Stripe recommits to crypto payments

Stripe recommits to crypto payments

On Thursday, Stripe CEO John Collison announced that Stripe is re-entering the crypto space. FTX US said it will use Stripe to automate KYC processes, approvals, and crypto purchases from debit cards and ACH transactions.

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Tencent stock dives 10% due to fintech fines

Tencent stock dives 10% due to fintech fines

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, may levy record fines against Tencent’s WeChat Pay for failing to comply with KYC and AML regulations. The PBOC discovered these violations during an inspection of the company in 2021.

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Fintech scams promise windfall for crime prevention firms

Fintech scams promise windfall for crime prevention firms

Silent Eight, a Singapore-based financial crime prevention firm, announced yesterday that it had raised $40M in Series B funding. HSBC and Standard Charter’s venture wings were listed as investors.

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Crypto awaits judgment on LBRY coin

Crypto awaits judgment on LBRY coin

LBRY, a blockchain-based file sharing and payment network, has been the subject of a yearslong case by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The government body claims that LBRY’s token, LBC, is a security.

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ACI integrates Venmo and PayPal for IRS filings

ACI integrates Venmo and PayPal for IRS filings

Real-time payments provider ACI Worldwide announced these new digital payments options for U.S. federal taxpayers, not for state filings. ACI is the first platform to offer tax payments through Venmo.

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Biden executive order calls for unified crypto regulation

Biden executive order calls for unified crypto regulation

Today, President Biden issued an “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” The order calls for a holistic approach to crypto across government branches, while also protecting consumers, minimizing volatility, safeguarding national security, and expanding financial inclusion efforts.

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Grain-backed crypto challenges “stablecoin” definition

Grain-backed crypto challenges “stablecoin” definition

Agrotoken, an Argentinian startup tokenizing grain by the ton through cryptocurrency, announced that its soy-, corn- and wheat-backed coins will be accepted as collateral by Santander. Agrotoken has also launched a 1,000-farmer test with Santander.

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Should banks be worried about Zelle?

Should banks be worried about Zelle?

More than 17 million Americans were the victims of fraud on digital wallets or peer-to-peer payment apps in 2020. A large proportion of these crimes took place on Zelle, according to the New York Times.

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Binance debuts Bifinity

Binance debuts Bifinity

Binance announced this morning that it would launch Bifinity, a payments technology company and fiat-to-crypto payments provider. Bifinity will partner with payments platform Paysafe as well as Checkout.com to scale its operations.

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Will UnionPay gain traction due to sanctions?

Will UnionPay gain traction due to sanctions?

On Saturday, Visa and Mastercard announced that they had suspended network operations in Russia, which prevents cards issued in Russia from working abroad, and disables cards within Russia that were issued outside the country. Amex and PayPal have enacted similar measures.

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SEC eyes NFT regulation

SEC eyes NFT regulation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into fractional NFTs, in which assets are broken down into tradable pieces. Such NFTs may qualify as securities under the Howey test; investors fund these NFTs with the intention of making a profit.

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New tool to tackle bias in finance

New tool to tackle bias in finance

On Monday, machine-learning solutions provider Stratyfy released UnBias, which helps financial institutions discover and undo bias in their systems. UnBias will be available as a standalone offering.

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Dutch Bros. doubles down on rewards

Dutch Bros. doubles down on rewards

In an earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, the coffee chain’s executives said they would invest in expanding customer use of the Dutch Rewards app. Between 20% and 25% of rewards transactions include stored-value activity, according to the company’s CFO.

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BNPL payments now reflected in credit reports

BNPL payments now reflected in credit reports

On Monday, Equifax started adding “pay-in-four” installment loans to its credit reports. Experian and TransUnion said they would roll out similar developments this year as well.

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Bank of America to launch all-in-one app

Bank of America to launch all-in-one app

In a joint statement on Saturday, the U.S., U.K., E.U., and others announced that they would move to exclude “selected Russian banks” from SWIFT, the international payments system. The group of countries has also frozen assets belonging to Russia’s central bank in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

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