Latest global banking news

In global news this week, Russia unveils its alternative to SWIFT, Revolut faces pressure in the U.K., Hong Kong reaches out for fintech talent, and more.

Here's what's happening around the world.

Russian money

Russia plans a payment rail to China without SWIFT

Russian state-controlled bank VTB claims it has set up a system that allows payments between Russia and China that doesn't require SWIFT, the international payment rail that banned Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February. The move to ban SWIFT accompanied sweeping sanctions against Russia from western banks, credit card companies and hundreds of firms in other industries. Russia has responded by attempting to strengthen ties with China, a move that has increased demand for yuan inside Russia, according to Reuters. Russia has an internal alternative to SWIFT, though the Russian system is not as robust and is largely not accessible to western markets. —John Adams
Revolut app

U.K. regulators pressure Revolut on internal controls

The Financial Reporting Council has found Revolut's recent audit had a high risk of "material misstatement" and had an "inadequate" approach to revenue recognition. The regulator also found deficiencies in Revolut's payment processing, reports the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources. There has also been turnover in the company's risk and compliance departments, with several top executives leaving the firm over the past few months. The London-based company will likely face pressure to invest in its back office, the FT reports, adding Revolut needs a back office "like a bank" but instead has the culture of a "tech firm." Revolut got its start as a mobile payment company, and has expanded globally over the past few years while adding more banking products and investment services. Revolut did not provide comment for this story. —John Adams
BinanceBL718

Binance finds partner for contactless crypto pay in Latin America

Cryptocurrency firm Binance is collaborating with payment technology company Inswitch to extend Binance Pay, an integration that will allow merchants in Latin America to receive payments in more than 50 cryptocurrencies. Binance Pay is the crypto company's contactless cryptocurrency payment feature. Binance and Inswitch will power business-to-business, business-to-consumer and consumer-to-business transactions for e-commerce, retailers, travel, banks and gig economy firms and contract workers. —John Adams
Hong Kong

Hong Kong offering carrots to fintechs

Facing a skills shortage, Hong Kong plans to loosen some regulations and offer payments of up to $1.3 million for new financial technology companies that successfully demonstrate a proof of concept. Trade groups, including the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, contend Hong Kong has lost competitiveness due to strict pandemic restrictions on travel, and lockdowns within Hong Kong over the past three years. Sixty-four percent of fintech companies in Hong Kong face a severe talent shortage, while 80% are seeking more support from the government, including hiring subsidies, according to a survey by Google. —John Adams
Map of India

Indian regulators approve BillDesk/PayU deal

The Competition Commission of India has given the go-ahead for Dutch firm Prosus to acquire Mumbai-based BillDesk for about $4.7 billion, a deal that was struck more than a year ago. Prosus owns PayU, a mobile and online payment company that is headquartered in Holland but has operations in India. The regulator earlier in 2022 asked Prosus and PayU to resubmit its application pending a review, according to CapTable, a local news site. PayU and BillDesk plan to co-develop and manage a payment gateway that would process about four billion payments each year. —John Adams
UKpostalBL96

Branch sharing expands in the U.K.

A pilot of a system in which several financial institutions share branches will add several locations in the coming weeks. The U.K. postal service hosts the branches, where consumers can access products from multiple banks, similar to a credit union shared-services model. The first two locations launched in 2021 in Glasgow and Essex, with more than a dozen new locations in the pipeline, including in Northern Ireland and Scotland. More than 200 bank branches have closed in the U.K. so far in 2022, reports Finextra, adding Barclays and Lloyds alone closed about 80 branches in July and August. —John Adams
Singapore skyline

KPMG launches embedded finance hub in Singapore

KPMG will provide incubation support for more than 120 firms from inside and outside financial services that are seeking to build technology to support payments, blockchain, lending, insurance and wealth management. Located in Singapore, KPMG's Embedded Finance Hub will focus on embedded finance, or the practice of using user credentials at one firm to access financial services from another. At the Singapore hub, KPMG's financial services staff will provide consultation and acceleration support, helping create payment use cases for digital assets, gamifying finance and building decentralized finance. The hub will also support technology trials and peer reviews from other startups. —John Adams
Fingerprints card

Fingerprints, Tesco collaborate on Mideast biometric payment cards

Sweden-based Fingerprints, a biometrics firm that provides software and technology for fingerprint-based biometric payment cards, is collaborating with Jordan-based Technical Equipment & Supplies Company (Tesco) to develop an offering in the Middle East. The companies are in discussion with banks in the region who are developing plans to roll out cards requiring the user's fingerprint to authenticate each transaction to deter fraud. Fingerprints recently supported the rollouts of biometric cards in India, Morocco and Mexico. —Kate Fitzgerald
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