Economic news

The two payment providers are teaming up to support real-time payments for contractors globally. The move is designed to capitalize on Marqeta's recent initial public offering.

An initiative among EU nations called Project Jura focuses on financial institutions as the users of central bank digital currencies, removing variables that could slow testing and deployment.

Edward Al-Hussainy, senior interest rate and currency analyst at Columbia Threadneedle, will discuss the economy, inflation and the Federal Reserve.

Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles says the benefits of a central bank digital currency are “unclear,” and that a digital dollar could actually “pose significant and concrete risks.”

About 100 small banks have signed up for technology provided by the core software vendor Fiserv and the cryptocurrency custodian NYDIG that allows customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin through their bank accounts.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a proposal this month laying out how banks should treat cryptocurrencies held on their balance sheets. It could give stablecoins, which are tied to traditional assets, an edge over more volatile digital assets like Bitcoin.

By 2023, the Federal Reserve expects to launch a service that would allow businesses and consumers to complete payments in real time. But a digital currency it's now studying could have similar benefits — while potentially removing the need for bank intermediaries.

Brian Doubles, who became the card issuer’s chief executive in April, also expressed optimism that pent-up consumer demand will spur renewed spending this year.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has proposed that a 1,250% risk weight be applied to a bank’s exposure to Bitcoin and certain other cryptocurrencies.

The Federal Reserve has signaled the need for congressional authorization if the central bank moves ahead with creating a digital currency. But senators raised questions at a hearing about whether it would help consumers, how it would complement private-sector banking and other issues.

The U.K.'s central bank says stablecoins should follow the same rules as traditional bank deposits.

Even though industry economists and Federal Reserve officials expect the recent price surge to wane, some big-bank executives are expressing concern about the risk of an inflationary spiral hindering the recovery from the pandemic recession.

From China to the Bahamas, central banks are rushing to create digital currencies that could be used for everything from attending the Olympics to helping the unbanked. Here are some notable initiatives.

The pace of the U.S. recovery picked up somewhat in the past two months, sparking price pressures as businesses contended with worker scarcity and rising costs, the Federal Reserve said.

When people stopped using Wag's core business during the pandemic, the company added multiple technologies to allow it to sell pet food, offer digital training and provide other services. Those same upgrades will stay in place as former clients come back.

Development and regulatory costs would be so high that the largest firms would need significantly more scale to justify the investment, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

While cryptocurrencies could have benefits, they have “not served as a convenient way to make payments, given, among other factors, their swings in value,” said the head of the Federal Reserve. He also detailed imminent Fed research on a central bank digital currency.

How digital capabilities are supporting small business operations amid disruption

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles has made it clear that banks failing to make the transition away from the benchmark rate could face supervisory consequences.

The next step for retailers is to bring consumers the benefits and experience of being in store, from the comfort of their home, says FIS' Dan Brames.