Tagged: central bank

Instant Payments to Be Introduced by Qatar Central Bank

The Qatar Central Bank will reportedly introduce the FAWRAN instant payment service. Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has called on the domestic banking institution to adjust their status as part of its plans to introduce the instant payment service (called Fawran) in March of 2024. The… Read More

Indonesia: Central Bank Issues Ethical Guidelines on AI for Fintech

Indonesia’s central bank, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), has partnered with the country’s fintech associations to issue what it describes as ethical guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) use in the context of the fintech industry. The guidelines were formulated in collaboration with four leading fintech… Read More

Saudi Central Bank SAMA, Monetary Authority of Singapore to Work on Fintech Initiatives

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) signed a cooperation agreement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in Riyadh, in the field of Fintech and innovation. The agreement was signed by Ayman Al-Sayari, Governor of SAMA, and Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of… Read More

Saudi Central Bank SAMA Releases Performance Report of Finance Firms Sector and Real Estate Refinance for H1 2023

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) issued its semi-annual performance report of the finance companies sector and real estate refinance for H1 2023. According to the report, most of the indicators in the finance companies sector “grew at varying rates in H1 2023.” The paid-up share… Read More

Project Atlas: BIS, De Nederlandsche Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank to Create Data Platform to Determine Macroeconomic Relevance of DeFi

BIS, De Nederlandsche Bank and the Deutsche Bundesbank are creating a data platform that has potential to shed light on the macroeconomic relevance of crypto-asset markets and decentralized finance (DeFi). Project Atlas combines on- and off-chain information, “creating a layered approach to data vetting and… Read More

BIS Successfully Trials Cross-Border Wholesale CBDCs with Central Banks of France, Singapore, Switzerland

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has successfully completed Project Mariana, a collaborative endeavor with the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland, aiming to explore the potential of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) in cross-border trading and settlement between financial institutions. Developed jointly… Read More

Hong Kong Monetary Trends: Deposits Grow, Loans Shrink in August

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has revealed in its recent publication on 29 September that there has been a slight increment in total deposits with authorized institutions by 0.6% in August 2023. The deposits consisted of Hong Kong dollar deposits, which saw an increase… Read More

Philippine Bank Lending Grows 7.7% Year-on-Year in July

Recent preliminary data reveals that in July, outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), excluding reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), witnessed a 7.7% year-on-year growth, a slight decrease from the 7.8% reported in June. When assessed on a… Read More

Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bank of Thailand to Support Use of Local Currencies

Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia, and the Bank of Thailand have reportedly concluded three bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on 25 August 2023. These MoUs are the Framework for Cooperation to Promote Bilateral Transactions in Local Currencies between the countries. The scope of the framework… Read More

Philippines: Personal Remittances Reach $2.8B in May 2023; YTD Growth at 3.1%

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reports that personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) reportedly “reached US$2.78 billion in May 2023, higher by 2.9 percent than the $2.70 billion registered in the same month last year.” The increase in personal remittances in May 2023 was “due… Read More

Fintech Platform dLocal Now Licensed by Brazil’s Central Bank as Payments Institution

dLocal has reportedly been licensed by Brazil’s central bank to serve as a payments institution in the South American country. This license, roughly equivalent to the European e-money issuer license, “allows dLocal to accept deposits from the public, manage e-wallets, and participate directly in Brazil’s… Read More

CBDCs: Banque de France Shares Lessons from Wholesale CBDC Experiments Using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

The Banque de France recently shared key lessons from its wholesale CBDC experiments using distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). Following the publication of an initial report in 20211, the Banque de France is now “releasing a new set of conclusions and lessons learned, covering the first… Read More

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Is Reportedly Looking to Enhance Fintech-focused Regulations

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is reportedly working on a new regulatory framework that should be more “developmental” and conducive for financial technology or Fintech firms. This, according to a deputy governor of the reserve bank (as first reported by Reuters this past Friday)…. Read More

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Announces Regulations for Payments, Payment Services

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announces the issuance of the Implementing Regulations for the Law of Payments and Payment Services “to support the objective of enhancing soundness and efficiency of the payment systems infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.” The relevant regulatory and supervisory frameworks enable SAMA… Read More

Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Introduces Plan to Assist Nations with Preventing Cybersecurity Incidents

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently shared its seven-point plan developed to assist nations with preventing cybersecurity incidents/hacks as a response to the new wave of digital national currencies (or CBDCs) currently under development. Approximately 130 different countries are currently exploring the feasibility of… Read More

CBDCs: Swiss National Bank (SNB) to Introduce Virtual Currency Pilot Program

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will reportedly be issuing a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) on Switzerland’s SIX digital exchange as part of a pilot program, the central bank’s chairperson revealed at a recent conference that took place in Zurich on Monday (June 26,… Read More

Ripple, Peersyst, Colombia’s Banco de la República to Support Utilization of Blockchain Tech

The pilot program will evaluate high value payments use cases “using the Ripple CBDC Platform based on the core technology of the XRP Ledger.” Ripple, which claims to be the leader in enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, announced its collaboration with the Banco de la… Read More

Global Payments Fintech Checkout.com Secures Acquiring License from UAE Central Bank

Checkout.com, the global payments service provider, has been granted a Retail Payment Services license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. This makes Checkout.com the first global payments provider “to be granted an acquiring license in the country, further cementing its position as… Read More

BNPL: Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Seeks Public Consultation on Rules for Regulating Buy Now Pay Later Fintechs

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) seeks public consultation on the draft “Rules for Regulating Buy Now Pay later (BNPL) Companies.” In the interest of transparency and wider participation, SAMA reportedly “invites stakeholders and public to provide suggestions and observations on the draft Rules by visiting… Read More

CBDCs: Bank of Canada Introduces Public Consultations on a Digital Dollar

The Bank of Canada is launching an online public consultation on “the features that could be included in a digital Canadian dollar.” The consultation opened on May 8, 2023 and runs until June 19. The way Canadians pay for everything from the daily necessities “to… Read More

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