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New Delhi: 78 per cent of consumers now prefer to do most of their banking digitally through <keyword id="19915384" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-apps" source="keywords">mobile apps</keyword> or websites, according to the Alkami report. This shift is part of a broader trend towards <keyword id="21227659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cashless-transactions" source="keywords">cashless transactions</keyword> and <keyword id="21012835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="contactless-payments" source="keywords">contactless payments</keyword>, which have become the default for many, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, nearly 80 per cent of financial institutions have seen an increase in cashless transactions over the past two years. This change has been accelerated by the pandemic, with many consumers opting for digital payments to avoid handling cash. About 60 per cent of these institutions noted that the volume of cashless transactions has surged by more than 20 per cent. Cashless payments aren't a new concept--personal checks and credit cards have been around for decades. However, today's digital payments, whether made through a smartphone, laptop, or tablet, are quickly becoming the standard. The convenience and safety of these transactions, especially in a post-pandemic world, have made them more popular than ever. Allison Cerra, Chief Marketing Officer at Alkami Technology, said, "The banking leaders of the future will be those that can harness data for the best use, gain a holistic view of their relationships, and meet the rapidly changing needs of digital consumers." With more people turning to <keyword id="20028215" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-banking" source="keywords">digital banking</keyword>, there's been a noticeable decline in the use of ATMs and checks. Chad Rogers, Executive Vice President at Connexus Credit Union, noted that even millennials are moving away from traditional banking methods. "What we're seeing, even with our millennial users, is that they're no longer ordering checks, or making cash withdrawals from our ATMs as we would expect. Instead, they are self-serving from home or wherever they are. They're moving money through our digital banking platform," he said. Interestingly, even though fewer people are visiting bank branches in person, their overall engagement with banks has increased. Thanks to the ease of mobile and <keyword id="19998466" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-banking" source="keywords">online banking</keyword>, customers are now interacting with their banks more frequently, often on a daily basis. While cashless transactions are on the rise, the adoption of cryptocurrency is growing more slowly. Around 21 per cent of financial institutions reported that their customers are asking for Bitcoin products and services. Although this is still a relatively small percentage, 35 per cent of banks believe that offering cryptocurrency options could give them a competitive edge. Banks are also feeling the heat from fintech companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Venmo. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has called these fintechs "enormous competitive threats" to traditional banking. The popularity of fintechs has only increased during the pandemic, with many consumers turning to these platforms for their financial needs. Despite the competition, some banks are partnering with fintechs to stay relevant. According to the report, 50 per cent of banks and 40 per cent of credit unions have teamed up with fintech companies in the past three years to enhance their digital offerings. Looking ahead, many experts believe that the future of banking will revolve around personalised experiences. However, only about a quarter of financial institutions are currently using hyperpersonalization to gain a competitive advantage. There's a growing opportunity for banks to leverage personalised recommendations and offers to better serve their customers. Data is also playing a crucial role in this digital transformation. Most banks are now using data analysis to improve customer experiences, guide decision-making, and reduce development time and costs. By unlocking the potential of customer data, banks can better anticipate their clients' needs and offer tailored solutions. Allison Cerra Chief Marketing Officer at Alkami Technology, said, "We are now at a place where technology has democratised financial advice and counsel. It is no longer just the privileged upper class who can afford to get financially fit and prepare for the future."

