Apple and Google's massive size has drawn regulatory scrutiny for years, and the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority is the latest government agency to get in on the act.
The country's banking regulators this week turned their investigations of the companies' digital wallets over to an existing CMA probe. The
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator have
The FCA and PSR received comments expressing concern that Apple and Google can steer consumers to their wallets because of the control they have over their own technology. The companies' operating systems are often pre-installed on iOS or Android devices. The complaints also include claims that Apple and Google limit card alternatives such as account-to-account payments and digital currencies, limiting less costly options. Apple and Google did not return requests for comment.
Additionally, both
The firms have reduced some fees in the past two years, and Apple has eased access to its technology that enables mobile payments, partly in response to the mix of global lawsuits and
Revolut sticks to hybrid work
As banks consider mandates for staffers to work on location, the London digital financial institution Revolut says it will not require its employees to be on site.
Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky told employees that "We care more about what you do than where you do it," according to an internal memo that Revolut emailed to American Banker. "Some people work better from home and some work better in the office."
Revolut, which has about 10,000 employees in offices spread across 23 countries, is preparing to move into a new headquarters in Canary Wharf, a mixed-used district in London. The new space covers 113,000 square feet over four floors, and will focus on product launches, workshops, team building and other activities.
Banks are considering various policies on the mix
Mastercard launches AI-powered anti-money-laundering service in Asia
Mastercard last week launched its anti-money-laundering service Trace Financial Crime on the Philippines' real-time payments network.
TRACE uses artificial intelligence to parse large-scale payments data from multiple financial institutions to identify and prevent financial crime.
The rollout was completed in collaboration with the local interbank network BancNet, which onboarded 36 domestic banks. The Philippines is the first market in the Asia Pacific region and the second market to have access to the solution. TRACE was first launched in 2018 in the United Kingdom. Twenty-one financial institutions and tier-one banks use the service, covering 90% of the U.K's Faster Payments Service Network.
"The launch of TRACE in Asia Pacific marks a transformative step toward safeguarding the integrity of real-time payments while combatting the corrosive effects of financial crime," said Matthew Driver, executive vice president of services, Asia Pacific at Mastercard. "By ensuring that transactions remain secure and compliant, TRACE helps to protect consumers and financial institutions, while also fostering trust in the digital economy — which will be critical for the region's economic growth." — Joey Pizzolato
Visa brings Tap to Add Card to three markets in Europe and Africa
Visa last week rolled out its Tap to Add Card feature in Georgia, South Africa and Ukraine.
Tap to Add Card allows users to add their bank card to their mobile wallet by tapping their card against their mobile phones. The process eliminates the "cumbersome process of manual entry, a common source of errors and a vulnerability exploited by fraudsters seeking to compromise sensitive card information," according to Visa.
Tapping the card to a mobile device generates a unique one-time code that is validated by Visa's chip authentication service. Tap to Add Card was first launched globally in September 2024. — Joey Pizzolato
Local fintechs partner on a Nordic payment alternative
The European B2B payments firm Two and the payment processing company Arvada have developed a payment product designed for consumers and businesses in Norway, Sweden and surrounding northern European markets.
Avarda sells a payment gateway that financial institutions deploy as a white label service, while Two's products include merchant credit for supply chain transactions. These capabilities will combine and expand to include other products such as buy now/pay later lending, digital payments and a menu of products that merchants can use for both their corporate and consumer products. The partnership will also sell fraud protection and credit decisioning.
"Despite the Nordic region's reputation for digital ingenuity, B2B payments have been in need of a serious innovation boost, often lagging behind their B2C counterparts in terms of the simplicity and seamlessness of transactions." said Andreas Mjelde, CEO & co-founder of Two, in a release. "Many merchants have already maximised their B2C growth and are now looking to scale their B2B operations without the complexity of delayed business payments, convoluted net terms processes, and managing multiple payment providers."
Other payment firms are also targeting the Nordic region.
Federal Reserve delays ISO 20022 migration
The Federal Reserve Financial Services has delayed the implementation of the ISO 20022 messaging format by four months to allow its customers and vendors to better prepare for the switch, the regulator announced last week.
ISO 20022 migration on the Fed's payments rails was originally scheduled for March 10, but has been delayed until at least July 14. The Fed said it will announce its final "go" or "no go" decision on the migration no later than June 27. ISO20022 is an updated standard that adds more information to the messaging that accompanies a payment. It is considered a key element in improving risk management for digital payments to encourage adoption of instant settlement schemes such as FedNow.
The Fedwire Funds Service will remain on Fedwire Application Interface Manual 3.0.7 format until July 14.
"For the past several years, Federal Reserve Financial Services has worked with the industry to prepare for the implementation of the new ISO 20022 message format for the Fedwire Funds Service," the Fed said
Central banks push back CBDC rollouts
Some central banks around the world have delayed their expected timeline for their rollout of a central bank digital currency, but more expect to roll out CBDCs in the next five years, according to a joint study from Giesecke+Devrient and the thinktank Omfif Digital Monetary Institute.
Nearly a third of the 34 central banks surveyed said they delayed their issuance timeline, but 48% said they expect to issue a CBDC in the next five years, an increase from 32% in 2023. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they had plans to issue a CBDC.
The U.S. has
dLocal, AZA collaborate to expand FX payments in Africa
The emerging markets payment company dLocal has partnered with
dLocal and AZA will sell payment processing, currency conversion and disbursement rails for about 26,000 businesses in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana and Zambia.
Worldline cements its network in Finland
French payment company Worldline has signed a 12-year agreement with OP Financial Group, a large retail bank in Finland.
The deal expands an earlier payment processing arrangement to include a back-office technology project designed to add digital service, expanded security and faster settlement times.
Worldline is in the midst of a tech-driven recovery strategy that followed the company's decision to
Worldline cut more than 1,400 jobs in 2024, a move designed to save about $215 million through an initiative called Power24. — John Adams
