News/Payments
BIS to trial Asian instant payments link
Project Nexus aims to create standardised cross-border link for different countries’ systems
Russian payment system to start operation in Cuba soon
Ambassador says Mir will help Cuba counter effects of embargo
Iran and Russia to link banking systems to bypass sanctions
Move follows Iran’s signing of free trade “memorandum” with Russia-led EAEU
Italy to allow larger cash payments despite central bank objections
Official warns move could encourage illicit activity
Kenya central bank restores mobile money transfer fees
Move will reverse anti-Covid measure, but cut fees from 2020 rates
New York Fed advances two digital asset exchange projects
Regional Fed to test cross-border payments with MAS and explore “regulated liability network”
Project shows blockchain making FX trades faster and safer – NY Fed
Tests by NY Fed and BIS settles FX spot trades in less than 15 seconds
‘Any use case’ helped Pix succeed, Brazilian official says
Focus on user experience, low fees and firms’ support brought success, head of Pix team says
BIS and central banks say multi-CBDC platform trial was a success
Central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and UAE took part in US$22 million cross-border trial
FATF puts Myanmar on money-laundering blacklist
Move may increase economic pressure on military junta as currency crisis grows
ECB delays launch of new RTGS system and T2 consolidation
Launch had been scheduled for November but is now expected in March 2023
RBA payments systems suffer outage
Problem took too long to resolve, and platform is too fragile, payments executive claims
Russia’s Mir forced into retreat
Banks and payment systems across Asia banish Russian cards after US warnings
US CBDC research ‘could take years’, says Treasury
Report weighs design choices that could underpin digital dollar
CBDCs could hugely improve cross-border payments – ECB’s Bindseil
“Holy grail” of secure, instant universal payments could be a reality in next 10 years, authors say
Cash remains most common means of payment in Germany
But share of cash payments dropped from 74% in 2017 to 58% in 2021, Bundesbank finds
Iran imposes restrictions on payments
Authorities cite risk of cyber attacks, but economy has also faced capital flight
US senator attacks regional Fed over fintech firm’s payments access
Kansas City Fed president Esther George refuses to release correspondence about terminating account
Virtual asset service provider sues Fed
Crypto firm wants “master account” but critics warn of regulatory problems
Every CBDC decision is a tradeoff, says Bank of Canada’s Shah
Privacy, security, and offline access present difficult problems
Bank of Thailand and finance ministry delay PayPal suspension
PayPal Thailand must comply with KYC regulations by end of year, central bank says
ECB criticises Polish law on cash use
Frank Elderson says law “may not be in public interest” and says government failed to consult ECB
Brazil’s largest state considers suspending Pix payments
São Paulo legislature examining payments system shutdown as an anti-crime measure
Eurosystem approves new payments oversight framework
‘Pisa’ principles will cover stablecoins, e-wallets and other payments arrangements, ECB says