78 pc of consumers choose digital banking over cash transactions

<div type="image" title="For the unversed, trading in futures and options can be akin to setting their hard-earned money on fire" height="900" width="1200" msid="114064202" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;For the unversed, trading in futures and options can be akin to setting their hard-earned money on fire&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Once upon a time, there thrived a wild, wild land. Here, it was all about super high monetary stakes, lightning-fast trade deals, and bucketloads of money shifting hands every single second. This wilderness lured millions of individuals with the promise of super duper high returns. But, at what cost? Welcome to the unforgiving, ultra-risky wild west of <keyword id="19991165" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-equity-markets" source="keywords">Indian equity markets</keyword> called the <keyword id="145718" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Futures-and-Options" source="Orion">futures and options</keyword>. Here, everyone seems to just fly right through the bright red-flagged warnings of financial risks to earn even a fraction of these promised returns. Most burn themselves in the process, but carry on nevertheless, as if nothing ever happened. <h2>Chasing the cloudy profits</h2>The data conclusively proves that every 9 out of 10 individuals only lost their hard-earned money in this land. But hey, what do the numbers know? Some hide their losses out of shame, some out of fear. The proponents, meanwhile, proudly boast unusually high returns on their investments, some open social media channels while others encourage their friends and family to take the plunge. Naturally, news of this unstoppable and humongous en-masse migration to the F&amp;O (futures and options) town has reached sheriff <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SEBI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SEBI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="SEBI">SEBI</keyword>, galvanising them into action. After all, it was time to put a leash on this madness and save the common man. The inhabitants of this town doubled in the last 2 years, from 51 lakh in FY22 to 96 lakh in FY24—99.8% of whom were small and mid-income traders. But profits? Well, that's a different, rather completely absent story. <h2>Que Sera Sera, much?</h2>A recent report by SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) that studied profits and losses made by traders in the equity derivatives segment between FY22-24 exposed the mad mania of futures and options trading in India, especially since the pandemic. Per the report, 91.1% of individual traders, or about 73 lakh traders had only lost money trading in futures and options in FY24. Between FY 22-24, over 1 crore traders, or about 92.8% of individual traders, had lost Rs 2 lakh each. But once bitten, twice shy? Well, not in this case. More than 75% of individuals, who had only made losses trading in F&amp;O in FY22 and FY23, continued to trade vigorously in FY24 as well, without any changes in the bottom line, which remained deep in red and negative. So, then all these traders must be uber-rich, with tons of cash and not much care to spare? Nope. 76% of traders in the F&amp;O space in FY24 had an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh. 2 years ago, their share stood at 71%. And their choice of poison? Options! In FY24, 60% of traders made losses trading in futures, but a whopping 91.5% burnt their funds trading in options. Mind you, futures are riskier than options. With futures, which require significant capital investment, the buyer and seller both are contractually bound to adhere to the pre-determined strike price of the futures or options contract, irrespective of whether the prevailing prices are higher or lower (and thus, resulting in losses for either the buyer or seller). With options, since this adherence ain't necessary, individuals end up taking debt to take highly leveraged positions while trading here. <h2>Scale of the explosion</h2>Anyone who trades even infrequently will tell you that a demat account is the mitochondria or powerhouse of the trading cell. As of August 2024, India had over 17.1 crore <keyword id="20957284" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="demat-accounts" source="keywords">demat accounts</keyword>, which are a prerequisite for trading in the markets. India is the 9th biggest country in the world, in terms of total demat accounts. Did you know that our demat accounts are at par with the entire population of Bangladesh? Talk about scale! Just 4 years ago, in March 2020, this number was a mere 4 crore. Naturally, the total F&amp;O turnover on both <keyword id="20004725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSE" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NSE" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NSE">NSE</keyword> and BSE has hit the roof, and also broken it. As of October 4, 2024, the total futures and options turnover on NSE stood at a massive Rs 4,78,27,27,750.30 crore. Good luck counting the thousands! <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total Turnover (Both Futures and Options) (In Rs Crore) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2020-21 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">64,36,03,951.51 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2021-22 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,69,52,33,134.47 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2022-23 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3,82,23,26,468.06 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2023-24 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7,99,27,67,152.43 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source : NSE Another metric that underlines the meteoric growth of trading in India is the collection of STT or <keyword id="20930760" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Securities-Transaction-Tax" source="keywords">Securities Transaction Tax</keyword>. As of September 2024, India's STT mop-up had gone past Rs 26,000 crore. Traders have to pay STT whenever they buy or sell any security in the market. So, more trading brings in more STT, and hence, more revenue for the government, so they're not really complaining. After all, this is certainly what they'd call enviable growth. As of August 2023, our STT collection stood at about Rs 21,599 crores. And in FY20-21, India's STT collection had been Rs 16,000 crore. If only our salaries also managed to grow at this rate! <h2>So, what's happening?</h2>Two things. One, it's the big bulls who are raking in all the moolah. And it's the younger lot (those aged under 30) who are propping them up for this. In FY24, 43% of individual traders in the market were less than 30 years of age. In just one year, this number has swelled by 12 percentage points from just 31% of individual traders. But who says ageing is bad? Wrinkles and silver hair seemingly have a propensity of incurring lesser losses in the market. In FY24, only 79% of traders aged above 60 years made losses, as compared to 93% of those aged below 30. Small and mid-income traders, which make up 98% of the total trader base, witnessed average losses per person of Rs 65,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh in FY24 in futures and options, respectively. The winner here? Clearly, the big bulls, who declared an annual income of over Rs 1 crore, ended up with average profits of Rs 96,000 per person this year. <h2>What’s the sheriff up to?</h2>The government has finally swung into action, hiking the STT rate for F&amp;O during this year’s budget. Effective October 1, 2024, the STT on futures stands at 0.02%, up from 0.0125%. For options, it was upped to 0.1% versus 0.0625% previously. Small margins, but huge impact oncoming. Says Puneet Sharma- CEO and Fund Manager at Whitespace Alpha, “SEBI aims to enhance market stability while safeguarding investor interests, reflecting the regulator's intent to balance risk management with market participation”. But this might come with its own share of challenges, too. “Stricter norms around leverage, transparency, and capital adequacy could limit the ability of investors to determine their own risk appetite, thereby stifling innovation in trading strategies. Over-regulation in an environment that thrives on strategic flexibility and creativity could dampen the market’s dynamism, affecting India's competitiveness in the global derivatives landscape”, he observes. SEBI recently came out with a set of guidelines that aim to thwart <keyword id="19972907" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-investors" source="keywords">retail investors</keyword>' participation in futures and options and hinder them from taking undue risks. Here's a quick recap of what's to come for the residents of the F&amp;O town Margin Requirements: To battle the high volatility and chaos which is generally seen on expiry days(i.e the last mandated date, post which an option becomes invalid), SEBI will put in place an extreme loss margin (ELM) of 2% for all open short options on the day of expiry. Translation? Traders will need to pony up more cash upfront, leaving them with fewer funds to take on risky bets. It ain't a choice: No more of one expiry every single day! Going ahead, an exchange like BSE or NSE will just be able to offer weekly expiries, that too, only on one benchmark index, as opposed to an entire buffet it currently offers. At present, NSE offers weekly options contracts for its financial index, bank and midcap indices. But say goodbye to this, and hello to derivatives on only 1 index per exchange. Raising the bar: Effective November 30, 2024, the minimum contract value for index derivatives will be upped to Rs 15 lakh, from the present Rs 5-10 lakh. The hope is that by making it ultra-expensive to enter these trades, investors will be dissuaded from taking on risky trades. Pay upfront: Starting February 2025, those trading in options will have to pay the entire options premium upfront, even before their trades are executed. This is because options generally carry very high leverage, and paying a significant sum upfront can force traders to think twice. Invigilation Pro Max: Starting April 1 2025, to make sure that the number of positions for equity index derivatives does not slyly slip over the mandated limit, especially on expiry days when trade volumes are huge, the exchanges will have to take a minimum of 4 position snapshots randomly. The question is, will these injections of sobriety be enough to calm down the steroid-fed bull of the futures and options market in India? Well, only time and market turnover will tell! For more insights into the financial markets and business news, stay tuned to our site and social media handles. And don’t forget to subscribe to Business Insider India’s newsletters for your weekly dose of Simply Put! Disclaimer: The content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. We recommend readers consult certified, qualified and registered advisors for professional and personalised financial advice.

