Stablecoin

The bank is a step closer to having its own U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrency. It could become the first major financial institution to issue a stablecoin.

If the loophole in the GENIUS Act isn't closed, the flow of money into stablecoins will wind up reducing the Community Reinvestment Act funding that many underserved communities rely on for development.

The U.K.-based banking giant will add a fintech that enables it to compete with Apple Pay, while Global Payments has added Uber Eats as part of its Genius-branded point of sale rollout. Plus: Visa has advanced account-to-account payments in the U.K. and more in the global payments and fintech roundup.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued an interpretive letter Tuesday that would allow banks under its jurisdiction to hold small amounts of network tokens to test and process customer transactions.

Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Jonathan McKernan said he is concerned that the traditional bank funding model of taking in low-cost deposits and making more lucrative loans could be set for a shakeup as fintech challengers get more competitive.

The rise of stablecoins is once again raising questions about the purpose of money, should it be regulated as a public good facilitating commerce, or a private claim to a specific asset?

From private credit to stablecoins, firms with scant oversight have been allowed to gobble up business that formerly went to regulated banks. Until balance is restored, the system is overburdened with risk.

BNY estimates the market for stablecoins, tokenized deposits and other assets will reach a combined value of $3.6 trillion in four years, while Standard Chartered says the entire banking industry will soon be "tokenized." The trend is creating pressure to update strategies and technology.

The payments company is expanding the transfer app in an effort to entice more consumers to use the service as their primary banking relationship

ICBA argues Bridge's stablecoin model pushes the trust charter beyond its intended fiduciary scope.

Following the new GENIUS Act, BNY's fund provides a regulated vehicle for stablecoin reserves, distinct from its separate tokenization projects.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. acting Chair Travis Hill said Thursday morning that the agency's first proposed rules under recently passed stablecoin legislation should be published by the end of the year.

Fintechs and banks approach innovation from different starting points. Noelle Acheson points out that this can be seen in their approach to payments, and now also in the approach to stablecoins.

Acquisition talks fell through in the final hours, according to reports. Also: Visa launched another stablecoin pilot on Visa Direct; the Bank of England seeks input on stablecoin restrictions; and more in this week's global payments roundup.

Today, if you own Apple stock, you can't send a few shares to your nephew on his birthday, you can't swap them for Google stock and you can't use them as collateral for a loan. Tokenization will change that.

Industry groups and consumer advocates are continuing to push for regulators to interpret the GENIUS Act's prohibition on stablecoin interest as broadly as possible, while crypto firms push for a narrower interpretation, arguing that increased competition would benefit consumers.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Stephen Miran said the growth of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies will likely impact monetary policy and could lead to lower interest rates.

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said there was a popular "misunderstanding" Thursday regarding who can qualify for a "skinny" master account, noting that only firms with a bank charter would qualify for approval.

Custody is the foundation, but the real opportunity for TradFi lies in what comes next

In late 2021, Vast Bank, a regional bank operating throughout Northeast Oklahoma,