Bitcoin Daily: UK Researching CBDC Use Cases; Lebanon To Introduce CBDC In 2021; SEC Member Pushes For Cryptocurrency Regulation; ShapeShift Delists Three Privacy Coins

By  |  November 10, 2020
 | 
Bitcoin Daily: ZenGo To Create Crypto Payment Card

The U.K. Treasury Department is researching use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), as well as drafting regulatory proposals for private stablecoins, U.K. Treasurer Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in a press release.

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    The announcement did not specify the regulations, but it did note that the approach will ensure that the CBDC meets “the same minimum standards we expect of other payment methods.”

    “New technologies such as stablecoins — privately-issued digital currencies — could transform the way people store and exchange their money, making payments cheaper and faster,” the release stated.

    Sunak announced the measures while outlining other proposals for the U.K.’s green finance and sustainable finance initiatives.

    Meanwhile, Lebanon Governor Riad Salameh announced that the country will be introducing a CBDC next year, to “restore confidence,” reported Bloomberg.

    In other news, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) member Hester Peirce expressed hope that securities regulations concerning cryptocurrencies will speed up to match the speed of financial technology innovation.

    “Regulators are slow, and there’s a reason we’re slow,” she said, speaking at CoinDesk’s Bitcoin for Advisors event. “We need to have [a] process in place so that we make sure when we’re changing rules people have notice that we’re thinking about changing a rule and they can comment.”

    Peirce defended the slow pace for many securities regulations, but not when they limit new technologies from being used. Areas like those involving digital asset service providers are complex, as multiple regulatory authorities are involved in oversight.

    “There are circumstances where we have a framework at the SEC that was built in the 1930s and 1940s and added on over time,” she said. “Certainly, now that we’re seeing what’s happening in the crypto space, for example, there are areas we are going to have to make adjustments, and I do think we should move faster … I’m impatient there.”

    On another note, Colorado-based cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift has delisted privacy coin Zcash (ZEC), after delisting monero (XMR) and dash (DASH) on Friday (Nov. 6), CoinDesk reported, citing regulatory concerns.

    The exchange has increased regulatory rules over the past two years, requiring customers to reveal their identities in 2018. Zcash and dash are privacy optional.


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    EazyPay Deploys Mastercard Receivables Manager for B2B Transactions in Bahrain

    By  |  August 1, 2025
     | 
    Mastercard

    Eazy Financial Services, which does business as EazyPay, has become the first acquirer in Bahrain to adopt Mastercard Receivables Manager.

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      The company will use this solution to help merchants in Bahrain automate their B2B virtual card receivables, according to a Tuesday (July 29) press release.

      “EazyPay supports businesses with digital payment solutions designed to simplify operations and elevate the customer experience,” Nayef Tawfeeq Al Alawi, founder, managing director and CEO at EazyPay, said in the release. “As virtual cards gain traction for supplier payments, Mastercard Receivables Manager empowers us to strengthen the B2B payments ecosystem across key industries and large market segments.”

      Mastercard Receivables Manager eliminates manual processes by streamlining the capture of virtual card payments, processing them straight through and delivering remittance data directly to merchants’ accounting systems, according to the release.

      For merchants, this adds up to better efficiency, working capital and cash flow, per the release.

      “At Mastercard, we are committed to delivering value-added services that help acquirers and their merchants operate more efficiently,” Saud Swar, country manager, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and other Levant at Mastercard, said in the release. “Receivables Manager addresses a critical challenge for suppliers managing high volumes of virtual card payments by automating processing, reducing time and boosting efficiency.”

      Mastercard announced Tuesday that it launched “widescale global availability” of Mastercard Receivables Manager, two years after the introduction of the automated solution for virtual cards.

      Since the product’s debut in July 2023, Mastercard Receivables Manager has been enhanced with new capabilities such as multi-language and secure card-on-file to support digital commerce around the world.

      The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Virtual Mobility: How Mobile Virtual Cards Elevate B2B Payments” found that virtual cards can deliver security, efficiency and return on investment to B2B payments.

      In an earlier collaboration between Mastercard and EazyPay, the companies teamed up in January 2023 to enhance EazyPay’s eCommerce offerings with Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS), which is now known as Mastercard Gateway.

      Before that, in June 2021, the two companies worked together to equip small– to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and micromerchants with online payment technologies and access to financial services.

      For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.

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