Perspectives on Fintech, payments infrastructure, compliance and digital assets, drawn from 15+ years working at the intersection of finance and technology.
A day at Echelon Singapore 2026 and a useful reminder: innovation rarely sits neatly inside one industry box. The strongest builders were not selling AI magic; they were solving boring, expensive, ...
Topics: Fintech, Payments, Southeast Asia
The prompt was not 'can we build another identity demo?' It was more practical: if AI agents and tokenized workflows share the same operating environment as payment operations, how does an institut...
Topics: vLEI, Digital Identity, Payments
Reflections on Tom Alaerts' pacs.crypto work: payment innovation does not lack POCs; it lacks production-grade adoption paths, and ISO 20022-aligned semantics may be the most practical bridge.
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Stablecoins
I started with Karpathy's open-source project and built a Leontief input-output cascade model on top of it - then extended it to the US, France, and Singapore using real government labor data.
Topics: AI, Future of Work, Data Visualization
Swift's Sibos move: a blockchain ledger + a retail scheme. What it really changes. Swift just confirmed two big steps: a blockchain‑based shared ledger...
Swift's new retail cross‑border scheme: real competition to stablecoins, or smart co‑opetition? Swift just announced a rules‑based scheme for retail...
The Interoperability Battle: How SWIFT, Stablecoins & CBDCs Fit the G20's Plan Following up on the FSB's report: The G20's challenge isn't just about one...
Topics: SWIFT, Stablecoins, ISO 20022
Paxos's recent "oops" moment (accidentally minting nearly $300 trillion in PYUSD before quickly burning it) was the best free stress test the stablecoin...
Topics: Stablecoins, Governance, FX
Previously, we unpacked the FSB's stark warning: the global stablecoin landscape is dangerously fragmented, creating loopholes like "Multi-jurisdictional...
From static SSIs to Digital SSIs the wallets era just got real. Citi and SWIFT completed a fiat↔digital currency settlement workflow trial that synchronized a...
Topics: SSI, Tokenization, SWIFT
ISO20022 | Data That Pays | Final 45‑Day Burn‑Down week | 13 (Teach) FINplus RMA bootstrap explained (and what it did NOT auto‑create) Why it matters: The...
Topics: ISO 20022, Governance
ISO20022 | Data That Pays | Final 45‑Day Burn‑Down week | 16 (Recap Carousel) Readiness heat‑map - eve‑of‑cutover scorecard Why it matters: At T‑45, leadership...
What actually changes on cutover Why it matters: Day‑1 is about what really flows cross‑border on CBPR+, not domestic RTGS timelines. CBPR+ ≠ RTGS....
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Data Quality
ISO20022 | Data That Pays | Final 45‑Day Burn‑Down week | 15 (Debate) Native MX vs translation fallbacks (again) Why it matters: A parachute saves you once - not...
Mon (Teach) - What pre-validation actually fixes (and doesn't) IBAN/BIC/LEI presence & shape vs real-world reachability; what's in scope. Name/address mismatch...
ISO20022 | Data That Pays | Final 45‑Day Burn‑Down week | 14 (Advise) Counterparty checks that prevent NAKs Why it matters: A two‑hour hygiene pass today saves...
💡 KPI starter pack - addresses, IDs, outcomes Why it matters: What gets measured gets fixed - and ISO gives you the fields to do it now. 1. Numbers (baseline):...
Topics: ISO 20022, Data Quality
🧩📣 Publish your acceptance corridors & fees - will it win RFPs? Thesis: Transparency beats "fastest‑rail" demos. Buyers choose predictable providers. Tell the...
Topics: ISO 20022, Data Quality
🧰🆔 LEI & purpose‑code hygiene that pays for itself Why it matters: A little front‑door discipline removes back‑office noise - fewer RFIs, higher STP, happier...
Topics: ISO 20022, Compliance, Data Quality
🔧📮 Hybrid postal addresses, structured outcomes ISO 20022 supports structured, unstructured, and hybrid addresses. Why it matters: Machine‑readable addresses...
Topics: ISO 20022, Compliance, Data Quality
Inside SIBOS | Governance & Assurance week | 3 Contrarian: More AI ≠ fewer RFIs-until you fix structure and accountability. Why it matters: AI amplifies...
