The rise of e-commerce, and more recently digital wallets, has been a fragmented affair, meaning there is little standardisation across the e-payments industry. This is something that needs addressing, says Jeff Jaffe, CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium, and there is no time to lose.
Latest articles from International Meetings
Lithuania prepares for life in the eurozone
January 5, 2015From dealing with the knock-on effects of the US and EU sanctions on Russia to preparing for the adoption of the euro, Lithuania's finance minister Rimantas Šadžius has been kept busy this year. But, despite the headwinds, Lithuania has managed to record one of the highest GDP growth rates in Europe.
Lebanon's resilience will see it through instability
January 5, 2015Political instability is keeping Lebanon from achieving its potential, according to central bank governor Riad Salameh, who is targeting three major sectors as engines of economic growth.
Polanyi’s paradox and the shape of employment growth
January 5, 2015Are robots going to render the human worker obsolete? These claims are inaccurate and misleading, says MIT economics professor David H Autor, as the role of the computer will typically be to complement, not compete with, the human touch.
A world of failures? The inclusive route to prosperity
January 5, 2015'Failure' has been a common theme of the introspective assessments made in the banking sector and of economies more generally since the onset of the global financial crisis. The authors of Why Nations Fail examine the differences between those countries that sink and those that swim.
Liveable, clean, green and resilient: reshaping Asia’s booming cities
January 5, 2015Better urban planning, being cleaner, greener and more resilient, and sourcing more innovative financing are needed if Asia's cities are to cope with and benefit from a rapid phase of urbanisation, says the Asian Development Bank president Takehiko Nakao.
The Islamic microfinance challenge
January 5, 2015That there is a need for microfinance in predominantly Islamic countries is taken as a given by most, yet providing sharia-compliant microfinance seems to be beyond many financial institutions. So what can be done? James King investigates.
Silver service: how to cope with the financial demands of an ageing population
January 5, 2015As the world’s population ages, the challenges for wealth managers, economists and governments are significant if countries are to maintain productivity and generate growth.
The Asean Economic Community's many layers
January 5, 2015Progress towards the integration of the economic community of the Association of South-east Asian Nations in 2015 has been impressive, but challenges remain as member countries attempt to bring together very different values.
Viewpoint: Italian Minister of Economy and Finance
January 5, 2015With the eurozone flirting with deflation, solutions to this problem are urgently needed. One of them – the integration of markets and institutions – offers hope, according to Italy's minister of economy and finance, Pier Carlo Padoan.