Julius Baer Expands Crypto Wealth Management Services in Dubai

Nuvei Teams Up with Mastercard on APAC Instant PayoutsNuvei, a crypto-friendly Canadian fintech firm, has partnered with global payments giant Mastercard, unveiling plans to bring nearly instantaneous payout capabilities to online trading platforms and investors, with a strong focus on the Asia Pacific region.Photo by Allison Saeng on UnsplashHarnessing Mastercard SendThis collaboration, announced by Mastercard on Monday, harnesses the power of Mastercard’s Send service. Mastercard Send is a payment solution that enables secure, real time fund transfers for organizations around the world, in over one hundred markets.The service has already been made available to Nuvei’s clientele in Singapore, with Nuvei claiming that it will speed up payments for the benefit of the merchants and consumers that make up its user base.An increase in the rate of digitalization, spurred by growth in online trading and remote working on an international basis is fueling a need for ever more seamless and rapid payment solutions. Through the use of Mastercard Send, traders are able to cash out of their investments immediately and efficiently.Commencing later this year, Nuvei will extend the service to customers in Australia and Hong Kong.“Trading platforms rely on fast, secure deposits and payouts to optimize user experience. Partnering with Mastercard Send enables us to offer our partners another trusted, instant payout method that will win new traders and generate revenue growth,” said Philip Fayer, the Chair and CEO of Nuvei.This sentiment was echoed by Sandeep Malhotra, Executive Vice President of Products & Innovation, Asia Pacific at Mastercard. “Given the boom in online trading in the Asia Pacific region, Mastercard Send presents Nuvei’s customers with the opportunity to improve the payments experience for their users while standing to grow their own revenues — a win-win,” he said.Crypto service offeringNuvei claims to have an active customer base spread across two hundred countries, offering more than six hundred alternative payment methods. As part of its array of services, the fintech firm has also been active relative to crypto.In a move that served to integrate crypto alongside its conventional payments products, Nuvei purchased crypto payments firm Simplex in 2021. Simplex was founded in 2014, offering fiat to crypto conversions involving over fifty cryptocurrencies, while integrating with global exchanges such as Binance and OKX.Later that year, the Canadian fintech company collaborated with Mastercard rival Visa, in offering crypto friendly debit cards. Late last year, it signed a deal with Danish blockchain-based payment platform e-Money. This arrangement saw Nuvei enable a fiat on-ramp for e-Money’s euro stablecoin (EEUR).Nuvei recently released its 2023 second quarter results, recording a 68% increase in total trade volume at $50 billion compared to $20 billion in the same period last year. Earlier this year, the firm announced that it was acquiring Atlanta-based integrated payments provider Paya as part of a deal believed to be worth some $1.3 billion.

FTX Japan Moves Towards FTX 2.0 via Hiring DriveFTX Japan, a subsidiary company of the collapsed FTX crypto exchange business, is embarking on a hiring spree to bolster its team and drive the FTX 2.0 initiative forward.News of the new recruitment initiative broke via a tweet from Seth Melamed, FTX Japan’s Chief Operations Officer. Melamed wrote: “FTX Japan is hiring! Our team is exploring the leading edge of technology including AI to develop new crypto tools, non-custodial CEX trading, Proof of Solvency, and leading crypto derivatives products.”On the firm’s careers page on its website, FTX Japan details that it is looking to hire a Flutter Engineer to work on mobile applications, customer service staff and a marketer. Additionally, the company is looking to offer an internship.Photo by Tianshu Liu on UnsplashAdvancing FTX 2.0This latest recruitment initiative comes on the back of news that broke last week that the FTX Debtor led by bankruptcy specialist John J. Ray III, had decided not to follow through with the sale of FTX Japan. Most FTX creditors have been calling for the relaunch of the exchange business, dubbed FTX 2.0. Monthly expense filings have shown that various advisors to the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC) and professionals working for FTX itself have been spending quite a lot of time working on that possibility.Such a relaunch has as yet not been officially confirmed. However, it is looking increasingly likely that there’s a strong commitment to advancing the FTX 2.0 initiative, and with that, FTX Japan is actively seeking new talent.A restructuring plan is expected to be filed before the end of the month. This will likely move the notion of FTX 2.0 from a matter of speculation to something more tangible. That said, even if it forms part of that plan filing, due to the cumbersome workings of the US bankruptcy process, it’s unlikely that the overall international business will be relaunched until 2024. FTX Japan is solvent and so, it could be back in operation well before then.FTT token speculationEarlier this week, a beta version of a claims filing system was put online, although not officially launched. News of this development led to speculative interest in FTX’s exchange token, FTT.On Tuesday, the token increased in value by 26% within a matter of hours. Pricing has since cooled, and at the time of publication, the token had a unit price of $1.52. Crypto certainly garners speculative interest as this price action demonstrates. It remains to be seen until further clarification is provided by the FTX Debtor and the bankruptcy court in Delaware in the United States as to whether FTT will even feature in the future plans of a restructured business.FTX was very much the standout black swan event within crypto in 2022. However, it’s clear that its story remains unfinished. In the months ahead, we’re likely to hear more about the future plans for the business, in what could become quite the redemption story.

