XPayIndustry WIKIBack to home
XPAY KNOWLEDGE

Industry WIKI

Digital assets and currencies

Understand assets, networks and trading mechanics with sources you can check.

Trading basics

1973 oil crisis

In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Egypt and Syria launched a large-scale surprise attack in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to recover the territories that they had lost to Israel

Finance

1975 New York City fiscal crisis

In 1975, New York City had a severe fiscal crisis after accumulating $14 billion of debt, of which $6 billion was short-term debt. The city ran out of money in its budget, and had an operating deficit of more than $600 million, with some estimates placing the deficit at $2.2 billion. The city had a credit rating that excluded it from the credit markets.

Banking

1988–1992 Norwegian banking crisis

The 1988–1992 Norwegian banking crisis was the largest financial crisis that occurred in Europe since the end of World War II within Norway. The crisis emerged from a backdrop of financial deregulation, which unleashed a wave of perilous credit operations and a subsequent lending frenzy. The elimination of lending rate constraints led Norwegian banks to partake in high-risk activities, r

Banking

1990–1994 Swedish financial crisis

The 1990–1994 Swedish financial crisis took place in Sweden when the deflation of a housing bubble caused a severe credit crunch and bank crisis and a deep recession. Similar crises took place in countries around the same time, such as in Finland and the Savings and Loans crisis in the United States. The causes of the crisis were similar to those of the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007–

Banking

1990s Finnish banking crisis

The 1990s Finnish banking crisis was a deep systemic crisis of the entire Finnish financial sector that took place mainly in the years 1991–1993, after several years of debt-based economic boom in the late 1980s. Its total taxpayer cost was roughly 8% of the Finnish GNP, making it the most severe of the contemporary Nordic banking crises. The crisis has been attributed to a combination o

Trading basics

1991 Indian economic crisis

The 1991 Indian economic crisis was a balance-of-payments crisis in which India's foreign-exchange reserves fell to a level barely sufficient to pay three weeks of imports. It followed a decade of large fiscal deficits and rising external borrowing and came to a head in 1990-91 because of rising oil prices during the Gulf War, political instability that prevented the government from pass

Finance

1993 Russian monetary reform

Russia's monetary reform of 1993 took place from 26 July to 7 August 1993.

Trading basics

1994 bond market crisis

The 1994 bond market crisis, or Great Bond Massacre, was a sudden drop in bond market prices across the developed world. It began in Japan and the United States (US), and spread through the rest of the world. After the recession of the early 1990s, historically low interest rates in many industrialized nations preceded an unexpectedly volatile year for bond investors, including those tha

Finance

1997 Asian financial crisis

A financial crisis gripped much of East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. It began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1999 was rapid, and worries of a meltdown quickly subsided.

Trading basics

1998 Russian financial crisis

The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the ruble and defaulting on its debt. The crisis had severe impacts on the economies of many neighboring countries.

Finance

1998 Russian monetary reform

Russia launched a monetary reform on January 1, 1998. Preparation started in August 1997. Replacement of the old banknotes occurred gradually, until 2002.

Trading basics

1998–1999 Ecuador economic crisis

The 1998–99 Ecuador economic crisis was a period of economic instability that resulted from a combined inflationary-currency crisis, financial crisis, fiscal crisis, and sovereign debt crisis. Severe inflation and devaluation of the sucre led to President Jamil Mahuad announcing on January 9, 2000, that the U.S. dollar would be adopted as the national currency. Poor economic conditions a

Trading basics

1998–2002 Argentine great depression

The 1998–2002 Argentine great depression was an economic depression in Argentina, which began in the third quarter of 1998 and lasted until the second quarter of 2002. It followed fifteen years of stagnation and a brief period of free-market reforms. The depression, which began after the Russian and Brazilian financial crises, caused widespread unemployment, riots, the fall of the govern

