Аsia
Cross-border payments between Nepalpay QR and Alipay+ launched
Finextra, Posted November 8, 2024
Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL), prominent operator driving majority of the digital payment systems in Nepal, and Ant International, a digital payment and financial technology leader, have jointly announced the launch of cross-border payments between NEPALPAY QR and Alipay+. The launch was announced at the global premier financial services platform, Singapore Fintech Festival 2024 by Mr. Edward Yue, General Manager of Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Ant International, and Mr. Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan, CEO of NCHL, in the presence of Mr. Vishrut Thapa, Chairman of NCHL, Mr. Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, other representatives of both the organisations and various global dignitaries, delegates and attendees.
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Visa Collaborates With QR Payment Providers to Enable Cross Border Payments Across Asia Pacific
Fintech Finance news, Posted November 6, 2024
Visa, a global leader in digital payments, today announced collaborations with QR payment providers to allow consumers to use their digital wallets to scan and pay at point-of-sale QR when they travel abroad. The pilot program will begin in Singapore, with more to be rolled out across the region in the coming year.
Utilising its network expertise, Visa will enable consumers to use their everyday payment apps to scan and pay at QR merchants whether at home or abroad. Lakala in Mainland China, Touch ‘n Go Digital in Malaysia, FOMO Pay in Singapore, LINE Pay in Taiwan, VNPay and Zalopay in Vietnam will become Visa’s QR connectors, enabling their QR merchant networks to accept Visa payments. Users from participating digital apps can then scan these QR codes and pay seamlessly and securely. Visa provides technical capabilities to QR payment providers by working with payments technology company Juspay.
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AsiaBizToday, Posted November 5, 2024
In a critical step towards safeguarding global financial communications against future cyber threats, the Banque de France (BdF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have successfully concluded a pioneering experiment in post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This ambitious initiative aimed to enhance the security of electronic communications, specifically email, against potential quantum computing-powered cyberattacks.
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Central banks form steering organisation to oversee roll out of Project Nexus
Finextra, Posted November 5, 2024
The five central bank partners in Project Nexus, a Bank for International Settlements initiative to interlink domestic real-time payment rails across borders, are to establish a managing entity, the Nexus Scheme Organisation (NSO), which will oversee the project in its live implementation stages, in Singapore.
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Singapore’s Boxo Teams Up with Digital Commerce Platform Checkout.com
Crowdfund insider, Posted November 7, 2024
Boxo, a “Super App” enabler, announced a partnership with Checkout.com, a payment solutions provider.
By leveraging Checkout.com’s platform, Boxo’s clients across MENA and SEA regions will benefit from payment solutions and the ability to deliver seamless customer experiences.
This translates to seamless transactions and convenience for end-users.
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Fintech Wise Granted Direct Access to Philippines Instant Payments Infrastructure
Crowdfund insider, Posted November 5, 2024
Wise (LSE:WISE), the tech company building the “best” way to move and manage the world’s money has been granted direct access to InstaPay, the Philippines’ real-time payment system, and can settle with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) real-time gross payment system, PhilPaSS Plus.
Wise claims that it has spent the past 14 years focused on building an alternative to traditional correspondent banking.
With over 65 licenses globally and now six direct connections to domestic payment systems, this infrastructure enables “over 63% of all Wise transactions to be completed instantly (under 20 seconds), with an average fee of 0.62%.”
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Europe
UBS pilots blockchain-based payment system
Reuters, Posted November 7, 2024
Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S), opens new tab said on Thursday it had successfully piloted a blockchain-based payment system it has developed to improve efficiency of cross-border transactions known as UBS Digital Cash.
In the pilot, transactions were carried out with multinational clients and banks, including domestic transactions in Switzerland and cross-border payments in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs, euros and Chinese yuan, UBS said in a statement.
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Affirm launches in the UK as ‘buy now, pay later’ market faces regulatory overhaul
Tech Crunch, Posted November 3, 2024
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant Affirm is launching in the U.K., its first market outside North America.
Affirm’s long-anticipated arrival comes as U.K. lawmakers mull new rules to bring BNPL firms into line with other traditional consumer credit services, though such laws aren’t expected to come into effect until at least 2026 — long enough for Affirm to build traction and curry favor with consumers and regulators alike.
Founded in 2012, Affirm emerged from a startup incubator called HVF that was set up by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin (pictured above), who eventually took the reins at Affirm in 2014 to drive its commercial push.
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Barclays completes takeover of Tesco Bank – what it means for your savings and credit card
The Mirror, Posted November 4, 2024
Barclays has completed a takeover of Tesco Bank in a move that affects millions of customers with savings, credit cards and loans.
The deal includes Tesco’s credit cards and unsecured personal loans, worth about £8.3billion, and approximately £6.7billion in customer deposits. The takeover was announced earlier this year and was completed on November 1 following approval from regulators and the High Court. If you’re a Tesco Bank customer, you’ll be able to continue to use your services as normal.
