Category: MobileMoney

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20260328)

~ kiffmeister

Sorry for the long radio silence, but I was traveling this week (Switzerland for private meetings and Frankfurt to speak at Frankfurt School’s Crypto Assets Conference and the Digital Euro Association’s Annual Conference (both excellent annual conferences that you should mark your next year’s calendar for). On top of that I picked up a stomach bug (probably food poisoning along the way). Anyways I’m back in the saddle now and trying to catch up and make sure I get the monthly out on time (see below).

Bank of Uganda Looking for Consultants for CBDC Feasibility Study (BOU)

The Bank of Uganda (BOU) is inviting qualified consultants or consulting firms to submit expressions of interest to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Uganda, covering technical infrastructure, legal and regulatory aspects, economic and social impacts, operational viability, and a detailed cost-benefit analysis using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The selected firm will assess national digital and payments infrastructure, propose and apply a robust methodology, and deliver specified reports demonstrating understanding, relevant experience, and a workplan. Participation is open under Bank of Uganda procurement rules, with detailed eligibility, experience, and team composition criteria (multi-disciplinary CBDC, payments, economic, legal, cybersecurity, and change-management experts) and a minimum technical score of 70 points for shortlisting. The deadline for submissions is on April 16, 2026. [BOU]

Norges Bank’s Exploration of Central Bank Digital Currency (Norges Bank)

Norges Bank published four reports from its CBDC exploratory work, which last year concluded that introducing a CBDC is currently not warranted. The need for such a currency may, however, change in the future. The four reports published today describe the exploration work and the assessments underpinning the conclusion. Norges Bank will continue to explore tokenization and different forms of CBDC in order to introduce a CBDC should it be necessary The Bank will explore the possibilities and consequences of tokenization through activities such as experimental technology testing, also in collaboration with other payment system participants. One of the papers documents sandbox tests of a two-tier, blockchain-based retail CBDC that central bank exclusively mints and redeems, while banks and other payment service providers manage all customer relationships and data. Tests show that role-based smart contracts can technically enforce this division of responsibilities and give the central bank only aggregate, real-time circulation data, but they also highlight structural privacy risks from linkable pseudonymous addresses and operational rigidity from immutable smart contracts. [Norges Bank]

Tether Appoints KPMG to Complete First Full Audit (Tether)

Tether has appointed KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, to perform a proper audit of its USDT stablecoin. Additionally, according to the Financial Times, Tether has also enlisted PwC, another of the Big four, to help prepare its internal systems for this auditing process. This initiative coincides with Tether’s plans to register USDT under the U.S. GENIUS Act, signaling a significant step in its expansion efforts within the U.S. market. [Tether]

Western Union has Big Plans for Stablecoins (American Banker)

Western Union is making a strategic pivot toward stablecoins as part of the 175-year-old company’s efforts to transform into a digital-first organization. The company’s own stablecoin — the U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), issued on the Solana blockchain and managed by U.S. Bank — will convert “negative float” (capital costs from pre-funding partners) into interest-bearing revenue. Beyond revenue generation, USDPT gives Western Union programmable compliance controls across its operations in 200 countries and territories, allowing transaction terms to be customized at the partner level. The stablecoin is also expected to help customers in inflation-prone economies hold dollar-denominated assets. [American Banker]

GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 (GSMA)

The GSMA published its annual mobile money report showing that mobile money has entered a new scale and maturity phase, processing over 2.1 trillion dollars annually through 2.3 billion registered accounts in 2025. The report documents rapid growth in active usage, merchant payments, interoperable bank–wallet transfers, and agent networks that digitize cash at volume. Mobile money now underpins basic account ownership in many low‑ and middle‑income countries, shifts payments from cash to digital channels, and increasingly delivers adjacent services such as nano‑credit, savings, and insurance, with most providers profitable. It also raises design questions around interoperability, cross‑border data rules, taxation of transactions, consumer protection, fraud controls, and persistent gender gaps in account use. [GSMA]

And some backfilling:

Final Report of the Consultation on CBDC for Uganda (BOU)

