Policy-makers at a number of central banks around the world are seriously considering developing and issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with a consumer-ready CBDC likely to arrive in the next five years.

Commerzbank AG published the offer document relating to the voluntary public acquisition offer for all the outstanding shares of comdirect bank Aktiengesellschaft (“comdirect”). 

KR1 plc ("KR1" or the "Company") a leading digital asset investment company, is pleased to announce that it has made the following investments:

Vega Protocol

The Company has invested a total of US$100,000 into the Vega Protocol ("Vega") seed round. In addition, KR1 has entered into an advisory agreement to provide expertise on varied aspects of bringing the new and innovative Vega platform to market. Across both the investment and advisory agreement, KR1 will receive a total of 1.017% of Vega tokens issued.

Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payments, announced the appointment of Stéphanie Fougou as Group General Counsel and General Secretary of the Board. Stéphanie Fougou joins Ingenico’s Executive Committee and reports to Group’s CEO Nicolas Huss. She is based in Paris.

Consumers in developing countries are increasingly entering the banking system and expansion of the banked population in China is a major contributor to UnionPay’s gain in global market share

Government-backed financial inclusion programmes driving growth

Engaging with the Internet of Things (IoT) and the data generated by it, presents a real opportunity for financial institutions (FIs) to innovate and transform their own products and services. On the flipside, failure to do so may, in time, jeopardise their future prosperity, by leaving them vulnerable to competitors and new, agile players. 

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) today announced that Naturgy, a leading multinational energy provider in Spain with operations in 30 countries, has chosen Appian’s low-code development platform for its Origen Project. Led by Naturgy’s Innovation Department, the project aims to digitize innovation management operations to accelerate the company’s transformation process and faster response  to new industry challenges.

IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, today announced that ClearPar has introduced electronic trade settlement to the distressed leveraged loan market.  Deutsche Bank was the first to close a trade using the new technology. 

Malauzai Software, a Finastra company, today released the latest edition of Monkey Insights, the quarterly report analyzing Malauzai data on digital banking trends.

Transbank S.A. and AEVI announced here today a major strategic partnership to help Transbank’s customers in Chile deliver omnichannel and digital in-store experiences for their merchants.

Founded as a credit card processing intermediary in Chile, Transbank has led the development of digital payments for almost 30 years. Transbank was chartered as the single merchant acquirer and card issuer for Chilean banks and has a critical role in the Chilean economy, responsible for the country’s electronic payments network, serving Banks with approximately 170,000 merchants.