On The Web

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Systems

Exclusive: U.S. Helps Mastercard, Visa Score Victory in Indonesia in Global Lobbying Effort

October 4 2019

• in
• Cards

“The change will allow the U.S. companies to process credit card transactions without having to partner with a local company in Indonesia, the sources said. Indonesia’s decision represented a major lobbying victory for U.S. payment companies in efforts to beat back a host of new regulations in Asia and elsewhere around data storage or the […]

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Companies

Issuing Money Is for Governments, Not Private Firms: Apple CEO

October 4 2019

• in
• Apple
• Cryptocurrencies

“Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken out about whether his company would launch a cryptocurrency, and the answer is a firm no. In an interview with Les Echos newspaper, Cook argued that private companies shouldn’t be competing with states on monetary control, stating: “No. I deeply believe that money must remain in the hands of […]

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Systems

After Years of Rapid Growth in Africa We’re About to Enter the Age of Mobile Money 2.0

October 4 2019

• in
• Mobile Money

“There is nowhere else in the world that moves more money on mobile phones than Sub-Saharan Africa. The region is currently responsible for an astonishing 45.6% of mobile money activity in the world —an estimate of at least $26.8 billion in transaction value in 2018 alone—this figure excludes bank operated solutions. Mobile money operators like […]

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Systems

Eye on Cryptocurrency: PayPal Skips a Libra Meeting; Ohio Suspends Bitcoin Payments

October 4 2019

• in
• Cryptocurrencies

“In a bad week for cryptocurrency, a news report emerged late Thursday that PayPal Holdings Inc. skipped a key meeting of backers of Facebook Inc.’s Libra initiative. And, in the state of Ohio, officials on Wednesday suspended a pioneering site that accepted business taxes via Bitcoin.”

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Companies

PayPal pulls out of Libra

October 4 2019

• in
• PayPal

“PayPal Holdings Inc. pulled out of the Libra Association, a blow to Facebook Inc. ’s efforts to develop a digital currency.    “PayPal has made the decision to forgo further participation in the Libra Association at this time and to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to […]

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Opinion

2020 Could Be the Year Bitcoin’s Fee Market Is Put to the Test

October 7 2019

• in
• Bitcoin

“The past two “halvenings” have passed without incident. Bitcoin’s price has increased consistently over the past two reward eras, so that the dollar amount of the block subsidy is now higher than it ever was in either of the earlier eras. The price has also grown about as fast or faster than overall transaction volume. […]

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Global

Nigeria Is Finally Turning to Telcos to Drive Financial Inclusion Through Mobile Money

October 10 2019

• in
• Mobile Money
• Nigeria

“The regulatory caution and conservatism often blamed for holding Nigeria back finally looks set to change with the central bank reversing a longstanding stance on declining to issue mobile money licenses to telecoms operators. In the wake of the central bank’s change in tack, MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecoms operator, with more than 60 million customers, […]

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Systems

SWIFT’s Banking Head Invites All Real-time Payment Systems to Build ‘partnership’

October 10 2019

• in
• Faster payments

““I think it’s the way we live today. Everyone wants everything instantly. And because we want instant in our daily lives, we start to want it in our business lives, in parallel to everything else being instant.” He further spoke about how instant payments have existed domestically in the UK since 2008, with the ability […]

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Companies

The Ties That Bind Facebook’s Libra

October 7 2019

• in
• Cryptocurrencies
• Facebook

“As one member among many, Facebook’s role in governance of the association will be equal to that of its peers,” Marcus continued. “Facebook will have only one vote and will not be in a position to control the wholly independent organization.” But a WIRED analysis finds that 15 of the 27 founding members of the […]

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Systems

For FedNow, a Lot More Questions Than Answers

October 10 2019

• in
• Faster payments

“Two Fed officials fielded questions about those topics and more during a 90-minute Fed-sponsored webinar last month. Much of what was discussed wasn’t new, but some new factoids emerged as well as identification of issues that will be getting much more attention as the service develops (“The New Reality in Real-Time Payments,” September). For example, […]