Global news roundup

March 30, 2022 12:39 PM

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In global news this week, Apple blocks Russia's Mir network; N26 gets hit with anti-money-laundering penalties in Italy; Santander brings new B2B payments tech to Brazil; and more.

Here's what's happening around the world.

N26 hit with AML penalties in Italy

The Bank of Italy has banned the fintech N26 from adding new consumers after an inspection found "significant shortcomings" in anti-money-laundering compliance. The Berlin-based N26 is also barred from offering new crypto asset services to existing customers. The Italian central bank reports it will verify steps N26 has taken to improve its controls. Investments in the past year have pushed N26's valuation past $9 billion, though the company has run into challenges. It was fined $5 million in Germany for submitting anti-money-laundering reports late; and in late 2021 announced it would scale down its operations in the U.S. —John Adams

Apple blocks Mir

Apple largely cut Russia off from Apple Pay on March 1, but failed to remove Mir, Russia's domestic payment system, until March 24. At that point, Apple blocked users from enrolling Mir cards and began to phase out those that were already linked, according to Reuters, which described the Mir connection as a "loophole" that allowed Russian citizens to keep using Apple Pay. Separately, Google halted a pilot of using Mir cards in Google Pay, according to The Wall Street Journal. —Daniel Wolfe

England's central bank joins MIT's CBDC research

The Bank of England will conduct a 12-month project on central bank digital currencies in partnership with the MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency initiative. Researchers will examine technology, risks and market opportunities tied to CBDC design. The Bank of England is one of dozens of central banks that are considering or researching government-backed digital currencies to address use cases such as financial inclusion and to counter the development of private digital currencies. The MIT CBDC lab is also working with the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston on CBDC research. The Boston Fed project involves the construction and testing of an experimental CBDC. —John Adams

Temenos, Mastercard to offer Request for Pay in U.K.

Temenos, a banking software provider based in Switzerland, has teamed with Mastercard in the U.K. to accelerate the expansion of Request for Pay services to British banks. Still in the early stages of development in the U.K., Request for Pay triggers a digital request for a one-time payment that the payee can approve or reject through channels they choose. —Kate Fitzgerald

Revolut moves forward in Brazil

Revolut has opened a waiting list for consumers in Brazil. It's the latest in a series of markets for the London-based fintech as it expands globally, following a recent move into Mexico. Revolut's Brazilian operation supports payment cards, with plans to include investments, insurance and cryptocurrency services, reports Finextra. Brazil is a fast-growing market for digital payments and is already home to fintechs such as Nubank and C6. Revolut came to the U.S. in 2020, using remittances to build a base of users in the region for its cross-border payment product. —John Adams

Santander expands payments tech in Brazil

Elsewhere in Brazil, Banco Santander has debuted a feature that allows corporate clients in Spain to make near-real-time local currency payments to recipients in Brazil through the bank's One Trade product, which is part of Santander's PagoNxt payments technology unit. The transaction rail is designed to process payments in a few minutes while avoiding the need for foreign exchange documentation, a process the bank contends can take days. More than 5,000 Spanish companies sent more than $5 billion to Brazil in 2021, up 14% over 2020, Santander said in a release, citing Spanish government figures. —John Adams

Lighthouse Credit Union launches in Ontario

Lighthouse Credit Union has been approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario to become the region’s newest financial institution. The credit union will offer virtual banking to new members in the second quarter of this year, and will work to establish a physical branch in the area at a future time, according to the credit union's press release. Founded this year, Lighthouse CU will focus on the Greater Toronto Area's Jewish community and offer members access to financial services such as residential mortgages and other banking services. —Frank Gargano

ANZ advances stablecoin use in Australia

ANZ is an early mover on stablecoins in Australia, executing a transaction on a public blockchain for Victor Smorgon Group, a wealth management firm that was investing $30 million in cryptocurrency markets. ANZ minted $30 million worth of the stablecoin A$DC using the bank's smart-contract technology. The stablecoins were transferred between the bank and the investment firm and converted to traditional currency. “An ANZ-issued Australian dollar stablecoin is a first and important step in enabling our customers to find a safe and secure gateway to the digital economy," said ANZ banking services lead Nigel Dobson in a press release. Stablecoins, which are backed by traditional currency, serve as a hedge against cryptocurrency volatility. —John Adams