EMEA Daily: Euro, Dollar Clearing Agencies Prep for Real-Time Transatlantic Payments

Today in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) news, The Clearing House (TCH), EBA CLEARING, and SWIFT are on track to begin piloting their transatlantic instant payment system known as Immediate Cross-Border Payments (IXB). Meanwhile, the day after the European Commission published a draft of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law, eCommerce fashion retailer Farfetch has started accepting six cryptocurrencies.

Euro, Dollar Clearing Agencies Prep for Real-Time Transatlantic Payments

TCH, EBA CLEARING and SWIFT are on track to begin piloting their transatlantic instant payment system. First announced in April, the IXB pilot will leverage the existing real-time payment systems RTP in the United States run by TCH and RT1 in Europe run by EBA CLEARING. The new cross-border scheme will begin processing the first live transactions in the euro-dollar currency corridor in the coming months.

Final Draft of EU Crypto Law Caps Stablecoin Transactions

The final text of the MiCA law creating a broad legal framework for digital assets including cryptocurrencies and stablecoins has been passed by the European Commission. It will begin its passage through the European Parliament next week. The document features several key provisions, notably capping the use of non-euro-denominated stablecoins — a provision that appeared to have been dropped in draft late last month. It has been revived in this text.

Farfetch Adds 6 Cryptos to Payment Options in 37 Countries

Six cryptocurrencies are now being accepted as payment options for customers in 37 countries using the luxury fashion industry platform Farfetch. Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin (USDC), and others will be accepted as payment methods on Farfecth by customers with an existing cryptocurrency wallet. Payment is made via a QR code displayed on the screen at checkout. TripleA is Farfetch’s partner for processing cryptocurrency payments.

Balance, Mirakl Partner to Add B2B Payments to Marketplaces

B2B payments platform Balance and enterprise marketplace Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform Mirakl have partnered to make it easier to conduct business on online marketplaces. Mirakl will use Balance solutions to enable seamless payments for B2B customers using its platform. Mirakl’s customers will have access to net terms, payment flexibility, fully reconciled instant vendor payouts and other payment solutions, as well as fully automated accounts receivable (AR), risk-free financing and application programming interface (API)-integrated solutions.

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