EMEA Daily: BoE Could See Shakeup as New UK Chancellor Seeks to Control Inflation

Today in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) news, the United Kingdom’s new chancellor spent his first full day in office meeting leaders from the financial sector and discussing the country’s high inflation. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) singled out three potential use cases for a digital euro.

Potential BoE Shakeup on the Cards as New UK Chancellor Seeks to Control Inflation

The day after being appointed, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng (the minister responsible for economic and financial matters) met with a small delegation of senior bankers and emphasized that the new government would be pursuing an “unashamedly pro-growth agenda” that would involve cutting taxes and regulations while creating the right conditions for investment and innovation. He also used the meeting to reiterate his support for the Bank of England’s independence but said the central bank’s mission to regulate inflation is critical to keeping the cost of living under control.

EU Focuses CBDC Initiatives on Personal Over Business, Web3

In the European Union, the initial stage of a digital euro and potential use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) will target personal use over business processes and Web3 advancement, an ECB official said. Speaking during a panel discussion at the conference, Evelien Witlox, digital euro program manager at the ECB, pointed to the three immediate areas up for advancement: peer-to-peer, consumer-to-business and payments to or by governments. Initially, a retail digital euro would not be authorized for use in settling invoices, issuing paychecks or in decentralized finance (DeFi). Instead, the focus will be concentrated on payments initiated by people.

OneSpan, BankID Extend Digital Identity Service to All Norwegian Banks

Digital agreements security company OneSpan and electronic identity company BankID have expanded their partnership to extend digital identity protection covering cross-border transactions to all Norwegian banks. The partnership will bring together an array of digital identity solutions at BankID, which is an electronic ID for secure identification and signing online that is issued by 90 banks and 9,000 merchants and used by 4 million Norwegians when banking, shopping and accessing public services online.

MTN Partners With Dooka for Digital Supply Chain Solution

Pan-African telecoms giant MTN Group has signed a partnership agreement with Johannesburg-based B2B marketplace operator Dooka. The tie-up will help to transform MTN’s supply chain and lead to “digital transparency and greater efficiency for MTN’s suppliers,” the company said.

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