Fiat currencies

1999–2002 sale of British gold reserves

The sale of the British gold reserve was a policy pursued by HM Treasury between 1999 and 2002, when gold prices were at their lowest in 20 years, following an extended declining market. 395 tonnes of gold, or about half of the reserve, was sold off in a series of auctions, netting the Treasury $3.5 billion. In the ensuing 25 years, from 1999 to 2024, the price of gold increased at an av

Trading basics

2000s United States housing bubble

During the 2000s, United States housing prices experienced a sharp run up and subsequent collapse affecting over half of the U.S. states. In many regions, a real estate bubble was the impetus for the subprime mortgage crisis. Housing prices, which peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and reached new lows in 2011. On December 30, 2008, the Case–Shiller home price in

Banking

2002 Uruguay banking crisis

The 2002 Uruguay banking crisis was a major banking crisis that hit Uruguay in July 2002. The crisis unfolded after years of heavy dollarization since the 1950s when chronic inflation and weak confidence in the peso led Uruguayans to prefer U.S. dollars. This left the economy highly exposed to external shocks. The crisis was caused by a considerable contraction in Uruguay's economy and b

Banking

2003 Myanmar banking crisis

The 2003 banking crisis of Myanmar was a major bank run in private banking that hit Myanmar (Burma) in February 2003. It started with a decline in the trust for private financial institutions following the collapse of small financial enterprises and proliferating rumors about the liquidity of major private banks. Leading to a bank run on the Asia Wealth Bank, the crisis quickly spread to

Finance

2006–2012 New Zealand finance company collapses

Between May 2006 and the end of 2012 there were 67 finance company collapses in New Zealand, including companies entering into liquidation, receivership or moratoria. An inquiry by the New Zealand Parliament estimated losses at over $3 billion that affected between 150,000 and 200,000 depositors. The most high-profile collapses were South Canterbury Finance, Hanover Finance and Bridgecor

Trading basics

2008 financial crisis

The 2008 financial crisis was a major worldwide financial crisis which started in the U.S. The first phase was the subprime mortgage crisis, which began in early 2007 as mortgage-backed securities (MBS) tied to U.S. real estate, and a vast web of derivatives linked to those MBS, collapsed in value. A liquidity crisis spread to global institutions by mid-2007 and climaxed with the bankrup

Fiat currencies

2008 G20 Washington summit

The 2008 G20 Washington Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy was the first meeting, held in Washington, D.C., United States. It achieved general agreement amongst the G20 on how to cooperate in key areas so as to strengthen economic growth, deal with the 2008 financial crisis, and lay the foundation for reform to avoid similar crises in the future. The Summit resulted from a

Trading basics

2008 Société Générale trading loss

In January 2008, the bank Société Générale lost approximately €4.9 billion closing out positions over three days of trading beginning January 21, 2008, a period in which the market was experiencing a large drop in equity indices. The bank states these positions were fraudulent transactions created by Jérôme Kerviel, a trader with the company. The police stated they lacked evidence to cha

Banking

2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package

During the period 2007–2009, the UK government intervened financially to support the UK banking sector, and four UK banks in particular.

Banking

2009 United Kingdom bank rescue package

A second bank rescue package totalling at least £50 billion was announced by the British government on 12 January 2009, as a response to the 2008 financial crisis. The package was designed to increase the amount of money that banks could lend to businesses and private individuals. This aid came in two parts: an initial £50 billion made available to big corporate borrowers, and a second u

Trading basics

2010 flash crash

The flash crash of May 6, 2010, , also known as the crash of 2:45 or simply the flash crash, was a United States trillion-dollar flash crash (a type of stock market crash) which started at 2:32 p.m. EDT and lasted for approximately 36 minutes.

Finance

2011 Bangladesh share market scam

The 2010-11 Bangladesh share market scam was a period of instability in the stock market from 2009 to 2011; the turmoil occurred in both stock exchanges of Bangladesh, Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange. The market rose 62% in 2009, and 83% in 2010, but then declined 10% in January 2011, and a further 30% in February 2011. The crash is deemed to be a scam and exacerbated

Securities & exchanges

2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss

In April and May 2012, large trading losses occurred at JPMorgan's Chief Investment Office, based on transactions booked through its London branch. The unit was run by Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew, who later stepped down. A series of derivative transactions involving credit default swaps (CDS) were entered, reportedly as part of the bank's "hedging" strategy. Trader Bruno Iksil, nic

Assets

2016 Bitfinex hack

The Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange was hacked in August 2016. 119,756 bitcoins, worth about US$72 million at the time, were stolen.

