Latest global banking news

August 3, 2022 1:08 PM

In global news this week, regulators in EU worry about staffing, American Express expands B2B cross-border payments, ATMs in New Zealand get an upgrade, and more.

Here is what's happening around the world.

American Express introduces cross-border B2B feature

Digitizing B2B payments has recently drawn Capital One and Global Payments, and American Express this week launched American Express Global Pay, a digital product that supports business payments in the U.S. and internationally. Amex's business clients can send payments funded by their business account to suppliers in more than 40 countries through a mobile platform. The product also includes incentive marketing and is available to all eligible American Express Small Business Card members. Amex cited an internal survey that found 64% of small business owners expect to expand their business spending with firms outside of the U.S. over the next six months, with another 35% said they are pursuing supply chain diversification. -John Adams

European regulators have a hard time finding crypto experts

The European Banking Authority is worried about finding talent to regulate cryptocurrency, a challenge that could impact its ability to supervise digital assets at a time of high volatility in the market, economic challenges and inflation. Jose Manuel Campa, the EBA's chair, said people with skills in crypto and digitization are in high demand, adding that retaining experts is a concern, according to The Financial Times. The "wild west" nature of crypto also makes the market hard to control and draws experts to the private sector, he said.-John Adams

U.K. bank regulator expands in Leeds and Edinburgh

The Financial Conduct Authority is in the midst of an expansion beyond London, opening a new 100-person office in Leeds and doubling its staff in Edinburgh to 200. The FCA will locate its Digital Delivery Centre in Leeds, while the Edinburgh location will focus on supervising data and general bank technology. The FCA's recent activity includes an investigation of buy now/pay later lending, including an order to Klarna, Openpay, Clearpay and Laybuy to clarify terms in their contracts. The U.K. also plans to formally place BNPL lending under the FCA's jurisdiction.-John Adams

Commonwealth Bank of Australia deepens is tech bench

Commonwealth Bank of Australia is expanding its technology staff in Melbourne from about 100 to 400, and has opened a technology center in Melbourne that will focus on cloud technology and internet specialists. The Sydney-based bank plans to open a network of technology hubs in Australia in Adelaide as part of a strategy to distribute technology experts throughout the country. The bank is additionally working with Australian universities as part of a job placement program for students.-John Adams

NCR adds ATM tech to Bank of New Zealand's digital project

Bank of New Zealand has hired NCR to provide ATM support, a deal that includes NCR owning and operating the bank's off-site ATMs and its on-premise NCR SelfServ ATMs. BNZ will use NCR's technology to upgrade its ATMs, adding more self-service functions. NCR has managed BNZ's ATMs for more than a half century, and the ATM upgrade is part of a broader technology initiative at BNZ, which is digitizing a number of its customer-facing functions. "NCR has been a key part of how we deliver our ATM services to our customers across the country, and their expertise in this area makes them the natural choice to partner for the next phase of our ATM program," said Nick Grieve, general manager of colleague enablement at BNZ.-John Adams

Australian fintech launches BNPL alternative, Melbourne pop up store

Up Bank has debuted Maybuy, a service the neobank is pitching as a counter to buy now/pay later lending. Consumers use Maybuy to create automated savings plans that is geared toward a goal, such as purchasing a specific item. When reaching the goal, the consumer can buy the product or use the money another way. Up Bank, which is opening a pop-up store in Melbourne that will include an anti-impulse machine that will encourage consumers to saving money instead of making on the spot purchases. The move comes as regulators globally are putting pressure on BNPL over concerns that consumers may accrue debt.-John Adams

Nets unit invests in payments tech in Poland

Polski ePlatnosci (PeP) has acquired a majority stake in Team4U, which supports an app for merchants in Poland. PeP is part of Nets/Nexi Group, a European payments company. PeP has made a series of acquisitions over the past five years to build a network of cashless payment companies. Team4U's products include Simapka, which supports registration of SIM cards, gift cards and other services that can be accessed on smartphones and tablets. -John Adams