SIMPLY PUT: SEBI is on a mission to take on the wild, wild west of futures and options in India. Here’s why, what, and how

Prime Minister Narendra <keyword id="19899684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi" source="keywords">Modi</keyword> on Friday said the government is making necessary <keyword id="20861068" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="policy-changes" source="keywords">policy changes</keyword>, like removal of <keyword id="20279287" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Angel-Tax" source="keywords">Angel Tax</keyword>, to promote the <keyword id="19945816" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fintech" source="keywords">fintech</keyword> sector, even as he asked the <keyword id="19962476" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="regulators" source="keywords">regulators</keyword> to take additional measures to check cyber frauds which can have a crippling impact on startups. Lauding the fintechs for democratising <keyword id="19976433" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-services" source="keywords">financial services</keyword>, Modi said the sector, which has attracted USD 31-billion investment in the last 10 years, has played a key role in denting the parallel economy. The Prime Minister was addressing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024, jointly organised by the Payments Council of India, the National Payments Corporation of India and the Fintech Convergence Council. He said the domestic economy and the capital market are in a celebratory mood at a time when the nation is also going through a festive period. Modi underlined that the government is making all necessary changes on the policy level to assist the fintech sector and gave examples of doing away with Angel Tax, allocating Rs 1 lakh crore to encourage research and innovation in the country and implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Broadly, fintech refers to entities utilising technologies for providing financial services. Expressing the need to put an end to <keyword id="19901142" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyber-fraud" source="keywords">cyber fraud</keyword>, he urged the regulators to take major initiatives to boost digital literacy. It is equally important to ensure cyber fraud does not come in the way of the growth of fintech and startups in the country, Modi said. In his speech, the Prime Minister also cautioned about the dangers of a parallel economy for the world. Fintech, he said, has played an impactful role in denting such a system and credited the emergence of transparency. He said that digital technology has introduced transparency in India and gave the example of the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer used in hundreds of government schemes that has prevented leakages in the system. "Today, people can see the benefits of aligning with the formal banking system," he said. Modi further said the trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile have broken down the mentality of 'Cash is King' and made way for approximately half of the <keyword id="20004116" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-transactions" source="keywords">digital transactions</keyword> in the world taking place in India. "India's <keyword id="19900911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="upi" source="keywords">UPI</keyword> has become a major example of fintech in the world," he said, adding that it has enabled 24X7 banking services in every village and city in all weather conditions. Underlining the role of fintech in democratising financial services, the Prime Minister gave examples of readily available loans, credit cards, investments and insurance. He said that fintech has made access to credit easy and inclusive, and gave the example of PM SVANidhi scheme that has enabled street vendors to avail collateral-free loans and further expand their business with the help of digital transactions. "Sustainable <keyword id="19900794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-growth" source="keywords">economic growth</keyword> is India's priority today," he said and emphasised that the government is creating robust, transparent and efficient systems to strengthen financial markets with advanced technologies and regulatory frameworks. About 800 speakers, including policymakers, regulators, senior bankers, industry captains, and academicians, from India and other countries are participating in the fest.

