The issue of data protection and privacy was, until recently, a conversation confined to a specific group of people within an organisation. Unless you were an IT consultant or a corporate lawyer, privacy compliance was something somebody else took care of. So, how have we reached the point where many organizations are bound by law to employ a Data Protection Officer (DPO)? Why are CEOs now so interested in their company’s data protection and privacy policies?

World Economic Forum in Davos held the first session associated with the Cyber Polygon project — an annual international online exercise for tackling global cyberthreats. The exercise is an official initiative of the Forum and BI.ZONE, as well as the first collaborative initiative between WEF and a Russian company under the umbrella of the Centre for Cybersecurity.

Today, Appway announced it has launched Client Lifecycle Management for Wealth & Private Banking (abbreviated as CLM for Wealth) on Salesforce AppExchange. CLM for Wealth speeds up the conversion of prospects into satisfied and loyal clients and enables an optimal customer experience through 360-degree orchestration of client processes and interactions in full compliance.

2019 has been the year of disruption for the Financial Services (FS) sector, largely driven by evolving customer expectations and the influx of new technology. Increasing regulatory requirements, combined with new entrants in the market and shifting economic policies also continue to mould the industry. According to PwC, 15 new licences were issued in the last three years to a variety of cloud-based challenger banks.

Bankingblocks, an Amsterdam-based wholesale banking provider for fintech and payment companies, teams up with WL Payments to provide a true omni-channel, universal payment gateway.

buguroo, the online fraud prevention specialist for the financial sector, today unveiled further capabilities that make it easier for banks to more accurately identify if fraudsters – rather than legitimate customers – are attempting to open new accounts.

Ingenico Enterprise Retail, part of Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payments, today announces it will launch OP2GO, its Open Payment solution, in North America in 2020. This puts Ingenico at the forefront of the smart city and transport revolution, having introduced the solution across Rio de Janeiro, Taiwan, Madrid and Rome in 2019.

Building on its commitment to drive positive change through its data and insight, Refinitiv has today announced the launch of the Future of Sustainable Data Alliance (The Alliance) in conjunction with the World Economic Forum, United Nations, IIF, OMFIF, Tsinghua University, ASIFMA, GFMA, Climate Bonds Initiative, FinTech4good, Everledger, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, Bank of Africa-BCME, GoImpact and other founding member firms. The objective of The Alliance is to accelerate the mobilization of capital into sustainable finance.

Taking stock of the identity verification landscape, Keith McGill, Head of Fraud & ID at Equifax, expects rapid adoption of biometrics in 2020 as it enters the mainstream:

“The biometrics industry has been at a crossroads, with verification technology solutions until now viewed as a roadmap item for many businesses, but as it enters the mainstream we expect adoption rates to accelerate.

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: