EMEA Daily: Amazon Fresh UK Price Matches Tesco; Dutch Central Bank Hits Binance With $3.37M Fine

In today’s top news from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), buy now, pay later (BNPL) regulations are likely coming to the European Union next year while the U.S. lags behind, U.K.-based digital bank Starling has withdrawn its EU banking license application and more.

UK Court Sends Meta Giphy Case Back to Antitrust Watchdog

Meta’s purchase of Giphy, a GIF search engine, will be sent back to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority for further review after the Competition Appeal Tribunal flagged concerns with the CMA’s initial investigation.

Last year, the CMA blocked Meta’s acquisition of Giphy, citing concerns that it would hurt competitiveness in the market for display advertising and in the provision of gifs on Meta’s social media platforms.

Dutch Central Bank Hits Binance With $3.37M Fine

The Dutch Central Bank has issued a $3.37 million fine to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for offering services without obtaining the proper registration.

De Nederlandsche Bank requires virtual asset service providers to register under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act before offering services in the Netherlands. The fine follows a warning from the central bank last August, according to multiple reports.

BNPL Regs Likely Coming Late 2022 for EU, UK But U.S. Lags Behind

In 2022, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.K. Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority and the EU Parliament have all been working on developing new rules for BNPL providers — but none have proposed any comprehensive legislation yet.

As PYMNTS reported, with various governments around the world forging ahead to create regulations for the BNPL space, the U.S. is lagging behind its European peers.

UK FinTech Starling Scuttles EU Banking License

U.K.-based Starling Bank is halting its attempt to win a banking license in Europe, having withdrawn its application for a license from the Irish central bank.

The bank will instead turn its attention to promoting its Software-as-a-Service product, which is designed to help banks with their digital transformation strategies. Starling said it hasn’t given up on expanding into Europe, but added that it now sees that route via software deals with other lenders.

Amazon Fresh UK Price Matches Tesco

Amazon Fresh, Amazon’s U.K. grocery business, will match prices on hundreds of everyday items to those offered by Tesco, the country’s largest supermarket chain.

The Tesco price match will only be available for online orders, and will only be available to Prime subscribers. On its website, Amazon stated that it has “matched and locked the price on hundreds of own-label and branded products with Tesco Clubcard. We’ll keep the price locked for at least four weeks and add new products every week.”

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