Last week we wrote up news of the advent of Britcoin, the UK’s own central bank digital currency (CBDC). Today our friends at Finextra bring word of the latest CBDC developments in the European Union. The European Central Bank has hired ING’s global director of payments, Evelien Witlox, to head up its digital euro programme. […]
The convergence between the “alternative” finance and the mainstream continues apace. This snippet of product news, brought to us by our friends at Finextra, is indicative of the general theme. Starling Bank has released a new feature that enables customers to make specific recurring bill payments from an alloted ‘Saving Space’, separate from their main […]
The FinTech sector is undoubtedly booming. With buoyant funding levels, new product launches and acquisitions aplenty, our friends at Finextra report the latest. With VC investment in the UK’s financial technology sector soaring, Tech Nation has unveiled the 30 scaleups selected to participate in the fourth cohort of its fintech programme. The six-month government-backed programme […]
The future is almost with us. Our friends at Finextra run a report on the biggest study of mobile wallets – the digital devices that store cryptocurrencies – in the world. Released by payments fintech Boku, with data from Juniper Research, the research reveals that Europe will be home to four of the ten fastest-growing countries for […]
The mainstream of the financial world is moving as fast and as far as it can to accommodate the irresistible advance of cryptocurrencies. Our friends at Finextra report: A group of trade associations have called on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to revise its proposed punitive rules on investments in crypto assets by financial […]
Today, we bring more news from the febrile, fast-changing world of financial technology. Our friends at Finextra carry the latest tale. A coalition of UK fintechs has signed an open letter calling on the government to fast track a ‘smart data right’ that enables consumers to control their data, opening up the potential of open […]
Regular visotors to this News section will be well aware of the boom in interest and in funding for the financial technology (FinTech) sector. Our friends at Finextra look at recent data on the the fortunes of contemporary UK FinTechs. It’s a mixed bag, but a broadly positive picture. After a whirlwind decade that has […]
More flak from the high-speed collision between cryptocurrencies and mainstream finance. Our friends at Finextra report the latest: The Securities and Exchange Commission intends to sue Coinbase over a planned interest-earning product, says the cryptocurrency exchange. Last week, the SEC sent Coinbase a Wells notice warning that it intends to sue in court over the […]
It had to happen. Bitcoin is now the officially accepted currency of a sovereign state. All the usual objections – potential for money laundering, pandering to criminals, wild volatility – have been swept aside. Bitcoin is currently trading at more than $51,000, having hit highs of more than $52,500 in recent days. We take a […]
Regular visitors to our News section will be aware that we see central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as a state-sponsored fake cryptocurrency. The beneficial ownership of an account is quite clear – so there’s nothing cryptic about CBDCs. They are merely digital, and the hope amongst central bankers appears to be that consumers will accept […]