Global Perspectives

Countries across the Global South are collaborating to build interoperable digital infrastructure, sharing governance models and technical standards for payments, identity systems, and financial registries.

Singapore’s Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex) provides a national framework for secure and consent-based financial data sharing between institutions. Built on Singapore’s digital identity system, the platform allows individuals to access consolidated financial information across banks, pension systems, and investment accounts. The system illustrates how trusted financial data interoperability can be achieved through institutional coordination, regulatory oversight, and digit

As digital asset markets draw greater interest from banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and family offices, the question of custody has become central to institutional participation.

Institutional participation in digital asset markets is increasingly dependent on specialised custody infrastructure capable of securely storing and managing cryptocurrencies and tokenised assets. Banks and financial institutions are expanding custody services to meet the governance, compliance, and security requirements of regulated investors.

Central banks across major financial centres are increasingly testing tokenised sovereign bonds as part of broader efforts to modernise financial market infrastructure. Experiments in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the euro area explore how distributed ledger technology can support the issuance, settlement, and lifecycle management of government securities. While still in pilot stages, these initiatives signal a growing interest in programmable financial infrastructure and shared

Europe’s eIDAS 2.0 framework marks a shift from national digital identity schemes to interoperable trust infrastructure at continental scale. This article examines the European Digital Identity Wallet and draws comparative lessons for India’s digital public infrastructure and global interoperability.

Cross-border payments remain costly and fragmented due to the absence of shared trust infrastructure across jurisdictions. This article argues that interoperable trust registries, rather than new payment rails alone, are essential to reducing friction and enabling scalable, accountable international payments.

The study surveys notable case studies, including Georgia’s national blockchain registry, Sweden’s property transfer automation, Brazil’s municipal pilots and Switzerland’s DLT-regulated real estate markets to draw cross-country policy lessons. Beyond the technology, the analysis focuses on institutional governance, regulatory coherence, and stakeholder integration as key determinants of sustainable implementation. It argues that blockchain’s role lies not in decentralization

In Kenya, digital lending expanded faster than regulation could adapt. By the late 2010s, millions of mobile users were accessing instant...

Across Africa, a quiet transformation is taking shape. Governments, regional bodies, and innovators are designing digital systems meant...

The European Union’s Digital Identity Framework, known as eIDAS 2.0, is setting a new benchmark for how countries can approach trust and...