I took a bit of time off in February and when i was around was maxed out, so didn’t get a chance to blog. So this recap of the top payments news stories in February was useful for me to see which payments news stories were hitting the headlines in February. Anyway, I’m back and look forward to sharing with you hot payments stuff that i have read and learnt about. For now, check out below the top payment news stories that caught my eye in February 2019:
1. Payments News – Cyber Security
- Hackers attempt to steal €13 million from Malta’s Bank of Valletta, with the bank shutting all IT systems
- Almost 70,000 Pakistani bank cards and PINs are put up for sale on the Dark Web
2. Payments News – Mobile Payments
- RBR research indicates global card expenditure will increase at 10% per year between 2017 and 2023
- Which? figures shared with the UK government highlight the decline of cash machines coupled with branch closures and the exclusion of sections of society from paying for local goods and services
3. Payments News: Blockchain / Digital / Crypto-currencies
- JPMorgan to disrupt payments by launching JPM Coin
- The New York Times reports that Facebook and other messaging companies are looking to launch cryptocurrencies in the next year
- Standard Bank prepares blockchain based international payments
4. Payments News: Banks
- Santander announce a 5 year technology deal with IBM to enable and accelerate its business transformation
- JPMorgan to launch “My Chase Plan” and “My Chase Loans” to compete in point of sales (POS) financing
5. Payments News: Fintech
- UK fintech investment increased by 18% in 2018 to $3.3 billion, attracting third highest VC investment behind China and the US
- Ant Financial buys London based payments firm WorldFirst for a reported $700 million
- Facebook posts Technical Program Manager, Marketplace Payments Blockchain role…
- London based Revolut chief raises Brexit concerns, specifically the UK’s ability to attract talent and build/grow a fintech startup
- Money laundering allegations at Revolut are addressed by the CEO
6. Payments News: Europe – SEPA, PSD2, Open Banking, GDRP
- Mastercard partners with Token.io for its Open Banking Hub
- New EU rules state banks should harmonise charges for cross-border payments in euro and domestic payments
- The European Commission is considering a new rules to further promote TIPS (instant payments) across the EU
7. Payments News: SWIFT
- SWIFT publish a guide to assessing cybersecurity countrparty risk
- Cross border messages using SWIFT gpi rise from 15% at the beginning of 2018 t0 56% at the end of 2018, an increase of 270%
8. Payments News: Reports
- Celent – Sibos 2018 Payments – A Catalyst for Change
- Deloitte – SWIFT for Corporates – The real value and cost of connecting to your banks via a single window
- UNSGSA – Regulatory Sandboxes Not Always the Answer for Regulating Inclusive FinTech
- FSB – Financial Stability Board – FinTech and market structure in financial services: Market developments and potential financial stability implications – key message: bigTech not finTech is the danger for banks
That’s it folks! Let me know below if I missed anything important…