This CPMI report, and its accompanying technical background report, represent the output of Stage 2 of the three-stage process coordinated by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop a global roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments. It identifies 19 “building blocks” where further joint public and private sector work could enhance cross-border payments, and supports a global approach to addressing the underlying frictions identified in the Stage 1 report published by the FSB. The 19 building blocks are arranged into five focus areas, four of which (focus areas A to D) seek to enhance the existing payments ecosystem, while focus area E is more exploratory and covers emerging payment infrastructures and arrangements. The report concludes with a set of considerations around these building blocks that support the Stage 3 work to develop the roadmap.
Central Bank of the Bahamas Lessons from Hurricane Dorian
In the Hurricane Dorian aftermath, the Central Bank of the Bahamas Project Sand Dollar demonstrated one major benefit: rapid payments system restoration after a disaster. On Abaco and to a lesser extent Grand Bahama, local banking services closed as the branches and ATMs were destroyed or rendered nonfunctional. Restoring these physical assets required weeks to months, and in some cases are not yet in place. Mobile phone coverage, by contrast, was generally restored with a few days after Dorian. Sand Dollar’s mobile phone functionality will mean that the financial recovery aspects of a hurricane can progress more quickly and more safely than would otherwise be the case.
CoinMetrics Reports on the Rise of Stablecoins
CoinMetrics has produced an in-depth research report on the rise of stablecoins following the March 2020 crypto crash. Stablecoin supply has exploded in 2020 but it’s unclear exactly why. After it took 5 years for stablecoin supply to reach 6 billion, it only took another 4 months for it to grow from 6 billion to 12 billion following the March 12th crypto crash.
McKinsey warned Wirecard a year ago to take ‘immediate action’ on controls
McKinsey warned Wirecard more than a year before the payment group’s collapse that it should take “immediate action” to deal with an absence of controls at its largest business. The consultancy told the company in June 2019 that “risks related to business partnerships or third parties” were one of its main vulnerabilities. In August 2019, McKinsey gave a full presentation to the two boards at an off-site meeting in Austria, where it warned that “non-existent” controls over the third-party business had created a “significant risk”.
How Google’s balloons are bringing internet to new parts of Kenya
In partnership with Telkom Kenya, Google’s Loon technology has now launched with 35 balloons in constant motion above eastern Africa delivering mobile internet speeds of up to of 4.74 mbps uplink, and downlink speed of 18.9 mbps, and a latency of 19 milliseconds for everything from emails, web browsing, voice calls via WhatsApp and YouTube with up to 35,000 early users connected, according to the partners. There are still limits to the availability of the new Loon service as it is subject to vagaries of wind speeds and directions among other things, but Loon is promising its advanced machine learning algorithms will soon be able to overcome some of these challenges as well as be boosted by the addition of more balloons for the region. But for now this means there may be service disruptions. Also, because the service is solar-powered, it’ll only be available between 6am to 9pm local time.
South African data privacy laws come into force
South Africa’s data privacy laws went into force, giving anyone processing personal information in the country a 12-month grace period to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPI). From July 1, 2021, any non-compliance with PoPI will have consequences. Enforcement mechanisms under PoPI include penalties up to R10m ($590,500) civil proceedings instituted by data subjects, and criminal offences and fines in some circumstances.
Zopa granted full UK bank license as it gears up to launch savings account and credit card
Back in June, UK PSP lender Zopa was awarded a full U.K. bank licence, as it gears up to launch a fixed-term savings account, followed by a credit card. Dubbed “Zopa Bank,” the new challenger bank will sit alongside its existing peer-to-peer lending business, under Zopa Group, creating what the veteran fintech previously described as the first hybrid peer-to-peer and digital bank offering.
Posted from Diigo: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech