ECB's Rebel Voice Bows Out With Plea for Greater Transparency
Arch hawk Robert Holzmann, who's been comfortable delivering a lone 'no' vote on occasions during the ECB's monetary-easing push, wants outsiders to glean more of an understanding of officials' thinking as they calibrate borrowing costs.
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Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
Payments Rules to Revenue: IPR, VRP, USDC in Japan, and Pix Automático
If you work in fintech long enough, you see a pattern: regulation lands with a thud, then, sometimes very quietly, becomes a revenue line. The past 12–18 months have delivered some of the most consequential payments rules in years. The smart fintech players aren't treating them as compliance chores; they're building products against the new rails. Europe is the clearest example. The EU's Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) locks in 'pay in 10 seconds, 24/7,' equal pricing for instant vs. standard transfers, and Verification of Payee (VoP) to blunt misdirected payments. The timetable is phased with equal pricing in 2025 and VoP on a staggered schedule through 2027–28, but the strategic direction is unmistakable. The European Central Bank's explainer, plus national supervisors such as De Nederlandsche Bank, lay out what providers must do and by when; the European Payments Council has published the dedicated VoP rulebook to make name/IBAN checks interoperable across PSPs. A second European shift has received less mainstream attention but may prove just as commercial: direct access for licensed non-bank PSPs to Eurosystem payment systems, including TARGET/TIPS. The ECB codified this in Decision (EU) 2025/222 (ECB/2025/2), subsequently amended, with application expected as the TARGET guideline is updated. That moves PIs/EMIs closer to bank-like settlement privileges which will help with liquidity, cost and speed. Expect early adopters to productize that access, not just tick a box. Case study #1: Europe's instant-payments flywheel IPR and VoP don't just reduce fraud and friction; they expand addressable use cases. If instant rails are price-aligned with legacy SEPA and protected by VoP, merchants have fewer reasons to push cards over account-to-account (A2A) at checkout, corporates can automate payouts without 'after hours' penalties, and treasurers can rethink reconciliation windows. The European Court of Auditors' Special Report 01/2025 adds an important macro lens: price interventions and data-sharing gaps still need tightening, but the overall trajectory, i.e. safer, faster, less expensive payments, is directionally sound for competition. Translation: margin pressure on incumbents, opportunity for builders. The UK is pushing open banking beyond data pipes. The FCA's recently published FS25/4 sets out a 'Future Entity' to run a commercial scheme for variable recurring payments (VRP), enabling utility bills, tax payments and subscriptions as mainstream A2A experiences. Adoption is no longer hypothetical: by March 2025, the UK counted 13.3 million active open-banking users, with 31 million payments that month, about 1 in 13 of Faster Payments, and VRP already a meaningful slice. This isn't just compliance telemetry; it's a demand signal for A2A commerce. Two Asian regimes have quietly become the blueprint for fiat-referenced stablecoins. Singapore's MAS finalized its framework in 2023, giving regulated issuers a clear path to market. Hong Kong's regime for fiat-referenced stablecoins took effect this month, with licensing now live through the HKMA. For fintechs, those aren't press releases; they're distribution plans: where you can issue, where you can redeem at par, and how you can integrate into consumer apps without stepping into securities law crossfire. Case study #2: Circle as a regulatory go-to-market Circle's trajectory shows how clarity converts to growth. The company priced its IPO in June 2025 and, in its first quarter as a public company, reported $658 million in Q2 revenue with USDC circulation up ~90% YoY to $61.3 billion at quarter end (and over $65 billion by August 10). Circle's live dashboard now shows ~$67.5 billion USDC outstanding mid-August. Those aren't crypto-winter numbers; they are regulatory-tailwind numbers. The geographic expansion matters as much as the headline figures. In Japan, amendments to the Payment Services Act created a category for 'electronic payment instruments' and allowed issuance via banks, fund transfer service providers and trust banks—unlocking credible structures for yen- and foreign-currency-denominated stablecoins. In March 2025, Circle announced an expanded Japan strategy (Circle Japan KK) and a partnership push; USDC is poised to plug into local rails through established financial groups. The FSA has continued adjusting, tightening AML/Travel Rule obligations in 2024 and proposing further PSA tweaks, so the legal plumbing keeps getting better. Add Hong Kong's live licensing regime and Singapore's already-operational rulebook, and you get a regional corridor where stablecoins can be issued, redeemed, embedded and audited: exactly what large platforms and fintechs need to embed 'digital cash' into everyday payments without legal ambiguity. Case study #3: Brazil's Pix Automático turns rails into recurring revenue When regulators build real-time rails, the next unlock is recurring. Brazil's central bank launched Pix Automático in June 2025, enabling subscription-like, pull-based debits with a single consumer consent. Official guidance, technical specs and rule updates are public; Pix is already the country's most used payment method. The shift means card-like recurring economics without card fees; for the financially excluded, it means you can subscribe without plastic. If you're a global fintech, Brazil just became a template for 'real-time subscriptions' playbooks in other markets. Across the Atlantic, the CFPB's Section 1033 final rule (effective January 17, 2025) compels banks and providers to share consumer-permissioned data securely and recognizes industry standard-setting. That's the legal foundation for account switching, multi-app financial management and A2A checkout experiences that compete on UX and price, not just card incentives. For fintech PMs, the question isn't 'are we compliant?' It's 'what will we build because this data now moves?' Finally, licensing arbitrage is back, only now it's about building end-to-end capabilities, not regulatory theatre. Adyen is an instructive model: a 2017 EU banking license for passported services, Fed-approved U.S. federal branch in 2021, and FedNow certification by 2023. That stack lets Adyen control settlement, treasury and risk, and now, under IPR/VoP, offer A2A solutions with bank-like economics. Expect more fintechs to pursue multi-jurisdiction footprints that pair instant rails with direct or quasi-direct settlement access. What winning teams do next Treat the regulations as APIs: The through-line is simple: when regulators clarify the rules, customers change behavior. Fintechs that productize the rules, rather than treat them as paperwork, get there first.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool to submit new offer for star 'very keen' to join