Trading basics

2016 Indian banknote demonetisation

On 8 November 2016, the Government of India announced the demonetisation of all ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series. It also announced the issuance of new ₹500 and ₹2000 banknotes in exchange for the demonetised banknotes. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said that this decision would curtail the shadow economy, increase cashless transactions and reduce the use of illicit

Trading basics

2021–2023 inflation surge

Following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a worldwide surge in inflation began in mid-2021 and lasted until mid-2022. Many countries saw their highest inflation rates in decades. It has been attributed to various causes, including pandemic-related economic dislocation, supply chain disruptions, the fiscal and monetary stimulus provided in 2020 and 2021 by governments and cent

Trading basics

2023 United States banking crisis

The 2023 United States banking crisis was a series of bank failures and bankruptcies that took place in early 2023, with the United States federal government ultimately intervening in several ways. Over the course of five days in March 2023, three small-to-mid size U.S. banks failed, triggering a sharp decline in global bank stock prices and swift response by regulators to prevent poten

Trading basics

2026 Philippine energy crisis

Since late February 2026, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the 2026 Iran war disrupted roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply, triggering a global economic downturn and fuel shortages. The Philippines, which imports most of its oil from the Middle East, was particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions because of its heavy dependence on imported petroleum.

Payments & settlement

2C2P

2C2P is a financial services company headquartered in Singapore. The company primarily provides payment gateway services to businesses.

Trading basics

4690 Operating System

4690 Operating System (sometimes shortened to 4690 OS or 4690) is a specially designed point of sale (POS) operating system, originally sold by IBM. In 2012, IBM sold its retail business, including this product, to Toshiba, which assumed support. 4690 is widely used by IBM and Toshiba retail customers to run retail systems which run their own applications and others. Retailers have used

Trading basics

5-6 moneylending

Bombay 5-6, also known as simply 5-6 (pronounced "five six"), is an informal financial platform in the Philippines. Lenders do not require collateral, including documents, to potential borrowers.

Finance

Aave

Aave is a decentralized finance protocol (DeFi) that enables the lending and borrowing of cryptocurrencies without the involvement of intermediary financial institutions.

Assets

AAX (cryptocurrency exchange)

Atom Asset Exchange (AAX) was a cryptocurrency exchange that was based in Hong Kong.

Assets

Abra (company)

Abra is a cryptocurrency wallet and exchange, and digital asset services company with offices in several countries. Its offerings include Abra Private, an SEC-registered investment advisory service for high-net-worth investors and family offices; Abra Prime, a prime broker for digital asset trading, lending, and derivatives; and Abra Treasury, which enables companies to add Bitcoin and d

Finance

Access to finance

Access to finance is the ability of individuals or enterprises to obtain financial services, including credit, deposit, payment, insurance, and other risk management services. Those who involuntarily have no or only limited access to financial services are referred to as the unbanked or underbanked, respectively. Areas with inadequate banking services are referred to as banking deserts.

Trading basics

Account-based selling

Account-based selling, also known as account-based sales and hyper-segmented sales, is a strategic sales model in which the sale of goods or services is carried out to narrow segments of the target audience or specific decision makers. In a typical ABS concept, the selling company forms a target audience, then divides it into narrow segments to offline selling.

Finance

Accountant

An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy.

Trading basics

Accounting

Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys this information to a variety of stakeholders, including investors, creditors, management, and regulators. Practitioners of accounting are known as a

Trading basics

Accounting for leases in the United States

Accounting for leases in the United States is regulated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) by the Financial Accounting Standards Number 13, now known as Accounting Standards Codification Topic 840 (ASC 840). These standards were effective as of January 1, 1977. The FASB completed in February 2016 a revision of the lease accounting standard, referred to as ASC 842.

