Snippings

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Technology provider FIS is now certified to send and receive payments on the FedNow payments rail as demand for the rail grows.  FIS has 215 clients in contract or in the pipeline for the Federal Reserve’s payments rail, Chief Executive Stephanie Ferris said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call today.

From: FIS certified to send, receive payments on FedNow | Bank Automation News.

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In acquiring Discover, Capital One is getting (at least) four things: Discover’s credit card network, its debit card network, PULSE, a top ten credit card issuer, and the rest of Discover’s banking business: deposits, checking accounts, mortgages, personal loans, and so on.

From: Is the Capital One/Discover Deal Good or Bad For “Competition”? Yes..

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According to identity verification platform IDnow, those aged between 18 and 24 are at the most risk, with a massive 48 per cent of young people having shared their ID documents via risky channels such as email, social media or messaging apps.

From: Scammers now use AI and deepfakes to forge documents and steal money | This is Money.

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The draft guidance issued by Ofcom for pornography providers specifies that digital identity wallets, open banking, photo-ID matching, age estimation based on face biometrics, mobile operator checks and credit cards can all be sources of “highly effective” age assurance, if implemented properly. Methods like self-attestation, debit and other cards and general contractual obligations will not be accepted.

From: The UK’s Online Safety Act is live; now for the hard part | Biometric Update.

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Moreover, Fnality raised USD 95 million in its second fundraising round in November 2023, with Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas leading the round. Other participants included Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Euroclear, and WisdomTree. On top of that, according to Fnality, the company’s backers are either based in the US or have significant operations there, making it a natural target for expansion. In addition, all the fintech shareholders expressed their intention to use Fnality’s blockchain-based system for dollar transactions as well.

From: Fnality to expand in the US – ThePaypers.

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In a recent interview, Fnality’s officials revealed that, among all the international markets, the company is now leaning towards the US first, making it a priority. Currently, the fintech is in the process of discussing its application with the Federal Reserve. Moreover, the company is set to expand its blockchain-based payment system by adding the USD as a currency.

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93% of in-store card payments up to £100 were made with contactless in 2023

From: How 93.4% of all shop transactions are now contactless | This is Money.

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Data Bridge Research predict[1] instant payments will account for one in three of all consumer transactions globally by 2029

From: One in three transactions will be instant payments by 2029.

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There are also cases where the [UK’s Online Safety] Act seems to call for user identity verification or authentication, such as for dating sites.

From: The UK’s Online Safety Act is live; now for the hard part | Biometric Update.

I don’t know anything about law, but why would an Act of Parliament “seem to” call for anything? Surely either it does call for something or does not call for something. Unless, of courrse, the Act has been written by lawyers with the express intent of generating court cases.

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While the scheme is voluntary, anyone who verifies their identity this way will receive an icon on their profile that verifies their age and likeness, reassuring other users that they are authentic.

From: How Tinder’s new ‘catfish’ ID may help daters, according to experts.

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The analysis found that the single Chinese company was able to pull over $100mn in cryptocurrency into just two digital wallets, a scale that Jackie Koven, head of cyber threat intelligence at Chainalysis, said showed the extent to which bad actors were using digital assets to fuel a burgeoning black market.

From: $100mn in crypto payments traced to Myanmar-based ‘scammers’.

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