In advance of its coming annual report, on June 24 the Bank for International Settlements released a special chapter from that report on digital payments — especially central bank digital currencies, a topic that’s attracted tremendous interest in recent months. The report encourages central banks to treat CBDCs as their future, saying: “One option at the frontier of policy opportunities is the issuance of CBDCs, which could amount to a sea change.” A recent shift in favor of CBDCs The BIS found that there had been a major bullish shift in sentiment for CBDCs since the beginning of this year …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) expects the COVID-19 crisis’ impact on retail payments to have a knock-on effect on the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The BIS is an organization based in Switzerland made up of 60 of the world’s central banks, and has previously released a number of major reports focused on both decentralized cryptocurrencies and CBDCs. As distinct from cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are digital currencies issued by a central bank, whose legal tender status depends on government regulation or law. COVID-19 and global payments BIS’ latest report, published on June 24, notes that the COVID-19 pandemic …

Brazil’s central bank has ordered Mastercard and Visa to suspend processing money transfers on behalf of Facebook’s WhatsApp. According to official information shared with Cointelegraph Brazil, the Central Bank of Brazil (BC) took action against WhatsApp Pay “to preserve an adequate competitive environment” and allow the central bank to assess the risks posed by the firm to the country's existing financial sector. Visa and Mastercard will face heavy fines and administrative sanctions if they do not suspend activities relating to WhatsApp payments. Bank will assess the risks The Central Bank of Brazil (BC) has moved to suspend the operations of …

Digital asset transaction platform, Bitpay, has won the Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award in the alternative payments category. "Bitpay is a true industry leader, delivering best practices in growth, innovation, and leadership," David Frigstad, Frost & Sullivan's chairman, said in a June 23 statement. Frost & Sullivan is a notable market research company over 50 years old. Bitpay facilitates payment in Bitcoin Founded in 2011, Bitpay paved the way for businesses to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Operating in 164 countries, Bitpay has integrated with more than 20,000 companies, according to Cointelegraph's Bitpay profile. Bitpay …

Asia may be the next proving ground for crypto firm Ripple to reach with its cross-border payments corridor. In a June 18 interview on the YouTube channel Thinking Crypto, Adam Traidman, CEO of SBI Ripple Asia—a subsidiary of Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings—said Ripple has started to roll out its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution in Asia. According to Traidman, SBI Ripple Asia has started “limited trial and pilot projects” with various companies for Ripple’s payment corridor, with greater expansion forecast for 2021. “I expect that probably later this year, and into next year, things are going to move into …

PayPal is hiring crypto and blockchain experts amid rumors that the global payment platform will enable direct cryptocurrency purchases for its 305 million users. The job descriptions its hiring for are publicly available on the company’s own job board. The first listing of note is for a job titled “Technical Lead - Crypto Engineer.” The listing describes that this person will be responsible for “new initiatives for PayPal global with a focus on agility, time-to-market and innovation. The role includes designing, developing and maintaining key crypto products/features targeted towards availability, performance and scalability of PayPal services.” The second listing worth …

A crypto exchange says it is focused on offering the best experience possible in the European market. Cryptocurrency exchange EXMO now offers trading pairs that combine popular cryptocurrencies with the British pound and the euro — a refreshing change from many rival platforms that focus on dollars. Users are given the freedom to make deposits and withdrawals, using familiar methods, including Visa and Mastercard, as well as SEPA and SWIFT transfers. British traders can also benefit from Faster Payments, and as the name suggests, this allows transactions to be completed much quicker than conventional methods. Although the company acknowledges that …

SYNQA, the parent company of OMG Network formerly known as Omise Holdings, raised $80 million in a fundraising round for new cashless payment ventures. In a June 22 announcement, Thailand-based fintech company SYNQA stated it had raised $80 million in a Series C funding round led by Siam Commercial Bank subsidiary SCB 10X and the Asia-based venture capital group SPARX. Other investors included the Japan-based Toyota Financial Services Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, SMBC Venture Capital, and the Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Corporation. According to a press release from SYNQA shared with Cointelegraph, the company will use the investment to …

The Bank of Thailand announced that it plans to develop a prototype to test real-life business use cases of its central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bank said in its official statement that before it launches the CBDC payment system for all businesses, it plans to test it with large-scale enterprises. They have partnered with the largest cement and building material provider in Thailand, Siam Cement Group (SCG), and Thailand-based fintech firm Digital Ventures Company Limited to pilot test their payment prototype system. The project is scheduled to start in July 2020 and the pilot test with SCG is expected …

Cryptocurrency debit card firm Crypto.com is now a member of the Open Payments Coalition, alongside more than 40 other finance and technology firms. According to a June 18 announcement, admittance to the Open Payments Coalition will add Crypto.com’s 2 million users to a payment network of over 100 million members. Open Payments Coalition members have access to the PayID system, which allows users to send payments in any currency between any platform involved in the coalition. Users can send these transactions with nothing more than a human-readable ID, which is valid across all member services. This story is currently in …

The culmination of a year and half of work, the American Gaming Association has proposed a set of updated policy guidelines for casino payments. The proposition looks to let visitors fund their activities at gambling establishments via digital avenues instead of allowing only physical fiat currency, said a statement Tuesday. It remains unclear whether the AGA includes cryptocurrencies under its digital payments reference. Cointelegraph reached out to the AGA for comment but received no response as of press time. The masses want options More than half of customers desire other payment options, the statement said, adding: "The principles come at …

Turkish real estate firm Antalya Homes announced that its customers can now pay for properties listed on its platform with Bitcoin (BTC). According to a June 15 announcement, Antalya Homes claims to have recorded the highest-valued real estate sale ever made while using Bitcoin as a payment in Turkey. Per the company, the coronavirus pandemic forced the real estate industry to innovate. More precisely, Antalya Homes reacted by offering virtual home tours and adding support for Bitcoin on its website. The firm’s chairman Bayram Tekce explained: “In the sale of a villa in Antalya, we recorded visuals of the house …