Finance

Accounting liquidity

In accounting, liquidity (or accounting liquidity) is a measure of the ability of a debtor to pay their debts as and when they fall due. It is usually expressed as a ratio or a percentage of current liabilities. Liquidity is the ability to pay short-term obligations.

Trading basics

Accounting period

An accounting period, in bookkeeping, is the period with reference to which management accounts and financial statements are prepared.

Finance

Accounting rate of return

The accounting rate of return, also known as average rate of return, or ARR, is a financial ratio used in capital budgeting. The ratio does not take into account the concept of time value of money. ARR calculates the return, generated to net income of the proposed capital investment. The ARR is a percentage return. Say, if ARR = 7%, then it means that the project is expected to earn seve

Finance

Accredited investor

An accredited or sophisticated investor is an investor with a special status under financial regulation laws. The definition of an accredited investor (if any), and the consequences of being classified as such, vary between countries. Generally, accredited investors include high-net-worth individuals, banks, financial institutions, and other large corporations, who have access to complex

Payments & settlement

ACH Network

In the United States, the ACH Network is the national automated clearing house (ACH) for electronic funds transfers established in the 1960s and 1970s. It is a financial utility owned by US banks, and is one of the largest payments networks in the United States, both by volume and by customer reach; virtually every bank account in the US, whether personal or commercial, is connected to t

Trading basics

Acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS

On 19 March 2023, Swiss bank UBS Group AG agreed to buy Credit Suisse for CHF 3 billion (US$3.2 billion) in an all-stock deal brokered by the government of Switzerland and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. The Swiss National Bank supported the deal by providing more than CHF 100 billion (US$104 billion) in liquidity to UBS following its takeover of Credit Suisse's operati

Trading basics

Active management

Active management (also called active investing) is an approach to investing. In an actively managed portfolio of investments, the investor selects the investments that make up the portfolio. Active management is often compared to passive management or index investing.

Trading basics

ActivTrades

ActivTrades is a UK-based brokerage firm providing an electronic trading platform to trade Forex, Contracts for Difference (CFDs), and spread betting. It provides services to retail and institutional traders via the electronic trading platforms ActivTrader, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and TradingView.

Trading basics

Actuarial science

Actuarial science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in insurance, pension, finance, investment, psychology, medicine, and other industries and professions.

Finance

Actuary

An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset management, liability management, and valuation skills. Actuaries provide assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mec

Trading basics

Administration and liquidation of the Rangers Football Club plc

Rangers is a professional football club in Scotland founded in 1872. The club entered financial difficulties during the late 2000s, and the club (trading as The Rangers Football Club plc) entered administration in February 2012. It owed substantial amounts to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who subsequently refused to allow Rangers to exit administration via a company voluntary arrangemen

Trading basics

Admirals (company)

Admirals (formerly known as Admiral Markets) is an Estonian online brokerage group based in Tallinn, Estonia, providing access to foreign-exchange trading and contracts for difference (CFDs). Established in 2003 by Alexander Tsikhilov, the company operates through several licensed entities.

Securities & exchanges

ADSS (company)

ADSS (ADS Securities until 2018) is an Abu Dhabi-based financial services company that provides online trading, investment, wealth management, and asset management services to institutional, private, and retail clients. Established in 2011, ADSS expanded its brokerage activities and operated through subsidiaries and representative offices in financial centres including Hong Kong, Singapo

Trading basics

Adverse selection

In economics, insurance, and risk management, adverse selection is a market situation where asymmetric information results in a party taking advantage of undisclosed information to benefit more from a contract or trade.

Payments & settlement

Adyen

Adyen is a Dutch payment company with the status of an acquiring bank that allows businesses to accept e-commerce, mobile, and point-of-sale payments. It is listed on the stock exchange Euronext Amsterdam.

