Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 6, 2021 @ 11:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK crowdfunding industry is worried that a recent “Call for Input: The Consumer Investments Market” by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) may undermine the viability of the investment crowdfunding industry. Comments on the process closed on December 15, 2020. The consultation was instituted… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 12:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

US President Donald Trump has signed an order that aims to place a ban on US transactions with eight major Chinese apps – which reportedly includes Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ online wallets. Notably, this order has arrived just days before the Trump administration… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 11:39 am By JD Alois  |  

The year of COVID-19 was a difficult time for all. 2020 saw government-mandated lockdowns, a shift to virtual offices, and a health crisis that has not been experienced in many decades. While all industries had to adapt, some thrived – typically tech-centric firms that have… Read More

January 6, 2021 @ 8:34 am By JD Alois  |  

Tetragon Financial Group Ltd. (LSE: TFG), a UK based investment firm with $2.35 billion in assets under management, has sued Ripple in Delaware courts, according to a report by Bloomberg. Tetragon apparently had an agreement incorporated in its equity investment with Ripple that if XRP… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 9:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

XRP, the native currency created by Ripple, continues to tiptoe lower following the announcement of an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission.  In fact, on the day the SEC announced the lawsuit, XRP held a market cap of over $20 billion. Today, that… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 1:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an interpretive letter this week regarding the ability of national banks and federal savings associations to utilize stablecoins. The OCC concludes that a national bank or federal savings association may validate, store, and record payments… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore is a jurisdiction that has worked to enable innovation in financial services. A collaborative government that encourages the financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), to enable change has created a robust Fintech ecosystem. MAS has long operated a regulatory Sandbox to help… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 10:05 am By JD Alois  |  

FinCEN, part of the US Department of Treasury, is in the process of creating rules that will impact the digital asset ecosystem. FinCEN is seeking to address the illicit activity in the “convertible virtual currency” (CVC) sector and the “anticipated growth” of “legal tender digital… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 8:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain.com, a leading cryptocurrency wallet provider, trading platform, and block explorer service, revealed on January 5 that it will be halting XRP trading, beginning on (Thursday) January 15, 2021. Blockchain.com’s management confirmed that because of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent action against… Read More

January 5, 2021 @ 7:27 am By JD Alois  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says that national banks and federal savings associations can participate in “independent node verification networks” (INVN) and use stablecoins to conduct payment activities and other bank-permissible functions, according to an interpretive letter posted by the bank… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 9:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s banking and insurance regulator stated on December 31, 2020 (Thursday) that all Internet-based platforms in the country should investigate their Fintech-related businesses to ensure that they’re following regulatory guidelines and must also address any shortcomings. China‘s financial regulators have held discussions with Alibaba’s (NYSE:BABA)… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 9:00 pm By Timothy Li  |  

Fintech enthusiasts welcome back to my 5th annual “Top Ten” Fintech prediction series. This year I’ve met a lot of powerful movers and shakers in the Fintech space. My take away from these meetings and interactions is how little do I know about this ever-expanding… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 2:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Robin Mahler Weisman, Senior Policy Counsel at Coin Center, a leading non-profit entity focused on the latest policy issues facing digital currencies, notes that the US Congress had warned the Treasury regarding its “unusually short” timeline for feedback regarding its new cryptocurrency rulemaking proposal. Weisman… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 12:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech companies are reportedly urging the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to “break” banks during 2021. A group of London-based startups is asking the FCA to look into ending the control and dominance of traditional banking institutions, specifically their use of consumer data. The companies… Read More

January 3, 2021 @ 12:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The limit on contactless payments might be increased from the current £45 to £100 in one of Britain’s very first steps away from European Union guidelines. The upper limit on touch-free or contactless payments might be raised to £100 after the suggestion was made to… Read More

January 2, 2021 @ 7:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia’s reserve bank, Bank Negara, has released its policy document on digital banks. The Malaysian central bank’s new document on the licensing framework for all-digital banks has been published after completing a 6-month public consultation. Bank Negara officials stated on December 31, 2020, that the… Read More

December 31, 2020 @ 5:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

2020 was a challenging year for the entire world. The ongoing health crisis surprised everyone as the world dove into a pandemic, pummeling the global economy and impacting everyone. In many respects, Fintech emerged as a beneficiary of COVID-19. Digital transformation of financial services were… Read More

December 31, 2020 @ 9:33 am By JD Alois  |  

Business finance specialist Rangewell, has published a blog post that seeks to clarify how SMEs will be impacted by the Brexit deal. Agreed upon last week, the UK government is calling the deal a big win for the UK’s sovereignty.  Nic Conner, Rangewell’s Research Consultant… Read More

December 30, 2020 @ 3:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued “compliance assistance sandbox” (CAS) approval for PayActiv regarding its “earned wage access” (EWA) products.  EWA products allow employees access to their earned but unpaid wages prior to payday. A Public Benefit Company, Payactiv can help employees access… Read More

December 30, 2020 @ 11:56 am By JD Alois  |  

The government of Singapore has published a document covering the risk of terrorism financing (TF) and financial services. The report was compiled by a consortium of agencies including the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance. To quote the… Read More