First Abu Dhabi Bank pilots JPM Coin for programmable payments (Ledger Insights)
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has become the first financial institution to pilot JPM Coin programmable payment functionality. FAB’s trials included initiating payments based on time triggers and balance thresholds, for example, the transfer of funds out of an account if the balance is too high, or into the account if it’s too low, or a planned payment is only sent out depending on its impact on the account balance. [Read more at FAB]
Cybersecurity “issue” behind several-day MoneyGram outage (CoinTelegraph)
International money transfer firm MoneyGram has been down for at least five days due to a “cybersecurity issue,” and it is working to restore its services with some success. Users have reported that its services went down on September 20, 2024. The U.S.-based firm said it was working with law enforcement and “leading external cybersecurity experts” to mitigate the issue, and once its systems are back online, pending user transactions would be available. [Read more on X]
Consumer demand for CBDC as a means of payment (ECB)
The European Central Bank (ECB) published an article analyzes payment survey data to arrive at a framework for understanding the role of adoption frictions and design strategies in shaping central bank digital currency (CBDC) demand. The survey spanned 17 euro area countries with over 40,000 respondents. It included a payment diary, together with a questionnaire asking respondents to rank different payment instruments according to their most important attributes. The analytic results show that, while consumers may initially prefer to use more traditional payment methods, a design tailored to their specific needs could significantly increase CBDC uptake. Raising awareness and capitalising on network effects could also boost demand for CBDC. [Read more at the ECB]
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And just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So (only) if you work at a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank) and who would like to receive it by email on the first business day of every month, please DM me on LinkedIn or email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
