Included in this issue: 10 of the most common Brexit myths for Financial Services; Doubts about blockchain technology working at scale; Blockchain development campus in Holland and more...

REGULATORY

Ten of the most common Brexit myths for Financial Services

Ten of the most common Brexit myths that are circulating in financial services businesses has been published, listed alongside a full report, Brexit: A Changing Landscape, through our Brexit Hub.

Addleshaw Goddard, 30 June 2016

Payments Systems Regulator gives clear final guidance on EU payment card legislation

The PSR have issued final guidance, relating specifically to the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR) in the UK and its approach to monitoring and enforcement. IFR has brought in major changes to the way card payment systems operate in Europe, most notably introducing caps on interchange fees.

Payments Systems Regulator, 29 June 2016

Policy statement on allocation of regulatory fees issued by PSR

The Payment Systems Regulatory (PSR) has published a decision on regulatory fees for the funding of the PSR's FSBRA and IFR functions. The decision follows on from the PSR's decision to set fee rules for funding the PSR's activities under the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013.

FCA, June 2016

UK

Doubts about blockchain technology working at scale

The Minister of state for Welfare Reform, Dept for Work and Pensions, has expressed doubts over whether blockchain technology will work for large scale payments distribution while speaking at the Payments Innovation Conference, but has emphasised his department's willingness to remain involved in payments innovation.

Tech City News, 04 July 2016

More than 100 million debit cards circulate in the UK

The number of debit cards in circulation in the UK reached 100 million for the first time in April 2016. The number of cards has grown by 2.7% in past year and spending is up 6.8% on last year. 61.8 million debit cards also feature contactless technology, according to the Card Expenditure Statistics, April 2016 report.

The UKCards Association, 30 June 2016

WORLDWIDE

Blockchain development campus in Holland

A new campus to encourage banks to share ideas on blockchain developments is to be created with support from the Dutch Central Bank. Likely to open in September, the aim will be to facilitate collaboration between peers across the growing blockchain ecosystem in Holland.

Banking Technology, 04 July 2016

Trial of Facebook and Twitter for bank customers

A trial in Singapore next year may pave the way for customers wiring money through their Facebook and Twitter accounts, using mobile phone numbers as proxy ID rather than entering their bank account details. The trial at the beginning of 2017 will use Fast, Singapore's internal fund transfer system, for instantaneous money transfer and will bring together 20 banks.

Campaign, 04 July 2016

SEPA cards public consolation

A public consultation on SEPA cards standardisation volume is seeking feedback until 12 August 2016. The Volume, which is a key document published by the EPC, aims to achieve cards standardisation and security across Europe. It includes guidelines facilitating compliance with the Card Interchange Fee Regulation under review in relation to contactless payments and choice of application.

EPC, 01 July 2016

European Central Bank publishes disclosure report on TARGET2

A disclosure report detailing assessment of TARGET2 against the principles of Financial Market Infrastructure (FMIs) has been published by the ECB. TARGET2 is the real-time gross settlement system operated by the Eurosystem.

EBS, 30 June 2016

Bitcoin: opportunity not threat

Research by Citi Research claims that bitcoin and other digital currencies should be seen as complementary to existing services rather than as a threat to traditional systems. The 56 page report sees digital currencies as opening up new markets and attracting new consumers, being likely to impact emerging markets in particular.

CoinDesk, 30 June 2016