Latest global payments news

This week in global payments news: NatWest joins U.K. banks in limiting crypto; Mastercard teams with fintech in the UAE; and more.

Here's what's happening around the world.

NatWest puts a ceiling on crypto payments

NatWest is limiting customers to about $1,218 in daily payments to crypto exchanges, with a 30-day limit of about $6,100, citing concerns over illegal activity. The bank contends that more than $350 million was lost over the past year to cryptocurrency scams, such as when crooks dupe consumers into making transfers to exchanges, according to Yahoo Finance. NatWest's crypto restrictions follow other U.K. banks which recently set cryptocurrency restrictions. Nationwide and HSBC have banned the use of credit cards to buy cryptocurrency, with Nationwide capping debit card crypto purchases to about $6,100 per day. Cryptocurrency exchanges are largely unregulated in the U.K., and the U.K.'s version of the FDIC, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, does not insure cryptocurrency. —John Adams

Bank of Montreal expands business payments tech

Amid a rush from banks to improve services to small businesses, Bank of Montreal has partnered with financial automation software firm Bill to stack more services on top of digital payments. The bank has launched BMO Bill Connec, a service that includes invoicing, accounts payable and receivable software, digital processing and links to accounting software programs Zero, Quickbooks and others. BMO and other institutions are looking to gain share among small businesses that face challenges from high inflation, staff shortages and lingering impacts from the pandemic. —John Adams

Nigeria adopts open banking

The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved open banking guidelines, paving the way for data sharing between banks and other companies, such as e-commerce apps and fintechs. The framework is based on the PSD2 standards that guide open banking in Europe, and serve as a loose and unbinding framework for open banking in other regions (open banking also exists in markets such as the U.S., which does not have a standard). Open banking is designed to allow consumers and businesses to use their bank account to access services, which are often non-financial products, from other companies. Participants in Nigeria's open banking project include KPMG, Sterling Bank, Wallet Africa and PwC. —John Adams

Mastercard adds UAE fintech to expand card network coverage

Mastercard has granted Astra Tech's Payby a principal membership license. This means that the United Arab Emirates-based Astra Tech can provide Mastercard's full range of services, including digital and physical card issuance, fraud and cybersecurity protection, contactless payment technology and access to Mastercard's merchant network. Astra will issue to its base, which includes millions of consumers in the region. Astra, which is licensed in the UAE as a merchant acquirer, will also sell BIN sponsorship, meaning it acts as an intermediary between the card brand and other parties. The UAE's government has courted payments technology firms, and plans to launch a central bank digital currency later this year.—John Adams.

Paymentology, Fondeadora team up on Apple Pay rollout

London-based card processor Paymentology is working with the Mexican digital bank Fondeadora to roll out support for Apple Pay within the bank's mobile app, according to a press release. Fondeadora customers may pay online and in stores via Apple Pay by linking a debit card. The move comes months after Hey Banco and Banregio were among the first to launch Apple Pay in Mexico last year, according to reports. –Kate Fitzgerald

Canada’s Click2pay streamlines small-business invoice payments

Click2pay, based in Toronto, has partnered with small-business management platform Xero to enable Canadian small businesses to pay invoices from almost any Canadian bank account via Interac e-transfer, according to a press release. The integration provides a seamless connection for Xero users who may add a Click2pay link when sending invoices electronically, enabling the recipient to pay from their preferred bank account, with automatic reconciliation within Xero. –Kate Fitzgerald

Nigeria delays plan to replace old naira notes after court order

Nigeria's central bank delayed a plan to remove high-value currency notes following an order by the nation's Supreme Court, after severe disruptions in Africa's biggest economy. The Central Bank of Nigeria began replacing old 200-, 500- and 1,000-naira notes with new ones in mid-December in a bid to mop up excess cash, rein in inflation and curb rising insecurity. The move led to cash shortages, stalled the nation's estimated $220 billion informal economy and prompted some state governments to challenge the policy in court. The challenges that Nigerians faced in obtaining cash may have resulted in as much as a 7.6% decrease in Nigeria's nominal gross domestic product of 198 trillion naira ($429 billion) in the first quarter, KPMG Nigeria Chief Economist Yemi Kale, the nation's former statistician-general, said on Twitter. —Emele Onu, Bloomberg News