[June 2025] The Bank of Uganda (BOU) published the final report on its central bank digital currency (CBDC) consultation. It argues that a CBDC merits further, phased exploration as a tool for modernizing payments, inclusion, and regional integration. The survey of 151 largely domestic, policy‑adjacent stakeholders found high reported trust in a CBDC, strong expectations of reduced cash‑handling costs and improved payment efficiency, and majority support for a retail, potentially programmable instrument that coexists with current systems. For policy and institutional design, the report frames CBDC as building on Uganda’s extensive mobile money and real-time gross settlement (RTGS) infrastructure, potentially enhancing transparency, cross‑border trade in the East African Community, and monetary policy implementation, while emphasizing preconditions around legal frameworks, cybersecurity, and stakeholder engagement. [BOU]

FYI I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240710)

~ kiffmeister

Digital shekel launch unlikely ahead of other advanced economy countries

The Bank of Israel (BOI) remains committed to plans for a digital shekel currency to improve Israel’s payments system and foster innovation, but is unlikely to launch one ahead of other advanced economies, according to Deputy Governor Andrew Abir. He wants an eventual central bank digital currency (CBDC) to pay interest to create competition with bank deposits and provide an incentive for the public to hold it. It will operate in a two-tier model, with a wide range of participants providing services on the digital shekel platform, including banks, plus other payment companies, fintech or bigtech companies, consumer clubs, and retail entities. Participants will support regular payment use cases, plus advanced and innovative use cases. [Read more at the BOI and Reuters]

Mobile device ownership and mobile payments in Canada

The Bank of Canada (BOC) published a paper that presents empirical findings regarding the adoption of mobile payments and digital wallets, based on a survey of Canadian adult consumers. It found that five out of six use a smartphone regularly, but they have not started to use mobile payments at the same rate as other payment innovations such as contactless cards. This is possibly because current mobile payment technology may not justify the costs of switching for consumers. However, according to the empirical evidence, providing access to payments with features similar to mobile payments to those without a mobile phone would result in usage rates exceeding the current use among mobile phone owners. Therefore, people who are unable to acquire or choose not to own a mobile device might have unmet payment needs. [Read more at the BOC]

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

  • CBDC Conference, Istanbul, September 10-12. The conference will offer representatives of central banks, commercial banks, technology providers, policy makers and academics the perfect platform to learn about the latest CBDC developments, exchange ideas with experts and peers. [Find out more and register here][Central bank delegates may be eligible for free registration (email registration@cbdc-conference.com to find out more)]
  • Digital Currency Conference, London, September 23-24. The conference will bring together policymakers, regulators, and technology and innovation experts to network and discuss all aspects of digital currencies. And enter the KiffmeisterDCC code at registration to get a 20% discount! [Find out more and register here]

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.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240330)*

~ kiffmeister

I’ve updated my tabulation of DLT-based wholesale central bank digital currency (#CBDC) projects. There has been one project added since the end of January (the HKMA’s Project Ensemble). [Check it out here]

Custodia Bank loses lawsuit challenging Fed master account application rejection

A federal judge has rejected Wyoming-based Custodia Bank’s argument that it is entitled to a Federal Reserve master account and membership with the Fed. Judge Scott Skavdahl, of District of Wyoming, denied Custodia’s motion for judgement on, writing that federal laws do not require the nation’s central bank to give every eligible depository institution access to its master account system, nor did the provided evidence suggest that the Federal Reserve Board of Governors influence a regional branch of the Fed to deny its application for an account. Custodia is now “reviewing the Court’s decision and all of [its] options, including appeal”. [Read more at CoinDesk]

E-money and monetary policy transmission

The IMF published a paper that uses a two-way fixed effect estimator using 2001-2019 panel data, on both monthly (covering 21 countries) and annual (covering 47 countries) frequencies, to estimate the causal effects of e-money development on monetary policy transmission. It finds that e-money development has accompanied stronger monetary policy transmission (measured by the responsiveness of interest rates to the policy rate), growth in bank deposits and credit, and efficiency gains in financial intermediation (measured by the lending-to-deposit rate spread). Evidence is more pronounced in countries where e-money development takes off in a context of limited financial inclusion. [Read more at the IMF]

Mobile internet, collateral, and banking

The IMF published a paper that combines administrative data on credit, internet penetration and a land reform in Rwanda, to shows that the complementarity between technology and law can overcome financial frictions. Leveraging quasi-experimental variation in 3G availability from lightning strikes and incidental coverage, it shows that mobile connectivity steers borrowers from microfinance to commercial banks and improves loan terms. These effects are partly due to the role of 3G internet in facilitating the acquisition of land titles from the reform, used as a collateral for bank loans and mortgages. The paper quantifies that the collateral’s availability mediates 35% of the overall effect of mobile internet on credit and 80% for collateralized loans. [Read more at the IMF]

*For those interested in intra-day updates, check out my searchable Diigo Fintech developments database, which is also a good place to go to query for past developments: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/ART.