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Thunes & GCash team up to launch cross-border digital wallet solution
IBS intelligence, Posted November 7, 2024
Thunes, the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, has announced a new collaboration with GCash, the digital wallet in the Philippines.
This initiative enables GCash users to top up their wallet balances directly within the app using funds from their UK and European bank accounts. This collaboration makes cross-border top-ups real-time and more cost-efficient, offering GCash users in Europe more convenience and financial control.
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USA
US regulators must take reins on fintech oversight – bank associations
Finextra, Posted November 4, 2024
Earlier this year, in the wake of the collapse of Synapse, US regulators set out proposals for an overhaul of how bank-fintech relationships are governed.
Replying to a request for information from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve, the Bank Policy Institute and the Clearing House Association have backed the idea of stronger fintech oversight.
“We believe the combination of direct agency oversight of fintechs and consumer education is imperative to achieve our shared goal of effective fintech risk management,” the associations write in their letter.
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VyStar Credit Union fined $1.5m over bungled online banking migration
Finextra, Posted November 1, 2024
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered VyStar to pay the civil penalty to the watchdog’s victims relief fund. It has also told the credit union to make sure that all members that incurred fees and costs as a result of the problems are “made whole”.
In 2022 VyStar, which has over 980,000 members, attempted to install a new online banking platform in an operation that was expected to see services unavailable for a few days.
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Open Banking in U.S. Analyzed in Report
Crowdfuns insider, Posted November 1, 2024
According to a global survey of Open Banking, 90% of companies are considering U.S. expansion following the finalization of new regulations this week. That is among the findings in The Transatlantic Index USA, a report released by Open Banking Excellence (OBE). The publication features insights from Open Banking experts around the world and includes qualitative and quantitative research, such as expert interviews conducted by Oxford University.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Personal Financial Data Rights Rule, brought in under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enshrines consumers with the right of access to their digital financial data and the ability to share it securely with third parties.
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LatAm
Nu México Launches New Features in Cuenta Nu and Credit Card Products
Crowdfund Insider, Posted November 6, 2024
Nu México, which claims to be a transparent, clear and human digital finance company, has recently announced the implementation of various features in CuentaNu and its credit card product.
As noted in a blog post by Nubank (NYSE: NU), these latest features are reportedly designed to provide greater flexibility, security and financial control to its users.
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Mastercard launches Pay Local to enhance cross-border payments with digital wallet integration
Fintech Global, Posted November 5, 2024
Mastercard, a global leader in payment technology and innovation, has announced the launch a new product to streamline how consumers make payments.
The offering, known as of Mastercard Pay Local, allows customers to connect their Mastercard cards to local digital wallets worldwide, just ahead of the annual Singapore FinTech Festival.
It was introduced to address the growing need for a seamless payment experience for both local residents and international travellers.
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Brazilians’ Financial Health Index Average Rose to Highest Score in Past Three Years – Report
Crowdfund insider, Posted November 5, 2024
Brazilians’ financial health index average rose to 56.7 points in 2024, the highest score in the past three years (an increase of 0.5 points compared to 2023).
This data comes from the fourth survey round calculating the Brazilian Financial Health Index (I-SFB).
The Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban) developed the index with technical support from Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).
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PagBrasil Expands Pix Payments Beyond Brazilian Borders
Fintech magazine, Posted November 1, 2024
PagBrasil partners with fintechs B89 and Wipay to enable cross-border transactions through a national instant payments system
PagBrasil, a payments processing firm that handles Brazilian transactions for international businesses, has launched two new solutions to expand the reach of Brazil’s instant payments system, Pix, beyond national borders.
The company announced at Money 20/20 USA that it would introduce International Pix and Pix Roaming, enabling Brazilian tourists to use Pix abroad whilst allowing international visitors to utilise the payment system within Brazil.
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dLocal and Viva Aerobus expand payment options
The Paypers, Posted November 7, 2024
dLocal, a cross-border payment platform, has announced a partnership with Viva Aerobus, a rapidly growing low-cost airline in the Americas.
The collaboration aims to simplify local payment processing for travelers across Mexico, the United States, Central, and South America, allowing customers to book flights using their preferred payment methods.
With demand for travel in Latin America projected to grow by over 5% annually, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), there is an increasing need for secure and adaptable cross-border payment solutions. This partnership enables Viva Aerobus to offer more localized payment options, which can enhance booking conversion rates and improve the customer experience by making payments more accessible and convenient.
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Brazil Central Bank presents a proposal for public consultation
The Paypers, Posted November 7, 2024
The BCB Board of Directors has greenlit a public consultation on a proposal to regulate partnership models for delivering financial or payment services (BaaS).
The forthcoming regulation aims to govern the delivery of these services, focusing on the following primary objectives:
Mitigate risks for customers of financial services by ensuring transparency and security in a regulated environment;
Increase the stability and efficiency of the financial system by clearly defining company responsibilities and aligning business models with regulatory standards.
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