Finance

Affirm Holdings

Affirm Holdings, Inc. is an American financial technology company and a point-of-sale lender. Founded in 2012 by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, it is the largest U.S. based buy now, pay later (BNPL) financier. As of 2026, Affirm reports nearly 28 million users and processes $50 billion in annual payments.

Trading basics

Agent-based commerce

Agent-based commerce (also referred to as agentic commerce) describes an emerging form of e-commerce in which semi-autonomus and fully autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agents independently execute purchasing and payment processes on behalf of users or organizations. Unlike conventional digital commerce systems, which require direct human interaction at key decision points, agent-

Trading basics

Agflation

Agflation (or agrarian inflation) is an economic phenomenon of an advanced increase in the price for food and for industrial agricultural crops when compared with the general rise in prices or with the rise in prices in the non-agricultural sector. The term was increasingly used in analytical reports, for example, by the investment banks Merrill Lynch in early 2007 and Goldman Sachs in e

Trading basics

Agile marketing

Agile marketing, often termed marketing agility or international marketing agility, comprises sensemaking, speed, iteration, and marketing decisions; marketing decisions are performed in an agile manner, using principles from the Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Marketing Agility was named a research priority for 2020-2022 by the Marketing Science Institute.

Trading basics

Agricultural finance

Agricultural finance is a branch of finance which comprises financial services for agricultural production, processing and marketing, leasing (both land and equipment), and crop and livestock insurance.

Trading basics

Aircraft lease

Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide temporary increase in capacity. The industry has two main leasing types: wet-leasing, which is normally used for short-term leasing, and dry-l

Payments & settlement

AirPlus International

AirPlus International GmbH is a global corporate payment provider offering payment and data services for corporate travel management, procurement, and travel trade. Originally a subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, the company was acquired by SEB Kort in July 2024. The company provides business-to-business payment services around business travel payment, accounting, and analysis functions, in

Trading basics

Airwallex

Airwallex is a financial technology company founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 2015. It provides payment processing, foreign exchange, business accounts, corporate cards, and other financial services businesses. In 2019, Airwallex reached a reported valuation of US$8 billion.

Banking

Al Baraka Group

Al Baraka Group B.S.C. is a Bahraini international Islamic financial group that provides retail, corporate, treasury, and investment banking services through banking subsidiaries in 13 countries. Licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain as an Investment Business Firm – Category 1 (Islamic Principles), it is headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.

Trading basics

Al-Barakat

Al-Barakat, or Al-Barakaat (Arabic: البركات), which means "Blessings" in Arabic, is a group of companies established in 1987 in Somalia. The firm is involved in the modern form of hawala, an informal value transfer system and remittance method. By 2001, Al-Barakat had outlets in 40 countries, and was the country's largest private employer. It handled about 140 million US$ a year from the

Finance

Alan M. Taylor

Alan M. Taylor (born 15 November 1964) is an economist, academic, and policymaker. He is a professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He is also a Research Associate

Fiat currencies

Alan Walters

Sir Alan Arthur Walters (17 June 1926 – 3 January 2009) was a British economist who was best known as the Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1981 to 1983 and (following his return from the United States) again for five months in 1989.

Banking

Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton

Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton (27 October 1774 – 12 May 1848) was a British politician, diplomat and financier. A member of the Baring family, he was the second son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet.

Fiat currencies

Alexander Van der Bellen

Alexander "Sascha" Van der Bellen (born 18 January 1944), also referred to by the abbreviation VdB, is an Austrian politician serving as the president of Austria since 2017. He was previously a professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and after joining politics, the spokesman of the Austrian Green Party.

Banking

Alfred Rexroth

Alfred Rexroth (27 March 1899 – January 1978) was a German engineer, entrepreneur and anthroposophist. He was the director of several business enterprises including the companies Neuguss, Rhinow and his family concern Rexroth, today Bosch Rexroth. Through the donation of his fortune the GLS Bank was able to begin much of its work.

