California Regulator investigates crypto lenders

Today in TechREG, the British Parliament sent letters to Visa and Mastercard demanding an explanation for the increase in cross-border charges after the UK left the EU. The inquiry came after the Payment Authority in the UK signaled that Visa and Mastercard’s increases may indicate that the market is not working well. In California, a financial regulator is investigating several cryptocurrencies to suspend withdrawals and transfers.

Amazon pitcher agreement to remedy EU antitrust fees while Watchdog seeks feedback

Hoping to settle two antitrust inquiries in the EU (EU), Amazon offered concessions on Thursday (July 14), including fair treatment of third-party sellers and a ban on the use of non-public data to compete with sellers on their e-commerce site.

The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, is now inviting comments on the commitments offered by Amazon to assess whether the competition issues have been adequately addressed, according to a press release.

The British Parliament urges Visa, Mastercard to explain sweeping fees

On Wednesday (July 13), the Finance Committee of the British Parliament sent a letter to Visa and Mastercard asking them to explain their increases in cross-border brokerage fees after the UK left the EU. The companies have until 27 July to respond.

This inquiry comes after the payment system regulator in a letter from 4 July to British legislators explained the two market assessments it plans to carry out on processing fees and cross-border brokerage fees. In this correspondence, the regulator told lawmakers who are concerned that Visa and Mastercard’s ability to raise prices is an “indication that the market (s) or aspects of the market (s) are not working well.”

California Regulator investigates crypto lenders over withdrawal suspensions

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), which oversees the operation of state-licensed financial institutions, will investigate whether crypto-asset companies that have suspended withdrawals and transfers have broken the law.

The survey focuses on “several companies” that offer interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts, together with service providers that “may not have adequately disclosed risks that customers face when depositing cryptocurrencies on [lenders’] platforms. “

NFTs are now a legal way to serve documents in British courts

The High Court of England and Wales recently issued a ruling allowing the court to serve court documents via the transmission of a non-fungible token (NFT) on the blockchain in the case of D’Aloia v. Binance Holdings and others.

This is the first time in the UK, and others in the world, that a court has been allowed to “serve” documents in a blockchain. A US court also authorized a service via an NFT in June.

NEW regulator and legislators join CFPB in push to ban overdraft fees

Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has made it a priority for the agency to fight “junk fees”, overdraft fees, insufficient fund fees (NSF) and credit card delay fees.

On Tuesday, July 12, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) showed Chopra that they were listening. Adrienne Harris, Superintendent of DFS, announced that the regulator prohibits unfair and misleading overdrafts and NFS practices.

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