GRA · Fintech Nexus

Spatial financeWhere capital meets hazard, exposure and transition

Regional exposures

Fintech risk takes a different shape in each region: mobile money and agent networks in Africa, fast payment systems in Latin America and South Asia, open banking regimes in Europe and the United Kingdom, and new stablecoin laws in several jurisdictions. This page compares those structures from public records and the risk questions each raises.

02Scope

Regions in Fintech Nexus.

  1. 01

    Payments and innovation

    New payment services and resilience.

  2. 02

    Open finance

    Data portability, privacy and access.

  3. 03

    Digital assets and tokenisation

    Digital market infrastructure and risks.

  4. 04

    AI and automation

    Financial model and decision risk.

  5. 05

    Financial identity

    Onboarding, fraud and exclusion.

  6. 06

    Fintech operational risk

    Cloud, cybersecurity and vendors.

03Geography

Activity and exposure in East Africa.

Population density, night lights and flood water over East Africa, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 3

Activity and exposure, for this page

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Activity and exposure, framed on East Africa.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · U.S. Geological Survey · CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASESources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
  • Context: CIESIN/Columbia, NASA SEDAC HBASE. Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University, and NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC): Global Human Built-up And Settlement Extent (HBASE) 2010; Seto, Guneralp and Hutyra 2012, Global Grid of Probabilities of Urban Expansion to 2030; Global Urban Heat Island (UHI) Data Set, 2013.
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Optional layers (5 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026

04Regional view

Payment systems and digital public infrastructure differ by region.

RegionFeature on the public record
South AsiaFast payment systems built as digital public infrastructure
Latin AmericaCentral bank instant payment systems with wide adoption
AfricaMobile money as the main account for many users
EuropePSD2 open banking, MiCA for crypto-assets, DORA
05Process

How the process runs.

Process explorer · Process

Regional exposures: Programme through eight gates

11 steps4 stages8 gates

Process

Regional exposures: Programme through eight gates

The Global Risks Forum (GRF) records eight yearly gates, each a programme decision; a gate not passed stops its work, and the competent authority decides outside.

  1. 01 Q1 · Planning

    1. 01G0 · Annual programme authorisedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF authorises the annual mandate. It never sets a national agenda.
    2. 03Route the candidate mission to standardsStep · Nexus StandardsNexus Standards routes each candidate mission to the standards and profiles that apply.
  2. 02 Q2 · Readiness and build

    1. 04G1 · Missions admittedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF admits missions with reasons recorded. It cannot admit a mission without an accountable owner.
    2. 05G2 · Data and resources qualifiedGate · The Global Risks ForumReadiness preparation closes when data, people and resources are qualified.
    3. 06G3 · Build accepted for exerciseGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF records whether the build is accepted for exercise. A gate not passed stops the work it governs.
  3. 03 Q3 · Action Week

    1. 07G4 · Controlled live operation authorisedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF authorises controlled live operation for Action Week.
    2. 08G5 · Evidence sealed and stand-down recordedGate · The Global Risks ForumThe evidence is sealed with its provenance and the stand-down is recorded.
  4. 04 Q4 · Reporting and renewal

    1. 02Competent authority decides and actsActor · The competent authorityThe competent authority decides and acts under its own rules. The programme informs it and never decides for it.
    2. 09Scientific and editorial reviewStep · Reviewers and the publisherQualified, conflict-managed reviewers and the publisher decide what is accepted. Institutions cannot decide a scientific conclusion.
    3. 10G6 · Publication authorisedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF authorises publication of results that have passed scientific and editorial review. It cannot publish personal data.
    4. 11G7 · Renewal reviewedGate · The Global Risks ForumGRF reviews renewal and sets the next cycle's mandate.

The programme year · The Global Risks Forum · Decision rightsDesigned programme process, not a record of operation. No cycle has run and every programme is at service level R0. A gate is a programme decision, never a public-authority approval, certification or deployment authorisation.

06Evidence

Where the systems are studied.

Digital public infrastructure evidence at GCRI digital inclusion; governance of technology standards at GRF technology procurement and standards.

07Status

Work is shown as its record stands.

Programmes are listed as exploring, forming, constituted, active, paused or archived. Country and regional entries appear when a programme record supports them.

08Sources

Where this page's references lead.

The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.

09Questions

Questions and answers.

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Write to Contact or a regional desk. A proposal receives a reference.
Fintech Nexus

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