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The new action plan, called the Beijing Action Plan for Promoting the Innovation and Development of the Digital Human Industry, is the first of its kind, in which the government lays out the goals and prospects for all things online — and in the metaverse — that perform a human-like function.

From Beijing will regulate “digital humans” like VTubers and virtual influencers in the metaverse and beyond – Rest of World.

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ny users of metaverse or gaming platforms that could be considered part of the digital human industry will likely be required to tie their online personas to their real-life identification documents.

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Adoption rates for eNaira have been low since its launch on Oct. 25, 2021. As reported by Cointelegraph on Oct. 26 the Central Bank of Nigeria has struggled to convince its citizens to use the CBDC with less than 0.5% of the population reported having used the eNaira as of Oct. 25, a year on from its launch.

From Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC.

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In 2021, $JPM Card had $23.6bn gross revenues but only $5.1bn net revenues after reward costs & partner payments; $BAC Card similarly has $6.2bn net revenues after $6.9bn of costs

From (1) Librarian Capital on Twitter: “@noyesclt McKinsey likely overstated importance of Card to retail banks after confusing gross & net revenues In 2021, $JPM Card had $23.6bn gross revenues but only $5.1bn net revenues after reward costs & partner payments; $BAC Card similarly has $6.2bn net revenues after $6.9bn of costs https://t.co/81zH3T4Pre” / Twitter.

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Writing over at the World Economic Forum, Marcus Bonner says it is that the future Metaverse inhabitants’s digital identity will not be a single entity, but rather a “unique core linked to a myriad of other digital entities“, resulting in a web of highly complex and inter-connected information strands. I think he is right, but I would see things in a slightly more structured way, where virtual citizens have a a small number of digital identities (work, play, home, adult, hobby) each of which is linked to a large number of personas. My home digital identity my be linked with my supermarket loyalty card, my local proper tax account and my driving licence but not to my Manchester City fan club persona, my “John Doe” default internet browsing persona or my David G.W. Birch work persona.

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Nordic banks have developed some of the industry’s most innovative premium APIs.

As well as allowing third parties to request basic account data and initiate transactions, Finland’s OP bank also has APIs to filter transactions, request information about specific payments and issue refunds automatically.

Another bank in the region, Nordea, which operates across Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, is considered to have one of the most extensive API suites on the market.

In addition to its five compliance APIs, Nordea offers 10 paid-for solutions that cover foreign exchange trading, corporate payouts, refunds and mass payments, among other services.

From Defining EU Open Banking API Innovation | PYMNTS.com:

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All PSP’s offering instant payments of euro will be required to provide their customers with a service to check for any discrepancies between the payee’s IBAN and the payee’s name and are required to notify the customer of any discrepancy.

From Legal Opinion: EU Proposal for the Regulation of Instant Payments:

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Since FTX’s collapse, some crypto enthusiasts have flocked to smaller firms in the experimental field of decentralized finance, which allows traders to borrow, lend and conduct transactions without banks or brokers, relying instead on a publicly viewable system governed by code.

But DeFi has its own problems, including vulnerability to hackers, who have drained billions of dollars this year from the experimental projects.

From The Crypto Industry Struggles for a Way Forward After FTX Collapse – The New York Times:

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The opportunities for financial institutions in the metaverse go beyond simply offering conventional services in this new digital space. Countless new businesses and markets are being created through the trade of intangible products like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the metaverse.

Virtual commodities in the art and fashion sectors have also seen strong investment, with the transactions underlying these purchases potentially benefiting from the involvement of players in the financial industry.

From What will financial services look like in the metaverse? – Fintech Talents:

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It is not unreasonable to be sceptical. Jeffrey Funk, Lee Vinsel, and Patrick McConnell write in some detail about what they call the Metaverse “bubble” and go on to examine the economic effects of bubbles by comparing this technology bubble to past ones. They say that the biggest difference is that some goods did emerge from the dot-com bubble but “probably not much will result from the current bubble”. I am not convinced by this argument, because the goods here are not the Metaverse itself (however interesting and entertaining that might be) but because it will become a nexus for safer commercial interaction and the location of better, cheaper and faster financial services.

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Offering consumers a digital version of an official, government-issued state ID requires the official sanction and endorsement of the government in question, and Apple has reportedly spent months negotiating with various state governments in the US. Presumably, Google has been doing the same, and it seems fair to expect some information about which states will be among the first to support its own digital ID system when the beta feature rolls out this month.

From Google Play Changelog Points to Beta Launch of Digital IDs – Mobile ID World:

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