Digital Currency Update
Reliance Retail, India’s largest retailer, is participating in the Reserve Bank of India’s CBDC pilot. The company has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Innoviti to accept digital rupees at the point of sale.
Area of Interest: Cryptocurrency / Blockchain
Digital Currency Update
Coinbase, a digital currency exchange, reached a $100-million settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services over its AML compliance practices. Of those funds, $50 million will be a penalty and the remaining $50 million will be spent on compliance.
JCB Launches Pilot for CBDC Card Payments
JCB is Japan’s largest merchant acquirer. It will be the first company in that country to test acceptance of a simulated central bank digital currency (CBDC) in retail stores using existing card payment infrastructure.
Digital Currency Update
BlockFi, a crypto exchange, filed for bankruptcy protection. The company has offered a Visa brand credit card product since July 2021.
Digital Currency Update
Mastercard added seven startups to its crypto accelerator program. The companies specialize in payments to merchants, remittances, privacy and loyalty, among other areas. Mastercard says that 350 companies have participated in the program since 2014.
Digital Currency Update
Plaid launched Wallet Onboard, a product that allows developers to offer connections among more than 300 self-custody crypto wallets using a single integration and a UI that is familiar to existing Plaid users. Wallet Onboard is built on Plaid Link, a platform that lets consumers connect their financial accounts across thousands of fintech apps and services.
Mastercard Crypto Secure
Providing a risk assessment on consumer purchases from Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) is the aim of Crypto Secure, a service Mastercard is making available to card issuers worldwide. VASPs are 3,600 crypto exchanges and other companies that sell digital currencies.
Digital Currency Update
FTX, a crypto exchange, has partnered with Visa to offer FTX-branded debit cards to customers in more than 40 countries. Cards are currently available in the US and will be offered in Europe later this year.
Payment Firms Prototype UI for Digital Euro
The European Central Bank (ECB) published a call for development partners to explore user interface (UI) models for a potential digital euro. There were 54 applicants and 5 partners have been selected to develop UI prototypes for specific use cases of a digital currency.
Digital Currency Update
Mastercard partnered with Hi, a crypto exchange and app provider, to produce personalized debit cards featuring the image of an NFT avatar the cardholder already owns. The Hi card will support NFTs from approved collections, which include CryptoPunks, Moonbirds, Goblins, Bored Apes and Azukis.