Removed Angel Tax, taking policy measures to promote fintech sector: PM Modi

<ul class="summary-list"><li>PayPal is set to launch an ad business, starting in the US.</li><li>The company intends to offer ads across its own properties, as well as other retailers.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/paypal">PayPal</a> is set to announce the official launch of PayPal Ads on Thursday. This new advertising business looks to help marketers tap into data on the billions of transactions that take place across its payments platforms.Starting this year, brands and agencies in the US will be able to run ads across properties, including PayPal, the person-to-person payment service <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/banking/venmo-review">Venmo</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-acquired-honey-in-hopes-of-expanding-its-services-reach-2019-11">Honey</a>, its coupon and cash-back tool.Next year, PayPal also intends to let these advertisers purchase ads across the more than 30 million merchants that use its payment systems, opening up a much broader commerce-media ad network.Mark Grether, SVP and general manager of PayPal Ads, who <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/paypal-is-planning-an-ad-business-using-data-on-its-millions-of-shoppers-cc5e0625">joined</a> the company this year after leading <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ads-reaches-1-billion-annual-revenue-run-rate-2024-8">Uber's now-$1-billion ad business</a>, will make the announcement at the Advertising Week New York trade show later on Thursday.In an interview with Business Insider, Grether said the company is looking to address a key pain point in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retail-media-advertising-surges-challenging-google-traditional-channels-2023-9">fast-growing retail media ad space</a>. An avalanche of retailers, apps, and businesses have launched advertising businesses in recent months, but marketers typically can't buy campaigns across multiple sites and instead must deal with each company individually."With our cross-merchant data we are in a prime position to help the market to rationalize," Grether said.Around $1 in every $7 US ad dollars is expected to be devoted to the retail media space this year, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-ad-spending-forecast-h1-2024">Emarketer</a>. Advertisers are particularly attracted to the space because they can get in front of consumers just as they're about to make a purchase and retailers can offer unique data about whether their advertising led to a sale. That means it's a high-margin business for the sellers of retail media ads because they can charge higher rates than the average web display ad."The newest offering from PayPal underscores the importance of incrementality: While data and signals tied to consumer purchasing are not necessarily new, the opportunity to infuse incremental moments of influence throughout shoppers' journeys opens up real-time engagement for advertisers," said JiYoung Kim, chief operating officer, of the the media investment company GroupM.PayPal had 429 million active accounts as of June 30, a larger potential audience than most individual retailers — bar the likes of Amazon and Walmart, which are the leaders in the retail media space.Grether said PayPal will also be able to offer advertisers insights, such as the market share of their products across various retailers compared to their competitors."It's really powerful not only for the CMO but also for the CFO, to see how a retail marketing campaign actually influences market share," Grether said.Users can opt-out of their data being shared with advertisers, PayPal said.PayPal's other plans for next year include expanding from display ads to video, working on self-service ad software for its clients, and offering PayPal Ads in more territories, such as the UK and Germany. PayPal said the current ad stack has been built using a mixture of third-party software and its own in-house tech.PayPal made its first foray into ads earlier this year, launching non-targeted in-app offers from brands like Nordstrom, Lyft, and Ticketmaster. It's also recently launched a marketing push that aims to position PayPal and Venmo as rewarding payment methods.PayPal's advertising expansion follows the company's appointment of CEO Alex Chriss, who has sought to make the company more <a target="_blank" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-paypals-new-ceo-is-reinventing-the-firm-as-it-goes-beyond-payments-141126940.html">nimble</a>. Under Chriss, PayPal overhauled its leadership team, including hiring former Verizon chief marketing officer Diego Scotti, who Grether reports to.Robert Webster, the founder of the consultancy TAU Marketing Solutions, said PayPal's transaction data puts the company in a prime position to launch an advertising service. But he said it will need to tread carefully in order not to alienate and bombard customers. Plus, it's launching late into an already crowded market."Mastercard already has a data business," Webster said. "They will be somewhat also competing with other data vendors like Lotame, Dunn and Bradstreet, Experian, as well as potentially competing with retail media networks."

