Today In Payments: EU Advances Plans For Digital Wallet; Circle Finalizes $440M Financing

In today’s top news, the European Union (EU) is planning to announce an EU-wide digital wallet, and Circle has raised $40 million. Plus, U.S. officials are looking into new regulations over the cryptocurrency market.

European Union Advances Plans For Post-Pandemic Digital Wallet

The EU is advancing plans to launch a post-pandemic, bloc-wide digital wallet that will give people a seamless way to digitally access public and private services with one recognized digital identity. Plans will be announced on Wednesday (June 2).

Circle Finalizes $440M Financing To Spur Platform Expansion

Circle has completed a financing round with $440 million to fund the platform’s continued growth and organizational development. As big money rolls into firms like Circle, decentralized finance — or DeFi — is poised to make the leap from buzzword to blockchain-driven disruptor of the financial services landscape.

US Eyes ‘Regulatory Perimeter’ For Cryptos, Report Says

Senior officials at a handful of U.S. financial regulatory agencies — such as the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — are exploring new ways to regulate the cryptocurrency market.

Startups Beef Up Financial Staffs To Prep For SPAC IPO Path

Many startups are moving to hire chief financial officers (CFOs) earlier than in the past, spurred by rising balance sheets and special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that have provided a new route with which to go public.

Overdrafts, Merchant Fees And Crypto: Why You Can’t Have It Both Ways

“You can’t have it both ways” means that one has to sacrifice something to get a better outcome. Karen Webster said that the recent conversations about overdraft fees on Capitol Hill, merchant interchange, crypto trading and volatility are three great examples of the collective “we” in payments not being able to have it both ways.

Kushki Lands $86 Million To Fix LatAm’s Fragmented Payments Infrastructure

With $86 million from SoftBank, Kushki has vaulted in the ranks of Latin America’s FinTech scene. CEO Aron Schwarzkopf tells Karen Webster that trillions of dollars in transactions stand to be modernized in a region where fragmentation and outdated tech are ripe for modernization – and the elimination of friction.

Krispy Kreme Files For IPO Amid ‘Indulgence’ Growth

Krispy Kreme has filed paperwork for its proposed initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The S-1 shows that the doughnut chain rang in net revenue of $1.1 billion in fiscal 2020, partially attributed to a growth in the “indulgence food” market during the pandemic.

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FinTech Land Grab Intensifies as Deal-Making Rewires Platforms

Maverick Says Data Without Intent Is Just Expensive Storage