Latest global banking news

August 10, 2022 9:37 AM

In global news this week, cash is on the rebound in the U.K., a Swiss nonprofit calls for digital business IDs, CIBC adds support for open banking, and more.

Here's what's happening around the world.

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Cash makes U.K. comeback as cost-of-living hedge

Post offices in the U.K. handled a record volume of cash withdrawals in July, totalling more than $967 million. That's up 8% from June and 22% over July 2021, reports U.K. technology site Finextra. July's total postal transaction volume was about $4 billion, the largest monthly total in the U.K. postal service's history. The data suggests a countertrend to digital payments in the U.K., where non-cash transactions have been on the rise for years, similar to most developed countries. The postal service attributes the recent boost in cash to people who are managing their budget on a weekly or even daily basis, citing research from the University of Cologne that found people are more likely to remember the time and amount of a payment if that transaction is made in cash, as opposed to a card or mobile app. —John Adams

Ian Crysler Photographer

CIBC boosts open banking tech

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has entered a partnership with data technology firm MX to expand CIBC's capabilities to share data with third parties. The bank will use an application programming interface to enable clients to connect banking information with MX partners that provide personal financial management, budgeting and credit-building services without sharing their bank login ID and password. The bank says accessing a full view of finances from different providers is complicated, and the collaboration with MX is designed to remove friction from the process. CIBC and MX are also members of FDX, a nonprofit organization that produces interoperable standards for user-permissioned data. —John Adams

U.K. fintech plans hub in North Carolina

The Bank of London, a fintech that provides clearing and payment processing, plans to open an outpost in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center will employ 350 people by 2026, and will focus on software development, compliance, business operations and infrastructure engineering. The fintech has leased 40,000 square feet of office space in Charlotte. The Bank of London was founded by Anthony Watson, the former chief information officer at Barclays and Nike, and offers banking-as-a-service and embedded payments. —John Adams

Digital business IDs urged for global bank transactions

The Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board, a nonprofit that influences the global financial system, is calling for broad adoption of digital business IDs, called Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs), for global transactions. The European Commission last year recognized LEIs as a mechanism to help banks and financial institutions counter the financing of terrorism. Broad adoption of LEIs could also ease banks' access to straight-through processing, sanctions-screening and Know-Your-Customer due diligence, said Clare Rowley, head of business operations at the Global LEI Foundation, also based in Switzerland, in a press release. —Kate Fitzgerald

Western Union adds Visa Direct for key cross-border payment corridors

Western Union has expanded its integration with Visa Direct, enabling U.S. consumers to send money in near-real time to Visa debit customers in Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, the Philippines, Romania and Thailand through Western Union's mobile app, website and U.S. retail locations. Western Union previously enabled Visa Direct cross-border transfers in 20 countries across Europe. —Kate Fitzgerald

KeyBank integrates with BlueSnap’s global payments platform

KeyBank has adopted BlueSnap's global payments platform, enabling the bank to operate as a gateway reseller of new payment services. The integration will streamline e-commerce transactions for businesses connecting through KeyBank to sell in more than 200 global regions, with access to local card acquiring in 47 countries with support for digital wallets, tax compliance and unified global reporting. —Kate Fitzgerald