#450
Cold Hard Cash

Ethereum software update planned for September after successful test - Called the Merge, the software upgrade has been in the works for years, and it will change the way Ethereum orders transactions to become more energy efficient. Instead of using energy-guzzling computers called miners, the network will deploy so-called validators using staked Ether tokens -- a setup called proof of stake. Following years of delays, the time for the Merge is finally being set after Wednesday’s completion of the Goerli merge test, which simulated the Merge on a smaller scale. Read more

Mastercard faces retailer backlash over installment payments - Mastercard is facing pushback from retailers over a new product that allows customers to pay off their purchases in installments. The payments giant has begun telling merchants and their banks that it will charge retailers 3% of a purchase price each time a consumer opts to use the new program. Read more

BlackRock launches private trust offering direct bitcoin exposure - The trust will be available to US-based institutional clients and will be BlackRock's first product that offers direct exposure to the price of bitcoin. Earlier this month, BlackRock announced a deal with crypto exchange Coinbase to offer institutional investors access to crypto, beginning with bitcoin. BlackRock, which manages around $9t of customer funds, will use Coinbase Prime to provide the service. Read more

Jack Henry to acquire Payrailz, add tools to help FIs compete with disruptors - This acquisition will enhance Jack Henry’s payments-as-a-service (PaaS) strategy by adding the Payrailz consumer and commercial bill pay, real-time person-to-person, account-to-account and business-to-customer payments to Jack Henry’s virtual payments hub. Read more

Ex-JPMorgan traders convicted in federal fraud trial - The convictions are the capstone of a seven-year Justice Department campaign to punish a style of deceptive trading in futures markets known as spoofing. The rapid-fire strategy was prevalent at some Wall Street banks before Congress outlawed spoofing in 2010, and persisted even after its prohibition, according to prosecutors. JPMorgan paid $920m in 2020 to settle regulatory and criminal charges against the bank over the traders’ conduct. Read more

Blackstone plans to back tech startups in $2b–plus lending push - Blackstone is gearing up to make its first major push into lending to startups and technology companies joining a corner of the debt market that’s quickly heating up. The firm expects to invest at least $2 billion in technology debt deals over the next few years, including venture debt. Read more

Enterprise tax compliance software maker Avalara to be acquired by Vista Equity Partners for $8.4b - In an all-cash deal expected to close in the second half of 2022, Vista will acquire all outstanding Avalara shares for $93.50 per share. That is below Friday's closing price of $95.55 but represents a 27% premium over its closing share price on July 6 — the day reports of the transaction first emerged. Read more

Brazil’s Central Bank President sees room for Pix expansion in Latin America - The president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, will meet with the president of the central bank of Colombia, Leonardo Villar, so that the Andean country can "copy" Pix, the Brazilian instant payments model. In Colombia, fintech startup Minka and ACH Colombia created the Transfiya system, with the proposal to be a 24/7 payment method, in real time, like Pix. Read more

Asset managers bet big on crypto despite market rout - Big-name money managers are stampeding into digital assets, finding new ways to monetize investor interest even as trading volumes and prices for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have slumped. Read more

Tornado Cash crackdown shows limits of regulating cryptocurrency services - Decentralization leaves authorities without target for enforcement; ‘difficult, if not impossible, to shut down’. Read more

Loan danger: India's illegal finance apps bring worry, regret - The wide adoption of fintech has benefited many people in Asia, especially among the region’s large unbanked populations. But rapid tech developments can also come with a darker side. Read more

Chinese municipal bank issues first digital yuan loan holding IP as collateral - China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot testing continues to onboard new use cases for the digital yuan. The country has now recorded its first instance of Intellectual Property (IP) financing on the CBDC platform. In a press release, the Suzhou Market Supervision Bureau confirmed that a loan of 500,000 yuan (about $74,000) was issued to an unnamed business to fill its capital turnover gap. Read more

US Bank delivers real-time payments to auto dealers - With another innovative RTP Network solution, U.S. Bank can now provide loan funds to auto dealers instantly after the loan contract is finalized by the bank. Following a successful pilot completed in June, U.S. Bank has already enabled more than 800 auto dealers to receive funds from auto loans via a real-time payment. The bank expects to deliver the solution to more dealers in the coming months as the bank continues to improve operational efficiencies for auto dealers. Read more