The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is expanding its BIS Innovation Hub with the establishment of new Hub centres across Europe and in North America in cooperation with member central banks. In the next two years, the BIS will open centres in collaboration with the Bank of Canada (Toronto), the Bank of England (London), the European Central Bank/Eurosystem (Frankfurt and Paris) and four Nordic central banks (Danmarks Nationalbank, the Central Bank of Iceland, the Central Bank of Norway and Sveriges Riksbank) in Stockholm. The BIS will also form a strategic partnership with the Federal Reserve System (New York).
Wirecard’s U.K. Subsidiary Gets Approval to Resume Activity
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said Wirecard AG’s British unit will be allowed to resume activities after the subsidiary of the troubled German fintech was able to meet “certain” conditions.
Zimbabwean central bank clarifies measures on phone-based money transfer platforms
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe clarified the measures taken to deal with illicit trading on phone-based money transfer platforms, assuring the public that “bona fide” transactions will be processed normally. It was money agents who had been suspended from mobile banking transactions, and emphasized that all mobile money liquidations should be done through the banking system.
ASX further delays launch of its blockchain settlement system — this time by one more year
Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has delayed by a year the launch of its blockchain-based settlement system to April 2022. ASX is reportedly under pressure from users to delay the launch because the new system lacks clarity. The CHESS (clearing house electronic subregister system) replacement project has been under development since 2016 and has faced several delays to date.
Digital on-boarding policy to enable account opening anytime, anywhere
Bank Negara Malaysia issued a policy document on Electronic Know-Your-Customer (e-KYC). The policy document aims to accelerate and streamline practices of industry players in their adoption of e-KYC technology.
Virtually everywhere? Digitalisation and the euro area and EU economies
This ECB paper concludes that: (i) there is significant country heterogeneity across the EU in terms of the adoption of digital technologies, and most EU countries are falling behind competitors, particularly the United States; (ii) digitalisation is affecting the economy through a number of channels, including productivity, employment, competition and prices; (iii) digitalisation raises productivity and lowers prices, similarly to other supply/technology shocks; (iv) this has implications for monetary policy and its transmission; and (v) structural and other policies may need to be adapted for the euro area and EU countries to fully reap the potential gains from digitalisation, while maintaining inclusiveness.
Soramitsu Starts Testing ‘White Tiger’ Digital Currency in Japan
Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu will start testing a new “White Tiger” digital currency for retailers at the University of Aizu. It will run on the company’s native Hyperledger Iroha blockchain. Testing is starting with the university’s cafeterias and shops before gradually being utilized at locations off campus. Soramitsu is one of the blockchain startups behind the development of Cambodia’s blockchain-based Project Bakong retail payment system.
Introducing Free Float Supply
Coin Metrics’ free float supply takes many of the best practices from traditional capital markets and applies them to cryptoassets to identify supply that is highly unlikely to be available to the market in the short to mid-term. In doing so, free float supply provides a better approximation of a cryptoasset’s liquidity and market capitalization. Index weighting can benefit from using free float supply – free float supply reflects the liquid market more accurately and reduces potential manipulability.
And now for some catching up to stories I previously missed, with a big thanks to the Milken Institute FinTech in Focus:
Vanguard Wraps Phase 1 of Digital Asset-Backed Securities Pilot
Vanguard completed the first phase of a blockchain pilot to issue digital asset-backed securities (ABS). This pilot was done in collaboration with blockchain startup Symbiont, BNY Mellon, Citi, and State Street. Vanguard’s end goal for the pilot is to improve the process of securitization with blockchain.
Nomura launches Bitcoin and crypto custody for institutional investors
Japan’s Nomura launched its “Komainu” large-cap crypto-asset custody service for institutional investors. It has partnered with crypto firms Ledger and CoinShares.
AFI and Mastercard Foundation partner for COVID-19 Policy Response in Africa
The Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to implement a COVID-19 Policy Response program in Africa. The two-year project will focus on micro, small and medium enterprises and digital finance. It will target 49 financial sector regulators and policymaking institutions across the region to strengthen their capabilities to effectively respond to the economic consequences of COVID-19. Gender and youth policy considerations will be integrated into all policy interventions.
Industry Leaders Launch PayID, the Universal ID for Payments
A multinational alliance of industry leaders are collaborating on the development of PayID universal payment ID through the Open Payments Coalition. PayID aims to simplify the process of sending and receiving money globally – across any payment network and any currency. PayID is open-source, free, and simple to integrate into existing payment platforms. In addition, it provides an end-to-end travel Rule compliance solution for satisfying both FinCEN requirements and FATF recommendations.
Taiwan’s FSC signs fintech cooperation accord with Canadian regulators
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) signed a fintech cooperation agreement with eight of the members of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). It aims to facilitate cooperation in fintech development by gaining access to the work of the CSA Regulatory Sandbox Initiative and the FSC FinTech Regulatory Sandbox.
Israel Securities Authority and the Israeli Innovation Authority Introduce “Data Sandbox” Program for Fintech Firms
The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) have introduced a “Data Sandbox” program for Fintech firms that will help them work cooperatively with regulators, licensed entities, and other financial services providers based in the country.
Posted from Diigo: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech