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President Roberto Campos Neto said that the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) plans to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by 2024. The central bank will conduct proof of concept work with some financial institutions before launching a full-blown pilot.

Datalight analyzed website traffic data from 100 top crypto exchanges to determine where traders are located. With 22M traders, the US ranks first, with 6.2M Japan ranks second, South Korea ranks third with 5.7M, followed by the UK, Russia, Brazil, Germany, Vietnam, Turkey and Canada.

The Brazilian Central Bank is planning to have QR code-based instant payments up and running by 2020, a year earlier than expected.

With a market capitalization of just over $200 billion, Bitcoin is now larger than the money supply of South Korea, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. According to statistics it could soon enter the top ten outpacing Russia and India.

The IMF Balance of Payments Statistics Committee recommended classifying the buying and selling of crypto-assets as assets produced, which means that it is compiled into the balance of payments asset account.

The Central Bank of Brazil is developing a new instant payment system that will change how funds are sent within the country. Brazilian citizens will purportedly be able to send and receive money in seconds, instead of several hours and even days.

The Revolut payment app plans to expand beyond Europe and Australia, where it built its primary markets, and into the USA, as well as Japan, Brazil, and Russia.

First conceived earlier this year, eThaler gets its name from the thaler, a silver coin used throughout Europe for hundreds of years, from which the word "dollar" is derived. A group of professionals from consulting firms Accenture and InfoSys and the Itau Bank in Brazil, have been working on the open-source project in their free time for the past six months to explore the future of central bank currency issued on a blockchain.

Germany's biggest digital banking start-up is preparing for the worst downturn in its seven-year history, cutting back on advertising spending, furloughing a tenth of its staff and reassessing the timing of its plan to launch in Brazil.

Banco Central do Brasil cleared the way for Facebook's WhatsApp messaging service to let its users send each other funds using the Visa and Mastercard card networks, months after vetoing WhatsApp's initial attempt. However, WhatsApp is only allowed to do peer-to-peer payments, not involving merchants, unlike the free Pix service, which can be used to pay businesses and individuals. Facebook is still seeking approval to operate with merchants. https://www.bcb.gov.br/en/pressdetail/2386/nota

In the wake of El Salvador's move to make Bitcoin legal tender, Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan urged the country's central bank to begin exploring crypto assets. A number of lawmakers in Latin American countries have also expressed their interest in bitcoin following El Salvador passing the law making the cryptocurrency legal tender, including Paraguay, Argentina, Panama, Brazil, and Mexico.

This article analyzes the current central bank digital currency (CBDC) landscape. A sample of potential candidate countries for establishing a CBDC was selected, motives for implementing a CBDC were collected, and variables were assigned to these motives. Statistical methods were applied to obtain a sample of the countries with the highest correlation with three CBDC "pioneer" countries (Bahamas, China, and Uruguay). The results show that the Baltic Sea area (Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland) is a good CBDC candidate, in South America it's Brazil, and in Asia, China and Malaysia show high correlations with the three pioneer countries. In Africa, South Africa stands out as an optimal area for CBDC implementation.

In a survey of 3,000 banking customers around the world, Kantar found that 93% of consumers in China have used neobank services, 50% of Indians, and 32% of Brazilians. However, across Western Europe only a small minority of consumers has opened a neobank account, with the Netherlands and Germany leading with 4% usage, and only 2% of U.S. consumers.ds and Germany lead with 4% usage; France and Spain are lagging with 2% usage In the USA, only 2% of consumers have utilised the services of a neobank"

The BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are reportedly planning to develop a single payment transaction system between the member countries, which could be carried out in a still-to-be-developed "BRICS" cryptocurrency.

CIP, a facilitator of Brazilian banking and financial infrastructure, has officially launched its blockchain ID platform via a partnership with IBM using Hyperledger Fabric.

So, what happened in open banking 2019? In Australia, open banking is finally launched; Payments NZ in New Zealand launches open banking APIs and ther NZ banks follow; Mexico continues to be the hot spot for LATAM; Brazil launches open banking model; Additional API offerings launched in Malaysia to further enrich the open banking market there; US banks begin conversations on open banking and to develop open banking 'like' APIs; the Central Bank of Nigeria places open banking on its Payments Vision Statement (PSV) 2030 to become the next EMEA country to implement open banking; and Bahrian makes claim to implementing open banking.

Settle Network and Stellar are issuing two stablecoins in Latin America. The ARST is tied to the Argentine peso (ARS), while the BRLT is tied to the Brazilian real (BRL). The new stablecoins allow users to virtually send ARS and convert them to BRL in a matter of seconds, opening a new possibilities for international remittances and cross border payments.

This is a nice chronicle of how Facebook tried to exploit a loophole in Brazilian payments regulations to launch a WhatsApp-based payment service. First, in order to not be classified as a financial services company and be subject to capital reserve requirements and strict regulations, WhatsApp used Visa and Mastercard, which already had central bank licenses, to carry out the money transfers. (Visa and Mastercard did not notify the central bank they planned to perform transfers for WhatsApp because they thought they already had the required licenses.) WhatsApp was also looking to make use of a provision in payments regulation allowing companies to start services without a license until they reached certain transaction volume thresholds. However, the provision was aimed at encouraging small businesses to enter the market as opposed to a BigTech like WhatsApp with 120 million Brazilian users, so the central bank changed this provision on June 23 to allow it to suspend companies covered by it. In a further twist, the central bank is itself planning to roll out a fast-payment system in November, Pix, which uses consumers' checking accounts, and WhatsApp has said it is open to integrating its service with Pix.

The Banco Central do Brasil president reportedly said that Facebook Inc messaging service WhatsApp would be allowed to launch its new payments service in the country, but called for proof it can operate safely in terms of data protection in a competitive market. "We are not saying that it is not competitive, we just want them to ask for authorization and to show us how it will work for us to make sure it is competitive."

Banco Central do Brasil unveiled the general framework and updated rules for the country's instant payment system PIX, which will be launched gradually from November 16. From October 5, those interested in joining the system will be able to register the so-called PIX Keys, which will identify the payer and payee. To use the central bank's platform, users will need an email address, phone number or taxpayer ID. There will be three ways to complete the transfer: by entering the recipient's data, by using a QR code or by using a payment link. The central bank will both regulate and provide the payment settlement infrastructure, including the database with data on the accounts of recipients. Participating financial institutions will pay 0.01 reais per transaction to use PIX, versus an average of 0.07 in the current TED system. The minimum capital required is 1 million reais. https://www.bcb.gov.br/detalhenoticia/475/noticia