I think there are few more exciting sectors than biometrics and digital identity in 2020, and it's a privilege to be in the midst of it all. Many of the themes that we’ve talked about for years, from digital identity as a service to biometric onboarding, will finally make it onto the main stage this year.

My top four predictions for 2020:

New UK digital bank Vive has received a banking licence with restriction from the Bank of England.

French neobank Qonto has raised $115 million in Series C funding from Tencent and DST Global to double down on existing markets, develop new features to tailor its products to specific markets, and grow staff numbers from 200 to 300 during 2020.

Six of the world's central banks have come together to share their knowledge and experiences in assessing the potential cases for central bank digital currency (CBDC) in their home jurisdictions.

Flutterwave, a payments startup operating in Africa, is looking to expand across the continent after closing a $35 million funding round and securing partnerships with Visa and WorldPay.

Asian cryptocurrency exchange platform, Zipmex, has gained the license to provide digital assets and exchange services in Thailand, following a 12-month wait.

Headquartered in Singapore, the trading platform currently operates in Indonesia and Australia, standing at a current valuation of $18 million after having raised $5 million to date. The bitcoin trading license follows Zipmex's $3 million pre-Series A funding round just last September, led by Infinity Blockchain Holdings.

Ignite Sales, Inc., the financial industry leader in customer engagement technology, announced the company experienced an impressive year in 2019 in terms of growth, industry recognition, and product enhancements.

As the financial industry focuses more intently on technology to drive outstanding customer engagement, financial institutions are recognizing that Ignite Sales’ highly developed and proven technology empowers bankers and their customers to easily discover and meet financial needs.

Computop,  a leading global payment processor, today announced that it will be exhibiting at Euroshop, the retail trade fair in Dusseldorf, Germany (February 16-20). The company will be showcasing its new, Android-based card terminal, Computop Next A920, providing demonstrations for visitors to the event.

Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today launches a front-to-back banking software as a service designed uniquely for the US market – with pre-integrated U.S. banking products and services designed to deliver an outstanding customer experience.  Leveraging the power of its Temenos Infinity and Temenos Transact banking products built on its modern cloud-native, cloud-agnostic and API-first technology, Temenos has developed the next-generation SaaS product, enabling new digital banks to launch in the US within 90 days, and grow their business rapidly.

Digital banking software provider, Backbase, has today announced the launch of its new regional headquarters in Singapore. Off the back of strong growth in the past few years, the regional centre in Singapore will strengthen its regional footprint to ensure greater proximity to clients and provide high-quality services and expertise to businesses in Asia Pacific (APAC).