PayPal just opened a new ad business. The exec leading it unpacks the plan to link advertisers with its trove of transaction data.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jeannie Assimos married at age 40 but started the divorce process four years later.</li><li>She says she knew the marriage was a mistake, but she fell under societal pressure at the time.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannie-assimos-4547599/">Jeannie Assimos,</a> a 52-year-old VP at a fintech company. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I got married for the first time when I was 40. For most of my life I was certain that I never wanted to get married. The idea of being a wife <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/enjoy-being-mom-more-than-wife-2024-6">or a mom</a> just didn't appeal to me — I wanted to be independent, and I loved the idea of being a career woman.Even when I had serious boyfriends in my teens and 20s, I shot down any conversations about marriage. I wanted to stay in control of my own life and didn't believe that was possible with a husband.<h2 id="d3fc6d68-5324-463e-82c5-e378607fa6a1">My beliefs unexpectedly changed in my mid-30s</h2>I landed a job as the managing editor at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eharmony-win-back-millennials-2017-2">eHarmony</a> and worked there for a decade, overseeing content on all their sites, including two wedding advice websites.I became immersed in people planning their weddings, wearing beautiful dresses, and throwing themselves the party of a lifetime. This was also around when all my friends married and had kids. For the first time in my life, I felt envious.It seemed like everyone else was living out a fairy tale life. I wondered if this was something that I should have, too. At the time, I had been dating someone for five years and thought marriage was probably the next step. In 2012, we decided to get married. He didn't want to, but I pushed the issue.I almost instantly realized I had made a big mistake. I didn't want to be married. It took me four more years before I decided to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/determined-marriage-end-in-divorce-backfired-2024-8">get divorced</a>. I wasn't happy, and he wasn't the right long-term partner for me.<h2 id="6b243e70-cc2d-4003-b620-ce38298beedc">Getting out of a marriage was tough</h2>Leaving a four-year marriage took another two years. It wasn't easy. My ex-husband didn't want the relationship to end. I was desperate to move on.My divorce made me realize just how much marriage is a business transaction because I was legally bound to this person. When I wanted to end it, it cost me thousands of dollars in assets and time.In 2016, after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/couple-divorced-after-two-years-dating-again-wont-remarry-2024-8">my divorce was finalized</a>, I vowed never to get married again.<h2 id="33249574-5a55-46c1-9e64-7486261b82f9">I've been dating my now partner for five years. I don't want to marry him.</h2>10 months after the divorce was finalized, I started casually dating again. I wasn't interested in getting serious with anyone. After a few years, I felt empty, and I realized I did want a partner and a companion without the legalities of marriage.My current partner and I have been together for five years and are both content with our loving partnership. We feel the same way that marriage is just a legal agreement.He's been married three times, which doesn't bother me, and he agrees there's no reason to bring a legal agreement into our relationship.<h2 id="03925951-4562-42b7-9061-07e820999c0f">Marriage doesn't bring me the level of security it might bring other people</h2>For some people, marriage brings commitment and security. Other people feel that it's a psychological thing, where once they sign that legal document, they feel together in every sense of the world.I didn't ever see it that way. I was always very aware there was a risk the marriage could end. Even good marriages where people seem like they will be together forever often end. I never bought into the "till death do us part" cliché.<h2 id="882a460e-2951-447a-99ba-6bb8ddaa94c8">I don't need to rely on someone else to support me financially</h2>I've been building a career for myself for two decades and am now a vice president at a fintech company. I make six figures a year and comfortably support my lifestyle. While some might see marriage as a way to co-mingle finances and rely on a partner for financial support, I don't care about that. My partner and I split things but aren't rigid in our approach.I like keeping my finances separate from my partner. I like fully controlling my own money. The only benefit that marriage brought into my life was the tax benefits. I get taxed 2% more as a single person than I did the years I was married.<h2 id="7f824e3e-23c3-4522-a202-c7af9d7f68f3">My partner and I live the same life as a married couple</h2>Even though my partner and I won't ever get married, we live the same lifestyle as married couples. We live together, have similar interests, spend most of our time together, and set plans for the future. I hope we can grow old together.We check in regarding our schedules and plans and respect one another's decisions. We co-parent an adorable miniature pinscher named Jonny Cash, who is essentially our child. We just don't have a legally binding agreement.<h2 id="2bea26a6-3e11-4db3-ad4b-b61e5482bcee">I wish more people thought about marriage before tying the knot</h2>I don't regret getting married because the experience led me to live authentically. It helped me find a partner who's a better match for me, and we're completely on the same page.Getting married to a person is a reckless decision if you're not 100% sure and haven't taken enough time to know who you're aligning yourself with. Time reveals all — good and bad — about people. Be patient with falling in love, and wait to commit until you've seen your partner in all the various seasons of life.Want to share your story? Email Lauryn Haas at lhaas@businessinsider.com.

