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The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority published Additional Licensing Guidelines and Criteria for Digital-Only Banks in Saudi Arabia.

The UK's biggest fintech startup Revolut is reportedly preparing to apply for a UK banking licence, enabling the firm to offer FSCS-protected deposits and lending services for customers. The cash transfer app was granted a European banking licence by the Bank of Lithuania in 2018, but has continued to operate outside of the bounds of the regulatory regime in the UK.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation gave the green light to an application from the FinTech firm Square to create a de novo industrial bank in Utah. Square Financial Services will originate commercial loans to the retailers that use Square for payments. The Utah Department of Financial Institutions still has to issues approvals to the San Francisco-based FinTech.

Online lenders are showing the first signs of stress as the coronavirus outbreak starts to hit both their borrowers and the investors that ultimately back the loans. Kabbage, a US based small business lender backed by SoftBank's $100bn Vision Fund,stopped extending loans to small businesses last week, following a rise in delinquencies.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore extended the assessment period for the award of digital bank licences. Successful applicants will be informed in 2H 2020 instead of June 2020 as originally intended.

MAS is working closely with The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) to promote greater adoption of e-payments among individuals and businesses.  Supported by MAS, ABS will mount a sustained campaign to promote the use of PayNow, PayNow Corporate, and SGQR in the coming months.

Nearly two-thirds of the 511 Singaporean respondents polled would adopt a digital-only bank. However, 84% said they were keen to use digital banking services provided by an existing bank. Even so, 20% said they would move all their services to a neobank without hesitation.

The main marketplace banks - Revolut, N26, Starling, and Monzo - have barely begun to lend, instead relying predominantly on interchange fees, which makes them vulnerable to sudden economic shocks. Unlike loan interest that has been deferred, sometimes at double-digit interest rates, interchange fees are simply lost, intensifying cash flow problems and continuing the net losses these banks have been making.

The British Business Bank approved four new lenders to partake in the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, including several fintech lenders.

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.

According to the OECD, competition will increase as new players enter the industry, but the long-term impact is more open, and regulation shall decisively influence to what extent BigTech shall enter the industry and who shall be the dominant players. Pursuant to OECD's view, the challenge for regulators will be to keep a level playing field that strikes the right balance between fostering innovation and preserving financial stability where the consumer protection concerns rise to the forefront.

The Australian government's SME Guarantee Scheme welcomed fintech firms Moula and Prospa participants in the Scheme. Under the Scheme, the government will guarantee 50% of new loans issued by Prospa and Moula to SMEs.

Digital payments allow people to access goods and services while in quarantine or social distancing. SARS epidemic in 2003 expedited China's path in launching digital payments and e-commerce in the country. A robust identification system, widespread, consistent internet access and trustworthy ways to get money into digital formats could be important for digital payments to thrive.

U.K.-based Lithuanian-licensed digital bank Revolut has launched as a fully-licenced bank in Lithuania. Existing customers are able to upgrade from e-money accounts to bank deposit accounts from their Revolut app.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) published a draft of the Digital Bank Regulatory Framework for public consultation. The initiative is part of the SBP's comprehensive efforts to promote digital financial services, and the framework proposes guidelines for licensing and supplementary regulations for digital banks. https://www.sbp.org.pk/press/2021/Pr-26-Mar-21-U.pdf

"The Federal Reserve is contemplating new rules for granting "master accounts" to "fintechs" - firms that offer high-tech payment services but aren't eligible for ordinary bank charters. Firms with Fed master accounts can deposit funds in them and move them expeditiously along the Fed's electronic rails. All ordinary banks have such accounts. But so far, fintechs don't. The Fed can change this. And, despite the bank lobby's concerted opposition, it should."

"I agree wholeheartedly with the Board's aim of having "the Reserve Banks apply a consistent set of guidelines when reviewing such access requests…to facilitate equitable treatment across institutions," and I believe that the proposed guidelines represent an important step toward this end. However, I also believe that the guidelines can be made more conducive than they are at present to encouraging beneficial financial innovations, and that this can be done without increasing the risk of financial instability and without complicating the conduct of monetary policy."

The Nebraska Financial Innovation Act was signed into law. The legislation creates a new state banking charter for digital asset depository institutions, modeled after similar legislation passed last year in Wyoming, that paved the way for Kraken to become the first official state-level crypto bank in the US. Japan-based Telcoin, a blockchain-based fintech aligned with the telecom and mobile money industries globally, drafted the legislation as it seeks to bring its digital asset-backed financial services to US consumers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) controversial special-purpose national bank charter that had been challenged by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and effectively suspended by a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The U.S. Federal Reserve proposed guidelines for what sorts of financial institutions can have access to accounts at the central bank and its related payment services. "With technology driving rapid change in the payments landscape, the proposed Account Access Guidelines would ensure requests for access to the Federal Reserve payments system from novel institutions are evaluated in a consistent and transparent manner that promotes a safe, efficient, inclusive, and innovative payment system, consumer protection, and the safety and soundness of the banking system."