Author Archives: admin

xxx Think of the state of California which imposes a 15 per cent excise tax on licensed cannabis sellers while the cash-based black market avoids tax. The state estimates the regulated market has captured less than one-third of activity. From Gary Cohn: Coronavirus is speeding up the disappearance of cash | Financial Times: xxx

xxx To accomplish this, Mygrant said, a broker pays pesos for the drug traffickers’ dollars. The traffickers deliver cash to an exporter in Los Angeles, who ships goods — commonly clothing, cosmetics, jewelry or sportswear — to a retailer in Mexico. The retailer sells the goods for pesos and pays the broker. From Coronavirus slowsContinue reading “Coronavirus slows L.A. money laundering, bringing seizures – Los Angeles Times”

xxx Open banking review faces ‘worrying’ delay as pandemic drives Canadians to fintech Review setback sparks concern for Canadian consumers who are already sharing financial data without a federal framework From Open banking review faces ‘worrying’ delay as pandemic drives Canadians to fintech | Financial Post: xxx

xxx Virgin Money has suspended thousands of customers’ credit cards without warning, at a time when many households are on a financial cliff edge. The Guardian understands that as many as 32,000 customers were told by email on Tuesday that their accounts were blocked with immediate effect, and that they would not be able toContinue reading “Virgin Money suspends thousands of credit cards with no warning | Credit cards | The Guardian”

xxx Trolls could sow chaos for the malicious pleasure of it. Protesters could trigger panic as a form of civil disobedience. A foreign intelligence operation could shut down an entire city by falsely reporting COVID-19 infections in every neighborhood. From Contact-tracing apps are not a solution to the COVID-19 crisis: xxx

xxx Contact tracing can be an important component of an epidemic response especially when the prevalence of infection is low. Such efforts are most effective where testing is rapid and widely available and when infections are relatively rare From Contact-tracing apps are not a solution to the COVID-19 crisis: So contact tracing doesn’t get youContinue reading “Contact-tracing apps are not a solution to the COVID-19 crisis”

xxx Under the Federal Reserve Act, the Fed is only obliged to grant access to central bank money accounts to depository institutions, the definition of which does not currently include non-bank PSPs. As things stand, to gain access to domestic payments systems, non-banks must partner with a bank to settle transactions on behalf of theirContinue reading “FedNow: the road to non-bank access to US instant payments – Central Banking”

xxx On the way from the airport to the city, I was surprised by new illuminated signs that in my time were not or did not shine at night: Ubiipagos, Credicard, Carropago, Cryptia … Companies dedicated to electronic, mobile, interbank or cryptocurrency payments in a country in the value of the official currency, the bolivar,Continue reading “Coronavirus: 3 things that have changed in Venezuela in the last year (and that are now at risk from the epidemic) – BBC News World”

xxx IBM’s Hyperledger isn’t really a “blockchain,” and what it does offer is hard to use and difficult to scale. From IBM’s Hyperledger isn’t a real blockchain — here’s why: xxx

xxx In Hangzhou, it has become nearly impossible to get around without showing your Alipay code. From In Coronavirus Fight, China Gives Citizens a Color Code, With Red Flags – The New York Times: xxx