I refuse to marry my long-term partner. A divorce taught me marriage is nothing more than a business transaction.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A public offering can lead to sudden wealth creation and leave founders wondering how to manage it.</li><li>A top Goldman Sachs wealth advisor shared key considerations for startup founders.</li></ul>In 1987, Bill Gates became the world's youngest billionaire at 31. His fortune had already ballooned the year prior when his brainchild, Microsoft, went public on the Nasdaq.Like many founders who have taken their companies public, Gates saw a sudden windfall of wealth transform his life and vault him into a new tax bracket. The bank that led Microsoft's initial public offering was Goldman Sachs, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-investment-bank-leaders-lay-out-winning-strategy-2024-6">Wall Street behemoth</a> famed for its leading position in terms of both advising on public issuances and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-2q-earnings-david-solomon-investment-banking-forecast-2024-7">handling private merger transactions</a>.Goldman executives <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/dealmaking-and-ipos-are-poised-for-a-revival-in-2024">have forecast in recent months</a> an increase in public offerings this year after a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-bake-offs-back-morgan-stanley-2q-ted-pick-2024-7">slow past two years for IPOs</a>. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ey.com/en_us/insights/ipo/ipo-market-trends">accounting and tax giant EY found that IPOs were rebounding</a> this year and has tracked 82 public offerings in the US market throughout the first half of 2024, which have collectively generated $18.6 billion in proceeds. It puts this year ahead of last year's tally, at 63 deals producing slightly more than $10 billion in proceeds.So far in 2024, Goldman Sachs' IPO team has worked on 16 public offerings in the US, which generated more than $1.5 billion in value, according to deal-tracking firm Dealogic; that's up from last year's eight IPOs, which resulted in $930 million in value.Founders who go through successful IPOs may find they have a host of new money-management needs, according to Kerry Blum, the global head of the equity-structuring group within private-wealth management at Goldman Sachs."When someone has invested a significant amount of their life in creating a company and establishing a leadership team, we appreciate that there is a lot of emotion tied to that asset," Blum told Business Insider in an interview. "We understand that the decisions they're making are both economically and emotionally important."The team reporting to Blum — a more than 20-year Goldman veteran who was elevated to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-partners-share-investment-banking-oral-histories-2024-7">bank's elite partnership in 2022</a> — supports family offices and high-net-worth clients like the founders of big-ticket companies. Blum's team is separate from the equity-capital-markets group, which advises companies in IPOs and is situated within the investment-banking division.Through the bank's One Goldman Sachs program, which unites various business lines to cross-sell services to clients, Blum and her team share referrals with their colleagues in the firm's investment-banking division. That could mean investment bankers referring clients doing IPOs or mergers to their private-wealth counterparts who work with Blum, or vice versa, for instance.The team is equipped with a tool kit of strategies to help clients with their money-management goals — from trust and estate planning to strategizing when and how founders should sell equity.Blum shared her advice for founders who may be on the cusp of successful IPOs and how they could work with wealth advisors to set themselves and their families up for prosperous financial futures.<h2 id="bbd45c66-0556-42e4-ba5c-85e785043026">Start the conversation early</h2>If you're considering a public offering, it's never too early to broach the topic with an advisor, Blum said.Many pre-IPO founders will have a relationship with a wealth advisor, she said, and it's not unusual for them to have initial discussions several years before an IPO.About three to six months before the IPO listing date, conversations between a founder and their advisor tend to ramp up substantially, according to Blum."We'll be more engaged with clients on a more regular basis to help them understand: What does the landscape look like? What should they be expecting? And what does that final to-do checklist look like as they approach the IPO?" Blum told BI.<h2 id="80043aae-d0fe-44e4-a2f8-8a7b7504176a">Think about messaging and signaling</h2>For many founders who go through an IPO, the milestone may represent the first time they contemplate selling off big stakes of equity in a business they've built from scratch. It's important to be mindful of what such decisions can indicate to other investors and to handle the process accordingly.Indeed, founders' equity sales often come with additional rites like issuing securities filings, "so we want to make sure that we're being mindful of the messaging and signaling considerations," Blum said."You get to take a company public once. You get to make your first sale as a founder once as well," she added, pointing to the importance of being thoughtful and deliberate when making such moves.Her team tracks other companies' regulatory disclosures and information about Goldman's own client portfolio to learn what other founders are doing.With that information, Blum's team can answer clients' questions such as:<ul><li>How do their peers in the founder community think about themselves?</li><li>When are they selling?</li><li>How are they selling?</li><li>How much are they selling?</li><li>Where are they selling?</li></ul><h2 id="a1890d80-961a-40aa-8869-1ddb64c4a409">Know what your priorities are</h2>Managing your money post-IPO is in some ways like managing your portfolio as it's always been, but with more considerations to contend with and more resources at play, Blum said.That means diversification across asset classes becomes even more important, as do other choices, like which philanthropic initiatives a founder may wish to support."We also spend some time helping clients make sure that they've thought through what could their impact and legacy look like," Blum said. "And although it's 10 or 15 years out, it's never too early to think through how to optimize for those events."