dtcpay forges strategic partnership in launch of crypto payments systemSingapore-based dtcpay has announced a collaboration with Singaporean data-sharing platform PlatON and Chinese payments firm Allinpay International, marking the imminent launch of a digital currency payments system.Photo by Jonathan Borba on PexelsPOS terminal crypto paymentsThe trio is set to unveil a cutting-edge digital currency payment system, leveraging smart point of sale (POS) terminals supporting a range of currencies, including USDT, ETH and BTC. The primary goal of this partnership is to broaden the reach of digital payments, providing global users with faster, more cost-efficient and secure payment experiences.The overarching objective of the collaboration is to empower partners and merchants to seamlessly accept payments in both fiat and digital currencies. By doing so, dtcpay, PlatON and Allinpay International aim to enhance operational efficiency, broaden business outreach and capture the attention of a younger customer base.Officials emphasize that this venture aligns with dtcpay’s commitment to delivering secure and efficient digital payment solutions while diversifying its service offering. A spokesperson for Tonghua International, Allinpay International’s parent company, stated:“We are very pleased to cooperate with industry leaders, PlatON and dtcpay. This cooperation will not only promote the development of digital currency payments but also help merchants better adapt to the modern payment trend and meet the needs of young consumers.”A collaboration that relies on core competenciesThe collaborative effort capitalizes on the strengths of each entity. dtcpay facilitates swift and secure digital and fiat currency exchange. PlatON contributes advanced privacy computing technology for robust technical infrastructure, while Allinpay International provides smart terminals and online aggregate payment interfaces, eliminating entry barriers relative to Web3 payments.In addition to driving advancements in digital currency payments, Allinpay International seeks to support merchants in adapting to modern payment trends and meeting the preferences of younger customers. dtcpay’s comprehensive suite of services includes multi-currency swaps, online checkouts and in-store POS solutions, positioning the company as a one-stop solution for merchants embracing the future of payments.Founded in 2019 in Singapore, dtcpay operates as a regulated payment service provider licensed by the Major Payment Institution (MPI) under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).The company struck up a similar partnership in September, bringing crypto payments to the POS system of Jeripay, which has a network of 8,000 terminals in Singapore. In an interview earlier this year, the firm’s CEO Kanny Lee outlined that dtcpay had targeted Hong Kong and Dubai as markets in which the company plans to expand.Sumsub partnershipThe collaboration’s momentum was further solidified at the end of September 2023 when dtcpay partnered with Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform. This partnership aimed to enhance the security and reliability of digital currency payments in target markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, the UK and Europe. Sumsub integrated its electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) service into dtcpay’s wallet platform, streamlining the onboarding process for customers engaging in transactions through the platform.PlatON is an open financial infrastructure that features verifiable and privacy-preserving computation. It will endeavor to bring financial-level system stability and compliant digital asset management to the collaboration. Allinpay is a global financial payment company focused on providing diverse payment solutions while enhancing digital financial technology services globally.