EMEA Daily: Switzerland Breaks Neutrality, Freezes Russia’s Assets; Dutch Antitrust Body Hits Apple with Sixth Fine of $5.7M

In today’s top Europe, Middle East, and Africa news, Switzerland put neutrality on hold and froze all of Russia’s assets due to the invasion of Ukraine; Apple is facing its sixth weekly fine of $5.7 million for what a Dutch regulator called the tech giant’s failure to provide alternative payment methods on its dating apps.

Plus, fines for data breaches in Europe reached more than $1.1 billion in 2021, FinTech 4thWave launched working capital financing and B2B payment solution in the United Arab Emirates, and the White House is reportedly seeking to disrupt Russia’s cryptocurrency sector due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Switzerland Breaks Neutrality, Freezes Russia’s Assets

Switzerland broke with neutrality and froze all of Russia’s assets to adopt the West’s sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, according to The Federal Council of Switzerland on Monday (Feb. 28).

A delegation of four of the seven members from the council, which is led by President Ignazio Cassis, also moved to extend the financial sanctions to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, effectively immediately.

Dutch Antitrust Body Hits Apple With Sixth Fine of $5.7M

The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has levied its sixth weekly fine of $5.7 million against Apple for what it called the tech giant’s failure to adhere to its rulings on providing alternative payment methods on its dating apps.

Apple maintains it has already complied with the ACM’s order, while the watchdog says it has not seen any change in Apple’s position, Reuters reported. The latest fine brings the total penalties levied against Apple by the ACM to more than $28 million.

Milezmore Raises $5M in Pre-Seed Funding

Cairo, Egypt-based logistics provider Milezmore has raised $5 million in pre-seed financing. The capital will allow the firm to enhance technology, expand storage, enlarge delivery capacity and scale cloud solutions, the company said.

The capital was provided by Brimore, an Egyptian social commerce platform and distribution channel connecting emerging brands. The investment follows Brimore’s $25 million Series A round earlier this year.

4thWave Launches UAE Capital Financing/B2B Payment Tool

Canadian FinTech 4thWave Inc. debuted an integrated working capital financing and B2B payment solution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of a partnership with Mastercard Track Business Payment Service.

The collaboration lets 4thWave Inc. offer flexible working capital programs to businesses across the region and addresses “the fundamental challenges of costs and inefficiencies currently affecting the B2B payments ecosystem,” according to Zawya report.

Citigroup’s Russian Exposure at $5.4B

Citigroup reported that its total exposure to Russian assets was at $5.4 billion at the end of December 2021, down from $5.5 billion three months earlier.

That exposure accounted for 0.3% of the banking giant’s assets last year. Citigroup also cautioned that it could see blowback from rising tensions between the West and Russia in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Complying With EU Data Laws Is Becoming Increasingly Complex

Data breaches in Europe can be extremely expensive, up to 4% of a company’s annual turnover, thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Fines for data breaches reached more than $1.1 billion in 2021, with Amazon leading the scoreboard with a staggering $867 million fine. Giropay, a German payment platform was the recently subject of a complaint by the European Center for Digital Rights for allegedly violating the EU’s GDPR.

EU Data Law Proposal Could Radically Change Blockchain Smart Contracts

The proposed European Union Data Act would require a smart contract kill switch that could impact the usefulness of commercial blockchain technology.

Smart contracts are self-executing agreements that, once created, are effectively unchangeable and unstoppable. They’re written onto an immutable blockchain, notably Ethereum, in an “if-X-then-Y” language, and they generally have any cryptocurrency to be used for payment locked into the contract when written.

Egypt’s Food Delivery Startup Elmenus Secures Backing from Uber’s Careem

Egyptian food-delivery startup Elmenus secured an undisclosed investment from Uber-owned ride hailing and food-delivery platform Careem. The Dubai-based company operates in more than 100 cities across 15 countries, including the Middle East, Africa and South Asia regions.

Careem is among the biggest brands to put money into the growth possibilities of Egypt, which is the most populated country of the 22 nations that make up the Arab world, Bloomberg reported on Monday (Feb. 28).

Russian Cryptocurrencies Could Be Part of Future Sanctions

If the Biden administration gets its way, the latest economic sanction against Russia for invading Ukraine will be a disruption of its cryptocurrency sector, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

While crypto has become popular worldwide, the currencies comprise a bigger stake of Russia’s financial system than most countries because of suspicions of its banking network, according to the report.

FSB Calls for Global Regulations of Borderless Crypto Sales

More than a dozen years after bitcoin was introduced, securities regulators are discussing global standards for cryptocurrency, The Financial Times reported.

Given the explosive growth of the sector, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Switzerland-based international body that monitors global financial system, warned stability risks could escalate rapidly.

Etsy Wipes Out $4M in Ukrainian Seller Balances

Crafts-focused marketplace Etsy on Monday (Feb. 28) canceled all balances owed by sellers in Ukraine on its platform, totaling almost $4 million in listing fees, transaction fees and more, as the country is in under attack by Russia.

It’s the latest step by big business to respond to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, which has also included Airbnb offering free short-term housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Crypto’s Impact on Russian Sanctions Could Lead to Tougher Regulation

Whether Russia can use cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions is the hottest question in the virtual assets industry. With the SWIFT messaging system closed to major Russian banks, sanctioned companies and oligarchs, the traditional banking system is choking off Russia’s economy and strongest allies.

Could bitcoin come to their rescue? One answer is yes. In many ways, that was the basic purpose of bitcoin and most of the other cryptocurrencies that followed it.

UK Moves to Curb ‘Dirty Money’ for War in Ukraine

In the latest rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government plans to pass legislation designed to curb laundering of “dirty money” that has been used to support the war, The Financial Times reported.

In a post on LinkedIn, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the United Kingdom stands with the people of Ukraine, its democracy, and will continue to support them economically, politically and defensively.

FinTech-Friendly Lithuania Raises Alarms After Russia´s Invasion of Ukraine

The home country of FinTech companies such as Revolut or the account-to-account payment platform Kevin recently declared a state of emergency in response to Russia´s assault of Ukraine.

Lithuania has become a success story. It has created an ecosystem to attract FinTechs. With less than 3 million people, Lithuania had 230 FinTechs in 2020, up from 55 FinTechs in 2014. In contrast, Germany had 1,000 FinTech startups in 2021 in a country of 83 million people, according to Statista.

Billie Aims to Become the ‘Klarna’ of B2B Buy Now, Pay Later Market

Estimated to account for about $100 billion in transactions annually, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market has exploded in recent years. It has fueled and accelerated the transformation in consumer payments through point-of-sale financing.

While the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector has experienced tremendous growth over the years, the same cannot be said for business-to-business (B2B) payments, according to Matthias Knecht, co-founder and co-CEO of Berlin-based BNPL firm Billie.

UK Car Dealerships Leverage Open Banking To Reduce Payment Processing Fees

Payment processing fees are an unavoidable pain point for many businesses, both large and small, but for merchants in the automotive sector, the impact on their bottom lines can be particularly severe.

The London firm  Cocoon operates a software platform that facilitates payments for merchants in the automotive market, gaining wide visibility over the significant payment processing fees car dealerships are subjected to.