June 6, 2019 @ 4:18 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In its latest “country-specific recommendations,” the EU has advised officials in Malta to enhance oversight of the country’s booming cryptocurrency and gaming sectors, to boost rules and address understaffing in the country’s Economic Crimes Unit, and to act against “aggressive tax planning” (evasion) executed by individuals… Read More

April 26, 2019 @ 8:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum has published a “thematic report” on blockchain adoption. The project is an initiative by the European Commission. This first report is one of a series of documents which is expected to be published over the coming months. The… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 9:02 am By JD Alois  |  

GDPR or the General Data Protection Regulation is a big deal. GDPR was designed to better protect consumers and their digitized information. While clearly not perfect, GDPR is the direct result of big corporations failing their customers with poor security protocols, lackluster attention to cyberfraud… Read More

January 7, 2019 @ 9:28 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has received payment institution authorization from Ireland’s Central Bank. According to Irish Times, the Central Bank granted authorization to Google Payment Ireland under the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) regulation. The company will now be allowed to issue and acquire payments across the European Union (EU)… Read More

December 30, 2018 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission (EC) recently announced a European investment plan designed to boost access to capital to Spanish SMEs and “midcap investment projects.” The plan is for the European Investment Bank Group and BBVA to provide €360 million for these smaller businesses. A €60 million “synthetic… Read More

December 30, 2018 @ 10:33 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), updated rules for securitization will commence on January 1st, 2019 in the European Union (EU). The new “harmonized” rules are designed to streamline the process of financial services firms to leverage securitization to boost access to capital…. Read More

December 14, 2018 @ 3:27 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Slice Labs Inc., an on-demand insurance cloud platform provider, announced on Thursday the availability of Insurance Cloud Services (ICS) in the UK and EU. Slice reported that the first customer to use ICS in the UK is Legal & General with the launch of on-demand,… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 1:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Most innovation occurs in smaller businesses and most job creation takes place within these small firms. This is a truism for all developed countries and in recent years governments around the world have sought to foster an innovation-driven economy. The European Union (Brexit aside) is… Read More

November 16, 2018 @ 11:35 am By JD Alois  |  

European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis has issued a comment on the regulation of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and virtual currencies. The statement is part of an ongoing discussion within the European Parliament and the Commission. Dombrovskis is the Commissioner in charge of Financial Stability, Financial… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 5:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Pilates, a private bank accused by murdered journalist Daphne Carauna Galizia of laundering money for Maltese politicians and foreign interests, has lost its license, Financial Times reports. The license was withdrawn last Friday by the European Central Bank (ECB), several months after Pilatus’ founder and ex-chairman Seyed… Read More

October 19, 2018 @ 11:17 am By Aubrey Hansen   |  

The European Union does not need to seek out any problems for the moment, with the highly publicized ‘divorce’ from the UK taking place in the full media spotlight, but it’s easy to forget that, as things stand, the EU is also taking its approach… Read More

September 11, 2018 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

At the meeting of EU financial ministers in Vienna last week, Austria’s Minister of Finance Hartwig Löger said that Europe is working on rules and regulations for crypto assets to support the development of the sector. The meeting included all of the economic and financial affairs… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 9:20 pm By Cali Haan  |  

On Tuesday, April 10th, 22 European countries signed an declaration vowing to cooperate as partners in the development and deployment of blockchain tech across European jurisdictions. According to the declaration, “Cooperation on a European Blockchain Partnership,” earnest efforts to “reaffirm” Europe’s “leading role” globally in blockchain… Read More

March 15, 2018 @ 10:01 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

InstaReM, a Southeast Asia’s digital cross-border money transfer service provider, announced on Thursday it has extended its outbound money transfer operations to another important market, the European Union (EU). ), Prajit Nanu, the co-founder of the fintech start-up, revealed the exciting news at the Money20/20 Asia 2018… Read More

March 10, 2018 @ 1:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

As we reported last week, the European Commission has announced its intent to pursue a Fintech Action Plan designed to boost Fintech innovation across continental Europe. The recognition that enabling innovations in finance are of strategic importance. This is a vital step in keeping Europe… Read More

February 26, 2018 @ 1:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a speech today delivered by European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, the public official commented on the the EU Roundtable on Cryptocurrencies. The “debriefing” was light on details and simply shared a high level perspective of the discussion. Dombrovskis said the mission of the… Read More

February 1, 2018 @ 4:26 am By JD Alois  |  

In the works for some time now, the European Commission has published the final report on “Identifying market and regulatory obstacles to cross- border development of crowdfunding in the EU.” The report comes under the Directorate‑General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG… Read More

January 12, 2018 @ 5:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Open Banking is kind of a nebulous term. Unless you are very engaged with the UK financial sector it probably means little to you. Yet the concept of Open Banking will have profound ramifications for consumers and businesses in both the UK and Europe. In… Read More

December 29, 2017 @ 2:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission recently launched a competition seeking new Blockchain tech creating solutions for positive social change. The new Horizon Prize is called “Blockchains for Social Good” and the competition will see €5 Million handed out in increments of € 1 million for five different recipients…. Read More

December 28, 2017 @ 5:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

EU Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, whose portfolio includes Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, spoke to the FT this week advocating on behalf of a pan-European Fintech license. Dombrovskis is quoted in the broadsheet lamenting excessive bureaucratic barriers that challenge Europe today; “Europe is certainly… Read More