Kiffmeister’s central bank digital currency monthly monitor

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 chronicles@kiffmeister.com

The Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA) is a technology-agnostic firm offering advisory services at the intersection of central banking, digital finance and the web3 industry, aiming to make public digital money a reality. SODA believes institutions in the existing financial ecosystem should have access to the tools and resources they need to move from discussion to action. SODA offers ‘real life’ use cases to help test digital money and drive adoption as central banks and other public institutions explore the future of a more financially inclusive world powered by interoperable blockchain-based networks. SODA would love you to join us on this journey – please get in touch (chris@sodapublicmoney.org).

Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]

WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20240321)*

~ kiffmeister

SEC Postpones Decision on Hashdex and Ark 21Shares ETH ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is delaying its decision on bids to create Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from VanEck from March 24 to May 23, Ark 21Shares to May May 24, and Hashdex from March 31 to May 30th. Also, the U.S. SEC reportedly issued several subpoenas to companies related to attempts to label Ether as a security, and the Ethereum Foundation said that it may be under investigation “from a state authority.” Should the SEC move forward with regulating Ether, it could potentially put the regulator in conflict with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). [Read more at Coin Telegraph]

GSMA state of the industry report on mobile money 2024

The GSMA published its annual report on mobile money. Adoption and active use continued to grow in 2023 but at a slower rate than in previous years. West Africa was the main growth driver, with Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal leading the way. Mobile money transaction volumes grew faster than transaction values – leading to a drop in average transaction values. Much of the higher-value transactions occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when the demand for digital transactions was very high. [Read more at the GSMA]

Liberian government contemplating CBDC?

Blockchain developer Gluwa is exploring the possibility of building a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for Liberia. The firm’s CEO met with the President of Liberia to discuss enhancements to the country’s financial infrastructure, but no mention was made of central bank engagement, so the latter’s engagement in the project is unclear. [Read more at Gluwa]

*For those interested in intra-day updates, check out my searchable Diigo Fintech developments database, which is also a good place to go to query for past developments: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/ART.

Kiffmeister’s central bank digital currency monthly monitor

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 chronicles@kiffmeister.com

The Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA) is a technology-agnostic firm offering advisory services at the intersection of central banking, digital finance and the web3 industry, aiming to make public digital money a reality. SODA believes institutions in the existing financial ecosystem should have access to the tools and resources they need to move from discussion to action. SODA offers ‘real life’ use cases to help test digital money and drive adoption as central banks and other public institutions explore the future of a more financially inclusive world powered by interoperable blockchain-based networks. SODA would love you to join us on this journey – please get in touch (chris@sodapublicmoney.org).

Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]

WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230904)*

~ kiffmeister

Thai government to use blockchain utility tokens for mass giveaway

The Pheu Thai Party, the leader of Thailand’s new coalition party, plans to follow through on its policy for a 10,000 baht giveaway to every person aged 16 or older in early 2024. The economic stimulus will be in the form of a digital “utility token” based on blockchain and using a digital wallet. Usage will be restricted to within 4 kilometers of the holder’s home, and they can only be spent .on certain things such as food, water and medicine. They cannot use it online, nor can it be exchanged for cash, and will expire after six months. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

Customers of Indian banks can scan UPI QR code and pay via digital rupee

Growing numbers of Indian commercial banks have gone live with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) interoperability on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) digital rupee central bank digital currency (CBDC) rupee app. With this move, the bank’s customers will be able to scan any UPI QR code through the banks’ digital rupee apps and pay for transactions. The UPI is the national payment portal operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a division of the RBI. The NPCI provides the infrastructure for both the UPI and the digital rupee. [Read more at CNBCTV]

China insists digital yuan be usable everywhere

Mu Changchun, the head of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Digital Currency Research Institute, said that the digital yuan must be available for all retail scenarios, with standard QR codes being one of the first steps. He also wants to see wholesale payment systems becoming interoperable with the central bank digital currency (CBDC), and he envisions the digital yuan and smart contracts being used for securities transactions, enabling settlement on a delivery versus payment (DvP) or payment versus payment (PvP) basis. [Read the speech at EastMoney.com]