Inside SIBOS | Governance & Assurance week | 2 Four controls to productionise AI for AML/sanctions-without drama. Why it matters: Controls before code = fewer...
Topics: ISO 20022, SWIFT, Compliance
Inside SIBOS | Governance & Assurance week | 1 ⚡️ Instant rails shrank decision windows to milliseconds. AI helps-but only if the data is disciplined and the...
💡 5 cards → a 30‑day data sprint. Why it matters: What gets measured gets fixed and ISO gives you the fields to do it fast. 1. Numbers (baseline). Fill‑rates,...
🧩 Debate: "We'll let the network fix our data." Nope. Your margin sits in your data discipline not someone else's translator. Why it matters: Translation ≠...
Topics: ISO 20022, SWIFT, Data Quality
🧰✅ Five ISO 20022 data rules that pay for themselves. Why it matters: A tiny bit of front‑door discipline removes back‑office noise fewer RFIs (requests for...
Topics: ISO 20022, SWIFT, Data Quality
🔧📊 ISO 20022 isn't just "new pipes" it's fuel for AI‑ready payments. Coexistence ends Nov '25. The leaders will monetise enriched fields, not just map them....
Inside Sibos | September Arc | 0 🔔 Sibos season is here. All September on this feed = your warm‑up to Frankfurt. 🗺️✨ What began as a banking ops seminar in...
ISO20022 | Data That Pays | Final 45‑Day Burn‑Down week | 12 (Recap Carousel) Go/No‑Go gating criteria your Day‑1 readiness scorecard Why it matters: At T‑45,...
Inside SSI | Landscape week | 4 Asia‑Pac mosaic 🗺️ 🕒 "Follow‑the‑sun" RTGS rails: BOJ‑NET | HKICL | MEPS+.
Inside SSI | Landscape week | 3 Americas snapshot 🌎 🏦 Fedwire & CHIPS dominate USD clearing; as of 2024 CHIPS settles US $1.8 trillion per day, but...
Topics: SSI, Payments, Stablecoins
Inside SSI | Landscape week | 2 EMEA spotlight 🇪🇺🌍 ✅ SEPA & TARGET2 enable straight‑through euro settlement at minimal cost and virtually zero FX spread....
Inside SSI | Landscape week | 1 Who owns the toll‑booths? 🌐 Top clearers vary by region:
ISO20022 | Data That Pays | Final 45‑Day Burn‑Down week | 11 (Debate) Are you 'ISO‑ready' or 'SR‑ready'? Why it matters: "ISO‑ready" = you can send; "SR‑ready"...
🛡️ Fraudsters bank on stale SSIs - real‑time checks say "not today". Directory APIs first: Ops teams pull SSIs straight from their chosen feed (SwiftRef,...
👀 Four‑eyes beats $12 fixes Every SSI change runs a "dual‑control" (four‑eyes) check; some banks add a third verifier for high‑risk fields. Yet ~14 % of...
Topics: SSI, Payments, Data Quality
🌟 Golden‑source or island kingdoms? Centralised maintenance = one master SSI file under tight control. Decentralised desks keep local flavour but risk version...
Topics: SSI, Payments, Data Quality
ISO20022 | Data That Pays | Final 45‑Day Burn‑Down week | 10 (Advise) SR2025 test list the 'no surprises' run‑through Why it matters: If you can validate, NAK...
Inside SSI | Trends week | 4 Fintech competition & coopetition 🤝 🚀 Fintech challengers: big‑tech and neo‑bank rails handle low‑value cross‑border payments...
Inside SSI | Trends week | Wrap‑up Trend watch: balancing innovation & SSI basics 📡 This week we explored four emerging themes:
Inside SSI | Trends week | 3 Tokenised deposits & stablecoins 🪙 🪙 Tokenised bank liabilities: major banks are trialling deposit tokens that live on...
Inside SSI | Trends week | 2 Real‑time cross‑border experiments ⚡ ⏱️ gpi Instant connects gpi with domestic instant payment systems, allowing seconds‑level...
ISO 20022: clean data, fewer errors 🧹 📃 Structured fields: ISO 20022 replaces free‑text MT fields with defined address and account elements, making it easier...
