The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:
A win for Ripple
A U.S. district judge says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cannot access eight years of financial records of Ripple execs as part of the legal battle between the government and the blockchain company.
The SEC had asked for records from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen, reports Coindesk, which cites court documents from Judge Sarah Netburn.
The larger dispute between the SEC and Ripple involves the XRP token, which the SEC rules should be heavily regulated as a security. Ripple contends XRP is distinct from Ripple and should be subject to less regulation.
Bloomberg
Moscow money
The Bank of Russia plans to finish work on a digital ruble by the end of 2021, putting Russia alongside China in the race to digitize their national currency.
The central bank will use a model that puts the government in charge of issuing the digital currency and operating the platform, reports Finextra. That’s different from the digital currency strategy of the U.S. and other Western countries, which will likely involve private-sector financial institutions managing the connection between the central bank and consumer.
China is testing its digital currency with retailers such as McDonald’s and Starbucks, while smaller countries in the Caribbean have moved ahead with central bank digital currencies.
Less contact with crooks
There’s very little good news to come out of 2020, but the various crises did cause a reduction in some problems, such as payment terminal crime.
Terminal fraud attacks in Europe fell 64% (from 18,200 to 6,500 incidents) during 2020, according to the European Association for Secure Transactions. Card skimming fell from 1,500 to 600 incidents and total losses were about $250 million over the past year, down from about $350 million the prior year. Physical attacks on ATMs fell from 4,500 to 3,700.
The group attributed the losses largely to the reduction of in-person shopping in favor of online transactions.
In the union
Corporate One Federal Credit Union has added its funding agent service to RTP, The Clearing House’s real-time payments network.
The deal potentially covers more than 750 credit unions. Corporate One has long supplied payments and cash management services to these credit unions, a track record it hopes will result in quick uptake for real-time payments.
The RTP network has been signing financial institutions for the past couple of years, ahead of the FedNow network, which is expected to launch in 2023.
From the web
Coinbase listing marks latest step in crypto’s march to the mainstream
REUTERS | Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Coinbase Global Inc, the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, will list on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, marking a milestone in the journey of virtual currencies from niche technology to mainstream asset.
Jack Ma’s Ant Group Will End Some Practices That Helped Fuel Its Growth
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Ant built a complex ecosystem that captured huge sums of money by supplying customers with credit and managing their investments. Now, Beijing is forcing the fintech giant to scale back.
Clubhouse rolls out payments to over 60K creators following initial test
TECHCRUNCH | Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Clubhouse is rapidly expanding access to payments, its first revenue-generating feature for creators, since its launch into testing earlier this month.
More from PaymentsSource
Consumers, merchants and processors are all on the hook to fight fraud
The growth in e-commerce has opened new avenues for crooks, with better tech, compliance and educated consumers needed, says Ecommpay’s Paul Marcantonio.
How banks can use cleaner payment data to improve loyalty, marketing
The fintechs Nymbus and Segmint teamed up to translate the gibberish on bank statements into actionable data.
Barclays shuts down Pingit digital payments unit
Fintechs have reportedly taken a toll on Barclays’ Pingit initiative, a P2P and wearable payments brand that will be discontinued on June 30, nearly a decade after its launch.
Taco Bell opens fully digital restaurant in NYC’s Times Square
Taco Bell is opening its first digital-only restaurant in Times Square on Wednesday. The location will replace traditional menus with self-serve kiosks and feature order-ahead pickup cubbies, allowing customers to walk in, grab their food and go.
Michigan Legacy calls timeout on sports betting
As legal sports betting gains ground in several states, one Michigan credit union is calling a timeout.
Gap, Synchrony to end two-decade card deal after talks faltered
Gap and Synchrony Financial are parting ways after they couldn’t reach an agreement to renew their longstanding card partnership.
A lack of competition is keeping card fees too high
By delaying their most recent set of fee increases, Visa and Mastercard have acknowledged that swipe fees are a burden on merchants struggling with the economic damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Semafone, Avaya partner to protect payments in contact centers
Call center data security and compliance provider Semafone has entered a global reseller partnership with cloud-based communications company Avaya to help secure work-from-anywhere call center models.
Texas fintech rides Mastercard Track to streamline supplier payments
Invoiced is working with with the Mastercard Track Business Payment Service, the open-loop network that supports a vast network and business directory of buyers and suppliers.
U.S. debit is already more competitive than most nations
While U.S. regulators pressure Visa and Mastercard, there’s ample choice, particularly when compared to the national debit rails that exist in most of the world, says Intrepid Ventures’ Eric Grover.
New fraud controls increased false declines online
The stricter fraud controls card issuers put in place during the pandemic are triggering a higher number of false declines.
Wirecard’s regulator faces criminal probe as scandal expands
The scandal over the collapse of Wirecard AG expanded as German financial regulator BaFin faces a criminal probe into how it oversaw the payment processor and whether some of the agency’s staff illegally traded the stock.
Trustly CEO hints at dual U.S. listing after Stockholm IPO
Trustly Group AB’s plan to raise almost $1 billion through an initial public offering in Stockholm may be followed by a second listing in New York, according to its chief executive.
Crypto firm Circle hires Disparte from Facebook-backed Diem
Circle Internet Financial Inc., a developer of the USD Coin digital token, has hired an executive from the Facebook Inc.-backed Diem Association to spearhead strategy and policy efforts.
Powell: Need for digital dollar is an issue for Congress, public
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is involved in a large-scale research and development project on the digital dollar, and that questions of whether adopting such a currency would provide a public benefit have yet to be resolved.
Best Fintechs to Work For
Top executives from the 49 companies that earned a spot in this year’s ranking of the Best Fintechs to Work For cite the need for nimble shifts in business strategy, leadership style and recruiting tactics among the lessons they took away from the challenges of the coronavirus crisis.