Montenegro’s central bank partners Ripple for CBDC pilot
Montenegro joins a list of more than 100 countries piloting a CBDC for various use cases.
Central Bank
UAE central bank partners R3 and G42 Cloud for CBDC implementation initiative
The CBDC initiative will look at a range of use cases across domestic and cross-border use.
European Payments Council names Giorgio Andreoli as director general
Andreoli says he will be working closely with EPC members to build “the future of payments in Europe”.
CBDCs – miracle money or new world order?
CBDCs promise much, but their cost when it comes to privacy could be dear.
UBS buys Credit Suisse in government-backed deal
The new business entity will be worth more than $5 trillion, with invested assets worth more than $1.5 trillion.
Central banks of UAE and India partner for cross-border CBDC testing
The central banks will conduct joint proof of concept and pilots of bilateral CBDC cross-border transactions.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 17 March 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
South Africa rolls out PayShap, a new real-time digital payments service
With PayShap, consumers will have access to instant, real-time payments across participating banks.
US regulators shutter New York’s Signature Bank following SVB collapse
Signature Bank is a large lender in the cryptosphere.
HSBC snaps up beleaguered Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1
The Bank of England facilitated the deal over the weekend, in consultation with the Treasury.
What the FinTech? | S.4 Episode 4 | The rise of CBDCs
In this episode of the podcast, we’re joined by Nicholas Soo of HSBC to discuss the future of CBDCs.
Central Bank of Nigeria publishes open banking guidelines
The central bank had first begun work on the adoption of open banking in June 2017.
Tintra to set up banking hub in Rwanda for new emerging markets bank
Tintra is in the process of establishing a subsidiary and applying for a licence with the National Bank of Rwanda.
US Federal Reserve sets up new specialist team to supervise crypto sector
The team will monitor the cryptosphere as regulators look to manage risk and promote innovation.
Brazilian central bank gives Meta the go-ahead to launch WhatsApp business payments feature
Customers will soon be able to make payments to small businesses directly from WhatsApp.
Aussie central bank reveals participants and use cases for CBDC pilot
The selected industry players will participate in use case proposals over the coming months, the central bank says.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 24 February 2023
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Singapore and India link up PayNow and UPI for real-time cross-border payments
The MAS and RBI will use a scalable cloud-based infrastructure to manage future increases in remittance volumes.
Bank of Russia to launch digital ruble pilot in April
Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy chair of the central bank, announced the news.
Lithuania’s central bank reportedly investigating Railsr over AML failures
The Telegraph reports that Railsr’s Lithuanian subsidiary is being investigated by the country’s central bank.
Bank of Japan to launch CBDC pilot programme in April
The pilot will test the technical feasibility of a CBDC and leverage the “skills and insights” of private industry.
UAE’s central bank launches financial services digital transformation programme
The UAE is aiming to become a “financial and digital payment hub”.
The future of financial services depends on global connectivity
To establish interoperability in global payments, a balance must be struck between collaboration and competition.
Bank of England and HM Treasury outline case for digital pound
The Bank and HM Treasury plan to “accelerate” work on the technology and policy architecture for a digital pound.
South Africa to pilot national rapid payments programme this year
The national payment system forms part of South Africa’s Vision 2025 programme.
European Central Bank to stress test 99 eurozone banks in 2023
The testing forms part of the 2023 EU-wide stress test coordinated by the European Banking Authority.
LendingClub to cut 225 jobs as interest rate rises impact loan demand
Company execs say the layoffs are a result of “reduced marketplace revenue” due to interest rate increases.
Indian government set to spend $320m to boost adoption of digital payments
The government hopes its plan will facilitate the development of “a robust digital payment ecosystem”.
State Bank of Pakistan names five successful digital bank applicants
The country’s central bank and regulator expects these new digital banks to promote financial inclusion.
Saudi Central Bank debuts open banking lab to boost innovation
The Open Banking Lab will provide a technical testing environment to ensure compatibility with the country’s Open Banking Framework.
Finnish crypto firm Coinmotion lands Bank of Spain authorisation
The Bank of Spain has initiated registration for crypto providers as it seeks to clamp down on money laundering.
DLT in 2023: out of the blocks
What does 2023 have in store for distributed ledger technology (DLT)?
Coinbase lands virtual asset provider licence from Central Bank of Ireland
Coinbase’s Ireland operations will also now be headed up by Cormac Dinan, its new country director.
2022: Top five crypto developments
FinTech Futures takes a look back at some of the year’s top crypto developments and stories.
Bank of Lithuania taps Regnology for supervisory tech solutions
Regnology will help the central bank transform its data management capabilities and regulatory reporting platform.
Saudi financial super-app Tweeq lands central bank e-money licence
Tweeq leverages Paymentology’s Banking.Live platform and hopes to launch its app soon.
Banque de France and Banque centrale du Luxembourg conduct wholesale CBDC test
The test shows “how digital assets can be issued, distributed and settled within the Eurozone in a single day”.
Thailand and Vietnam launch QR code cross-border payments link
The payments link between the two nations is designed to “enhance consumption and tourism”.
Spanish banking sector to explore use of digital euro
Financial institutions will analyse the technical, operational and business implications of a digital euro.
Saudi Central Bank debuts new open banking framework
The framework includes legislation, regulatory guidelines and tech standards based on international best practices.
