Tag: CrossBorder

Kiffmeister’s #Fintech Daily Digest (20230908)*

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Hong Kong expands trial of China’s digital yuan to more banks

Hong Kong is reportedly actively testing China’s digital yuan and has entered the second phase of technical testing to incorporate a predominant local payment system. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) have completed the initial technical tests for cross-border payments using the digital yuan in Hong Kong. Currently, they are conducting the second phase of the technical trial, involving more Hong Kong banks and testing the digital yuan wallet’s top-up function through the Faster Payment System. [Read more at The Block]

Circle says its USDC stablecoin was as diversified as possible. Is that accurate?

JP Koning published an article that debunks Circle’s claim that the reserves backing its USDC stablecoin were “as diversified as possible” prior to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, in which $3.3 billion (8% of reserves) was held in the form of uninsured deposits. Circle blames banking for its woes, which is “extremely difficult” for crypto firms, but Paxos doesn’t seem to be having the same problem with its USDP stablecoin. $185.5 million were spread over thousands of banks using deposit placement networks like IntraFi, and were thus insured by the government. For the remainder, Paxos obtained $72 million worth private insurance. Only $10.9 million in deposits were effectively unprotected, a small 1.3% sliver of USDP’s total assets. JP askes, rather than keeping 8% of its assets lodged at a second tier bank without insurance, why didn’t Circle follow Paxos’s risk reduction strategy? [Read more at Moneyness]

Fortune magazine published a behind-the-scenes account of Circle’s Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) trials and tribultations. Circle’s management “devised a plan A, B, and C. The first failed when Circle’s attempted wire to get out its deposits didn’t go through. [They] remained optimistic that the government would guarantee its deposits—plan B. In case that didn’t work out, the executives spent the weekend negotiating deals with companies who would buy Circle’s SVB holdings for $0.85 on the dollar, which, along with Circle’s own balance sheet, would be enough to restore USDC’s reserves.” [Read more at Fortune]

IOSCO consults on global DeFi regulation. Targets MEV, developers 

The International Organization of Security Commissions (IOSCO) published a report on the regulation of decentralized finance (DeFi). It makes nine recommendations that include analyzing the DeFi protocol, identifying responsible persons and mapping functionality to existing regulated activities. The proposed recommendations are principles-based and outcomes-focused, and aimed at DeFi products, services, arrangements, and activities by applying IOSCO’s widely accepted  global standards for securities markets regulation. [Read more at IOSCO]

The oracle problem and the future of DeFi

The BIS published a paper on the role of oracles to import real-world data into blockchain-based decentralized finance (DeFi) environments for use in smart contracts. Smart contracts in DeFi rely on accurate reporting of real-world events to function correctly. The oracle problem poses a challenge of incorporating reliable real-world information into DeFi applications while maintaining the core principles of decentralization: trustlessness and no single point of failure. It underscores a notable limitation of DeFi, which requires sacrificing trust in intentions (whether individuals or institutions are fair and ethical) that cannot be fully captured by consensus protocols. This restricts the scope of DeFi to communities that are willing to rely solely on trust in competence. [Read more at the BIS]

*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 (20230826)*

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Cambodia and Laos launch cross-border QR code payments

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and Bank of the LAO PDR (BOL) have launched the first phase of cross-border QR code payments in Laos. It will allow Cambodians who have bank accounts in their local currency (Riel) to use a mobile banking app to make payments by scanning LAO QR Code with merchants in Laos. In the second phase Laotians who have bank accounts in their local currency (Kip) will be able to make mobile banking app payments by scanning KHQR codes with merchants in Cambodia. Cambodia already has cross-border QR code-based payment deal with Thailand. [Read more at the NBC]

Vietnam joins Southeast Asian effort on cross-border payments

State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) signed an agreement to be part of an initiative by five other Southeast Asian countries to connect their payments systems and establish a cross-border QR-based retail payments network. This is an expansion of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Regional Payment Connectivity (MOU RPC) that was initiated at the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit on 14 November 2022 in Bali between Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The new agreement was signed at the 10th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM) on August 25, 2023. [Read more at Bank Negara Malaysia]

Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to extend use of local currencies for bilateral transactions

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced that it, Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank of Thailand (BOT) have concluded the signing of three bilateral memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that are the Framework for Cooperation to Promote Bilateral Transactions in Local Currencies between Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The three central banks are committed to strengthening cooperation in the use of local currencies for bilateral transactions. The scope of the framework is now expanded to include more eligible cross-border transactions beyond trade and direct investment which would be implemented gradually. [Read more at Bank Negara Malaysia]

*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 (20230818)*

~ kiffmeister

IMF discussed Brazil’s wholesale CBDC initiative

The IMF discussed Banco Central do Brasil’s digital currency (CBDC) initiative in its 2023 Article IV consultation staff report. It describes the digital real (RD) as a “smart” platform for financial services based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) that leverages the digital representation of assets (tokenization) and programmability, seeking to foster innovation. At an initial stage, it will be used for deposits/accounts and other financial assets (e.g., federal government securities), while at a later stage more complex assets will be tokenized such as vehicles and real estate ownership titles, as well as rural financing solutions based on tokenized agricultural produce. The IMF report warned that a transition to a tokenized world will require changes in the legal framework that ensure a reliable bridge to reality, and additional legal provisions may be needed to ensure that holders have an actual right over a real-world asset or service. [Read more at the IMF] 

ECB to start wholesale digital euro pilots in 2024

On July 18, 2023 the European Central Bank (ECB) New Technologies for Wholesale settlement Contact Group held its second meeting. The Group is exploring how to settle DLT transactions with central bank money, including a wholesale CBDC. The pilots will be open to financial institutions with access to the TARGET payment system, with the onboarding to start later in 2023 and tests to commence in Q2 2024. Three interoperability-type solutions will be tested. Deutsche Bundesbank and Banca d’Italia will test two different non-CBDC solutions that initiate payments on TARGET and use trigger chains to instruct the DLT-based securities settlement platform to transfer ownership of securities as soon as payment is confirmed. The Banque de France will test a wholesale CBDC token option based on its previous trials, in which settlement will be enabled through interoperability with multiple other DLT ledgers. [Read more at the ECB]

Central banks of Indonesia and Singapore almost ready to begin cross-border payments trial

Bank Indonesia (BI) has reportedly announced the start of a trial of cross-border QR code payments with Singapore. The project, first announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in August 2022, is aimed at allowing users to make instant, secure payments by scanning the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) or NETS QR codes displayed by merchants. BI deputy governor Filianingsih Hendarta reportedly has said that the project is halfway to completion with three-quarters of the beta testing completed. [Read more at Finextra]

SEC can try to appeal groundbreaking XRP ruling, judge rules

Judge Analisa Torres, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) request for leave to file a motion to file an interlocutory appeal against her ruling that Ripple didn’t violate securities laws in making XRP available to retail traders by putting it on exchanges. The SEC has until August 18, 2023 to file the motion itself, and it has announced it was filing the appeal. [Read more at CoinDesk]

Commentary on the EU’s proposal for a regulation the digital euro

The Digital Euro Association (DEA) Digital Euro Regulation Working Group has produced a commentary on the EU’s Proposal for the establishment of the digital euro. This comprehensive document delves into the proposal’s nuances, highlighting challenges, opportunities, and the broader implications for the European financial landscape. [Read more at the DEA]

*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 (20230811)*

~ kiffmeister

Unmet payment needs and a central bank digital currency

The Bank of Canada (BoC) published a paper that finds that most adult Canadians do not experience gaps in their access to a range of payment methods, and this would probably continue to be the case in a cashless environment. Some people could, however, face difficulties making payments if merchants no longer generally accepted cash. It suggests that addressing unmet payment needs for a minority of consumers by issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be challenging, because the minority of consumers with unmet payment needs will only be able to benefit from a CBDC if the majority of consumers experience material benefits and therefore drive its use. [Read more at the BoC]

