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Available from from February 2021. NFIs that are licenced as major payment institutions under the Payment Services Act will be allowed to connect directly to Fast and Secure Transfers (Fast) and the PayNow overlay central addressing service .

Singapore opens faster payment plumbing to non-banks:

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The landscape is quickly shifting for China’s fintech industry, which until recently offered the most compelling evidence of technology giants using their might — and a light regulatory touch — to rewire traditional financial services. With the call for tightened oversight coming from the top leadership, they are now rushing to shore up capital, mulling business overhauls and bracing for more turbulence as industry watchdogs set their sights on areas spanning lending, banking partnerships and data privacy.

From Ant Is Said to Face Slim Chance of Getting IPO Done in 2021 – Bloomberg:

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Under the draft rules for micro-lenders issued in early November, Ant would be forced to replenish capital. That could mean the company needs about $12 billion to comply, according to an estimate from Bloomberg Intelligence.

“The most impacted segment is Ant’s CreditTech business, which needs to go through material capital and funding top-ups at its consumer-loan subsidiaries or restructure its loan business,” BI’s Francis Chan said in a research note Monday. “This could compromise the segment’s revenue outlook, and hence that of the whole firm.”

The company also needs to apply to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission for new licenses for its two micro-lending platforms: Huabei (Just Spend) and Jiebei (Just Lend). The banking regulator will limit the number of platforms allowed to operate nationally, and is unlikely to approve two licenses for Ant, said the people.

Ant will also need to apply to the central bank for a separate financial holding company license since its operations straddle more than two financial segments.

From Ant Is Said to Face Slim Chance of Getting IPO Done in 2021 – Bloomberg:

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Venezuelan soldiers are mobilizing. No, this is not the start of World War III – these troops are being put to work mining bitcoin (BTC) in the Nicolás Maduro regime’s latest, and possibly most audacious crypto-themed fundraising effort yet.

Per a video posted on Instagram by the 61st Battalion of the 6th Corps of Engineers of the Bolivarian Army, specialist soldiers have turned army buildings into giant mining centers, fitted with ASIC mining rigs, as well as a refurnishing hub, apparently for older or damaged equipment.

The troops appear to have converted a large warehouse into what they have entitled the “Center for the Production of Digital Assets.”

From Venezuelan Army Engineers Start Mining Bitcoin:

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Ed McAndrews, a cybercrime attorney and a former federal prosecutor, said “ransomware” hacking is running rampant across the country.

Local governments and companies often hire law firms like his, DLA Piper, to negotiate with the hackers.

“The average ransom has gone from $30,000 to upward of $500,000 and that’s the average,” said McAndrews.

McAndrews said governments often must pay because time is of the essence and many hackers have a reputation of freeing databases after being paid in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, which sources say the Delaware County hackers are demanding.

From Cybercriminals demanding $500,000 after hacking Delaware County, Pennsylvania computer network: Sources – 6abc Philadelphia:

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Our results indicate that ring-fencing encourages UK banks subject to the reform to rebalance their activities towards retail lending and away from capital markets. Specifically, banks whose funding structures are more affected by the reform reduce the interest rates they charge on domestic mortgages, leading to an increase in the quantity of their mortgage lending. Meanwhile, they reduce their provision of syndicated credit lines and underwriting services to large corporates. This rebalancing is consistent with the idea that deposit funding provides certain advantages to banks — for example, because households place a high value on the liquidity of deposits, or because of deposit insurance — and that redirecting these benefits towards consumer lending leads to a reduction in the cost of consumer credit.

From Separating deposit-taking from investment banking: new evidence on an old question – Bank Underground:

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The UK has launched a new National Cyber Force run by spies and military personnel which will block terrorists’ phone signals, disrupt servers being used by hostile states and hack enemy weapons systems.

From National Cyber Force will target UK adversaries online | Financial Times:

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Yet, while all the innovation, investment and risk has been assumed by the American tech sector, the U.S. government has ignored and neglected the need for a regulatory framework that will keep it here in America. This outdated regulatory approach to fintech is embarrassing when you compare the most advanced technological economy to the rest of the world.

From The future of ‘fintech’ is at stake for Biden and the Senate | TheHill:

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The court dockets show this 

While Plaid’s existing technology does not compete directly with Visa today,
Plaid is planning to leverage that technology, combined with its existing relationships with banks
and consumers, to facilitate transactions between consumers and merchants in competition with
Visa.

From USA v. Visa Inc. et al, Docket No. 4:20-cv-07810 (N.D. Cal. Nov 05, 2020), Court Docket:

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I always read what my friend Anna Irrera has to say about cryptocurrency in Reuters and she’s plugged into to what’s going on in that world so 

Anna quoted some experts as equating cryptocurrency investing with gambling because “no-one really understands what’s happening”. Well, anyone is says this is about as far from being an expert as you can possibly get, since the whole point about playing roulette is that absolutely everyone involved knows exactly what is happening at all time. The rules are clear. The odds are fixed. In Las Vegas, you know that you will have a fun time playing roulette with your friends, but you also know that you will lose because the house has 5.26% edge. My favourite Las Vegas casino game is blackjack, and I have enjoyed many late night sessions with friends, a few drinks and split eights. Blackjack happens to have the best odds of all of the casino games with a 0.5% edge to the house. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. But overall I lose, as does everyone else, and I’m happy to pay the half-a-percent fun tax down at the Golden Gate.

In comparison, the cryptocurrency markets are thin, opaque and manipulated. Buying Bitcoin is only like playing roulette if the other players, the richest players, are controlling the wheel and have a stake in the casino.