GSMA 2023 state of the industry report on mobile money

The GSMA published its 2023 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, showing the growth and the potential of mobile money networks in a post-pandemic world. Africa, and particularly Sub-Sahara Africa, continues to drive that growth. In 2022, registered mobile money accounts rose from 1.4 billion in 2021 to 1.6 billion in 2022, and transaction values grew from $1 trillion to around $1.26 trillion. Bill payments (largely energy bills) via mobile money grew faster than all other use cases, making it the third most common transaction after P2P transfers and combined cash-in/cash-out transactions. [Read more at the GSMA]

BIS and Reserve Bank of India announce winners of G20 TechSprint 2023

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the winners of the G20 TechSprint 2023 challenge. From the short list of 21 teams three winners for three problem statements were chosen [Read more at the BIS] :

  • Team Secretarium Ltd. from the UK won the category for problem statement #1, on fighting money laundering, combating financing of terrorism, tax and sanctions evasion, with their solution on transaction monitoring and protecting anonymity and privacy using secure privacy technology.
  • Team Millicent Labs from the UK won the category for problem statement #2, on improving liquidity in cross-border payments between emerging and developing countries’ currencies, with their hybrid decentralised exchange for CBDCs, which features automated market makers and traditional order books, to optimise liquidity and reduce volatility risk.
  • Team Knox Networks from the US won the category for problem statement #3 on developing multilateral cross-border CBDC platforms, with their multilateral CBDC solution based on File-Based Digital Assets (FBDAs).

*For those interested in intra-day updates, check out my searchable Diigo Fintech developments database, which is also a good place to go to query for past developments: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/ART.

Kiffmeister’s central bank digital currency monthly monitor

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 chronicles@kiffmeister.com.

The Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA) is a technology-agnostic firm offering advisory services at the intersection of central banking, digital finance and the web3 industry, aiming to make public digital money a reality. SODA believes institutions in the existing financial ecosystem should have access to the tools and resources they need to move from discussion to action. SODA offers ‘real life’ use cases to help test digital money and drive adoption as central banks and other public institutions explore the future of a more financially inclusive world powered by interoperable blockchain-based networks. SODA would love you to join us on this journey – please get in touch (chris@sodapublicmoney.org).

Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]

WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230427)

~ kiffmeister

I’ve updated my tabulation of central banks that have recently issued, piloted, experimented with and/or researched retail central bank digital currency (#CBDC). Belarus has been added and various links updated. [See it here]

Bank of Mauritius to launch retail CBDC pilot in November

The Bank of Mauritius (BoM) will launch a digital rupee retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in November 2023. The digital rupee will be non-interest bearing and in the initial phase restricted to domestic use only, with cross-border transactions to be considered in a subsequent phase.  The central bank cited as motivations protecting monetary sovereignty and supporting anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts.  Also, according to the BoM, it is the first central bank to benefit from IMF technical assistance in this respect. [Read more at the BoM]

Mobile payments and interoperability: Insights from the academic literature

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper that connects various streams of academic literature to analyze how alternative competition and regulatory policies may affect the development of digital financial services, and particularly of mobile payments. It identifies four key dimensions of mobile payments interoperability, and finds that the lack of interoperability may discourage entry and weaken competition. Without regulation, interoperability at the platform level may fail to emerge, even if it is welfare-improving, when a dominant player enjoys strong network externalities or when consumers can join several platforms. The intended pro-competitive effects of interoperability may be considerably weakened or even backfire if consumers face search costs or if fees are complex. Finally, interoperability of data creates a link between payments and other financial services, which may increase overall efficiency. [Read more at the BIS]

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

Kiffmeister’s global central bank digital currency monthly monitor

Just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So for any of you out there who work for a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution 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 chronicles@kiffmeister.com.

The Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA) is a technology-agnostic firm offering advisory services at the intersection of central banking, digital finance and the web3 industry, aiming to make public digital money a reality. SODA believes institutions in the existing financial ecosystem should have access to the tools and resources they need to move from discussion to action. SODA offers ‘real life’ use cases to help test digital money and drive adoption as central banks and other public institutions explore the future of a more financially inclusive world powered by interoperable blockchain-based networks. SODA would love you to join us on this journey – please get in touch (chris@sodapublicmoney.org).

Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]

WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20221207)

~ kiffmeister

Technical onboarding package for digital euro prototyping

The European Central Bank (ECB) will be running a digital euro prototyping exercise to allow market participants to develop front-end prototypes that can be integrated with the back-end infrastructure developed by the Eurosystem. The documents were provided to the five companies that were selected to carry out the experimental work (CaixaBank (peer-to-peer online payments), Worldline (peer-to-peer offline payments), EPI (point of sale payments initiated by the payer), Nexi (point of sale payments initiated by the payee), and Amazon (e-commerce payments)). The material published provides the information needed by any market participant to develop front-end prototypes compatible with the Eurosystem’s back-end infrastructure, without restricting participants’ potential to innovate. The prototyping exercise is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. [Read more at the ECB]

Central Bank of Nigeria reduces over-the-counter withdrawals to N100k, N500k per week

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has imposed limits on cash withdrawals to push consumers towards alternatives, including its own eNaira central bank digital currency (CBDC). Over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities are not to exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively, per week. All cash withdrawals above the the limits will attract processing fees of 5% and 10%, respectively. Withdrawals from automatic teller machines and point-of-sale terminals will also be subject to a N20,000 daily withdrawal limit. [Read more at Nairametrics]

Central Bank of Kenya resumes charges for mobile money wallet and bank transactions

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has resumed charges for mobile money and bank account transactions. Transaction charges were stopped in 2020 to facilitate the use of mobile money during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the CBK resumes charges, they will be significantly lower than before the pandemic. [Read more at the CBK]

 

Kiffmeister’s Global Central Bank Digital Currency Monthly Monitor

Just a reminder that I produce a monthly digest of central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments exclusively for the official sector. So for any of you out there who work for a central bank, ministry of finance or international financial institution 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 chronicles@kiffmeister.com.

Satoshi Capital Advisors is a New York-based, global advisory firm that works with central banks, governments, and the private sector to architect, implement, and operate varying initiatives. Satoshi Capital Advisors’ central bank work revolves around CBDC architecture and implementation, providing advisory services from research phase through to growth phase. Utilizing a product-market fit and technology agnostic approach to CBDC architecture and implementation enables Satoshi Capital Advisors to build tailored solutions, bespoke to local financial system nuances. Satoshi Capital Advisors welcomes requests from central bank officials for virtual and in-person CBDC workshops. [Click here for more information]

WhisperCash offers the first fully offline digital currency platform that has the same properties as physical cash. It can perform secure consecutive offline payments without compromising on security, privacy or accessibility. WhisperCash allows direct person to person offline payments without any server infrastructure or internet connectivity. It comes in various form factors including the self-contained credit card-sized “Pro” that sports an eInk screen and capacitive keyboard, and lasts for two weeks between recharges assuming a few transactions per day. [Click here for more information]

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (11/01/2021)

~ kiffmeister

President’s Working Group on Financial Markets Publishes Stablecoin Report

The US President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG) released its stablecoin report. It concluded that “the absence of appropriate [stablecoin] oversight presents risks to users and the broader system… and current oversight is inconsistent and fragmented, with some stablecoins effectively falling outside the regulatory perimeter. It called on Congress to create legislation to “require stablecoin issuers to be insured depository institutions, which are subject to appropriate supervision and regulation, at the depository institution and the holding company level.” [Read more]

Questions remain on USDC’s reserves

In August, Circle announced it would shift the assets backing its USDC stablecoin out of commercial paper and only invest in “cash and short US Treasuries.” However, although its latest attestation shows this transition is complete, it is not classifying anything that matures in 90 days or less as CP (see below). Tether is already reporting at this level of granularity, disaggregating “cash and cash equivalents” into its component parts, so why can’t Circle do the same? [Read more]

Avalanche launches fresh $220 million investment fund

The Avalanche Foundation announced a new $220 million investment fund, named Blizzard, that it hopes will attract developers focused on decentralized finance (DeFi), enterprise applications, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and culture. The program will also assist promising projects with equity investments, token purchases and other kinds of operational support. Outside funding came from Polychain Capital, Three Arrows Capital, Dragonfly Capital, CMS Holdings, Republic Capital, R/Crypto Fund, Collab+Currency, Lvna Capital and Finality Capital Partners. [Read more]

IMF Released the 2021 Financial Access Survey Results

The IMF released the results of the twelfth annual Financial Access Survey. The results confirm that social distancing and lockdowns have reinforced the use of digital financial services during the pandemic, while the usage of traditional financial services remained stable. The value of mobile money transactions as a share of GDP increased by 2 percentage points on average for low- and lower middle-income economies in 2020. The number and the value of mobile and internet banking transactions also grew for all country income groups, most notably among upper middle- and high-income economies. [Read more] 

To get these updates sent to your inbox, please sign up here. Also, for those interested in intra-day updates and news that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, please check out my Diigo fintech bookmarks: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech.

