THE FINANCE CHIEF INTERVIEW

A SILENT TRANSFORMATION happening in the boardroom. Financial systems hold the potential to be more accessible – but it takes community, continuity and … crypto? Globally, the word‘ efficiency’ makes every C-suite sit a little straighter; it’ s the golden ticket to productivity, capital gains and happy investors. The financial services sector has heard the calls loud and clear: payments need to be more efficient. Systems need to be more efficient. Keith Grose, UK CEO of Coinbase, is actively campaigning for that system to be more efficient with the latest innovation to shake up business payments: crypto. Specifically, stablecoin.“ I am energised by our goal to make Coinbase the number one financial app in the UK.” Keith shares.“ Particularly, this involves shaping the future of financial services at a time of genuine transformation. Crypto and blockchain technology have the potential to make the financial system more accessible, efficient and innovative”. As part of his mission, Keith unites all corners of the payments sphere to make sure that crypto isn’ t overlooked.“ It’ s exciting to work with policymakers, industry partners and businesses to help turn that potential into reality,” he says.

The payments process should, and could, be faster Procurement processes are oftentimes stressful; a tightrope act of managing risk, negotiating sometimes intricate contracts and of course navigating a tight budget. Additional stress doesn’ t need to come from the last tick in the box; payments should be the final hurdle. A barrier between relief of closure and a sometimes tense task, payments should be quick, simple and easy. According to recent data from Sage, the cost to the UK economy due to late payments is £ 11bn( US $ 14.7bn) each year. Keith notes:“ There is certainly a need for B2B payments across the UK to become more efficient.” In light of the data, he explains:“ Stablecoins offer a muchneeded upgrade to this system offering near instant and sub-cent movement of funds with the security and traceability of the blockchain. As adoption grows and the UK’ s stablecoin regime takes shape, the country is building out thoughtful and stablecoin-friendly guardrails.” Regulation of course needs to catch up in order to facilitate a faster alternative.“ The FCA’ s recent changes to the proposed framework – including reduced capital requirements for stablecoin issuers – highlights regulators’ proportionate

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