Latest global banking news

November 9, 2022 1:32 PM

In global news this week, HSBC offers real-time processing for investments, Ant adds buy now/pay later loans in Hong Kong, and Santander limits crypto in the U.K.

Here's what's happening around the world.

Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

HSBC, Saxo partner on real-time processing

Saxo Bank and HSBC are connecting direct-debit systems to enable real-time transfers for trading and investment products. Investors perform a one-time authorization electronically, and their credentials are stored for future use covering authorization, verification and initiation of a direct debit. Saxo also said traders will be able to top up accounts and trade without leaving the Saxo platform. That process is designed to remove the need for users to separately log into their bank accounts to top up their investment accounts before performing a trade, as well as tp avoid paperwork. —John Adams

Bloomberg News

CaixaBank site tracks Spain's economy

CaixaBank's research arm has introduced what it's calling a "Real-Time Economics" website that provides information on economic conditions in Spain. The bank will use anonymous data from 18 million consumers, 11,500 ATMs and more than 700,000 point of sale terminals to spot trends in financial activity categorized by age, gender, income or geographic regions. Caixa estimates its data will include about 6 million payroll disbursements and millions of payments. This data will inform 850 indicators that will be updated each month in an attempt to enable businesses and consumers to rapidly respond to changes in the overall economy. —John Adams

Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg

Santander limits crypto payments in the U.K.

Santander's U.K. unit has placed a monthly limit of about $3,000 on payments to cryptocurrency exchanges and an individual transaction limit of about $1,000. The bank says it has noticed a "large increase" in the number of fraud victims. It also referenced a risk in investing in crypto, citing a warning from the Financial Conduct Authority that said funds held in crypto wallets may not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The limits will go into effect on November 15. Restrictions on crypto are not unusual in the U.K, as about half of the country's banks do not support crypto, including Virgin Money, HSBC and Halifax, according to Finder.com. —John Adams

Ant debuts buy now/pay later in Hong Kong

Ant Bank and Alipay Hong Kong have jointly launched Ant Bank PayLater on AlipayHK ahead of the upcoming holiday shopping period. The products allow users to pay in installments over AlipayHK's merchant network. Consumers can apply for the service on Ant Bank's Mini App, which appears as an option on AlipayHK, and receive approval decisions in about one minute. Payments will be drawn from Ant Bank or other linked accounts. While the BNPL industry has drawn regulatory pressure over concerns it leads consumers to accrue debt, installment lending is still growing in popularity, particularly as a hedge against inflation. BNPL lenders are also diversifying their products as the market becomes more competitive. —John Adams

Singapore advances central bank digital currency

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is collaborating with several partners to support exchange and settlement for international payments using central bank digital currencies. The government is processing transactions in Swiss francs, euros and Singapore's wholesale CBDC. Wholesale CBDCs are designed for transfers between large banks and/or governments, and differ from retail CBDCs, which are designed for consumer use. MAS is working with Banque de France, Swiss National Bank and the Bank for International Settlements on its latest CBDC project. The work expands on Project Ubin, which is a MAS initiative that includes work with banks and other stakeholders on use cases for blockchains and other distributed ledgers. —John Adams

Saudi Arabia sets guidelines for open banking

Saudi Arabia's central bank has issued a framework for open banking, or the use of data sharing to enable users to access financial services from different providers through a single account. The country hopes to improve access to digital banking, as well as create a more favorable environment for partnerships between banks and fintechs. The open banking program includes legislation, regulation and standards based on open banking schemes in other countries. Saudi Arabia's banking regulator will monitor progress of banks and fintechs over the next several months, with a goal of launching the open banking framework in the first quarter of 2023. —John Adams

Ria acquires South African money-transfer firm

Ria Money Transfer has acquired Sikhona Forex, one of South Africa's largest money transfer firms. Ria, a Buena Park, California-based unit of Euronet Worldwide, began collaborating with the South African company in 2017 for outbound remittances using Ria's global payout network. South Africa, which has nearly 3 million workers from other African nations, generated $4 billion in outbound remittances last year. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. —Kate Fitzgerald

Canada’s debit network using music to fight impulse shopping

Interac, Canada's national debit network, has collaborated with global branding agency Sixieme Son to promote a soothing music track to help consumers restrain themselves from making impulsive purchases. Interac is promoting the 20-minute instrumental track for shoppers to access on its website and on Spotify. "Music has traditionally been used to fuel purchase behaviors in retail, and we wanted to experiment with the ways it could positively impact and help add mindfulness to the shopping experience," said Wiliam Keliehor, Interac's chief commercial officer, in a press release. —Kate Fitzgerald

Paytm's losses mount as it spends to expand

Paytm, India's leading digital payments brand, posted a wider second-quarter loss after it spent more to grow its business. The net loss in the July-September period swelled to 5.71 billion rupees ($69.7 million) from 4.73 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said on Monday. Revenue rose 76%, to 19.14 billion rupees, while total costs increased 60%, to 25.61 billion rupees. The company is expanding its product offering and signing up more users in a bid to convince investors of its earnings potential. —Saritha Rai, Bloomberg