Legitimate cannabis businesses face challenges accessing financial services in the United States, with the substance being legal in some states but banned at the federal level. Most banks don’t want to touch them, even in states in which marijuana is legal. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives recently passed the SAFE Banking Act to address some of these issues, but there is no guarantee that it will survive the Republican-dominated Senate.
Organisations across the world increasingly expect global access to finance in real-time. They also expect finance to be consistently available in a way that works for them in any country and currency, without the process being held up by the historical constraints of national boundaries.
Abandoned transactions are a serious concern for online businesses. However, could the adverse effects of card declines be removed if a consumer was prompted to pay with cash when their card wasn’t accepted?
When stress and tension overwhelm us, it’s natural to seek an escape hatch. In this month’s travel feature, we take you on a tour of wellness retreats around the globe that unapologetically combine luxury accommodations with the most effective techniques of this world to soothe the inner self. Travelling from the Swiss Alps to private Cambodian islands, this jaunt covers the cream of the crop of self-indulgent spa sanctuaries.
The future has arrived in the form of two electric sports cars, the Lotus Evija and the Pininfarina Battista, that have raced into the outer limits of electric-car production. These two hyper-cars break records as if they were match sticks. Supercar enthusiasts will love the power, the handling, the sheer speed but may miss some of what made sports cars fun: the sounds and smells of revving monstrous internal-combustion engines.
Although not a new concept, big data is now gaining the world’s attention like never before. Some call it the “new oil”, given its growing reputation as a valuable, largely untapped resource. Indeed, today we are seeing data being unleashed across many different walks of life, as a growing global consensus believes it could dramatically transform the way the world works.
A key global initiative that currently unites much of the world is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Launched by the United Nations back in 2015, Agenda 2030 is an action plan for “people, the planet and prosperity”, which countries and stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, have pledged to implement.
Vetting and validating new technology vendors often falls to bankers and marketers who may lack the technical expertise needed to thoroughly understand the presented technology, including whether it will provide the best solution for the bank’s specific needs. It’s easy to overlook red flags and grasp at what might seem like a simple solution.
Ms. Juliet Morris of International Banker interviews Ms. Nahla Khaddage Bou-Diab, Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of AM Bank on the bank’s approach to customer service, the take-up of digital banking in Lebanon and the “opportunity gap” for women employed in the Middle East banking sector.
Problems have continued to mount for the German banking sector in 2019. According to Ronit Ghose, the global head of banks research at Citibank, German lenders are in a much worse position than their European counterparts—and that even includes Italy when it comes to profitability.