Understanding the importance of cash for groups at risk

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) published a paper about the payment behavior and preferences of Dutch consumers who encounter difficulties navigating this digital world, particularly individuals within groups at risk.  The research focused on people with low digital literacy, disabilities or financial difficulties. Using rich payment diary data it revealed that cash is an important means of payment to many. 7% said they always use cash at points of sale and 28% indicate they cannot do without cash. Cash is especially important for people with low digital literacy, people who are blind or visually impaired, people with limited or no hand function, people with a mild intellectual disability and people who find it difficult to make ends meet on their income. [Read more at the DNB]

Why the digital euro might be dead on arrival

The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) published a paper that argues that, given the limited private incentives to adopt a digital euro, an aggressive marketing and product design strategy should be pursued. However, the pursuit of such an aggressive approach is unlikely as this runs counter to the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) implicit objective of protecting banks’ existing business model. This is evident in plans to impose paltry holding limits for consumers, even lower ones for merchants (zero), and negative interest premia during periods of financial stress. The authors argue that the advent of retail CBDC offers the opportunity to rethink the current monetary architecture and to re-evaluate the financial stability risks of private money creation and fractional reserve banking. [Read more at the CEPR]

Soramitsu develops digital currency cross border payments with Southeast Asia, Japan

Soramitsu, the developer behind the Bank of Cambodia’s Project Bakong interbank payment system, is involved in a new project to enable payments between Cambodia, other Southeast Asian countries and Japan. Bakong already has cross border payments using QR codes with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, and the additional jurisdictions being worked on include India, China and Laos, with Bakong effectively at the center of a hub. The new Mutsumi project will use Bakong and Japanese yen stablecoins to support Japanese SMEs in selling goods and digital services to Southeast Asian customers. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

Fed program to supervise novel regulated bank activities

The US Federal Reserve Board (FRB) published additional information on its program to supervise novel activities in the banks it oversees. Novel activities include complex, technology-driven partnerships with non-banks to provide banking services to customers; and activities that involve crypto-assets and distributed ledger or “blockchain” technology. The Fed also provided additional information on the process for Fed-supervised state banks to follow before engaging in certain dollar token or stablecoin activity, including demonstrating to its Fed supervisors that it has appropriate safeguards to conduct the activity safely and soundly. [Read more at the FRB]

*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 (20230804)*

~ kiffmeister

MIT’s Project Hamilton open sources CBDC smart contract research

MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) released the source code of its PArSEC (Parallelized Architecture for Scalably Executing smart Contracts) smart contract platform for central bank digital currency (CBDC). The work is part of the Boston Fed’s Project Hamilton and the open source code is publicly available on GitHub. PArSEC supports a wide class of smart contract runtimes, including the Ethereum Virtual Machine. It supports flexible research and testing: the system can support easy contract logic updating, or switching to different smart contract runtimes, without the need to understand and alter the core architecture of the underlying transaction processor. [Read more at the DCI]

Digital Dollar Project retail cross-border remittance payments

The Digital Dollar Project completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) with Western Union, BDO Unibank and Accenture that evaluated the potential benefits of using CBDC for cross-border remittances. The platform leveraged distributed ledger technology (DLT) to simulate the payments infrastructure necessary to transfer digital dollars to Philippine pesos. A decentralized exchange (DEX) provided a market for currency pair exchange to explore potential benefits associated with a decentralized marketplace to improve competition and price transparency. The PoC found that CBDCs may improve remittance processing by settling a peer-to- peer payment in less than ten seconds, a key driver being atomic settlement, which reduced counterparty risk and optimized liquidity via streamlined FX spot orders and multi-party settlement. [Read more at PR Newswire] 

*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 (20230717)*

~ kiffmeister

FSB finalizes global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities and markets, and “global stablecoin” arrangements, to promote the comprehensiveness and international consistency of regulatory and supervisory approaches. They build on the principles – ‘same activity, same risk, same regulation’; high-level and flexible; and technology neutral. The recommendations focus on addressing risks to financial stability and do not comprehensively cover all specific risk categories related to crypto-asset activities. [Read more at the FSB]

