The Clearing House, the US-based payments network provider, processed a record 76.4 million transactions in Q1 2024, valued at around $42billion, and has revealed a range of other newly set records. 

The Clearing House also revealed that March became a record month for its real-time payments (RTP) network, boasting over 26 million transactions across the month. 1 March 2024 also became the single day with the most transactions at over 1.25 million.

The organic volume growth comes from customers of financial institutions who use the network to move money and make payments instantly.

Margaret Weichert, chief product officer at The Clearing House, explained: “RTP transaction volume is driven by customers who want instant, convenient ways to pay bills, move money between accounts, get paid quickly, send money to friends and family, or solve cash flow concerns.

“Banks and credit unions yet to join the RTP network should consider the valuable benefits they can offer their customers and members either directly or indirectly through service providers since, once on the network, they will have access to record transaction flows on day one.”

In March, transactions between accounts (account to account/ A2A) or from digital wallets to checking or savings accounts increased by more than one million payments as consumers chose to move money instantly between accounts for a variety of reasons, including opening new accounts, covering unexpected expenses, or paying bills.

RTP network enjoys sustained growth

Small businesses also use instant payments to get immediate access to funds through merchant settlement providers utilising the RTP network. Instant payments for small businesses help normalise cash flow and give business owners access to funds exactly when they need it to pay employees, purchase additional inventory, or pay for unexpected expenses.

There were 140,000 more transactions in March than in February on the RTP network related to merchant settlement activity for small businesses, demonstrating how businesses and consumers value instant access to their money.

The surge in instant payment transactions continues an impressive quarterly trend for the RTP network. Both transaction volume and value on the network are growing at an average of 15 per cent per quarter, with 19 out of the last 20 quarters showing growth, dating back to 2019.

La Banque Postale has joined forces with JCB, the Japan-based card issuer and acquirer and global payments brand, in an effort to facilitate payment transactions for JCB cardmembers throughout France.

By partnering with La Banque Postale, JCB can now offer a range of benefits to its card members. La Banque Postale has a strong physical presence across France, with 17,000 points of contact including 7,000 post offices, and an extensive network of 6,000 ATMs.

This long-term collaboration will be rolled out in phases, with the first of these seeing La Banque Postale’s ATMs made available to JCB cardmembers. In the second phase, JCB cardmembers will be able to pay for their purchases in France directly on the terminals of retailers affiliated with La Banque Postale. The final phase will also see additional acceptance at online locations as part of JCB’s growing global merchant network.

Jean-Marc Vedrune, director of electronic payment at La Banque Postale, explained: “This strategic partnership with JCB, represents a significant step forward in facilitating payment transactions especially for international tourists and professionals travelling to France.

“With a history of involvement in various international payment initiatives, both in terms of transfers and the acceptance of foreign cards in our network, it shows our joint commitment to meeting the needs of our customers, with JCB being the ideal partner for us to provide seamless and secure transactions.”

Bolstering international payments

Ray Shinzawa, managing director of JCB International (Europe) Ltd, also commented: “With more and more JCB cardmembers planning their next vacation in Europe, France remains a popular destination for travellers looking to make the most of their time abroad – whether for leisure or business purposes. This is why we’re excited to be partnering with La Banque Postale, one of France’s leading financial organisations, to offer our over 156 million cardmembers even more ways to spend easily and conveniently throughout France.”

As a member of the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and committed to international payments, La Banque Postale remains a major player on the payments front.

This partnership with JCB is in line with the growing need for foreign tourists to be able to use their credit cards to make payments in France.

For JCB, ensuring that cardmembers have easy and expanded access to their preferred payment choice is a high priority. It explained that France is a key market, and the collaboration with La Banque Postale is an important pillar in JCB’s strategy to increase its acceptance across Europe.

Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain sold one of its sites to repay debt amid its declining BTC production last month.

Argo sells site to repay debt

In a Mar. 5 statement, the miner explained that it sold its Mirabel Facility in Quebec for $6.1 million.

Following the sale, Argo allocated $4 million to settle debts owed to Galaxy Digital, effectively reducing its debt to approximately $14 million as of Feb. 29. This marks a significant 60% decrease from the initial Galaxy debt of $35 million.