A Goldman Sachs financial advisor shares 3 strategies for founders preparing to cash in on IPO wealth

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Iraq is about to become the latest country to join the de-dollarization drive, per Reuters.</li><li>The greenback will be banned from being used in cash transactions and withdrawals from January 1, the outlet reported.</li></ul>Iraq will ban the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/us-dollar-index">US dollar</a> from the start of next year as the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/what-is-dedollarization-rival-countries-bid-to-dethrone-greenback-explained-2023-4">global movement against the greenback</a> gathers pace, one of the country's top financial policymakers told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/iraq-end-all-dollar-cash-withdrawals-by-jan-1-2024-cbank-official-2023-10-05/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>.People won't be able to withdraw cash in dollars or use the greenback in transactions from January 1, 2024, Iraqi central bank director-general of investment and remittances Mazen Ahmed said in an interview with the outlet.The country will ban the buck in a bid to stamp out crime, he said, with over $5 billion worth of the cash that the central bank imports from New York reportedly used in illegal activities."You want to transfer? Transfer. You want a card in dollars? Here you go, you can use the card inside Iraq at the official rate, or if you want to withdraw cash, you can at the official rate in dinars," Ahmed told Reuters. "But don't talk to me about cash dollars anymore."The local currency, the <a href="https://uk.investing.com/currencies/usd-iqd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iraqi dinar</a>, currently exchanges at a rate of around 1,300 dinar per dollar.Iraq isn't the only country engaged in de-dollarization – a movement where countries try to reduce their reliance on the greenback, often in a bid to undermine its dominant role in international trade.China and Russia are spearheading the effort to wean the world off the buck.Beijing has asked Middle Eastern suppliers to accept its own currency, the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/usd-cny">yuan</a>, rather than the dollar – while Vladimir Putin has forbidden any "unfriendly" countries from settling trades using any currency other than the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/usd-rub">ruble</a>.The two countries have also repeatedly pledged – alongside other members of the BRICS group – to launch a new currency that they hope one day could unseat the dollar as the dominant international reserve.

Iraq is set to fuel de-dollarization by banning the buck from being used in cash transactions, report says

New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed hope that digital transactions will soon surpass cash with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) increasingly becoming the most preferred payment mechanism in the country. Modi after the launch of the cross-border connectivity between the UPI and PayNow of Singapore said about 74 billion transactions amounting to more than Rs 126 trillion, which is approximately 2 trillion Singapore dollar, was done through UPI in 2022. "Many experts are estimating that very soon India's <keyword id="16596261" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-wallet-transactions" source="Orion">digital wallet transactions</keyword> are going to overtake cash transactions," he said. A large number of transactions via UPI demonstrate that this indigenously designed payment system is very secure, he said. Modi along with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the launch of cross-border connectivity between the UPI and PayNow of Singapore via video conferencing. The facility was launched through token transactions by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore Ravi Menon using the UPI-PayNow linkage. Stressing that the linkage of UPI and PayNow is a new milestone in India-Singapore relations, Modi said, this will help people of both the countries to do cross border transactions through mobile phone in an affordable manner. Singapore is the first country with which cross-border Person-to-Person (P2P) payment facility has been launched, he said, adding, this will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers/students and bring the benefits of digitalisation and fintech to the common man through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa. Pointing out that the focus of the government is to promote innovation and modernisation, Modi said the Digital India programme of the government has enhanced 'Ease of Living' and 'Ease of Doing Business' and digital connectivity and has pushed financial inclusion. The Digital India programme has brought in significant reforms in governance and public service delivery. The linkage will enable users of the two fast payment systems in either country to make convenient, safe, instant, and cost-effective cross-border fund transfers using their respective mobile apps. Funds held in bank accounts or e-wallets can be transferred to or from India using just the UPI-id, mobile number, or Virtual Payment Address (VPA), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement. To begin with, the statement said State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank and ICICI Bank will facilitate both inward and outward remittances, while Axis Bank and DBS India will facilitate inward remittances. For Singapore users, the service will be made available through DBS-Singapore and Liquid Group (a non-bank financial institution). More banks will be included in the linkage over time. Customers of the above participating banks can undertake cross-border remittances to Singapore using the bank's mobile banking app or internet banking. To begin with, an Indian user can remit up to Rs 60,000 in a day (equivalent to around SGD 1,000). At the time of making the transaction, the system shall dynamically calculate and display the amount in both currencies for the convenience of the user, it said. The UPI-PayNow linkage is the product of extensive collaboration between the RBI, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Payment System Operators of both countries viz. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd (BCS), and participating banks / non-bank financial institutions. This interlinkage aligns with the G20's financial inclusion priorities of driving faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments and will be a significant milestone in the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore, the statement said. India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing ecosystems for fintech innovation. A key emphasis of the Prime Minister has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only but extend to other countries as well. The virtual launch was preceded by a phone call between the two Prime Ministers, wherein discussions were held on areas of mutual interest. Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Lee for his partnership in taking the India-Singapore relationship forward and looked forward to working with him under India's G20 Presidency.

