Latest global banking news

November 30, 2022 9:22 AM

In global news this week, Virgin Atlantic upgrades its payment system, Ireland proposes cash preservation regulation, PayPal's under pressure in Poland, and more.

Here's what's happening around the world.

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Polish regulators investigate PayPal

Poland's government is examining PayPal's terms of service, including the company's ability to block access to accounts and impose contractual penalties, a move that could result in a fine of up to 10% of PayPal's revenue in the county. Poland's UOKiK (Office for Competition and Consumer Protection) says PayPal has been unclear in its explanations of prohibited actions that could result in penalties, contending users may not understand the rules. The regulator contends these rules must be written in a precise language and based on defined criteria. PayPal did not provide comment, but told Reuters it would respond appropriately to the regulator. —John Adams

Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg

Westpac helps form artificial intelligence study group

Australian bank Westpac is part of a group of companies and academics that have launched the Fintech AI Innovation Consortium. The group will work out of the University of New South Wales' Engineering and Business School, and will focus on finding use cases for AI. The other companies in the group, including Amazon Web Services, Conitivo Consulting, BrewAI and Databricks, will test machine learning in different banking and business environments as the overall use of AI in financial services expands. The university positions the consortium as a way for banks and other corporations to "shop" for AI innovations that match existing goals. —John Adams

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Visa inks international partnership for youth-focused fintech

Visa has signed a seven-year deal to be the global payment network partner for GoHenry, a financial education app for young people between ages six and 18. The deal extends an existing partnership, and covers the U.S., U.K. and Europe. GoHenry will issue prepaid Visa cards along with its education content for kids and their parents. GoHenry's app covers categories such as earning, saving, budgeting and charitable giving. There is also a feature for parents to guide their children's progress, along with updates in real time and spending controls. Parents can load funds into their child's account using Visa Direct, which enables the funds to be accessed in near-real time. Other payment companies have also recently upgraded their outreach to younger consumers, such as Square's extension of its Cash App to teens. —John Adams

Mastercard invests in British firm to boost virtual cards

Mastercard has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Conferma Pay, a Cheshire, U.K.-based payment company that Mastercard hopes will help the card brand expand the use of virtual cards for B2B travel payments. Conferma Pay connects card issuers to more than 700 travel companies and dozens of online booking apps. The single-use cards link booking platforms to payment gateways and other third parties. This allows travel companies and consumers to track and reconcile transactions as well as offer financing options and security. Conferma Pay will retain its autonomy following the Mastercard stake. The size of the stake was not disclosed. —John Adams

Virgin Atlantic teams with Canadian fintech to streamline payments

Nuvei Corporation has partnered with Virgin Atlantic to support digital payments and ticketing, using the traveler's home currency and preferred payment method. The airline will access Nuvei's proprietary platform to offer an experience that more closely resembles an e-commerce purchase. Virgin Atlantic is focusing on digital payments as part of its expansion plan as it emerges from the pandemic, estimating that 76% of air travel will be sold online within the next four years. Nuvei's other partners in the travel industry include Air Transat. —John Adams

BNP Paribas, partners launch carbon reduction program

BNP Paribas is among the firms that have joined forces to offer Debarb Fast Track, a program that subsidizes access to technology designed to optimize energy use through real-time analysis. The bank is joining Amazon Web Services and technology firms Metron and Dalka in the partnership, which will additionally offer personalized support at certain industrial sites. The program hopes to remove about 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide by working with about 100 industrial companies over the next two years. Each of the four partners have agreed to subsidize the projects. —John Adams

CBA ties credit score portal to fraud fight

Commonwealth Bank has introduced a credit score hub that provides a view of Experian scores, as well as a way to track what loans or other credit products are attached to a consumer's identity. The Australian bank is positioning the hub as a way for consumers to mitigate fraud by more easily viewing their credit relationships and applications through a single dashboard on an app. CBA is also trying to get consumers to check their credit report more often. CBA research estimates that 80% of Australians say tending to their financial health is important, but only 20% have checked their credit score in the past six months. —John Adams

Ireland pushes cash protection

Ireland's Department of Finance is calling for legislation that would govern how cash is removed from the economy as digital commerce expands. The regulator says it is not seeking to maintain a minimum level of cash, but to ensure paper bills can be accessed by those who require it through a mix of banks providing transparency on digital plans and branch reductions, as well as monitoring ATMs and other cash locations. U.K. regulators have also placed pressure on banks, with the Financial Conduct Authority requiring banks to have an alternate system to access cash before closing a branch. —John Adams

India to test retail version of digital rupee

India's central bank will launch the retail version of its digital currency on a test basis starting Thursday, a month after allowing some banks to use it for settling secondary-market transactions in government securities. Four banks will initially run the digital currency pilot, with another four joining at a later stage, the Reserve Bank of India said in a Tuesday statement. A select group of customers and merchants will take part in the pilot and use the e-rupee as a replacement for hard cash. Digital currency would be issued "in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued," the RBI said. Banks will distribute the e-rupee through digital wallets on mobile phones. Both person-to-person transactions and payments to merchants are possible. The latter will involve scanning a QR code, the central bank said. Banks participating in the pilot are the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities. —Anup Roy, Bloomberg News

India banking regulator asks Paytm unit to reapply for license

India's banking regulator asked a unit of Paytm to resubmit its application for approval required to provide payment aggregator services, a potentially lucrative business the company is trying to expand into. The Reserve Bank of India asked Paytm Payments Service to resubmit its application after seeking necessary approvals from its parent to comply with foreign direct investment guidelines, the fintech company said in a disclosure to stock exchanges on Saturday. Paytm, backed by SoftBank Group and Ant Group, is expanding its product offering in a bid to convince investors of its earnings potential even as losses mount. Its stock has lost three-quarters of its value since Paytm's initial public offering a year ago — the worst first-year decline among large IPOs globally over the past decade. Payment aggregators are platforms providing diverse payments options to customers such as merchants. They need a license from the Reserve Bank of India to operate. PPSL has to resubmit the application in 120 days. —Sankalp Phartiyal, Bloomberg News