India, UAE to trade in local currencies, link payments systems

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) have agreed to a framework to promote use of Indian rupee (INR) and UAE Dirham (AED) usage for cross-border transactions, and work towards interlinking their fast payment systems (FPSs), to cut transaction costs by eliminating dollar conversions. More specifically, they will link India’s unified payments interface (UPI) with the UAE instant payment platform (IPP), and also link their respective card switches (RuPay switch and UAESWITCH). [Read more at the RBI]

Philippines sees drastic rise in digital payments adoption in 2022: central bank

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) published its “2022 Status of Digital Payments” report, highlighting the significant growth of digital payments in the Philippines, now comprising 42% of all retail payments in 2022 (versus 14% rate in 2019) and 40% in terms of value (24%). Merchant payments and person-to-person (P2P) fund transfers are the main drivers of the greater digital payments adoption, representing 74% and 15% of total digital payment volumes, respectively. These payment use-cases are high-frequency, low-value transactions. [Read more at the BSP]

*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.

Upcoming conferences, webinars and speaking engagements:

  • I’ll be lecturing at the Digital Euro Association (DEA) Digital Money Academy on July 27, 2023. [Register here]

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 (20230623)*

~ kiffmeister

The Bank of Israel to allow fintechs to connect to supervised payment systems

The Bank of Israel published a “Payment Systems Access Guide” that aims to provide information to nonbank entities, including fintechs, interested in participating in the core supervised payment systems alongside traditional banks. Its purpose is to present these entities with a comprehensive overview of the various options available for operating within the payment systems in Israel, along with the associated conditions and requirements. The guide seeks to facilitate the decision-making process and the joining procedures for these entities. [Read more at the Bank of Israel]

Central Bank of Nigeria approves CBDC use for remittances

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced the eNaira as a payment option for inbound remittances in an effort to help increase the adoption of the central bank digital currency (CBDC). It’s part of the CBN’s efforts to liberalize the payout of diaspora remittances and promote the adoption of the eNaira.  International money transfer operators (IMTOs) will need to apply for a one-time “no-objection” and open Merchant Wallets through the central bank to offer customers the possibility of using the eNaira for cross-border remittances. [Read more at the CBN]

ADB wraps up PoC for cross-border bond settlement using blockchain

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) completed its Project Tridecagon proof-of-concept (PoC) probing into the viability of cross-border delivery-versus-payment (DVP) bond settlements using blockchain technology. It connected key market infrastructures: central banks’ real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS) and central securities depositories’ (CSD) book-entry systems, but did not use central bank digital currency (CBDC). The settlement of cross-border securities transactions was proven in principle and across different vendor solutions, but full application may depend on necessary changes to legal and regulatory prescriptions which could take years. [Read more at the ADB]

JP Morgan rolls out JPM Coin blockchain payments in euro

JPM Coin, which JP Morgan launched in 2019 to move dollars, has gone live with euro transactions. Germany’s Siemens AG conducted the first euro payment on the platform. JPM Coin can only move money between JPM branches or to other JP Morgan clients. Hence the bank refers to the solution as blockchain-based bank accounts. JPM Coin is a tiny part of JPMorgan’s payments business. The bank has used it to process about $300 billion of transactions since its launch, versus the nearly $10 trillion of payments it processes overall on a daily basis. [Read more at Ledger Insights]

*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.

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 (20230619)*

~ kiffmeister

IMF presents blueprint for cross-border payments

The IMF published a paper proposing a new class of platforms to bring interoperability, efficiency, and safety to cross-border payments, and domestic financial markets. It involves a single ledger for settlement and a safe settlement asset, possibly in the form of central bank digital currency (CBDC), as well as programming standards and information management capabilities leveraging encryption. Governments would keep the right to limit user transactions in foreign currency and impose financial integrity checks. It rejected the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) because it has “important limitations” in terms of validator costs, security, efficiency and privacy. [Read more at the IMF]

