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I’m pleased to announce the release of our first whitepaper on Corda: an introductory, non-technical overview that explains our vision, some design choices and outlines the key concepts underpinning the platform. 

From The Corda Non-Technical Whitepaper — R3

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The rigorous KYC procedures at US banks

the New Jersey-based crime ring created more than 7,000 fake identities to get tens of thousands of credit cards

From Woman Gets 3 Years for Role in $200M Credit Card Fraud Scam – ABC News

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Barclays slated after CIO takes a year to open a bank account

: “An adviser to a new charitable incorporated organisation that spent more than a year trying to open a bank account has blasted Barclays for its onerous demands and disproportionate due diligence.”

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In a recent survey for VocaLink, some two-thirds of respondents said that they saw value in the establishment of a central KYC utility. They are wrong. We don’t need a central KYC utility, we need a federated reputation infrastructure. Or, to put it another way, a financial services passport (as I mentioned earlier in the year).

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U.S. banks want their customers to “zelle” each other.

From America’s Biggest Banks Have a New Name for Their Venmo-Killer: Zelle – WSJ

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Deutsche Bank’s chief executive has warned of the “fatal consequences” of the European Central Bank’s negative interest rate policy, which he said punished savers and could even undermine the recovery.

From Deutsche boss: negative interest rates are ‘fatal’

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According to McKinsey (2016), global payment revenues are around $1.7 trillion (and will be $2 trillion by 2020). Payments are around 40% of global bank revenues. 

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There is an argument to be made as to how blockchain-based solutions should not have patents attached to them

From R3 Consortium Files Patent Application For Concord Platform – The Merkle

Just as well it’s not a blockchain then.

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One of the underrated achievements of the modern world has been to develop ways to extend the circle of trust by depersonalising it.

From Tim Harford — Article — The meaning of trust in the age of Airbnb

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Starting this summer, the government will test a system in which foreign tourists will be able to verify their identities and buy things at stores using only their fingerprints.

The government hopes to increase the number of foreign tourists by using the system to prevent crime and relieve users from the necessity of carrying cash or credit cards. It aims to realize the system by the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The experiment will have inbound tourists register their fingerprints and other data, such as credit card information, at airports and elsewhere.

Tourists would then be able to conduct tax exemption procedures and make purchases after verifying their identities by placing two fingers on special devices installed at stores.

The Inns and Hotels Law requires foreign tourists to show their passports when they check into ryokan inns or hotels.

[From Fingerprints to be tested as ‘currency’ – The Japan News]

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“When property rights are transferred to very poor people, preserving legal tenure will likely entail onerous expenses in the form of attorney and public notary fees, and courts costs. In addition, these charges are higher in relative terms in very unequal societies where the gap between the poor and the relatively well-off is wider.”

From How useful is it to formalize land titles? – Marginal REVOLUTION

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According to research from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and KPMG, the social costs of this heavy reliance on cash and cheques is around 0.5% of GDP, or S$2 billion a year.

From Singapore makes cashless payments push

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Kenyans are borrowing between 25 and 30 million daily through the mobile-based KCB-Mpesa credit line, Safaricom and Kenya Commercial Bank have said.

The two firms, which jointly operate the savings and micro-credit platform, said the total loans advanced so far since the launch of the service in March 2015 was Sh10.3 billion.

Total savings currently held in the 6.4 million KCB-M-Pesa accounts have reached Sh286.1 million.

From KCB-MPesa loans hit over Sh25 million daily | The Star, Kenya

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