A library of snippets
xxx
The investigation began in 2016 following the seizure of £30,000 in cash in Alum Rock, Birmingham, which kickstarted an incredibly detailed money laundering investigation.
As a result, officers from the Regional Economic Crime Unit alongside teams from West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and HMRC all joined forces and uncovered over £5.3million had been laundered in cash between 2012 and 2016.From: Jail for man who laundered over £5million in cash | West Midlands Police.
xxx
xxx
Finland has revealed more details about its upcoming national digital identity wallet, scheduled to be released by the end of 2026.
The Scandinavian country is planning to publish an electronic ID function within the digital wallet at the same time. The eID will be released by the National Police Board as an official document that allows users to verify their identity or age without sharing too much information.
The wallet will also offer a mobile driving license (mDL) issued by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom). The mDL is pending the adoption of the EU Driving Licence Directive.
xxx
xxx
What’s more, by putting personal data in the hands of an individual, SSI has the potential to lower frustration levels of consumers who have to juggle dozens of passwords and accounts sitting in centralized databases that offer little transparency into how data is stored, shared, or monetized.
From: Rethinking Identity Security: The Rise of Wallet-Based Credentials – WSJ.
xxx
xxx
Discord began using facial age assurance to check the age for users in the UK and Australia earlier this year. The company said facial images and ID images “are deleted directly after” ages are confirmed, but Discord’s website noted that if verification fails, users can contact the trust and safety team for a manual review.
Under the under 16s social media ban to come into effect on 10 December, the Australian government has outlined that it expects platforms such as Discord – which is one of the platforms that has been asked to assess if it is required to comply – should have multiple options for assessing a user’s age, and a way for them to quickly appeal an adverse decision.
Platforms can ask for ID documents as part of the age assurance scheme, but it cannot be the sole method of age assurance offered by the platforms under the policy.
From: Proof-of-age ID leaked in Discord data breach | Games | The Guardian.
xxx
xxx
From the beginning, states learned to use their constitutional banking powers as a lucrative revenue stream. They charged fees for bank charters, bought shares in banks themselves, and levied special bank taxes. By the 1830s, more than a dozen states derived over 10% of their total revenue from banks – in Massachusetts and Delaware, it was more than half.
xxx
Here you go. “Know your agent: Enabling autonomous financial services“. Birch, David and Hoffart, Jelena. Journal of Digital Banking, Volume 10, Number 2. Autumn/Fall 2025, pp. 123-134(12).
xxx
Circle, the world’s second-biggest issuer of stablecoins, is examining ways to make it possible to reverse transactions involving its tokens, in a rare admission by a major crypto firm that it needs to take lessons from the traditional financial sector.
Circle president Heath Tarbert said a mechanism that allowed money to be refunded in cases of fraud or disputes would help the stablecoin industry’s push to become part of the financial mainstream.
From: Stablecoin issuer Circle examines ‘reversible’ transactions in departure for crypto.
xxx
There’s pressure for better cross-border payments. Will stablecoins move the needle, when cryptocurrency did not? xxx
From: October25 – Birch – Cross-Border Payments—Stablecoins and Unstable Economies.
xxx
xxx
These geopolitical and technological changes are reshaping the payments landscape, leading to increased regionalization and diversification. A return to the fully globalized payment systems of just five years ago seems unlikely, as the forces driving fragmentation are already in motion.
xxx
xxx
These geopolitical and technological changes are reshaping the payments landscape, leading to increased regionalization and diversification. A return to the fully globalized payment systems of just five years ago seems unlikely, as the forces driving fragmentation are already in motion.
xxx
Snippings