The FinTech Year in Stories: September

By Louis Thompsett

January 02, 2025

undefined mins

We look at the articles that made the news in fintech in 2024. Today, it is September…

HSBC Pioneers Quantum-Safe Tech for Tokenised Gold

HSBC, the multinational banking and financial services organisation, has successfully trialled quantum-secure technology for trading tokenised physical gold.

This development marks a significant advancement in protecting digital assets against future quantum computing attacks, a growing concern in the fintech industry.

Tokenising gold: A new frontier in digital assets

In 2023, HSBC became the first global bank to offer tokenised physical gold to institutional investors using distributed ledger technology (DLT). DLT, a decentralised digital system for recording transactions across multiple computers, enhances transparency and security in financial transactions.

Philip Intallura, Global Head of Quantum Technologies at HSBC, explains: “HSBC was the first international bank to offer tokenised physical gold and is now building on that innovation with cutting-edge cybersecurity protection for the future.”

Building on this success, HSBC expanded its offering this year with the launch of HSBC Gold Token for retail investors in Hong Kong. This product enables fractional ownership of physical gold, democratising access to this valuable asset class.

“The introduction of HSBC Gold Token for retail investors represents a significant step in making gold investment more accessible,” Philip adds. “It's part of our broader strategy to leverage technology in making financial products more inclusive.”

Quantum-safe technology: Securing the future of digital assets

As part of the trial, HSBC tested the interoperability of its gold tokens using post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

PQC refers to a set of cryptographic algorithms designed to withstand attacks by quantum computers, which are expected to be capable of breaking many current encryption methods.

The bank demonstrated the ability to convert HSBC's gold tokens into ERC-20 fungible tokens, a technical standard for tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. This conversion enhances the tokens' utility and interoperability within the broader digital asset ecosystem.

To achieve this quantum-safe security, HSBC partnered with Quantinuum, a leading quantum computing company. Quantinuum employed PQC algorithms and its proprietary Quantum Origin quantum randomness technology to showcase comprehensive protection of digital assets from quantum computing attacks.

TrueLayer & Stripe in UK Open Banking Partnership

TrueLayer, a Top 10 Open Banking Company and Europe's foremost Open Banking payments network, has announced an expansion of its partnership with global payment giant Stripe.

This collaboration positions TrueLayer as the backbone of Stripe's Pay by Bank service across its UK payment products, marking a significant milestone in the adoption of Open Banking technology.

The partnership comes at a crucial time for the fintech industry, as businesses increasingly seek alternatives to traditional payment methods.

Pay by Bank, which Stripe unveiled in May, allows merchants to accept payments directly from customers' bank accounts, bypassing the need for credit card transactions.

This approach not only streamlines the payment process but also promises substantial reductions in transaction fees – a key consideration for businesses operating on tight margins.

Francesco Simoneschi, Co-founder and CEO of TrueLayer, says: “We're thrilled to be Stripe's open banking partner in the UK. By collaborating on Pay by Bank, we're offering customers the option to pay with their preferred bank account instead of a credit card. This is a significant milestone in the evolution of digital commerce.”

Stripe: Removing barriers to checkout flows

The move aligns closely with Stripe's stated objectives. In its annual letter published in March, the company emphasised the importance of removing barriers in online purchases and checkout flows.

TrueLayer's open banking technology is well-positioned to support this vision, powering flexible, real-time and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) compliant account-to-account payments.

Industry analysts suggest that this partnership could accelerate the adoption of Open Banking payments in the UK.