Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis: A Framework for Sustainable G2P Mobile Money Transfers
This IMF working paper presents a comprehensive framework for sustainable money solutions in support of social assistance. The framework consists of eight building blocks that may help policymakers i) take stock and assess emergency fixes taken to scale up mobile money in a crisis context and ii) develop sustainable long-term solutions for mobile government-to-person (G2P) transfers.
COVID-19 and the Search for Digital Alternatives to Cash
This NY Fed blog post outlines some evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on consumer payment behavior. For example, Google searches during the pandemic demonstrated a shift in public interest from cash-related terms to digital payment options. Given evidence that even transient shocks can have long-term effects on technological adoption, the need to address the issues associated with a reduction in privacy that follow from the shift toward digital payments is even more apparent, a subject of a forthcoming NY Fed blog post.
Open Banking doubles its user-base to 2 million Brits in just six months
Just six months after reaching a one million user milestone, the U.K. Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) has reported a further doubling of that U.K. user-base to 2 million. Despite the huge disruption caused by Covid-19, open banking and the fintech ecosystem have been significantly boosted by the period of lockdown. According to an OBIE survey of 2,000 UK adults, one-in-five started using online banking apps during lockdown to the first time with over half (54 per cent) now using them regularly.
Bitfinex Launches Tether-Settled Perpetual Contracts Based on European Equities
Crypto-asset exchange Bitfinex has launched tether (USDT)-settled perpetual contracts that track two European equity market indices (STOXX Europe 50 and Germany 30). Each contract offers up to 100x leverage and will be settled in stablecoin tether (USDT). A perpetual contract is similar to a traditional futures contract, but has no expiry and mimics a margin-based spot market. The perpetual contracts will be open for trading 24/7, unlike equity exchanges which are open for business for a limited number of hours, five days a week.
Posted from Diigo: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech
