Category Archives: Uncategorized

xxx “You don’t set up an IT system to charge your customers for deposits,” Ulster Bank’s computer says no to negative rates | Financial Times: xxx

xxx “There’s a new model of tokenization emerging where card-on-file tokenization is done by the payment networks, such as Visa or Mastercard, instead of the merchants.” From “Tokenization buzz gets more attention than fundamentals | PaymentsSource”. xxx

xxx As cash use declines, the BRC says card costs continue to rise, resulting in £1.3 billion in third party spending by merchants, up £70 million from 2017. Each transaction cost retailers an average of 5.85 pence per transaction, up 17% (from 4.98 pence). Retail lobby group calls for Government intervention over rising ca…: xxx

xxx Julin stressed that – despite the weight of expectations – no decision has been taken by the Riksbank’s board actually to issue e-kronor. But the approach being investigated is to have a value-based central bank digital currency (CBDC). This would act as a retail digital ‘wallet’ held with the central bank that would offerContinue reading “Riksbank may not use DLT for e-kronor, says Julin – Central Banking”

xxx “One way to reduce this threat: Central banks could have digital wallets for everyday people, but they wouldn’t pay interest on the balance. Another avenue: Consumers could hold digital cash only at their bank, leaving central banks as remote from everyday savers as they are today.” From “The Coming Currency War: Digital Money vs.Continue reading “The Coming Currency War: Digital Money vs. the Dollar – WSJ”

Some people think we are now coming to the end of what economists call the “Bretton Woods II” era of international monetary arrangements and, as The Economist observed recently (“Into the woods”, 17th August), it is not at all clear what is coming next! What will replace the IMF, central banks and commercial banks offering creditContinue reading “Cryptocurrencies, Digital Currencies and Central Banks”

xxx “‘Virtually everyone is online before age 50,’ Dr Blank told the BBC. After that milestone, he said, there was a ‘sharp decline’ in use of about 2% a year.” From “Almost one-fifth of Britons ‘do not use internet’ – BBC News”. xxx

xxx Shao Fujun, chairman of China UnionPay and a former PBOC official, said that the potential forms and plans for the CBDC are varied, which are still under discussion. “It will have lots of positive impacts,” he said, “including tracking the money flow in economic activities and supporting making monetary policy.” New digital currency toContinue reading “New digital currency to launch in near future – Chinadaily.com.cn”

xxx Fraudsters had hacked into the estate agent’s email system, and had seen enough to be able to create a fake email from his lawyer, telling him where to send the £45,000. So rather than sending the money to his solicitor’s account, it instead went into an HSBC business account that had been fraudulently setContinue reading “APP Britain”

xxx Unlike WhatsApp and Signal, which reveal users’ private cell phone numbers to the group– or the now-defunct chats within Facebook Groups, which exposed users’ real identities–WeChat allows its users to adopt aliases. Those anonymous usernames act as a privacy shield, giving users control over how their identities are displayed. (Though it’s hidden from otherContinue reading “How China is Cashing in on Group Chats – Andreessen Horowitz”