Crypto exchange Binance will suspend U.S. dollar transfers

Wonderful Wednesday, FinTech Fanatic!

Let’s get started right away, with Binance , the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, suspends U.S. dollar deposits and withdrawals .

Different media outlets confirm Binance is temporarily suspending U.S. dollar transfers starting today, and it is as yet unknown how long it will take.

Remarkably, Binance did not provide a clear reason for the decision other than referring to a ‘technical issue’. “We are temporarily suspending USD bank transfers as of February 8th,” was all a Binance spokesperson told CNBC .

Although millions of dollars worth of crypto flowed out of Binance after it announced the suspension, the company says it remains “net-positive.”

Customers can still use other fiat currencies or payment methods to purchase crypto, according to a company statement.

Furthermore the company stated that Binance's U.S. division, Binance.US, is not affected by the suspension.

Meanwhile, the UK government revealed plans for launching a ‘digital pound’ .

The possibilities of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, are currently being explored by the Treasury and the Bank of England .

Although this is just a consultation being launched, and all involved stated ‘no decision has been taken yet’, CBDCs have long been touted as an inevitable route for government to issue for households and businesses to use for everyday payments in the era of blockchains.

Do you have any thoughts on the matter? Feel free to share them in the comments below??

Last but not least, I would like to point out an interesting podcast I came across. In this episode of Bank On It , John Siracusa chats with Dee Choubey , founder & CEO of mobile banking platform MoneyLion .

A conversation worthwhile listening in my opinion.

I wish you the best for today, and please find the other FinTech news listed below??

NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Apple Pay gets the green light to launch its service in South Korea . The announcement comes nearly two months after South Korea’s FSS confirmed to TechCrunch that it is reviewing the Apple Pay launch clause submitted by local credit company Hyundai Card.

INSIGHTS

Last week, a total amount of €157.6m was raised across 10 European FinTech deals, according to BlackFin Tech . Read the full overview article

Key Brazilian FinTech investment stats in 2022 . Brazilian FinTech companies saw a dramatic decline in both activity and funding during 2022. Read more here

#FINTECHREPORT

Check out FT Partners latest monthly FinTech industry update. Find out more about the public FinTech sector universe, U.S. FinTech IPO Tracker and monthly FinTech deal activity insight. Link here

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FINTECH NEWS

PhonePe launches feature to allow international UPI payments . Users can make payments in foreign currency directly from their Indian banks as they do with international debit cards.?

Mondu announces the launch of MonduSell. Following this launch, traders will have the possibility to benefit from flexible payments on every sales channel, including field sales, email orders, and tele-sales.

Apple Pay Later launching 'soon.' It is similar to the buy now, pay later feature offered by PayPal, and it is designed to allow users to make multiple payments for their purchases.?

DIGITAL BANKING NEWS

Skript launches no code access to Open Banking data with Transkript , the first platform in Australia to allow businesses to request and receive Open Banking data and other sensitive information, requiring no code or API integration.

FinTech Meetup in Vegas is just around the corner and I will start and close it with a bang. Join me and let's do this together! ??Sign up here !

PARTNERSHIPS

BNPL Zilch to “fully integrate” support from debt charity StepChange . Zilch has agreed to integrate StepChange into its platform, in order to seamlessly transfer customers in need across to the debt advice charity.?

Capitual partners with Azimut to offer crypto services in EU markets. The deal, which contemplates an investment of €15 million (about $16.2 million), would allow Capitual to start operating in Mexico, where Azimut has significant presence and operations.

Trustly , Cross River , and PointsBet partner to offer instant payouts in the US. Trustly’s optimized UI, effortless configurability, and turnkey payout logic make Instant Payouts the preferred real-time payment method for merchants and players alike.

#DONEDEAL

Dotfile raises €2.5M in seed funding . The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of its compliance platform, expand its team and expand into new markets.?

Paketá extends round of US$3M and brings IOB into shareholder base. The financial reinforcement will be used so that the company can expand its service capacity. The money will be invested in marketing, sales, and technology.?

Parfin a brazilian web3 FinTech raised US$15M to launch a private permissioned blockchain network . Parfin is the first crypto investment from L4, which has $600 million to pursue startups in the financial market.

TuHabi raises $22M in debt financing , which will help the company in its mission to evolve the real estate system, bringing liquidity to thousands of Mexican families.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Pipe hires new CEO Luke Voiles . “Luke is the ideal leader to collaborate with Pipe’s Founders , board of directors, and team to reach companies of every size and across sectors,” said a Pipe board member and Founder & Managing Partner.

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Cheers,

Marcel van Oost

Connecting the dots in FinTech

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