What The FinTech #82: 30 Jan 2022
Medhy Souidi
?? AI, FinTech & Digital Banking Strategist | Gen AI, Payments & Web3 Innovation | Ecosystem & Partnerships Leader | ??? Industry Speaker & Podcast Host
Happy Sunday and Welcome back to?What The FinTech,?your regular FinTech & Innovation Newsletter focusing on Hong Kong & Asia ! Here are the selection and the top headlines for this week.
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What was the FinTech this week in:???
BLOCKCHAIN - CRYPTO - DIGITAL ASSETS - DE FI
In 2022, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub will launch new projects into central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), next generation payments systems and Decentralised Finance (DeFi), expanding its portfolio of explorations seeking to develop new technological public goods for central banks. The Innovation Hub's work programme will also see new projects in green finance, regulatory and supervisory technology and cyber security. This year marks a new phase in the Innovation Hub's expansion, with the first projects in the London and Nordic Hub Centres; the expected opening of the Eurosystem and Toronto centres; and the advancement of the strategic partnership with the Federal Reserve System. CBDCs and improvements in payments systems continue to be an area of exploratory focus, accounting for 13 out of 17 projects that were active in 2021 or will be launched in 2022. This reflects the interests and priorities of BIS member central banks.?
Facebook is reportedly mulling the sale of Diem assets as regulatory pressure mounts against Mark Zuckerberg's cryptocurrency project. The Diem Association is looking at selling its assets and intellectual property as a means to return capital to investors. Diem, formerly known as Libra, was meant to be a digital token backed by a basket of currencies from around the world, but regulators quickly halted that idea. So a simplified design was created, pegging a rebranded Diem token to the US dollar, but this also met resistance from regulators. According to Bloomberg, Diem is speaking with investment bankers on a fire sale of its assets and seeking to find new homes for the engineers who developed the tech.?
The IMF called on El Salvador to change course and stop using Bitcoin as legal tender, citing "large risks" posed by the cryptocurrency. The small Central American nation in September became the first country in the world to embrace the digital money, allowing consumers to use it in all transactions, alongside the US dollar. The fund supported the aim of "boosting financial inclusion" which could be advanced using the country's "Chivo" e-wallet, but has warned about the high levels of volatility in the cryptocurrency's exchange rate. President Nayib Bukele has taken advantage of price drops to buy the digital asset for the country.
YouTube is exploring features for its video creators to capitalise on non-fungible tokens (NFT, becoming the latest tech company to tap into a digital collectibles craze that has exploded in the past year. “We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalise on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,” wrote YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki in a letter on the company’s 2022 priorities.?
Brazilian financial services provider Dock plans to use cryptocurrencies to process international remittances. The company also plans to expand to Latin America and Europe. Per the report, Brazilian reais will be converted into bitcoin and then into another currency. From there, the funds will reach end users through Dock customers. According to Dock,?this “will be both a quick and cheap way of making remittances.” Reuters writes that international transfers have become an important aspect for FinTechs, which can sell services at better prices than big banks.?
French luxury group Hermes has started legal proceedings against a US artist over virtual versions inspired by its iconic Birkin bags. Mason Rothschild creates digital art that he sells as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, which can be traded online but ownership cannot be forged. He named the works depicting fanciful furry Birkin bags "MetaBirkins" and sold them on websites dedicated to selling NFTs. Hermes accused Rothschild of trying to profit from its trademarks. The lawsuit has once again brought into sharp focus the ongoing debate over NFTs—the uniqueness and the real value of these digital artefacts and the criticisms against them.??
Crypto payments platform MoonPay has released a plug-and-play service for buying and selling NFTs with a credit card. Available to any brand, creator, or marketplace, MoonPay's NFT Checkcout classifies tokens as 'digital goods' leading to card approval rates that are multiples higher than standard crypto on-ramps. Earlier this month, Mastercard announced that it was joining forces with Coinbase to enable people to buy NFTs with their debit and credit cards. NFT Checkout works on any blockchain — including Ethereum, Flow, Solana, and Polygon — and delivers NFTs directly to an on-chain wallet address. MoonPay assumes responsibility for any regulatory and chargeback issues related to the card approval process.?
