European Union

The European Union is discussing the exclusion of seven Russian banks from the Swift financial messaging system, but the proposed list spares the nation’s biggest lender and a bank part-owned by the Russian gas giant Gazprom. 

Western central banks trying to develop sovereign cryptocurrency models face pushback from lawmakers and other obstacles, while the digital yuan has a much clearer path.

The European Union has updated value-added-tax regulations that predate digital payments, hoping to reduce compliance burdens for foreign online sellers and simplify consumer billing.

An initiative among EU nations called Project Jura focuses on financial institutions as the users of central bank digital currencies, removing variables that could slow testing and deployment.

U.S. regulators blocked the card network's attempt to buy Plaid last year for antitrust reasons. Its bid to acquire Tink, a similar company based in Sweden, may have a better shot given European officials' desire to promote open banking.

A European Union regulation that promotes data sharing among banks and third parties is making it easier for neobanks like Tide and Monese and other companies to help small merchants track their cash flow and access credit.

The initiative would standardize and expand security, but marketing restrictions weigh against the business case for adoption.

EU regulation permits digital connections between banks and fintechs, creating ways for pension providers and brokerages to streamline payment acceptance and cut costs by replacing manual processes with automated ones.

Small businesses are upset at Visa and Mastercard's proposal to raise rates on cross-border payments initiated online, now that the European Commission's caps on credit and debit fees no longer apply in the U.K.

Apple Inc. was handed a European Union antitrust complaint over its app payment rules, drawing one of the world’s toughest competition enforcers into a global battle over fees for downloads on smartphones and tablets.

A European Union plan would require rigorous data-quality checks and testing of applications of artificial intelligence that it says violate consumers' privacy and other rights.

For the U.K. payments industry to be in the best position to succeed, keeping consistent with compliance to both U.K. and EU regulations will be critical, says Ecommpay's Paul Marcantonio.

Wallex hopes its EURST stablecoin will be transparent and familiar enough to appeal to mainstream payment companies.

The U.K. got an earlier start on open banking implementations, prompting European merchants and fintechs to turn to payments-as-a-service providers for rapid deployment.

It would be misguided to expect cash-like features of a central bank digital currency, according to one of the monetary authorities furthest ahead in exploring such a system.

U.S. banks and payment companies are looking to Europe's example to see how open banking can push the market beyond its reliance on credit and debit cards.

U.S. banks and payment companies are looking to Europe's example to see how open banking can push the market beyond its reliance on credit and debit cards.

The Paris-based fintech has added a range of extra features in recent years following the advent of PSD2 and open banking in the EU.

I look forward to seeing digital currencies brighten up our antiquated banking infrastructure and embrace the global move toward e-commerce. For now, though, I’m not holding my breath, says T1 Payments' Donald Kasdon.

Financial Software and Systems Technologies is advancing its payments footprint in Europe through a partnership with Strong Customer Authentication platform provider Okay.