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October 29, 2020
On the web
ECB Glitch Reduced Bank Deposits by More Than 400 Billion Euros
Bloomberg
“A glitch in the European Central Bank’s system for settling large-value payments by commercial and central banks has resulted in a drop in deposits worth more than 400 billion euros ($473 billions). The interruption — which occurred on Friday and lasted more than 11 hours — meant large institutions were unable to move their cash in the usual way. The failure was illustrated in data published Tuesday by the ECB that shows a 416 billion-euro slump in the use of the deposit facility at the central bank. The cash remained in banks’ current accounts, and the balances have since returned to normal. Still, the incident highlights the critical role of the payments infrastructure for the euro area, and the risks that could be posed from a longer outage.”
October 28, 2020
On the web
Europe’s Core Payments Network Disrupted by Technical Malfunction
Wall Street Journal (pay wall)
“The European Central Bank blamed a software defect for a disruption to the region’s main wholesale payment system last week that left banks unable to process transactions and securities trades for almost 11 hours. The outage on Friday paralyzed the ECB’s Target2 payments system, which provides the plumbing that allows money to flow across the bloc’s single market. Owned and operated by the region’s central banks, it processes around €2 trillion in transactions a day, equivalent to $2.35 trillion and to around a fifth of the eurozone’s annual economic output. The “major incident” took place at about 2:40 p.m. on Friday, according to the ECB. After a backup system failed, commercial banks couldn’t process transactions through about 1:20 a.m. the following morning. While European businesses and individuals could continue to make payments, the money wasn’t landing where it should.”
October 7, 2020
On the web
Nexi is Said to Pursue Nets in New Blockbuster Payments Play
Bloomberg (paywall)
“Nexi SpA is already hunting for its next target after agreeing a milestone payments merger with Italian rival SIA SpA , as consolidation in the sector shows little sign of easing. Milan-based Nexi made a non-binding bid for Denmark’s Nets A/S , people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Nets’s private-equity owners invited a select group of potential buyers to submit offers and could enter advanced talks with a preferred bidder as soon as this month, one of the people said.”
May 27, 2020
On the wires
Stripe Launches in Five More European Countries
“Stripe, a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, today announced its official launch in the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Malta. Europe is home to some of the largest and fastest-growing online economies in the world. This growth is even increased by the accelerated shift from offline to online that the COVID-19 crisis has brought with it, making the need for financial infrastructure and accessibility more apparent than ever. Stripe’s availability now enables more European entrepreneurs and businesses to start accepting payments online from around the world in a matter of minutes.”
March 15, 2019
On the web
China’s Ant Financial, Thwarted in the US, Is Expanding Rapidly in Europe
Quartz
“Ant Financial is expanding rapidly outside of its home market, mainly to serve legions of big-spending Chinese tourists already familiar with its platform. A key question is whether the company, which is valued at more than Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley combined, will pursue Western consumers as well.”
October 25, 2018
On the web
Pan-European Instant Payments – Which Scheme Should Banks Choose?
Global Banking & Finance Review
“Domestic instant payments schemes are either live or in progress across the world. In Europe this poses some challenges for the next stage of real-time evolution: cross-border. Even though there is a single pan-EU rulebook “SEPA Inst”, Europe has 34 markets that are either implementing or have successfully implemented domestic schemes, which in turn makes true instant payments both within the Eurozone and beyond the single-currency borders a little complex. As well as domestic needs to transact with local banks, banks across Europe are acutely aware of the need to deliver cross-border real-time payments to their customers.”
September 20, 2018
On the web
China UnionPay eyes major European expansion with UK launch
Payments Cards and Mobile
“China UnionPay, which in 2015 became the world’s biggest payment card issuer, has announced plans to launch UnionPay branded cards in the UK, a first step in a larger European expansion aimed squarely at challenging its Visa and Mastercard in their key markets.”
July 25, 2018
On the web
Coinbase Lets You Convert Your Tokens Into Gift Cards
TechCrunch
“It’s still quite hard to buy physical goods using bitcoins or ethers. Coinbase plans to (partially) solve that issue with a new partnership with WeGift. Coinbase customers in Europe and Australia can now convert their tokens on their Coinbase account into digital gift cards for popular stores. For instance, you’ll be able to buy gift cards for Uber, Tesco, Google Play, Marks and Spencer and more. The feature is now live in the U.K., Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands and Australia.”
June 5, 2018
On the wires
Visa Announces Fast-Track Access To Its Network And $100m Investment For European FinTechs
Business Wire
“Starting in July, FinTech start-ups based in Europe can onboard to Visa’s global network in as little as four weeks. The new FinTech fast-track program provides rapid onboarding and reduced fees to help early stage start-ups gain access to the capabilities that lie within Visa’s global network to power their own ideas. Additionally, Visa has launched a $100m European investment program to support the thriving FinTech ecosystem in Europe and grow its investment activity in start-ups.”
June 1, 2018
Top Post
Visa Network Crash Hits Customers And Retailers
Sky News
“Customers are being left stranded at the tills due to a “service disruption” impacting Visa cards. Some businesses are currently unable to process payments made using Visa cards, impacting potentially millions of customers. “Visa is currently experiencing a service disruption. This incident is preventing some Visa transactions in Europe from being processed,” a Visa spokesperson told Sky News.”
March 27, 2018
Top Post
Alipay tempts Europe’s retailers with Chinese tourists’ massive spending power
Quartz
“A survey by Nielsen and Alipay (pdf) suggests that Chinese tourists are bothered by unfamiliar payment methods while abroad. After all, in mainland China today, almost no one pays for a meal, taxi, or new clothes with cash, or even a bank card. It’s all done through the camera lens of a smartphone, through Alipay or the rival payment service from Tencent.”
March 21, 2018
Top Post
Speed, safety, and savings in direct payments
IATA.org
“PSD2 will create opportunities for new forms of payment. IATA is investigating how this could be applied to payments by passengers: both direct to the airline and indirectly via travel agents. The potential prize is huge. Globally airlines absorb more than $8 billion in costs for merchant fees and fraud.”
March 15, 2018
On the web
Revolut adds direct debits in Europe
TechCrunch
“Fintech startup Revolut is slowly making traditional bank accounts irrelevant. The company is adding direct debits in EUR to make it easier to pay for utilities and subscription services. While Revolut is currently applying for a banking license, the company has already been adding everything you need to replace your bank account with a Revolut account…Back in July 2017, Revolut gave you a personal IBAN in EUR and GBP. And now, you can hand your banking details to any subscription service in EUR so that they can debit your Revolut account directly.”
January 26, 2018
On the web
Disruptive innovation: How distributed ledger technologies are about to change society
Open Access Government
“We are launching the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum to expand our expertise on blockchain development, map existing initiatives, to explore use cases and any barriers to them and to monitor trends and developments. It will also gather all parties involved to address the various implications of blockchain: technical aspects, legal and regulatory concerns, governance and interoperability issues.”