Trading basics

Algorithmic trading

Algorithmic trading is a method of executing orders using automated pre-programmed trading instructions accounting for variables such as time, price, and volume. This type of trading attempts to leverage the speed and computational resources of computers relative to human traders. In the twenty-first century, algorithmic trading has been gaining traction with both retail and institutiona

Trading basics

Alibi marketing

Alibi marketing and alibi branding are marketing and branding strategies used by companies to circumvent restrictions on advertising certain classes of products by instead advertising an "alibi", which does not directly reference the restricted product but is likely to remind many viewers of the brand. The alibi may be a different product or simply a word or symbol reminiscent of the res

Fiat currencies

Allan H. Meltzer

Allan H. Meltzer (; February 6, 1928 – May 8, 2017) was an American economist and Allan H. Meltzer Professor of Political Economy at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and Institute for Politics and Strategy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Meltzer specialized on studying monetary policy and the Federal Reserve System, and authored several academic papers and books on th

Trading basics

Almshouse

An almshouse is a form of charitable housing that developed in medieval Europe to provide long-term accommodation for people unable to support themselves, most often the elderly or disabled. Originating from earlier hospital foundations associated with Christian charity, almshouses emerged as distinct institutions by the later medieval period, typically housing small numbers of residents

Trading basics

Alpari

Alpari is a retail broker offering trading in the foreign exchange (forex) and contracts for difference (CFDs). The brand was founded in 1998 in Kazan, Russia, by entrepreneur Andrey Dashin. The brand has operated in a number of jurisdictions under local entities. As of 2025, Alpari’s international services are provided by Parlance Trading Ltd, licensed by the Mwali International Service

Finance

Alpha (finance)

Alpha is a measure of the active return on an investment, the performance of that investment compared with a suitable market index. An alpha of 1% means the investment's return on investment over a selected period of time was 1% better than the market during that same period; a negative alpha means the investment underperformed the market.

Banking

Alternative Bank Switzerland

Alternative Bank Switzerland (ABS) is a sustainability-oriented bank based in Olten, Canton of Solothurn, in Switzerland. Its headquarters are situated in the former building of the Walter Verlag.

Trading basics

Alternative data (finance)

Alternative data (in finance) refers to data used to obtain insight into the investment process. These data sets are often used by hedge fund managers and other institutional investment professionals within an investment company. Alternative data sets are information about a particular company that is published by sources outside of the company, which can provide unique and timely insigh

Finance

Alternative Investment Market

AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows companies that are smaller, less-developed, or want/need a more flexible approach to governance to float shares with a more flexible regulatory sys

Trading basics

Alternative trading system

Alternative trading system (ATS) is a US and Canadian regulatory term for a non-exchange trading venue that matches buyers and sellers to find counterparties for transactions. Alternative trading systems are typically regulated as broker-dealers rather than as exchanges (although an alternative trading system can apply to be regulated as a securities exchange). In general, for regulatory

Finance

Altman Z-score

The Z-score formula for predicting bankruptcy was published in 1968 by Edward I. Altman, who was, at the time, an Assistant Professor of Finance at New York University. The formula may be used to determine the probability that a firm will go into bankruptcy within two years. Z-scores are used to predict corporate defaults and an easy-to-calculate control measure for the financial distres

Payments & settlement

Altyn Asyr (payment system)

Altyn Asyr (lit. 'Golden age') is a Turkmenistani domestic card scheme founded in 2001 by the Central Bank of Turkmenistan. The Altyn Asyr system is an integral part of Turkmenistan's payment infrastructure. Altyn Asyr offers financial services, including credit card, debit card, and prepaid card issuing and network processing.

Banking

Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank is an American financial institution. It is the largest union-owned bank and one of the only unionized banks in the United States. Amalgamated Bank is currently majority-owned by Workers United, an SEIU Affiliate.