SINGAPORE
领英推荐
Singtel has acquired a 16.3 per cent stake in an Indonesian bank for 500 billion rupiah (S$47 million) in cash, as part of its plans to pursue banking opportunities in the country. Fama's investors include Nasdaq-listed digital services player Grab, which is also in a joint venture with Singtel to operate a digital bank in Singapore. Singtel noted that Indonesia's population is the most unbanked and underbanked in South-east Asia, and expects that its investment will develop Fama's digital banking proposition and drive greater financial inclusion.?
Some players in the crypto industry were caught by surprise when the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued guidelines against public promotion of digital payment token (DPT) services, noting that this was a departure from the consultative approach the regulator typically takes when it comes to developments in this nascent space. Several were also concerned that the ban could crimp Singapore's ambitions to be a crypto hub, although most players recognise that the guidelines are consistent with MAS's stance that crypto trading is not suitable for retail investors.?
CHINA
Huawei is skirting around US restrictions that prevent it from using Google's Android software by installing NFC payments functionality across its smart phones with the help of card consolidation app Curve. All Huawei users in Europe can now download Curve Pay to start making mobile payments.?The arrangement with Huawei is similar to a previous deal struck between Curve and Samsung, which enables the Korean company to utilise Google Pay as part of its payments ecosystem.?
ASIA
Thailand’s financial authorities will scrutinize the use of cryptocurrency and other digital assets when they’re used to pay for goods and services, said the regulators in a press release on Tuesday. Thai authorities are concerned that as cryptocurrency expands from an investment tool into a means of payment for residents across the country and the world, it could cause issues regarding financial stability, consumer privacy and cybercrime. In December, Thailand announced it is moving toward testing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and does not want any private competition in the payments sector.
Bank Indonesia (BI) has launched BI-FAST, Indonesia’s first real-time payments infrastructure, in partnership with payment services provider ACI Worldwide. A total of 20 banks across the country are already live in the first phase of BI-FAST’s roll-out. Participating institutions now have access to a series of services that include 24/7 real-time credit transfers with real-time transaction settlement at a bank and personal level; unique identifiers to simplify, secure and facilitate payments; and integrated real-time fraud detection. When complete, BI-FAST will reportedly incorporate 135 banks apart from various good merchants and payment service providers. The development of BI-FAST is part of Indonesia’s Payment System Blueprint, IPS 2025.?
Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen bilateral cooperation and deepen ties. The MOU reflects Indonesia and Singapore’s joint interest to promote collaboration on projects in relation to payments innovation, and formalise cooperation across an expanded range of central bank and regulatory functions. These include monetary policy, macroprudential policy, financial stability, oversight of the payment and settlement systems, regulatory and supervisory frameworks, and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.?
The National Payments Corp. of India is testing a solution to allow Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based digital pay without an internet connection. The solution, called UPI Lite, will likely be used initially in rural areas to allow for small digital payments under 200 rupees. It will also allow phone users to make digital payments from their bank accounts. These developments come as India has seen more digital payments, following the 2016 demonetization of bank notes.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a project to make cross-border securities transactions in Asia and the Pacific more efficient and secure through the use of blockchain technology. Working with leading blockchain companies, ADB will seek to develop ways to directly connect central banks and securities depositories in the ASEAN+3 region within a blockchain network. Directly connecting the institutions within a blockchain network could reduce both transaction costs and settlement risks-the possibility that securities are not exchanged within an agreed time frame. Cross-border securities transactions in the ASEAN+3 region are currently processed through a global network of custodians and correspondent banks, which go through global centers in either the United States or Europe. As a result, intraregional transaction settlements in ASEAN+3 take at least 2 days, due to time differences as well as varying operating hours for markets within the same time zone. ADB is partnering with ConsenSys, Fujitsu, R3, and Soramitsu on the project, which will also examine systems interoperability and the viability of central bank digital currencies in the region. The project is supported by ADB's Digital Innovation Sandbox program, a platform for partners across the public and private
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