BFC FinTech Monitor 20th – 27th March

Stay up-to-date on all the all the latest FinTech news and information from around the world in the BFC FinTech Monitor

Around the World:

McKinsey and Company has issued recommendations for financial institutions regarding COVID-19 as well as probable economic consequences of the pandemic.
A study by CB Insights has revealed that the volume of investments in blockchain companies has decreased by more than a third.
Xiaomi has introduced a new payment method for smartphones that does not use NFC technology. The new feature is already available on some of the company’s smartphones, including the Redmi Note 7, the Redmi Note 5 and the Redmi 6.
Neobanks Monzo and Revolut have denied rumors of an imminent collapse. In fact, Revolut has recently entered the U.S. market.
Several FinTech companies have created a working group to help small- and medium-sized U.K. businesses access funding during the COVID-19 pandemic.
se predicts that digital payments in Europe will amount to USD 802 billion in 2020, a 9.9% year-on-year increase.
The FinTech Power 50 Annual Guide has been published, ranking the world’s leading FinTech companies. Notable entries this year include Jumio, Form3, Galileo, Funding Options, Currency Cloud, BANKIFI, Tide and Oak North.
An application to help freelancers prove loss of income during the COVID-19 pandemic has been developed in the U.K. Its creators hope that it will help freelancers gain access to loans more quickly and easily.

Russia:

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development has prepared a bill on the use of experimental legal regimes. If passed, it will allow for cryptocurrencies to be examined in “regulatory sandboxes”.
Qiwi has halted the development of Rocketbank in the B2C segment. In relation to this, the company has announced the cancelation of its loyalty program, a reduction in staffing and an increase in tariffs.

Ukraine:

New dates have been set for FinTech conferences scheduled to be held in Ukraine, including the BlockchainUA and Payment Innovation 2030

Uzbekistan:

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has announced the launch of the HUMO Pay payment service, an analogue of Apply Pay and Google Pay.
PaySpace Magazine has prepared extensive materials on how the reforms of the past two years have affected the development of banking and payments in Uzbekistan.

Kazakhstan:

Daulet Ermekov, director general of the FinTech service Senim.kz, has asked international payment systems to reduce its tariffs on transactions with grocers, pharmacies and deliver providers. This request is in response to the country’s COVID-19 state of emergency.
The newspaper Kursiv has outlined the state of Kazakhstani FinTech. It notes that the most popular FinTech services the country is developing are those related to payments, transfers, currency conversion and online insurance.

Georgia:

Georgia’s first neobank, Space, has entered the German market. Initially, the bank will cooperate with local banks and focus on providing products and services to Georgian expats in Germany.