Companies

Square Policy and Pricing Updates

Square

“Beginning next month, three new pricing changes are going into effect for Square sellers: updates to our refund policy, changes to paid transfers pricing, and new pricing for our revamped Square Online paid plans.”

Tags: Square

Regulation

US Congressman Proposes Bill to Block Federal Reserve from Creating American CBDC – What's Going On?

Cryptonews

“US Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has introduced a bill on Wednesday to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or using it to control monetary policy.”

Global Payments

Episode 190 - Fanning the Flames: A Year in Travel - French Polynesia

With many of us still experiencing cold and rainy winter weather, let’s look to warmer climates as Glenbrook’s Chris Uriarte walks us through his payments journey in French Polynesia.

If you’ve attended a Payments Boot Camp, you’ve heard us say that payment systems are domestic by nature. The experience Chris has in the islands of French Polynesia really brings that point home. Listen in to hear his observations and key takeaways on local payment methods.

Regulation

Biden Moves to Slash U.S. Credit Card Fees, App Charges

Reuters

The White House on Wednesday was due to announce fresh efforts to slash credit card late fees and drive down the prices that Apple Inc and Google parent Alphabet Inc charge on mobile app stores, part of a larger policy drive to promote competition in consumer markets, officials said.

Tags: Credit cards

Digital Currency Global Payments Mobile Wallets

Episode 189 - Fanning the Flames: A Year in Travel - Singapore

The next destination on our journey around the world is Singapore! Glenbrook’s Chris Uriarte and Bethany May come on the show to share their stories using local and regional payment methods. Listen in to hear their experiences using GrabPay, QR codes, and even digital currency to pay a friend back for dinner.

While at the Singapore FinTech Festival, Bethany also had the opportunity to participate in a Central Bank Digital Currency pilot put on by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. She provides her insights on the “purpose bound money” trial and overall observations on the research and experimentation being done on CBDCs in Singapore.

BNPL Open Banking Security

2023: A Big Year for Regulation in the US?

As we dive into the new year, we at Glenbrook reflect on the key themes and learnings within payments from 2022 and assess what we believe will emerge as key trends in 2023. My colleague Chris Uriarte recently shared his 8 Payments and Fintech trends for 2023 on LinkedIn, where he discussed fraud and embedded […]

Companies

Boston Fed, MIT Complete Research Project into Feasibility of a Central Bank Digital Currency

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

“A joint research effort between the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology into the technical feasibility of a potential central bank digital currency is now complete. The Boston Fed’s work on CBDC with MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative is known as Project Hamilton. Boston Fed Executive Vice President Jim Cunha said […]

Tags: Federal Reserve

Global

Paytm, HDFC ERGO Introduce Insurance Policy to Protect Mobile Transactions

Firstpost

“One97 Communications (OCL), parent company of Paytm, has rolled out “Paytm Payment Protect”. The group insurance plan has been launched in association with HDFC ERGO General Insurance. The plan has been introduced to insure transactions made via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) across all apps and wallets. This plan intends to enhance the experience of digital […]

Tags: India

Industry

Banks Plan to Start Reimbursing Some Victims of Zelle Scams

The New York Times

“The seven banks that own the payments network Zelle are preparing a major rule change early next year that will require the network’s member banks to compensate customers who fall victim to certain kinds of scams, according to two people familiar with the plans. The shift would reverse the network’s current policy, which typically sticks […]

Companies

TCH White Paper Outlines Legal Authority for Insured Depository Institutions to Issue and Provide Stablecoin-Related Activities, Including Digitized Deposits

The Clearinghouse

“The Clearing House has released a research paper that analyzes the legal authority and policy considerations for banks’ engagement in stablecoin-related activities.The TCH paper provides information about the legal authority of insured depository institutions to issue stablecoins and engage in stablecoin-related activities, and notes that: The OCC’s 2020 and 2021 letters concluding that national banks […]

Tags: The Clearing House (TCH)

Global

MAS Launches Expanded Initiative to Advance Cross-Border Connectivity in Wholesale CBDCs

Monetary Authority of Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today launched Ubin+, an expanded collaboration with international partners on cross-border foreign exchange (FX) settlement using wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). Ubin+ will focus on the following: Study business models and governance structures for cross-border foreign exchange (FX) settlement, where atomic settlement, based on digital currencies, can improve efficiencies […]

Tags: Singapore

Fintech

Episode 182 - Steering the Fintech through Regulatory Waters - Cameron Peake, Restive Ventures

Becoming a fintech is no easy task. There’s the foundational idea, there’s the team, the market opportunity, macroeconomic conditions, and the necessary skills of running a business. Never easy and today it’s even tougher for new fintechs given rising interest rates, consumer hesitation, and the uncertain global economy. 

There’s also the make-or-break concern of regulatory compliance. 

Tags: Fintech Podcast Policy and Regulation

Global

EU to Propose Banks Offer Mandatory ‘Instant Payments’ in Euros

Reuters

“Banks in the euro zone would be required to provide ‘instant payments’ in the single currency 24/7 under draft European Union rules seen by Reuters. The EU wants to modernise payments so that money can be transferred from one account to another in seconds, at any time of the day or night, compared with existing […]

Tags: European Union

Payments on Fire SEPA

Episode 181 - Michael Steinbach, Worldline

Join Wordline’s Michael Steinbach and Glenbrook’s Elizabeth McQuerry and George Peabody to hear the story of SEPA’s creation, the Single Euro Payments Area. You’ll also learn about Worldline, Europe’s largest processor.

It’s an amazing story. If you are concerned with how networks work, or thinking of building network-based processes, there are lessons here – and cautions.

Tags: Podcast Policy and Regulation Real-time Payments

Industry

Open Banking Took More Than a Decade. But it’s Drawing Close.

Protocol

“It’s been 12 years since Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, the largest Wall Street reform in American history. The effects of the bill have been far-reaching, but one key part, Section 1033, has been on hold all this time. Now, finally, an end appears to be in sight. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency […]