E.U. to outlaw anonymous crypto transactions

E.U. to outlaw anonymous crypto transactions

European Union lawmakers have voted to apply AML regulations to crypto, while also requiring ID verification for payers and recipients of any amount of cryptocurrency. The E.U. may also cut off unregulated crypto exchanges from financial systems if they fail to comply.

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Apple eyes building its own payments tech

Apple eyes building its own payments tech

A multiyear plan would help the computing giant develop its own infrastructure for financial products. It would facilitate new approaches to payment processing, risk assessment for lending, fraud analysis, credit checks, and more.

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Bank of Italy bans N26 onboarding

Bank of Italy bans N26 onboarding

Italy’s central bank has banned N26, the Germany-based neobank giant, from onboarding new customers or offering new products. Italian regulators have flagged N26 for its weak AML procedures.

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Major U.S. banks face climate change vote

Major U.S. banks face climate change vote

Shareholders are set to vote on proposals to reduce financing for projects in oil and gas. The banks include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.

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Visa and Mastercard still work in Russia. How?

Visa and Mastercard still work in Russia. How?

Both payments processors had previously announced that that they would stop doing business in Russia. But their cards still work within the country, because Visa and Mastercard were forced to switch to Russia’s domestic payments-processing system in 2015.

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Wells Fargo, Bilt announce credit card for renters

Wells Fargo, Bilt announce credit card for renters

The Bilt Mastercard lets renters earn rewards on rent payments, and use rewards points for down payments. For the first time, tenants can also pay rent through credit cards without transaction fees.

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The hidden costs of paycheck advances

The hidden costs of paycheck advances

According to the Financial Health Network, more than 70% of pay-advance users have taken out several advances in a row. Predatory data collection and obscure cash-limit algorithms further affect consumers within this $12B industry.

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4 factors shaping Gary Gensler’s crypto policies

4 factors shaping Gary Gensler’s crypto policies

From bitcoin to BlockFi, Gensler faces a deluge of new—still largely unregulated—money-making instruments worth more than $2.5T.

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Tencent eyes holding company for WeChat Pay

Tencent eyes holding company for WeChat Pay

The Chinese tech giant said it is looking into whether Chinese regulators will force it to house its financial businesses in a holding company. Two financial holding company licenses have recently been issued in the country.

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White House outlines plan for equity in home appraisals

White House outlines plan for equity in home appraisals

An interagency panel, the Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity task force, released a plan for addressing discrimination in the appraisal industry. The group first convened last summer.

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Morgan Stanley doubts DeFi growth

Morgan Stanley doubts DeFi growth

In a research report, Morgan Stanley said it expects growth within decentralized finance to slow down. It cited regulation and overcollateralization as the two primary factors affecting DeFi’s deceleration.

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Lithuanian fintech harbors Ukrainian refugees

Lithuanian fintech harbors Ukrainian refugees

Paysera, a Lithuanian company handling payments for online stores and retail customers, has refurbished the fourth floor of its global offices to house 16 Ukrainian refugees. It’s also halted payments to and from Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Qualcomm to dive into the metaverse

Qualcomm to dive into the metaverse

The tech giant announced yesterday that it’s created a $100M fund to invest in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The fund is called the Snapdragon Metaverse Fund.

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What’s the place of celebrities in crypto?

What’s the place of celebrities in crypto?

FTX announced that tennis star Naomi Osaka will become a brand ambassador for the crypto exchange. She will get an equity stake and be compensated in crypto as well.

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New Jersey to restrict NFTs as gifts to public officials

New Jersey to restrict NFTs as gifts to public officials

In an update to the state’s bribery- and corruption-prevention laws, the New Jersey General Assembly may soon vote to prevent public officials from receiving NFTs and virtual currency as gifts. The bill was approved by the Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee last week.

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