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (10/29/2021)

~ kiffmeister

What does digital money mean for emerging market and developing economies?

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published a paper that assesses the supply and demand factors that may determine in which countries innovations, such as crypto-assets, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), are more likely to be adopted in emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) countries. It also compare these proposals with digital innovations such as mobile money, retail fast payment systems, new products by incumbent financial institutions and new entrants such as specialized cross-border money transfer operators. The paper finds that, while stablecoin initiatives may achieve adoption in certain EMDEs, they may also pose particular development, macroeconomic and cross-border challenges for these countries and have not been tested at scale. It concludes that fast-moving fintech innovations that are built on or improve the existing financial plumbing may address many of the issues in EMDEs that both private stablecoins and CBDCs aim to tackle. [Read more]

The state of mobile internet connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa

But some basic infrastructure needs to be improved to make any of these payment innovations work in many EMDE countries. For example, the GSMA reports that at the end of 2020, only 28% of the Sub-Saharan African population was connected the internet, and 19% live in an area without mobile broadband coverage – an estimated 210 million people. More concerning though, is the usage gap, which is widening year after year and now stands at 53%. In other words, across the region, more than half of the population is still not using mobile internet, despite living in an area with mobile broadband coverage. To close the usage gap, handsets need to be more affordable for consumers and be available for purchase in rural areas, but unless data also becomes more affordable, people may not be able to take advantage of all that mobile internet has to offer. [Read more]

This also underscores the need to consider payment solutions that work completely offline!

MAS names Global FinTech Hackcelerator finalists

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the 20 finalists for the Harnessing Technology to Power Green Finance  Global FinTech Hackcelerator. The finalists will pitch their solutions at the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day during the November 8-12 Singapore Fintech Festival. All finalists will receive a S$20,000 and be eligible for a fast-tracked application process to receive S$200,000. The top three winners will receive a total of S$150,000 in prize money. [Read more]

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Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (08/12/2021)*

~ kiffmeister

SEC chair pleads for power to protect crypto investors in ‘volatile sector‘

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler called for legislation focused on “crypto trading, lending and DeFi platforms,” in a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren. “I believe we need additional authorities to prevent transactions, products, and platforms from falling between regulatory cracks. We also need more resources to protect investors in this growing and volatile sector.” He also said “the use of stablecoins on [crypto] platforms may facilitate those seeking to sidestep a host of public policy goals connected to our traditional banking and financial system: anti-money laundering, tax compliance, sanctions, and the like.”

Digital euro has potential in the Netherlands

Research about central bank digital currency (CBDC) has been silent about consumers’ willingness to use CBDC and what triggers usage. This De Nederlandsche Bank paper reports on the results of a survey among a representative group of Dutch citizens to fill this gap. It found that about half of the Dutch population would be willing to open a current account for digital euros at the central bank. The not-for-profit nature of central banks was the most often mentioned rationale. The second was improved resilience of the electronic retail payment system, and third was its relative safety versus cash. 

Mobile money in 2020 and beyond: exploring the acceleration of mobile money in Latin America and the Caribbean

2020 saw the number of registered and active mobile money accounts grow to new levels globally, but Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) had by far the fastest growth of any region. LAC now counts 39 million registered accounts, representing a 38 per cent year-on-year growth, while active accounts reached 16 million, growing by an outstanding 67 per cent – the highest rate since 2013. LAC also continues to be the region with the highest activity rate, with over 40 per cent of all accounts being active on a monthly basis. 

*To get these updates sent to your inbox, please email me at kiffmeister@protonmail.com. Also, for those interested in intra-day updates and news that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, please check out my Diigo fintech bookmarks: https://www.diigo.com/user/kiffmeister/Fintech.