The digital dollar’s bipartisan problem

This Politico article is a good summary of the opposition to a potential U.S. retail CBDC by libertarian and anti-establishment types, citing concerns over privacy and government control. It has now seeped into US political discourse, with Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty, claiming that a digital dollar “would give the federal government unprecedented insight into your life,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing a bill restricting the use of retail CBDCs in Florida, and Joe Biden presidential primary challenger Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  condemning of them. Most of these objections are distorting facts, like assuming that digital dollar will be festooned with user surveillance and spending control mechanisms, all of which can be banned in the necessary enabling legislation. The ignorance behind these condemnations was highlighted by DeSantis and Kennedy claiming that the Fed’s soon-to-be-launched FedNow fast payments platform was a retail CBDC. [Read more at Politico]

Anyways, the article also has juicy quote from me that you can check out for yourselves. I don’t know where the quote came from. It’s probably from something I said on LinkedIn or Twitter in the heat of battle with the many ignorant boobs and conspiracy theorists that pounce on CBDC-related posts that are not frothing-at-the-mouth anti-CBDC. At first I thought they could be swayed a little bit if government legislation were to forbid the issuance of CBDC that violates user rights to privacy and self control. But no such luck, because they erect the strawman of a dystopian future in which CBDC is forced on us with no exit (e.g., transfers out of CBDC to bank accounts or cash is forbidden). In any case, I stand by the sentiment expressed in the politico article, aimed at CBDC misinformation purveyors like DeSantis and Kennedy, although I would have reframed it more politely if Politico had checked with me before publishing it.

BoE’s CBDC consultation amounts to a national scandal?

According to an article London’s City AM raised concerns over the accessibility of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) consultation document being conducted by the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury that closes on June 30, 2023. “Questions arise about the document’s clarity and the intentions behind this intervention in people’s lives. To gain insights, [City AM] sought the expertise of a health researcher specializing in health literacy, mainly working with individuals facing mental health challenges and dementia. Their evaluation of the consultation process revealed significant concerns regarding the accessibility of the documentation provided to the general public.” Part of the evaluation involved an assessment by Hemingway, an app that assesses text accessibility, which rated the readability of the document at a Grade 10 level. In other words, “comprehending the document would require a reading ability of an average 15 to 16-year-old, while the average UK reading age is only 9.” Scary stuff! [Read more at City AM] 

According to BoE deputy governor for financial stability Jon Cunliffe (via Izabella Kaminska’s Blind Spot blog), the CBDC consultation had received about 50,000 public responses so far, and that while he hadn’t read them yet, the main theme that was emerging was a public concern about privacy. (The BoE’s real-time gross settlement (RTGS) renewal program only received 34 public responses.) However, he said that the system couldn’t be entirely anonymous because “complete anonymity has with it the potential for social harms, tax evasions, crime, terrorist financing” but that the Bank would not see any individual identifiable customer data. As to the banks, they “would store all that information in the way that banks store it now and that would be available to for example law enforcement under certain circumstances.” 

Applying the extended attitude formation theory to a digital euro

Electronic Markets published a paper that explores how to best create a digital euro that will be used by its intended users through an interview-based analysis of attitudes towards established payment solutions and the transfer of these attitudes. Several participants indicated that they currently see no reason for using a digital euro as an additional payment solution given the current benefits of established payment solutions. However, existing payment solutions are also found to possess perceived limitations and concerns by respondents. The paper concludes that a digital euro would need to be privacy-sensitive, offering wide acceptance for national and international online and offline payments in different contexts. [Read more at Electronic Markets]

*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.

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 (20230616)*

~ kiffmeister

BIS and Bank of England complete CBDC Project Rosalind

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published the results of its Project Rosalind joint work with the Bank of England. It explored how a universal and extensible application programming interface (API) layer could connect central bank and private sector infrastructures and facilitate retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) payments. It demonstrated that a well designed API layer could work with different private sector applications and central bank ledger designs and that a set of simple and standardized API functionalities could support a diverse range of use cases.