Payments & settlement

American Express

American Express Company (Amex) is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Express Tower, in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan; in 2026, the company announced that it would develop and be the sole occupant of the new 2 World Trad

Trading basics

American Investment Council

The American Investment Council (AIC), formerly the Private Equity Growth Capital Council (PEGCC), is a lobbying, advocacy, and research organization based in Washington, D.C., that was launched by a consortium of private equity firms in February 2007. It focuses on defending and promoting the private equity and growth capital investment industry to lawmakers and the public at large. Its

Trading basics

American Research & Development Corporation

American Research & Development Corporation (ARD) was an American investment firm founded in Boston in 1946. Considered the first modern venture capital firm in the United States, the firm set industry precedents by combining institutional capital with professional selection and oversight of early-stage ventures.

Banking

Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763

The Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 in the Netherlands followed the end of the Seven Years' War. At this time prices of grain and other commodities were falling sharply, and the supply of credit dried up due to the decreased value of collateral goods. Many of the banks based in Amsterdam were over-leveraged and were interlinked by complex financial instruments, making them vulnerable to

Finance

AMTD Digital

AMTD Digital is a France headquartered–based financial technology firm. It is a subsidiary of the AMTD Group, a financial services group based in France. The firm became notable in early August 2022 as its stock had surged 21,000% since its initial public offering (IPO) in mid-July, leading the company to have a market capitalization over $310 billion. This made AMTD Digital the 14th lar

Finance

Analytics

Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data, which also falls under and directly relates to the umbrella term, data science. Analytics also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making. It can be valuable in areas rich with recorded information;

Trading basics

Andrew Lee (entrepreneur)

Andrew Lee, also known as Dangun (born December 1983), is an American entrepreneur and the founder of the VPN service Private Internet Access, which started in 2010. Since 2023, he has been the self-proclaimed King of the non-territorial "Joseon Empire", recognized by Antigua and Barbuda as a successor state to Joseon and the Korean Empire; in the media, he is known as "Crown Prince of K

Securities & exchanges

Andrey Bushev

Andrey Yuryevich Bushev (Russian: Андрей Юрьевич Бушев; born 12 February 1966) is a Russian jurist and scholar of commercial law who currently serves as the judge of the Constitutional Court of Russia since 2022.

Networks

Animoca Brands

Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd. is a Hong Kong–based game software company and venture capital company co-founded in 2014 by Yat Siu and David Kim. The company initially focused on developing mobile games, then shifted to blockchain gaming and NFTs in 2018, and to AI in 2025.

Finance

Anti–money laundering

Anti–money laundering (AML) refers to a set of laws, regulations and institutional practices designed to help financial institutions and other regulated entities prevent, detect, and report money laundering and related financial crime. (Anti–money laundering is sometimes paired with combating the financing of terrorism, using the initialism AML/CFT.) In addition to regulatory and supervi

Finance

Anti–money laundering software

Anti-money laundering (AML) software is software used in the finance and legal industries to help companies comply with the legal requirements for financial institutions and other regulated entities to prevent or report money laundering activities. AML software can facilitate faster and more accurate compliance and investigations.

Payments & settlement

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. Supported on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, Apple Pay digitizes and can replace a credit or debit card chip and PIN transaction at a contactless-capable point-of-sale terminal. It does not require Apple Pay–specific contactless payment terminals; it c

Payments & settlement

Apple Wallet

Apple Wallet (or simply Wallet, known as Passbook prior to iOS 9) is a digital wallet developed by Apple Inc. and included with iOS and watchOS that allows users to store Wallet passes such as coupons, boarding passes, student ID cards, government ID cards, business credentials, resort passes, car keys, home keys, event tickets, public transportation passes, store cards, and – starting w

Mining

Application-specific integrated circuit

An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficiency video codec. Application-specific standard product chips are intermediate between ASICs and industry standard integrated circuits like the 7400 s

Trading basics

Arbitrage

Arbitrage ( , UK also ) is the practice of taking advantage of a difference in prices in two or more markets – striking a combination of matching deals to capitalize on the difference, the profit being the difference between the market prices at which the unit is traded. Arbitrage has the effect of causing prices of the same or very similar assets in different markets to converge.