Tagged: european union

June 24, 2020 @ 12:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Union initiated a consultation on its retail payments strategy last April. The deadline for comments is this Friday, June 26, 2020. The consultation addresses the digitization of payments and the belief that Europe needs a “strategic vision to ensure that consumers and companies… Read More

June 12, 2020 @ 7:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Estonia, one of the world’s most developed nations with an advanced, high-income economy that’s among the fastest-growing in the EU, is reportedly caught up in one of Europe’s largest-ever dirty-money scandals. Estonia has been quite active when it comes to encouraging the adoption of digital… Read More

June 3, 2020 @ 9:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New Zealand-based Fintech firm Zeeco has partnered with Salt Edge, a company that provides Open Banking solutions, in order to access users’ financial data and automate certain eco-contributions. As mentioned in a blog post published on Salt Edge’s official website: “With [rising] awareness [about] the… Read More

May 29, 2020 @ 7:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is focused on providing more ways for users to earn financial rewards by simply holding digital assets. Coinbase recently introduced Tezos (XTZ) staking rewards for its US-based customers. The exchange will now be offering this option to its UK clients… Read More

May 1, 2020 @ 1:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

European trade repository REGIS-TR, which is a joint initiative established by the Clearstream (Deutsche Börse Group) and Iberclear (BME Group), will partner with Sensiple, a company offering regulatory technology (Regtech) for making repurchase agreements and facilitating secure lending. Through the partnership, REGIS-TR and Sensiple plan… Read More

May 1, 2020 @ 11:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Amsterdam-based banking challenger Finom, which aims to serve entrepreneurs and SMEs, has secured €6.5 million in seed funding through an investment round led by Target Global. General Catalyst, FJlabs, the Raisin founders Frank Freund, Tamaz Georgadze, and Michael Stephan also took part in Finom’s funding… Read More

April 30, 2020 @ 8:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The San Francisco-based developers of Brave, an open-source, privacy-oriented Internet browser, have submitted a complaint which asks the European Commission to take quick action against European Union-based government agencies that are not protecting the data and privacy of local residents. Brave’s complaint was filed on… Read More

April 25, 2020 @ 5:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Netherlands-based Bittr, a Bitcoin (BTC) savings service, is reportedly closing down its business. Ruben Waterman, the company’s founder, said that newly-enforced financial regulations were the main reason why Bittr decided to shut down its services. The AMLD5 became effective July 9, 2018, and required the… Read More

April 25, 2020 @ 10:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

European challenger bank bunq is introducing joint accounts for its Premium and Business account holders. Bunq+1 users will now have the option of opening an account for anyone they want to, which includes their partners and children. Bunq+1 business clients can create new accounts for… Read More

April 20, 2020 @ 5:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission (EC) intends on publishing possible legislation for digital assets or crypto-assets in Q3 of 2020. This is according to a statement Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis on behalf of the EC. The reveal was squirreled away in a European Parliament question page. The statement… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 5:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

This month, the European Commission kicked off a consultation on the future of digital finance and Fintech. Simultaneously a consultation on payments was announced. The Fintech consultation opens by explaining the following: “Digitalisation is transforming the European financial system and the provision of financial services… Read More

April 11, 2020 @ 10:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Parliament suggests that the EU should consider broadening the existing definition of digital assets or cryptocurrencies and expand its current list of blockchain or crypto-related organizations that may need to follow financial regulations. The EU adopted the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) back… Read More

April 6, 2020 @ 2:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Mintos, a global loan marketplace claiming over a quarter of a million investors, is pursuing both a investment firm license and an e-money institution license, according to a release from the company. Mintos has applied to the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC) in Latvia… Read More

March 16, 2020 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently, the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the leading securities regulator in France, posted a legal analysis of security tokens or digital securities. The AMF posited that while there remain certain “legal obstacles,” in their opinion national authorities can adapt to these types of… Read More

March 14, 2020 @ 11:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Like many jurisdictions around the world, the European Union has announced extraordinary measures to combat the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, including measures to mitigate the impact the illness will have on SMEs. In a statement yesterday, the Commission said it considers the COVID-19 pandemic as qualifying as… Read More

February 28, 2020 @ 7:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Malta-based digital asset exchange Binance has teamed up with Shyft Network, the developer of a public blockchain protocol, in order to ensure that it is complying with updated Financial Action Task Force (FATF) financial market regulations. The Shyft Network was developed to offer a decentralized… Read More

February 24, 2020 @ 1:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month, Crowdfund Insider reported on two debt-based investment platforms based in Estonia closing their doors leaving investors with many questions and apparently no money. Envestio tweeted that the problem had to do with a “well-planned set of actions aimed to cause significant financial and… Read More

February 24, 2020 @ 7:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Estonia’s e-residency program is a government-backed digital identity initiative that allows individuals and companies to launch a new business in the European nation, even if they do not physically reside there. For example, if you are a German citizen, and are living in Singapore and… Read More

January 16, 2020 @ 11:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Baltic region’s finance industry has been struggling and some of the area’s countries including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have reportedly been indirectly involved in money-laundering scandals that were allegedly orchestrated by large Nordic banks. However, Lithuania’s capital has been able to develop its local… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 12:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday the European Commission announced the launch of two consultations. The first is on digital or crypto-assets including stablecoins. The second is on cybersecurity. The consultation on digital assets is due to President Ursula von der Leyen determination to keep abreast of innovation in the… Read More