Snippings

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New phase will ensure technical readiness for first issuance
If legislation in place in the course of 2026, a pilot exercise could start in 2027 and the Eurosystem should be ready for a potential first issuance of the digital euro during 2029
Preparation phase begun in November 2023 has successfully concluded
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to move to the next phase of the digital euro project. This decision follows the successful completion of the preparation phase, launched by the Eurosystem in November 2023, which laid the foundations for issuing a digital euro.

The Governing Council’s decision aligns with European leaders’ request to accelerate progress on the digital euro, as recently stated at the October 2025 Euro Summit.

From: Eurosystem moving to next phase of digital euro project.

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Set to launch in the first half of 2026, the firm’s US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) will be built on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank.

Western Union will provide users with access to digital assets, and will enable the ability to send, receive, spend and hold USDPT.

From: Western Union to launch stablecoin.

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Criminals are using artificial intelligence to increase their “attack rate” on UK victims, with investment fraud and romance scams hitting record levels in the first half of the year.

The number of confirmed fraud cases surpassed 2mn in the first half of this year — a 17 per cent rise on the previous year — according to statistics compiled by UK Finance, the banking trade body. The amount of money criminals stole from victims surpassed £629mn, a 3 per cent rise.

From: Criminals using AI are driving sharp rise in UK fraud cases.

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced a new initiative – BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency), to extend settlement capabilities offered by financial institutions. Through BLOOM, MAS will collaborate with the financial industry to enable settlement in tokenised bank liabilities and well-regulated stablecoins, whilst effectively managing risks in the rapidly evolving digital settlement asset landscape, through standardised approaches.

From: MAS Launches BLOOM Initiative to Extend Settlement Capabilities.

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US regulators have approved the launch of a bank backed by a group of high-profile tech billionaires with ties to Donald Trump’s administration. The bank, Erebor, was founded this year by Palmer Luckey, co-founder of military contractor Anduril, and Joe Lonsdale, head of venture capital firm 8VC and a co-founder of data analytics firm Palantir. The bank was granted “preliminary and conditional” approval by regulators on Wednesday, just four months after its application for a national bank charter in June — a sign of the Trump administration’s initiative to lower regulatory hurdles and encourage new banking entrants focused on digital assets and services.

From: US approves new bank backed by billionaires with ties to Donald Trump.

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Banks have a clear opportunity to reclaim their position in merchant servicing by leveraging five strategic building blocks:

Refocus with clarity and move nimbly.

Choose the right business models to compete effectively.

Build digital capabilities that support and secure business strategy.

Capitalize on the marketplace edge in trust, data, and liquidity.

Scale through best-in-class delivery of verticalized, value-added services.

From: CapGemini World Payments Report 2026

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It is interesting to think about the extent to which dynamics around cash with extend to the digtal euro (depending on the design, of course) because while a digital euro may act as substitute for cash in supermarket transactions it may not for “cash-in-hand” casual labour (where cryptocurrency may substitute in the future).

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Why cash alone won’t cut it: Practical strategies to increase resilience in European payment infrastructure

From: Why cash alone won’t cut it: Practical strategies to increa…: Ingenta Connect.

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The McKinsey report states that $23tn of the $70tn in the consumer banking sector are held in zero interest accounts. Unless banks adapt their offerings, this could amount to a loss of 9% to the bottom line, which would push average returns for banks below the cost of capital.

And while the use of AI should lead to initial savings of between 15% and 20% of operating costs. These benefits will erode over time due to competition.

From: Bank profits face $170bn hit from AI – McKinsey.

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I firmly believe that the future of payments will be built on infrastructure where stablecoins operate as part of the settlement layer.

From: Could Stablecoins Redesign The Future Of Payments?.

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