Top News In Payments: ECB To Discuss Central Bank Crypto; Token Launches M10 Networks For ‘Bank-Grade’ Digital Money Rail

In today’s top news, policymakers at the European Central Bank (ECB) will meet to discuss the pros and cons of launching their own electronic currency. Also, open banking platform Token.io launches its spinoff company, M10 Networks, to develop solutions for digital currency, and Visa and MFS Africa team up to connect Africa’s 180 million mobile wallets.

 

ECB President Touts Benefits of Central Banks Launching Crypto

Policymakers at the ECB will meet in Frankfurt on Wednesday, Dec. 11, to debate the merits of introducing their own electronic money. The discussion is expected to be more symbolic than action-oriented, as it’s happening ahead of Thursday’s policy conference with the ECB’s new President Christine Lagarde, who has vocalized her support for central banks to release electronic money.

Token’s M10 Networks Launches ‘Bank-Grade’ Digital Money Rail

Open banking platform provider Token.io has announced the launch of its affiliate firm M10 Networks. The spinoff company will focus on creating a digital money solution to “do business without friction.”

Visa, MFS Africa Team to Take Mobile Wallets Cross-Border

Visa today announced a partnership with pan-African FinTech leader MFS Africa, a digital payments hub that connects around 180 million mobile wallets across the continent. The partnership is designed to bridge the gap between the rapidly growing mobile money ecosystem in Africa and the world of online digital payments using Visa payment credentials.

N26 US Launches Debit Card Perks Program

German mobile bank N26 announced today that it has expanded its Perk partnerships for debit cardholders in the U.S. N26 is one of the only mobile banks to offer rewards to debit cardholders. Among the new Perk partners are Booking.com, Lime and Curology.

AI’s Place in the $50B RV Market

In the latest Payments and the Platform Economy Playbook, Colin Gardiner, chief revenue officer for shared RV marketplace Outdoorsy, discusses how the platforms utilize AI to stay atop regulatory and authentication challenges and why marketplaces must value fostering trust over growth.

The Architecture Of A Cross-Border B2B Payment

The time is ripe to rethink the global, cross-border payments friction, according to Citi’s Global Head of Payments and Receivables Manish Kohli. The solution lies within the challenge: that AP and AR processes—and glitches–are naturally intertwined, and progress in one will guide progress in the other.