new services in Nigeria and Canada
Strong demand for Côte d’Ivoire’s first corporate green bond
by Ben Poole
The oversubscribed local currency issue opens the Francophone West & Central Africa market for green bonds and real estate corporate financing.
Deutsche Bank and Investec arrange financing for Ghana’s railways
by Ben Poole
The €600m financing consists of two loans to support construction of a 100km stretch of Ghana's Western Railway Line.
African trade finance saw US$5bn in portfolio outflows when COVID hit
by Ben Poole
A report from the African Export-Import Bank and partners notes that despite the outflows, opportunities exist.
Digitising Islamic trade finance
by Ben Poole
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation recently conducted its first transaction with partners on Bolero’s trade finance platform.
Reflections on treasury’s turbulent year
by Ben Poole
At a virtual roundtable, Citi explored how digitisation has helped corporates to manage business disruption in the year of COVID-19.
CEEMEA capital markets capturing investor inflows in 2020
by Ben Poole
A report from BNP Paribas CIB shows a record level of issuance for the region in the first half of the year.
Economic bounceback possible in 2021?
by Ben Poole
A report covering EBRD regions sees economic contraction of 3.5% in 2020, but a 4.8% rebound in 2021.
SWIFT to host open API hackathon in Africa
by Ben Poole
The hackathon is open to developers working in the financial sector across Africa to identify new solutions for cross-border payments.
TDB signs US$450m multi tranche syndicated term financing
by Ben Poole
The Middle Eastern focused financing follows a similar syndication in 2017.
Egypt invests US$600m on becoming intra-African trade hub
by Ben Poole
Central Bank of Egypt agrees to formation of export credit risk company.
SmartStream partners with Union Systems to meet demand for East and West Africa
by Ben Poole
The two companies will support organisations in their digitisation strategies of post-trade environments.
Trade and Development Bank closes live end-to-end trade finance transaction using blockchain
by Ben Poole
Over 50,000 metric tonnes of sugar moved from Asia to Africa, with dltledgers as blockchain partner and Agrocorp as trading company.
Standard Chartered Trade20 index reveals the rising stars of global trade
by Ben Poole
Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Ireland join India and China in the top five of 20 markets with the greatest potential for future trade growth
Standard Bank adopts TCS BaNCS Digital for investor services
by Ben Poole
The bank is going digital to handle increasing demand for investor services in African capital markets.
Standard Bank becomes first South African bank to join Marco Polo Network
by Ben Poole
The DLT network is designed to provide a secure way to access trade finance.
EY and Open Banking Nigeria work on financial services innovation
by Graham Buck
The Big Four accounting group will partner in developing a standardised API interface for open banking in Nigeria
South Africa to cap maximum cheque value from May 2020
by Graham Buck
Accelerating the drive to digital payments, the maximum value permitted for a cheque reduces from 500,000 rand to just 50,000