Pious claims about the importance of free data are a smoke screen. What the fintech industry really wants is to stick banks with the bill for organizing, securing and delivering customer data on their behalf.

Noelle Acheson points out that crypto custody is about more than incorporating new assets into an established service; it's about reshaping how we see standard financial concepts and using the resulting innovations to rethink client relationships.

The U.K.-based super app expanded its partnership with Google Cloud as it looks to advance account-to-account payments; Global Payments launches Genius platform in the U.K.; and more in this week's global payments roundup.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that Stephen Lybarger will assume the role of Senior Deputy Comptroller for Chartering and Will Giles will be Principal Deputy Chief Counsel amid a surge in fintech and crypto trust charter applications.

The Canadian institution plans a U.S. tokenized deposit, contending that it can help banks keep and grow deposits amid threats from fintech-issued cryptocurrency. Founder and President David Taylor is encouraging others to do the same.

The superregional bank, which pulled the plug on bitcoin custody services in 2022, is reintroducing those services following the demise of an unfavorable SEC rule.

The arguments banking trade groups are raising against granting charters to digital asset firms are the same scare tactics they used against money market funds, online brokers and fintech lenders.

BNPL lender Klarna officially revived its highly anticipated IPO, and cryptocurrency exchange Gemini also announced plans for a public offering. The offerings follow Chime and Circle's blockbuster IPOs in June.

Noelle Acheson points out that, while banks are unlikely to issue stablecoins, the related businesses they are likely to end up offering could set the stage for a transformation of their relationship with their clients.

By using a public blockchain, a potential digital euro could be made more widely available. Plus, Klarna expands its merchant reach as it resurrects plans for an IPO, Binance faces an audit and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman floated the idea of allowing employees to hold small amounts of digital currencies, arguing that it would help with retention and understanding of the product. But some questions whether the move will yield those results, or raise ethical problems instead.

FRNT is designed to streamline government disbursements while acting as a lure for digital financial services firms.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Thursday terminated a 2022 enforcement order against Anchorage Digital, the first federally regulated crypto bank, at a time when fintechs and crypto firms are increasingly seeking national trust charters.

More nonbank digital asset firms are applying for national trust charters, a development that many banking organizations oppose due to what they say is inadequate oversight, lack of congressional intent and no FDIC backstop.

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said the private sector and central bank play complementary roles in payment innovation and stressed the need to maintain that collaboration as crypto technologies become more mainstream.

The Treasury Department issued a request for comment Monday, seeking input on four categories of technology that could be used to detect and combat illicit financial activity in crypto assets.

The Federal Reserve said it would rescind its novel activities supervision program created to monitor how banks use emerging tech.

Advocates warned the Federal Housing Finance Agency that allowing cryptocurrency assets to be used in the underwriting of Fannie and Freddie mortgages risks taxpayer losses and market instability.

Businesses accepting payments in stablecoins on a public blockchain are making vast amounts of data available to their competitors. For the technology to really take off, a privacy-preserving solution is needed.