Time is running out in the transfer window and Liverpool are still in the race to complete multiple deals. It's been a long summer, and the next two weeks are going to be even crazier than anything that has happened in the lead up to this. 🚨2025/26 LFC x adidas range🚨 LFC x adidas Shop the away range TODAY LFC x adidas Shop the home range today! LFC x adidas Shop the goalkeeper range today LFC x adidas Shop the new adidas range today! Liverpool are far from being done in the transfer market. Richard Hughes wanted to rebuild Arne Slot's side this summer and the final pieces in the jigsaw are still yet to be secured. The first of those jigsaw pieces is Alexander Isak. He's been Liverpool's dream target for a long time and next week we should find a resolution to the saga that has been going on for the longest time. Liverpool may add another winger to the equation as well. Although it remains to be seen whether with such little time left they can find the right target. But the other key piece of the puzzle is Marc Guehi. 🔴 Like Isak, the Crystal Palace captain has long been on Liverpool's radar. In fact, the Reds have wanted to sign him since the beginning of the summer. Guehi has one year left on his contract and it's clear that he doesn't want to extend. He wants to leave the club. Whether it's in the next two weeks or next summer, the end result will be the same. So, it's in Palace's interest to make sure that he goes this summer. At least this way they won't lose him for nothing but they can actually get compensated for making Guehi into the player he is today. Liverpool have been working on a deal to do exactly that. They haven't yet succeeded but it looks like they are going to make another push for the Crystal Palace star.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
NATO-like protection for Ukraine in focus as Zelensky, European leaders head for Trump meeting
European and NATO leaders are joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday to present a united front in talks with President Donald Trump as US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday said Russia is open to the idea of the US and its European allies offering Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence mandate. European leaders said Sunday they would join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in talks with US President Donald Trump on Monday, as they try to find a way to end Russia's offensive. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday but the talks failed to yield any breakthrough on a ceasefire – though White House envoy Steve Witkoff said both leaders had agreed to provide "robust security guarantees" to Ukraine. Read moreRed carpet welcome but no Ukraine deal: key takeaways from the Trump-Putin summit Witkoff, who took part in the Trump-¨Putin talks in Alaska, said it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called it 'game-changing.' 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO," Witkoff told CNN's 'State of the Union.' Witkoff offered few details on how such an arrangement would work. But it appeared to be a major shift for Putin and could serve as a workaround to his deep-seated objection to Ukraine's potential NATO membership, a step that Kyiv has long sought. It was expected to be a key topic Monday as Zelensky and major European leaders meet with Trump at the White House. Article 5, at the heart of the 32-member trans-Atlantic military alliance, says an armed attack against one or more member nations shall be considered an attack against them all. What needed to be hammered out at this week's talks were the contours of any security guarantees, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also participated in the summit. Ukraine and European allies have pushed the US to provide that backstop in any peace agreement to deter future attacks by Moscow. 'How that's constructed, what we call it, how it's built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that's what we'll be talking about over the next few days with our partners," Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' It was unclear, however, whether Trump had fully committed to such a guarantee. Rubio said it would be 'a huge concession." The comments shed new light on what was discussed in Alaska. Before Sunday, US officials had offered few details even as both Trump and Putin said their meeting was a success. Zelensky hails 'historic' US security guarantees reports European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday hailed the reports of robust security guarantees for Ukraine. But Zelensky, speaking alongside her at a news conference in Brussels, rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees. "What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin's thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees," he said. Zelensky later said on social media that the US offer regarding security guarantees was "historic". Moscow denounces Macron French President Emmanuel Macron, who will take part in the Washington meeting along with von der Leyen and others, said European leaders would ask Washington "to what extent" they were ready to contribute to the security guarantees offered to Ukraine in any peace agreement. Read moreUkraine and Europe must present 'united front', says Macron ahead of White House meeting Of Moscow's position, he said: "There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia." Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called that an "abject lie" in a statement on Telegram later Sunday. Moscow had been proposing a "peaceful resolution" of the conflict for seven years under the terms of the Minsk Accords, she said. Macron, she added, was trying to convince Ukraine that it could win on the battlefield even when he knew that that was "impossible". Hopes for 'productive meeting' Trump, who pivoted after the Alaska meeting to say he was now seeking a peace deal rather than a ceasefire, on Sunday posted "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!" on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating. Trump's sudden focus on a peace deal aligns with the stance long taken by Putin, one which Ukraine and its European allies have criticised as Putin's way to buy time while trying to make battlefield gains. Zelensky also said he saw "no sign" the Kremlin leader was prepared to meet him and Trump for a three-way summit, as had been floated by the US president. The leaders heading to Washington on Monday to appear alongside Zelensky call themselves the "coalition of the willing". As well as von der Leyen and Macron, they include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Also heading to Washington will be Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who get on well with Trump. On Sunday they all held a video meeting to prepare their joint position. (FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
