cross-border billing
Banks still show interest in digital assets and DeFi amid market chaos
The cryptocurrency sector is the Wild Wild West in comparison to traditional finance, yet a number of banks are showing interest in digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). This year in particular has been notable for banks exploring digital assets. Most recently, JPMorgan demonstrated how DeFi can be used to improve cross-border transactions. This came shortly after BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — announced the launch of its Digital Asset Custody Platform, which allows select institutional clients to hold and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Clearing House, a United States banking association and payments company, stated on Nov. 3 that banks “should be no less able to engage in digital-asset-related activities than nonbanks.” Banks aware of potential While ba...
EU Commission to remove Russian banks from SWIFT cross-border network
The European Commission announced to remove a number of Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) messaging system, aimed at hindering Russia’s capacity to carry out cross-border payments. In a joint statement released by the European Commission, leaders from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States highlighted their shared interest in defending Ukraine from the war against Russia: “We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.” While condemning the Russian president Vladimir Putin’s move to lay siege across Ukraine, the EU Commission committed to undertake a series of measures to isolate Russia from the international financial system. President o...
