FCA finds in favor of banks, Brazil's Ebanx reaches India

September 20, 2023 1:43 PM

U.K. regulators rule on complaints about bias from politicians, more U.K. transactions are made with cash and more in our weekly financial news roundup.

Here's what's happening around the world.

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

FCA says banks didn't ban politicians because of their views

The Financial Conduct Authority did not find evidence that financial institutions were closing bank accounts because of the customers' politics. "By far the most common reasons providers gave for closing, suspending or declining an account was because it was inactive/dormant or because there were concerns about financial crime," the FCA said in its report. Politicians such as the U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Brexit proponent Nigel Farage earlier this year claimed they were denied banking services because of British rules requiring extra risk management for public figures, called "politically exposed people" in the U.K. Hunt, Farage and others said these rules were weaponized against them because of their positions on issues such as Brexit. While the regulator said it found no evidence of political targeting, the FCA reported Tuesday that it would examine the PEP regulations to ensure lawfully expressed political views are protected. On social media, Farage said the FCA's findings are a "whitewash." —John Adams

Ore Huiying/Bloomberg

Circle tests virtual assets with Grab

Blockchain company Circle and Singapore financial and ride-sharing app Grab have built a Web3 wallet that will enable users to access financial incentives, collectibles and NFTs. Circle, the firm behind the USDC stablecoin, has diversified its technology and services over the past several years in an effort to build a financial super app. Grab and Circle are piloting visual experiences that users of both firms can access via their accounts. Web3 technology is still evolving as a financial services tool, with most early uses tied to branding or other forms of marketing. The first Grab/Circle product, for example, will involve NFTs as vouchers during the Singapore Grand Prix auto race. —John Adams

Bloomberg Creative Photos/Bloomberg Creative

European Banks team to battle fraud in real-time payments

The bank-supervised EBA Clearing organization has assembled an initial group of banks that will manage crime risk for real-time settlement. The institutions, which include Unicredit, Intessa Sapaulo, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, ING and LHV, will pool transaction data to spot patterns and anomalies that could signal fraud. The coalition will also develop and deploy real-time name and account checks for payment service providers in Europe. As real-time settlement networks grow internationally, banks have become concerned about the security risks tied to larger volumes of payments with little or no window to spot criminal activity. There are dozens of efforts to address this problem, with most of the initiatives involving collaboration among companies that process real-time payments to vet users and to identify risk before a transaction takes place. —John Adams

Bloomberg

Tap to Pay service launches in Jordan

Middle East Payment Services has collaborated with Saudi Arabian payment technology firm PayTabs to launch Tap to Phone in Jordan. Called MEPS Fast, the technology is available on Android devices with NFC, and merchants can accept Visa and Mastercard. MEPS and PayTabs have also partnered with Huawei to enable installment payments for Android devices with no interest. In 2020, the Jordanian government mandated that all banks and payment companies support contactless payments. Tap to Pay, or softPOS, enables smartphones, mostly running iOS and Android, to accept contactless payments without added hardware. The payment option has gained traction globally given its ability to cut costs for small businesses that want to accept card payments. —John Adams

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Britain’s total cash transactions rose last year: Report

The death of cash is taking longer than expected in the U.K., where total cash payments increased last year by 7%, to 6.4 billion, according to Electronic Payments International, analyzing the latest from the London-based financial services industry trade association UK Finance. Due to a higher total volume of payments, cash's share of payments fell slightly to 14% from 15% last year, but the pace of electronic payments displacing cash slowed last year, due to inflation, UK Finance data indicates. Last year, 0.9 million consumers were primarily paying with cash, down from 1.1 million in 2021. That compares with 2.2 million consumers who mainly used cash in 2017. UK Finance predicts that if consumer confidence recovers, by 2032 cash's share of U.K. payments will be cut nearly in half, to 8%, and cash will account for a total of just 3.3 billion payments. —Kate Fitzgerald

Bloomberg Creative Photos/Bloomberg

Irish regulators push for government-funded bank tech

Ireland's government is holding back financial innovation, according to industry lobbyists who are asking for state support to develop financial services technology. The plea from FSI, a unit of Irish banking trade group Ibec, cites an internal survey that found 72% of the country's bank executives say there is not enough funding to support technology needs; while 64% say more funding is necessary to support expansion. The request comes as private funding for financial technology has fallen globally over the past two years, following a boost in spending during the pandemic as digital financial services expanded quickly. Enterprise Ireland, a state-operated agency that supports technology development, reports it has supported fintechs in Ireland with funding, a development ecosystem and recruiting foreign companies to set up operations in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland and Ibec did not provide comment by deadline. —John Adams

Rafael Henrique/Photographer: Rafael Henrique/SO

Revolut pushes Swift alternative for cross-border payments

U.K. challenger bank Revolut has developed an identifier called RevTag, which business clients can use to make payments directly to another person or business by using a free tag instead of an International Bank Account Number or other details about the recipient. Revolut is supporting the tags across its network, which includes more than 150 countries and two dozen currencies, and is aiming the product at payments for employees, contractors and suppliers. By using a tag in place of account details, Revolut is offering another option beyond the Swift messaging system. Revolut also introduced payout links in the U.K., which enables in-country transactions with a URL, eliminating the need for account details. —John Adams

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Mastercard, Saxo Bank collaborate on open banking

Mastercard and Denmark's Saxo Bank will use open banking to streamline payments into customers' investment accounts. Saxo Bank's clients can move funds without logging into a separate bank account to support investments. Saxo, which contends that the integration has already improved the flow of funds for wealth management clients, has introduced the feature in Denmark and plans to deploy it in other European countries in the coming months. Open banking uses data-sharing technology to enable users to access multiple services from a single account. Mastercard said its open banking technology will help Saxo reach users in new markets. —John Adams

Adobe Stock

Brazil’s Ebanx extends its reach to India

Brazilian payments fintech Ebanx is launching mobile money services in India, marking the Sao Paulo-based firm's first foray in Asia, Reuters reports. Ebanx, which has a strong foothold in Latin America processing payments for companies including Airbnb, Spotify and Uber, will now enable global merchants to accept local Indian payment methods, including Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and cards, the report said. Last year Ebanx began its expansion outside of Latin America by establishing operations in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. —Kate Fitzgerald