🌍 Cross‑border is a small slice of volume but a giant slice of the pie. McKinsey: ≈ 17 % of payment traffic, > 25 % of revenue. USD clearing is...
Topics: SSI, Payments, Compliance
🏦 A nostro balance is a fuel tank, you pay capital for every litre. Basel rules turn each parked dollar into RWA (Risk‑Weighted Assets); intraday credit lines...
Topics: SSI
🎯 Like airline seats, the same $10 k ticket costs more in peak lanes. USD → EUR off‑peak: ~$20 + 50 bps. USD → NGN at cutoff: ~$40 + 200 bps.
💰 SSIs are the toll‑booths of cross‑border, every hop collects a fare. Four revenue lanes: 1️⃣ Fees : $5-$25 per hop; premium if no STP (Straight‑Through...
Topics: SSI, Payments, Compliance
Mon (Teach) - FINplus RMA bootstrap explained (and what it did NOT auto-create) Why some counterparties still won't flow; how to chase the last RMAs. RMA for...
Inside PPC - Week 3 Wrap: Your G20‑ready roadmap to 2030 🧭 Card 1 - Quick wins (this month) ⚡ Turn on ISO fields: universal purpose in , local in ....
Topics: Payments, Tokenization, AI
Inside PPC | Solutions & 2030 week | #3 - Harmonization & CBDCs: the 2030 bet 🛣️ Two tracks are converging: global data alignment + rails that require purpose...
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Tokenization
Inside PPC | Solutions & 2030 week | #2 - AI‑assisted purpose: from pain to autopilot 🤖 Hitting G20 targets shouldn't require heroics in Investigations. Let...
Topics: SSI, Payments, Data Quality
Inside PPC | Solutions & 2030 week | #1 - ISO 20022 wins: structure > friction 🏗️ G20 wants cross‑border to be faster, cheaper, clearer, broader. That only...
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Compliance
Mon (Teach) - What actually changes on cutover Clarify CBPR+ message expectations; what's retired vs supported on Day-1. CBPR+ ≠ domestic RTGS migrations.
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Data Quality
Inside PPC - Week 2 Wrap: Break the investigation loop Card 1 - The numbers that move ops 📊 ~26% STP • ~15% enrichment • ~14% not completed as sent • ~$12 per...
Topics: SSI, Payments, Data Quality
Inside PPC | Stakeholder & Impact week | 3 Corporate/PSP survival guide 🛟 Multi‑country lists + human input = error risk. Bake purpose into the click‑path:
Topics: Payments, Compliance, Purpose Codes
Inside PPC | Stakeholder & Impact week | 2 Cut RFIs at the source 🧰 Turn "why is this payment?" into a rule, not a rescue mission:
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Compliance
Inside PPC | Stakeholder & Impact week | 1 Who hurts when purpose is missing? 😬 PPC gaps don't just slow money - they ripple across teams:
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Data Quality
ISO 20022 | Data That Pays | Week 4 - 💡 KPI starter pack - addresses, IDs, outcomes Why it matters: What gets measured gets fixed - and ISO g
Inside PPC | Map & Corridors week | 3 ,Asymmetric corridor: USD ↔️ CNY 🧭 When one side mandates purpose and the other doesn't, STP lives or dies on sender...
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Compliance
ISO 20022 | Data That Pays | Week 3 - 🧩📣 Publish your acceptance corridors & fees - will it win RFPs? Thesis: Transparency beats "fastest‑
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Data Quality
Inside PPC | Map & Corridors week | 2 ,Dual‑mandate corridor: UAE → India 🔁 Two regulators, two code sets ,one clean way through. UAE first hop: Since 2018,...
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Compliance
ISO 20022 | Data That Pays | Week 2 - 🧰🆔 LEI & purpose‑code hygiene that pays for itself Why it matters: A little front‑door discipline
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Compliance
Inside PPC | Map & Corridors week | 1 Where purpose codes are red, amber, green 🗺️ PPCs aren't niche anymore ,they're the map legend for cross‑border. Here's...
Topics: ISO 20022, Payments, Purpose Codes
Inside PPC | Series Teaser | Starts Monday 🚦 Payment Purpose Codes went from niche to non‑negotiable. Missing or wrong purpose is now a top reason for holds,...
Topics: Payments, Compliance, ISO 20022