Stay up to date with the latest news from fintech! This week, we bring you updates on regulations, legislation, partnerships, and more. Enjoy reading!
Law Commission Reveals Recommendations for Reform of UK Digital Asset Laws (The Fintech Times)
The Law Commission of England and Wales has published recommendations for the reform and development of the laws relating to digital assets. The publication represents the first time the government has commissioned common law analysis on how the region can accommodate the likes of NFTs and crypto-tokens while keeping consumers safe. Read more
American Fintech Council Backs Legislation Promoting Transparency in Small Business Financing (The Fintech Times)
The American Fintech Council (AFC), an industry association representing responsible fintech companies, has given full support for new legislation that will establish transparency and regulation in small business financing. The council has commended Senator Bob Menendez and Representative Nydia Velazquez for introducing the Small Business Financing Disclosure Act of 2023. It has also urged swift passage of the bicameral bill in both houses of Congress. Read more
Crypto firm Ripple gets in-principle payments license in Singapore (CNBC)
Blockchain company Ripple said Thursday it received in-principle regulatory approval to operate in Singapore, in a rare moment of good news for the cryptocurrency industry globally as it faces tightening policy back home in the United States. Ripple said that it was granted in-principle approval of a Major Payment Institution Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country’s central bank. Read more
Binance to exit the Netherlands after failing to obtain regulatory approval (CNBC)
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it will leave the Netherlands after the company’s application to register under the Dutch crypto authorization regime was rejected. Referring to a virtual asset service provider, Binance on Friday said that it could no longer serve Dutch clients “as we have been unable to register as a VASP with the Dutch regulator.” Read more
Visa acquires Brazilian fintech startup Pismo in $1B blockbuster deal (Tech Crunch)
Credit card giant Visa is acquiring Brazilian payments infrastructure startup Pismo for $1 billion in cash in what is likely one of the largest fintech M&A deals taking place this year so far. Founded in 2016 by Juliana Motta (CPO), Ricardo Josua (CEO), Daniela Binatti (CTO), and Marcelo Parise (VP of engineering), São Paulo–based Pismo has quietly racked up a list of big-name customers, including Citi, Itaú (one of Brazil’s largest banks), Revolut, N26, Nubank and Cora. The startup processes almost 50 billion API calls and $40 billion in transaction volumes annually, and powers almost 80 million accounts and over 40 million issued cards. Read more
Lithuania confirms its National Fintech Guidelines for 2023-2028 (The Paypers)
Among the signers of the MoU are the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Lithuania, city development agency Go Vilnius, and several business associations and hubs such as ROCKIT, Fintech Hub LT, Infobalt, and BCCS. The guidelines include five separate directions, and they were created to help improve business conditions while supporting the development of an open, transparent, and secure regulatory framework. Lithuania’s Ministry of Finance oversaw the drafting procedure for the guidelines, as they could have a significant strategic importance, as well potentially support the country’s economy. Read more
The European Commission releases PSD3 proposal (The Paypers)
The new regulations will increase consumer safety and competition in electronic payments, as well as enable customers to securely share their data in order to access a broader choice of financial goods and services. The value of electronic payments in the EU is expected to exceed EUR 240 trillion by 2021. New players have joined the market, aided by digital technology, particularly those offering Open Banking services. As a result of these changes, the new measures seek to ensure that the EU’s financial sector is fit for purpose and capable of responding to the ongoing digital revolution, as well as the dangers and possibilities it brings – particularly for consumers. Read more
European Payments Council publishes SPAA scheme rulebook update (The Paypers)
The updated 1.1 version of the scheme rulebook will replace version 1.0 immediately, but its changes will come into effect on 30 November 2023. Some of the most important changes introduced in version 1.1 include updates in relation to a mechanism to request a payment with transaction fees not borne by the payer, as well as dataset and attribute alignments, and clarifications on the envisaged homologation process and on the default business conditions. Read more
Google to open major fintech centre in India’s new smart city (AltFi)
Google is to open its global fintech operation centre in India’s first “greenfield smart city”, as it invests $10bn in India’s digitisation fund. The announcement was made by Google CEO Sundar Pichai after meeting Indian PM Narendra Modi in Washington on Friday last week. The operation centre will be located in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), which is a central business district and “smart city” under construction in the Indian state of Gujarat, India’s fifth biggest state. Read more
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