33 API functionalities and more than 30 retail CBDC use cases were explored , covering a broad range of domains for individuals and businesses, such as peer-to-peer transfers, retail payments for goods and services and small-value business transactions. A diverse range of payment options were tested, such as making retail CBDC payments online, in stores and offline, with the use of near-field communication and via interactions with point-of-sale, QR codes, mobile phones, smartcards, biometric devices and smart assistants. Some of the use cases also explored private sector programmability and micropayments. [Read more at the BIS]

OECD rolls out new tax standards for digital currencies and CBDCs

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a new taxation framework for the digital currency industry and central bank digital currency (CBDC). The new Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) stems from a review of the 2014 Common Reporting Standard (CRS) to plug the loopholes associated with digital currency taxation among member countries. Under the new framework, tax information on digital currency transactions will be automatically exchanged uniformly in line with existing rules. [Read more at the OECD]

The power of choice: Options and trade-offs for digital remittances

Visa has published a paper that reports on the results of its remittance price modeling in 50 corridors, showing that private sector innovators provided a remittance option costing less than the 3% UN Sustainable Development Goal target in 40 of 50 corridors. This is also consistent with the 3.31% World Bank’s Global SmaRT Average—based on the average of the three lowest costs in each corridor—reflecting what savvy consumers pay. Both results make it clear that access to information really helps obtain a lower cost. [Read more at VISA]

Tether was once backed by Chinese commercial paper

Tether once backed its USDT stablecoin with commercial paper issued by Chinese firms, according to documents released by New York’s Attorney General (NYAG). However, Tether says that all of those securities were rated A2 or better, for what that’s worth. The NYAG released the documents in response to a freedom of information request from Bloomberg News, following an earlier unsuccessful request by CoinDesk. [The whole Bloomberg article is worth a read, as it details a number of other questionable USDT reserves management practices.]

BlackRock tries for spot-bitcoin ETF with fresh SEC filing

BlackRock has applied to become the first U.S. spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Coinbase would act as custodian for the iShares Bitcoin Trust securities, and they would trade on NASDAQ exchange if approved. However, it will be a long shot, as the SEC has denied all previous similar applications, citing market concerns and a lack of investor protections, among other things. [Read more on Bloomberg]

*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.

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 (20230523)*

~ kiffmeister

Digital marketplace for Jam-Dex

Jamaica’s Ministry of Industry, Investment, and Commerce has launched a digital marketplace for merchants and residents to interact using the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Its aim is to provide a platform for merchants, who do not have access to debit and credit transaction processing, to use Jam-Dex for payments. The digital marketplace will also facilitate merchants advertising their products. Merchant onboarding has already started and the platform should be operational by the beginning of summer (2023). [Read more at the Jamaican Observer] 

IOSCO sets standard for global crypto regulation

The International Organization of Securities Commissions ( IOSCO) issued for consultation detailed principles-based and outcomes-focused recommendations as to how to regulate crypto-assets, aimed at the activities performed by crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). It proposes 18 policy recommendations that IOSCO plans to finalize in Q4 2023 to support greater consistency with respect to regulatory frameworks and oversight in its member jurisdictions. The proposed recommendations do not cover decentralized finance (DeFi). [Read more at IOSCO]

From 1% to 30%: the journey of the Philippines towards responsible digital payments

Digital payments volumes in the Philippines have grown from 1% of total payments in 2013 to 30% in 2021. A Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) case study  examines this success story by diving into the key decisions made by the government and private sector in accelerating the adoption of responsible digital payments. These included continuous evaluation of progress against transparent targets, proactive policymaking to satisfy evolving needs, and institutionalizing data systems and building internal capacity to collect and analyze data. [Read more at the BTCA]

Indonesia and Malaysia Announce the Commercial Launch of the Cross-Border QR Payment Linkage

Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) launched the Indonesia-Malaysia cross-border QR payment linkage on May 8, 2023. This follows from the successful completion of the pilot phase announced on January 27, 2022. The full launch sees the number of participating financial institutions, including non-banks, increase. This will enable more Indonesians and Malaysians to make instant retail payments in either country by scanning Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard or Malaysian DuitNow QR codes at physical stores or online merchants.​ [Read more at the BI]

*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.

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]