Banking giant Citigroup has successfully completed a proof-of-concept for blockchain-based cross-border payments in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, or IADB. According to a Thursday announcement, Citigroup’s Citi Innovation Labs and the IADB enabled several disbursements from the United States to a recipient in the Dominican Republic, using the LACChain blockchain network — a proprietary effort by IADB’s regional program LACChain. As part of the project, the IADB deposited tokenized funds denominated in U.S. dollars in a Citi account and transferred the funds using digital wallets, IADB’s blockchain specialist and LACChain technical leader Marcos Allende explained. “After tokenized, these funds …
United States insurance giant State Farm and military-affiliated bank United Services Automobile Association (USAA) are testing a blockchain-based subrogation solution with real claims data. State Farm announced the development in an official press release on May 30. The two insurance titans are using blockchain technology to automate and streamline the subrogation process in insurance claims. The platform purportedly allows them to automatically compile total payments, net the balance, and conduct a regularly scheduled payment between insurers. State Farm states that the blockchain solution is being tested with real claims data. State Farm explains that subrogation occurs when two insurance companies …
Malaysia is planning to impose a $6,000 limit on cash transactions in 2020, according to a deputy governor at the country’s central bank. The new restrictions aim to prevent the use of cash in illicit activities, and won’t affect regulated financial institutions or other entities transacting for humanitarian aid purposes. The average Malaysian household spends $1,900 per month Abdul Rasheed, the deputy governor in question who works for Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), claimed that the measures will apply to all transactions involving physical cash, including payments for goods and services, reports local English-language newspaper The Star. The limit of 25,000 …
SWIFT is a payments colossus. It operates across more than 200 countries, has 11,000-plus financial institution clients and transmits some 8.4 billion financial messages every year. It is the global leader in cross-border bank-to-bank payments and recently played a key role in the West’s economic sanctions on Russia. That doesn’t mean the Belgium-based cooperative is immune to disruption tremors, however. Critics have long maintained the interbank messaging system, founded in the 1970s, is “old, inflexible, slow, and increasingly prone to cyberattacks.” In May, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach cast doubt upon SWIFT’s ability to survive the next five years. Meanwhile, it …
Binance has informed its retail customer base of a potential incoming service disruption that may halt on and off-ramp bank payment transfers. The service disruption will impact U.S Dollar-held bank accounts that are looking to buy or sell cryptocurrencies for less than $100,000 via the SWIFT payment system. The disruption will take effect on February 1. Binance announced the news to its “Binancians” by email on January 21, stressing that they’re now “actively seeking” a new SWIFT (USD) partner to avoid service disruptions for future bank payment transfers. The cryptocurrency exchange added that this was the banking partner’s decision and …