Digital transactions to soon exceed cash in India: PM Modi

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some distressed, wealthy homeowners in Hong Kong are selling their exorbitant homes at a discount.</li><li>Hong Kong's property market has been under pressure due to high interest rates.</li></ul>Hong Kong once held the record for the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-expensive-home-hong-kong-mansion-photos-2018-9#:~:text=A%20%24446%20million%20mansion%20for,%24360%20million%20in%20January%202017.">priciest home</a> sold in all of Asia. But some owners of the island's most luxurious houses have been selling them at a loss this year.Driven by high interest rates and macroeconomic stress, some homeowners, or their lenders, are offloading prime real estate at substantial losses to repay mounting debts. That's presenting a rare window for real estate buyers to sweep up these homes at discounted prices.Some high-end properties sold in the first half of the year for up to 50% off 2018's peak prices, said Jack Tong, the Hong Kong director of research at real estate services company Savills.Most of these new homebuyers came from cash-rich families or industrialists who had the liquidity to buy quickly, Tong told Business Insider."The lack of ultra-high-net-worth mainland tycoons due to slower China economic growth and stricter capital outflow restrictions meant no more record-breaking prices registered for the sake of trophy assets as in the pre-COVID period," Tong said.One such prominent family, that of Ho Shung Pun, director of real estate investment firm Kowloon Investment Company, sold seven luxury homes at considerable discounts, Bloomberg <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-29/rich-hong-kong-families-sell-mansions-at-discounts-to-repay-debt">reported</a> on Monday. The company did not respond to BI's request for comment.The Hos aren't the only family — or lenders to a family — selling.In the first half of the year, around 75% of properties valued over $10 million involved cash-strapped sellers, according to data from CBRE Group cited by Bloomberg.Hong Kong's property bubble has experienced sharp cyclical fluctuations. In the late 1990s, the city saw a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rvd.gov.hk/doc/en/statistics/graph2.pdf">significant recovery</a> after a drop in residential prices from the Asian financial crisis in 1997.This time, however, Hong Kong might not see a rebound of such spectacular proportions, as high interest rates are hampering the market, UBS analyst Mark Leung told the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/884cc30c-5326-4db5-ba0c-bf9f1572234f?accessToken=zwAGHm49RH9YkdOITMMMUyZNtdO6DL-fFXIjTw.MEUCIBD2LInKAekscuL63nxUzmisCWFmEe2GRi3SJiqlaFJCAiEAjCXwccSH6n6IHbHCq87M92xYAkzb5wvMt6oTciOy4YE&amp;sharetype=gift&amp;token=238b23e5-083f-40c7-9924-178400ed7235">Financial Times in May.</a>Soaring interest rates in the US have pressured Hong Kong's property market due to its currency peg to the US dollar. The cost of borrowing in Hong Kong has risen above its 3% average rental yield, Reeves Yan, head of capital markets at CBRE Hong Kong, told Bloomberg.Despite these challenges, Hong Kong remains a top Asia market for high-end property transactions, outpacing regional competitors like Singapore.The <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/interestrates/hong-kong-scraps-property-curbs-lifts-tax-on-high-income-earners-1033111795">removal of property curbs</a> earlier this year spurred a recovery in luxury sales. In the first half of the year, 23 properties were purchased at more than 200 million Hong Kong dollars, or $25.6 million — 53% year-over-year growth, according to data from Savills.

It's a great time to buy a Hong Kong mansion from the cash-strapped elite

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has sold $176.3 million worth of stock this year.</li><li>The company's shares have leaped 60% year to date.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-ceo-daniel-ek-feels-inadequate-every-day-worth-billions-2024-2">Daniel Ek</a>, Spotify's cofounder and CEO, has sold $176.3 million worth of his stock in the streaming service this year as its shares continue to surge.On Wednesday, Ek sold roughly 400,000 shares, worth $118.8 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In a separate transaction in February, he sold 250,000 shares, worth $57.5 million, per filings.The sales come as Spotify's stock has grown substantially in recent months — to the tune of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.investors.com/news/technology/spotify-stock-q1-2024-earnings/">roughly 60% year to date</a>.The company reported record profitability last quarter — though Ek acknowledged that Spotify <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-ceo-mass-layoffs-strategy-disruptive-operations-2024-4">underestimated the impact</a> of laying off 1,500 people in December (as part of 2,500 in total cuts in 2023).Ek is one of many prominent business execs offloading shares amid explosive growth. As of February, Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, and Mark Zuckerberg had sold stock in their respective companies, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bezos-dimon-zuckerberg-amazon-jpmorgan-meta-stock-sales-billionaires-wealth-2024-2">worth about $9 billion</a> — as shares of Amazon, JPMorgan, and Meta ballooned.And Ek — who famously hasn't taken a salary since 2017 — also isn't the only Spotify exec selling shares this year. <a target="_blank" href="https://fortune.com/europe/2024/04/29/daniel-ek-salary-spotify-ceo-178-million-shares-2024/">Fortune noted</a> that other members of Spotify's C-suite, plus its former chief financial officer Paul Vogel, had also sold tens of millions of dollars in stock this year.Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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