Argo clarified that the remainder of the proceeds from the sale were utilized to settle the outstanding mortgage of the Mirabel Facility. Additionally, the company plans to relocate miners from the Mirabel site to its Baie Comeau facility in Quebec.

The Mirabel facility, boasting a power capacity of five megawatts (MW), will see its miners shifted to the Baie Comeau site, while older miners, representing 140 PH/s, will be liquidated.

Thomas Chippas, Argo CEO, said:

“We are able to exit the Mirabel Facility with a high multiple on its power capacity, and we also realize a premium on this real estate asset while maintaining a strong hashrate capacity of 2.7 EH/s.”

In 2021, Argo borrowed to expand its mining endeavors without selling its BTC holdings. However, due to the market downturn in 2022, Argo sold its Texas Helios mining site to Galaxy Digital for $65 million and secured a new $35 million from Galaxy to clear other outstanding loans.

BTC production declines

The miner revealed that its BTC production fell 21% in February to 92 BTC or 3.2 BTC per day due to a maintenance-related outage at the third-party-owned Cottonwood substation.

Besides that, Argo also explained that its production was negatively impacted by the BTC network’s rising mining difficulty. Last month, CryptoSlate reported that BTC’s mining difficulty hit a record high of more than 81 trillion.

As a result of these issues, the firm’s mining revenue for the month decreased by 15% month-on-month to $4.5 million. Argo holds around 14 BTC as of Feb. 29.

Although many have labelled 2023 as a down year for fintech, not all fintechs experienced this – case and point: Bitget. The cryptocurrency exchange and web3 company has shared that its spot trading volume surged to $81.6billion, marking a 94 per cent increase despite market turbulence.

In South Asia, the firm witnessed a 540 per cent increase in spot trading volume in Q4 2023, marking a significant rise from previous figures. In terms of total trading value, Bitget exceeded $3.14trillion in 2023. Commenting on the growth, Vugar Usi Zade, COO at Bitget said: “The incredible jump in our spot trading volumes in South Asia is the result of building trust, perseverance, and a strong relationship with our users in the region.

“At Bitget, we’re enhancing security compliance as we adhere to global and regional financial regulations while providing a robust web3 ecosystem and, investing in high potential blockchain startups.”

Bitget’s user base flourished, reaching 20 million, supported by a team of 1,500 staff members. The platform’s listing strategy resulted in the addition of 355 new listings, marking an impressive 46 per cent year-on-year increase. This has elevated Bitget’s offerings to encompass over 600 tokens and 700 spot trading pairs, underlining our commitment to asset diversity.

Bitget native token success

The platform’s performance also sparked increased demand for BGB, Bitget’s native token. It achieved an all-time high price of $1.2 USD in February 2024, representing an increase of over 300 per cent from its value at the beginning of 2023. The surge in BGB holders, reaching nearly 217,000 by the end of 2023, and a substantial rise in its trading volume can be attributed to the introduction of new features. Not to mention developments in launchpad and launchpool, compliance achievements, and its continuous efforts to enhance Bitget’s trading services and ecosystem.

In 2023 Bitget announced the $100million WEB3 Fund focused on accelerating Asian blockchain startup ecosystem. Bitget hosted over 12 meetups and events in South Asia alone, including Build For Web3 presenting funding-related opportunities to Indian startups under the $10million BlockchainForYouth Fund. With these initiatives, Bitget has built strong trust and credibility in the South Asia market, and consequently, garnered the support of over a million user

In September 2022, Zopa Bank and ClearScore created the 2025 Fintech Pledge to drive 10 million UK consumer actions that build up their financial resilience by 2025. Twenty-four months ahead of schedule, the Pledge has already hit its 10 millionth action.

The Pledge has achieved this by incentivising cross-industry collaboration and by connecting consumers to financial technology platforms. Platforms that make savings work harder, improve credit scores, consolidate debt, and lower utility bills and household outgoing costs.

Building on the coalition’s success, founding members have decided to extend the Pledge’s goal from 10 to 25 million actions. This has been done to better deal with the persisting, above-target inflation. At an average of one action per person, its new goal represents approximately 50 per cent of the UK adult population taking a positive step towards improved financial resilience.

