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Thailand - New Online Card Authentication Rules Follow Fraud Spree
The Bank of Thailand and the Thai Bankers' Association have issued a press release outlining their plans to tackle the mis-use of credit and debit cards by online scammers in the kingdom. As part of a review into irregular transactions between October 1 and 17, they uncovered fraud worth around $4m affecting nearly 11,000 cardholders (roughly $355 each). Criminals were making online transactions to fake online stores overseas.
In a joint statement, the two organisations announced that all cardholders would be refunded by their banks, while banks have been instructed to introduce new measures to protect cardholders. These include the introduction of one-time passwords (OTPs) for debit and credit card transactions online, added customer notifications for transactions via SMS and an increase in transaction monitoring.
Card payments have been expanding in the country in recent years, growing on average 11 percent per annum between 2017 and 2020 to 817m transactions. However, usage has been dwarfed by the emergence of the instant payment service PromptPay, which in the same period grew 292 percent (albeit starting from a very base), to reach 5.3bn transactions.
Canada - New Report Highlights 43 Percent Drop In Sales For Small Business
Latest data from Payments Canada shows that COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on small businesses. According to the payments association, small businesses reported a 43 percent drop in overall sales, while 35 percent indicated that managing margins and profit had been adversely affected. Despite the doom and gloom that has surrounded trading over the last 18 months, 42 percent of small businesses believe the Canadian economy would be in better shape in 12 months from now.
A potential concern, which is reflective in many markets around the world, is the rise in fraud due to the increased online activity brought about by the pandemic. Many small businesses indicated an increase in fraud through digital channels, including email (45 percent), text message (41 percent), social media platforms (35 percent) and e-commerce channels (34 percent).
Payments Canada is currently undertaking a once in a generation top-to-bottom revamp of both its high and low-value payments infrastructure. Included in this is a new instant payment service that will support online payment transfers. According to Payments Canada, 43 percent of respondents said that their customers now prefer to use online payment methods, while 38 percent believe there has been a preference shift to digital wallets. “As consumer expectations and preferences continue to shift towards digital payment methods, 17 percent of small businesses plan to accept new payment methods from customers."
Italy - New Regulatory Sandbox And Milano Hub Invites Fintechs To Test Innovative Products
Fintechs have one more week to submit applications to Italy’s Milano Hub, an innovation centre developed by the Bank of Italy to support the digital evolution of the financial market.
Centered around the use of artificial intelligence in banking, financial and payment services, ten selected participants will get access to the Milano Hub where dedicated teams of experts in the financial sector, IT and legal will help them develop new products.
The call for proposals closes on October 29, 2021, about two weeks before a regulatory sandbox launches on November 15.
The regulatory sandbox will allow fintechs to test innovative products and services in the banking, financial and insurance sectors. The central bank says the sandbox has a double purpose to support the growth of fintechs, while understanding how the latest technological developments can help the supervisory authorities to identify the most appropriate and effective regulatory interventions.
United States - CFTC Hands Out Fines
2021 has not been the luckiest year for Tether and Bitfinex. After being banned from New York and paying $18.5m in penalties to the state, this week they have settled with a federal watchdog for $42.5m.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged that Tether made “untrue or misleading statements” when it said the stablecoin’s value was pegged to fiat currency and 100 percent backed by corresponding fiat assets, including U.S. dollars and euros.
Regarding Bitfinex, the CTFC order found that the crypto-exchange engaged in illegal, off-exchange retail commodity transactions in digital assets with U.S persons and operated as a futures commission merchant (FCM) without duly registering with the commission.
While agreeing with the CFTC findings, commissioner Dawn Stump published a statement asking the commission to provide regulatory clarity to the private sector and “explain in a transparent manner the relevant legal requirements.“
