BFC FinTech Monitor 5th – 12th July

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:

The world’s leading payment systems are launching new click-to-pay online payment technologies in a number of new markets, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UAE, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
G20 countries are developing a legal framework for regulating digital payments. The first bills in this regard are expected to be presented at a meeting in Washington D.C. this October.
The Shariah Advisory Council of Malaysia’s Securities Commission has found that crypto-trading and investments in digital assets do not violate the religious tenets of Islam.
WhatApp is set to add home insurance to the list of services it supports. It is currently piloting the service for customers of the Spanish company Banco Sabadell.
Apple Pay will start supporting QR code payments capabilities, including the ability to create a QR code within the app to receive payments.

Russia:

Russia’s Parliament has passed a law allowing for the creation of a “super financial marketplace” platform where consumers can more easily access the services of banks, insurers and other financial organizations. The platform is expected to be available to the public by the end of 2020.
Mark Barnett, the president of Mastercard Europe, has stated that Russia has one of the most advanced payment markets in Europe.
Sberbank has launched the SberPay payment services system, which allows users to transmit and receive payments for goods and services using Sberbank Online. Sberbank is also cooperating with ABBYY to launch a new loan processing system for medium- and large-sized enterprises that takes no longer than 7 minutes.
TMT Investments has invested EUR 500,000 in the 3S Money payment platform. The 3S Money platform offers popular banking services such as current accounts for individuals and legal entities as well as online payment transactions.
Finversia has published highlights from the FinTech Against Isolation – What Stage of Digitalization Are We In? report. In short, the report notes that Russia has been a main testing ground for new financial technologies and is at the forefront of the FinTech industry.

Ukraine:

The National Bank of Ukraine has simplified the requirements for registering payment systems, participants in payment systems and payment infrastructure service providers, including allowing documents to be submitted electronically.
The FinTech company LeoGaming, in collaboration with Concord Bank and in partnership with Google Pay, has launched one-click payments on all LeoGaming sites and partner sites.
Companies using the LiqPay service provided by Privatbank will now be able to accept payments via Google Pay.
Huawei Pay is preparing for launch in Ukraine. It is expected that Huawei Pay will partner with EasyPay, which has extensive experience in implementing NFC payment solutions.
Visa has launched a click-to-pay service in Ukraine that will make it easier and more convenient for consumers in Ukraine to execute online and mobile payments.

Belarus:

The FinTech company Softclub has become a resident of High-Tech Park and plans to provide automation services for financial institutions. Softclub already serves 23 financial institutions operating in Belarus.
Myfin.by has prepared an overview of the main financial events to have occurred in the second half of June in Belarus, including new payment options for Minsk’s metro; Priorbank and Visa now accepting payments via smartphones; and BSB Bank opening round-the-clock instant payments for businesses.

Kazakhstan:

VC.ru has published material on the startup ecosystem of Kazakhstan, noting that the ecosystem is still in its infancy but that the conditions for its growth are strong.

Azerbaijan:

The volume of contactless transactions in Azerbaijan has increased by 30%. Moreover, the head of the Mastercard office in the country has thrown his support behind government initiatives to further increase this figure.

Georgia:

The online portal of the National Bank of Georgia has published a podcast with the head of the newly-created Financial and Supervisory Technology Development Unit, during which he discussed the digital solutions the regulator is using to combat COVID-19 as well as the advantages of regulatory sandboxes.

Armenia:

Banks.am has published an article by the executive director of the British FinTech platform Bilderlings in which he discussed that the focus of Armenia’s payment service is on money transfers and electronic wallets as well as the need for a greater focus on digital banking.