The Pledge has also introduced a new ‘Benefits’ pillar to help consumers make the most of the £18.7billion income-related benefits and social tariffs that go unclaimed each year.

Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa Bank said: “We’re thrilled with the progress of the 2025 Fintech Pledge to date, leading us to stretch our actions target so soon. Our success further emphasises that fintech businesses can achieve so much more when working together. Especially as they look to understand and champion the real needs of UK consumers and to help them at such a critical time.”

Justin Basini, CEO and co-founder of The ClearScore Group said: “It’s been incredibly rewarding to see the progress we’ve made with the 2025 Fintech Pledge, particularly with the way we’ve been able to support The Money Charity alongside our actions target. Our key focus going into 2024 is all about driving further collaboration and identifying these new Pledge leaders that will drive even more impact until the end of the campaign in 2025”.

Important achievements to date

• The coalition has amassed 50 members with a combined customer base of over 25 million.
• It has achieved more than 10 million actions that improve financial resilience
• Some 30% of its members are based outside London
• The Money Charity is delivering a multi-year programme of workshops that markedly increases the financial capability of those who need it most, from 45 to 82 per cent after completing the training
• The content hub Master My Money and the Pledge’s TikTok campaign (@mastermymoney)
  are helping millions of consumers better understand and manage their money
• A team of 90 Zopa Bank and Google Cloud engineers recently joined forces to build solutions that improve consumers’ financial resilience using Generative AI and Large Language Models
• The Pledge earned its first industry accolade, winning Best Partnership and Collaboration Initiative 2023 at the Pay 360 Award
• ClearScore and fellow Pledge member StepChange partnered to integrate the debt charity’s referral tool directly into ClearScore’s mobile app. In the partnership’s first year, over 8,000 ClearScore users engaged with the tool. Forty-five per cent were recommended debt advice to help them find solutions to their debt problem.

The UK’s Current Account Switch Service (CASS) is celebrating surpassing 10 million total switches since its inception, following its busiest-ever quarter.

The Current Account Switch Service is a free UK service helping consumers to switch a current account from one participating bank or building society to another, in seven working days. It’s designed to be simple and stress-free, and the full switch option is backed by the ‘Current Account Switch Guarantee‘.

Between October and December 2023, CASS facilitated 433,701 switches, the highest quarterly total recorded since it was launched in 2013. These figures take the total number of switches since September 2013 to 10.2 million.

The timing of the uptake in switching suggests that consumers and businesses are analysing their finances, as well as the services available to them more closely, as the cost of living, inflation and interest rates continue to rise.

From July to September 2023, Natwest enjoyed the highest net switching gains, an uptake of 59,158 new customers – according to end-user data. This was followed by HSBC (25,037), TSB (15,754) and RBS (6,382).

Jenny Ross, money editor at consumer champion Which?, reacted to the news: “The latest CASS figures show the power of offering financial incentives for switching, but it’s important to take into account other factors like complaints handling, mobile and online banking service, customer service and local branch closures.

“Some of the banks with the highest number of switches were near the bottom of Which?’s current account customer satisfaction rankings, meaning some customers could end up regretting their decision long after the switching cash has been spent if they overlook crucial service quality indicators.”

Switching success

Online or mobile banking (44 per cent) emerged as the top reason people preferred their new account. Following this, interest earned (34 per cent) was the second most important reason, with customer service (33 per cent) and location of branches (22 per cent) coming in at third and fourth respectively.

John Dentry, product owner at Pay.UK, the owner and operator of the Current Account Switch Service, also added: “Once again, the run-up to the Christmas period proves itself to be an important time for switching current accounts. It’s encouraging to see more consumers and businesses utilising the service to take advantage of a healthy banking market and ultimately find a current account that best serves their needs.

“As interest rates appear to be stabilising, it will be interesting to see how the market develops. Despite higher interest rates, cash incentives and other financial benefits, online and mobile banking still continue to be the most significant reason that consumers prefer their new current account.

“Following another year of high switching volumes, those considering a new current account should be comforted by the fact that the service has facilitated over 10 million switches through a quick, free and easy process.”

