Payments
Book notes: Easy money, cryptocurrency, casino capitalism, and the golden age of fraud, Ben McKenzie with Jacob Silverman
Casts light on how shady crypto characters defraud consumers but does little to identify and control such fraudsters while protecting the public
Uruguay holds rate for fourth consecutive time
Central bank projects inflation will remain with 3–6% target over coming two years
Bank of Israel reports continued rise in digital payments
Survey shows increase pre-dates emergency measures brought in during Gaza war
Customer verifications have slashed fraud across Europe – ECB, EBA study
Problem greater in non-EEA countries with looser security requirements, says research
Asia’s central bankers bullish over cross-border payments
Policy-makers at Asia Summit also spoke of gradual pick-up in use of local currencies
Innovate to defend status of central bank money, says BoE
Bank “exploring options” to widen access to settlement
Malaysia is latest country to seek Brics membership
However, uncertainty remains over whether Saudi Arabia will join emerging economies bloc
Palestinian Monetary Authority launches instant payment system
Move aimed at providing alternative to traditional services damaged during conflict
More than half of US organisations ‘vulnerable to IT failure’
New research underlines cyber risks to central banks following CrowdStrike IT outage
UAE to link payments system with Indonesia and Ethiopia
UAE and Ethiopia sign currency swap agreement worth up to $817 million
BoE’s high-value payment system hit by ‘global payments issue’
Settlement of some payments delayed after problem originating with Swift; ECB delays closure of Target systems
Eurozone consumers’ smart payments use limited – ECB paper
Many customers believe merchants do not accept non-cash methods, researchers say
FSB issues recommendations to improve cross-border payments
Data flows and payment service providers among the key areas of concern
Palau building blockchain government bond platform
Contract won by Japanese company that co-developed Cambodia’s digital currency
Full-scale war with Hezbollah is a tail-end event – Bank of Israel deputy
Andrew Abir says central bank has advised government to ensure adequate fiscal space as it expects war to last longer and revises its growth and inflation forecasts
Cash use on the decline in Germany
Card and mobile payments gain ground as cash’s share of payments falls to 51% in 2023
Inflation targets have served EMEs well, says Sarb governor
EMEs and banks have ridden out rate rises relatively well, but refinancing and geopolitical risks remain
Book notes: Bucking the buck: US financial sanctions and the international backlash against the dollar, by Daniel McDowell
A timely and well-documented book about the weaponisation of the US dollar
African countries plan to link payment systems – Rwangombwa
Rwanda central bank governor promotes scope for fintech growth in Africa
Banque de France and HKMA to conduct cross-border CBDC test
HKMA is the first non-European central bank to join the Eurosystem’s wholesale DLT settlement trials
BNM’s Rasheed on inflation, growth and currency performance in emerging markets
Bank Negara Malaysia’s governor speaks about balancing inflation and growth, supporting the ringgit, multilateral currency settlement and greening Islamic finance
Bahamas’ central bank will tell lenders to make CBDC available
Governor says central bank will introduce measures over next two years amid low take-up
BIS instant payments trial to move from ‘concept to reality’
India joins Project Nexus as it prepares for “live implementation”