During Q4 2023, 77 per cent of people were aware of the service, and 87 per cent were satisfied with their switch. Monthly switching volumes peaked in November with 162,637 personal, small business and charity accounts being switched, the highest month currently on record. October and December saw 141,924 and 129,140 total switches respectively.

Bitcoin miner Hut 8 has secured an additional $15 million from a subsidiary of the United States-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, according to a Jan. 12 statement.

The miner revealed that the new deal represents an amendment and restatement of its previous $50 million credit facility with the cryptocurrency trading platform, bringing its cumulative credit portfolio to $65 million.

Last year, Hut 8 procured a $50 million credit facility from Coinbase, with an added provision for an optional $15 million term loan.

The BTC miner plans to use the newly acquired $15 million loan for general corporate purposes, mirroring the allocation of funds from the preceding financial arrangement. The new loans also carry the same interest rate as the previous ones.

“All amounts borrowed under the Credit Facility will bear interest at a rate equal to (a) the greater of (i) the federal funds rate on the date of the applicable borrowing, and (ii) 3.25%, plus (b) 5.0%.”

Hut 8 further explained that the loan is secured by its interest in an unspecified amount of Bitcoin held in Coinbase Custody, adding that the loan will mature 364 days after the date of the first borrowing.

New natural gas power plants

Meanwhile, Hut 8 recently obtained court approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to acquire four natural gas power plants in Ontario.

The approval empowers Hut 8’s newly established Canadian subsidiary, BidCo, to execute the acquisition of a 40 MW facility in Kapuskasing, a 110 MW facility in Kingston, a 120 MW facility in Iroquois Falls, and a 40 MW facility coupled with a Bitcoin mining operation in North Bay.

Along with the approval, a novel funding arrangement is set to materialize between Macquarie and BidCo. Macquarie partnered with the miner to submit the bid for the North Bay Bitcoin mine.

This financial agreement will manifest as an operating lease facility, with Macquarie securing a 20% stake and Hut 8 retaining an 80% equity interest. The anticipated closure of this transaction is slated for Feb. 15, contingent upon the resolution of all pending litigation claims.

‘Pay by Bank’ is catching on across the globe. The payment method which enables consumers to pay merchants directly through their own bank account, without the need for a debit or credit card, continues to enjoy increasing levels of success. Continuing its growth, ‘Pay with Bank’ transfer, powered by American Express, has partnered with one of the UK’s largest energy suppliers, OVO.

By partnering with American Express, up to four million OVO customers can now pay their energy bills seamlessly from their bank accounts without having to enter card details online or complete additional authentication checks.

Pay with Bank transfer is initially available to all OVO pay monthly customers and those purchasing renewable products, who currently make debit payments by card, cheque or faster payments.

Using Pay with Bank transfer to make online payments reduces errors, as the customer doesn’t have to enter any card details or reference numbers. Customers are redirected to their bank’s webpage or app to authenticate the payment as they normally would for online banking.

The payment itself is protected by bank-level security and is made in just a few clicks. Customers also get visibility of their bank account before payment is processed, giving them greater control.

Helping consumers manage bill payments

Holly Coventry, vice president of international open banking payments at American Express, said: “We’re delighted to announce OVO as our first partner in the utilities sector. Pay with Bank transfer lends itself very well to bill payments as it’s seamless, secure and easy to use.

“We know that missed and unallocated payments cause problems for both customers and utilities providers, and we hope that this partnership helps to address these pain points, giving customers greater visibility and control when paying their utility bills.”

Mark Robson, VP of commercial development at OVO, also added: “We want to ensure that our customers have access to a range of payment options. We’re delighted to be working with American Express to bring these benefits to our growing customer base.”

In addition to OVO, Pay with Bank transfer is continuing its growth momentum by expanding into new sectors and agreeing new merchant partnerships. Recent signings also include leading bus operator Go Ahead, and football clubs Fulham FC, Watford FC and Stoke City FC, where supporters can use the product for online purchases from the clubs’ shops.

CleanSpark Inc., the third largest public Bitcoin mining company by hashrate, has agreed to purchase up to 160,000 Bitmain S21 miners, according to a Jan. 8 announcement.

The move could propel its hashrate to an impressive 50 EH/s over the coming year, marking a substantial leap from its current 10 EH/s.

Bitcoin hit a record high in mining difficulty to kick off the year and, with the halving only months away, miners are starting to ramp up their operational expansion efforts.

Fixed-rate deal

The deal involves an initial investment of $193.2 million for 60,000 units and a strategic option to acquire an additional 100,000 miners at a fixed rate of $18/TH/s over the next 12 months. The deal is a hedge against fluctuating prices once the halving kicks in.

Historically, Bitcoin’s price has shown a tendency to surge following its halving events — a feature built into its protocol to reduce the reward for mining new blocks by half, thereby slowing down the creation of new Bitcoins. CleanSpark’s investment is a strategic move to capitalize on this potential upswing.

CleanSpark CEO Zach Bradford said the purchase was a strategic decision to prepare for the next halving and ensure long-term, sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive industry. He added that the move highlights the company’s continued belief in Bitcoin. Bradford said:

“This is more than growth; it’s about ensuring operational efficiency and embracing market opportunities.”

CleanSpark’s operations, primarily powered by low-carbon power sources, reflect a growing trend in the cryptocurrency mining industry, where there is an increasing focus on sustainability and energy efficiency.

The Halving effect

Miners have been factoring in the halving into their projections for years, acknowledging its inevitability and preparing accordingly. The focus is on enhancing operational efficiency and securing economic incentives to continue supporting the Bitcoin blockchain.

This preparation is critical, especially for smaller miners who might struggle with profitability due to higher operational costs and less efficient equipment. The halving’s impact depends largely on Bitcoin’s market price. A higher Bitcoin price can offset the reduced block rewards, maintaining or even increasing overall mining profitability.

However, if the price remains low, the reduced rewards might push some miners, especially those with higher electricity costs and less efficient rigs, out of the network. This potential fluctuation in the number of active miners could lead to a temporary dip in the network’s mining difficulty, making mining slightly easier and more profitable for those who remain active.

There’s also a growing interest in alternative revenue streams, such as Bitcoin Ordinals, which have driven transaction fees within the Bitcoin network to new heights. These Ordinals, essentially metadata attached to each satoshi, create unique assets on the Bitcoin blockchain and have opened up new income opportunities for miners.

Crypto exchange Kucoin has agreed to pay $22 million to the State of New York and to bar residents of the state from using its platform, according to a stipulation and consent order filed in the New York Supreme Court on December 12.

According to the order, Kucoin admits that it “operates a cryptocurrency trading platform on which users, including users in New York state, can purchase or sell cryptocurrencies which are securities or commodities as defined under the laws of New York state and that Kucoin is not registered as a securities or commodities broker-dealer.” In addition, Kucoin “admits that it represented itself as an ‘exchange’ and was not registered as an exchange pursuant to the laws of New York State.”

Kucoin has agreed to close the accounts of all New York resident users within 120 days and to prevent New York residents from obtaining accounts in the future. In addition, it will restrict access to withdrawals only within 30 days, leaving the remaining 90 days available for users to withdraw funds.

The exchange was once known for its pro-privacy policy that did not require users to comply with Know Your Customer or Anti Money Laundering (KYC/AML) regulations. The exchange only accepted cryptocurrency for deposits and withdrawals and therefore did not need banking partners who might require such compliance. It restricted withdrawals from non-verified accounts to less than 5 BTC (approximately $206,000 at the current price).

For users who made withdrawals smaller than this, the exchange offered the ability to buy or sell crypto without needing to divulge personal information. This theoretically allowed users from countries where Kucoin did not have a license to gain accounts at the exchange, since the exchange had no way of knowing who these users were.

On June 28, Kucoin ended this long-standing policy by announcing mandatory KYC for all users. It blocked all deposits from non-verified accounts and halted all services for these users after July 15, although withdrawals remained open. The December 12 settlement confirmed that some of these users were New York residents.

Related: Privacy is not the core feature of Bitcoin — KuCoin CEO

Kucoin does over $1 billion in volume per day and has over 2 million weekly visits to its website, according to data from Coingecko.