Arf Blog

What is DeFi? Short for “decentralized finance,” DeFi is a broad term that refers both to a new, digital-native financial system and to the range of digital applications and protocols that support it. As its name suggests, DeFi does not entail a centralized system akin to the traditional financial infrastructure of retail banks, multi-national financial […]

A buzzword in the fintech space in recent years, neobanks are challengers of the traditional banking infrastructure, a digital-only option that offers direct banking to customers. Often dubbed the “disruptors” of the fintech world, neobanks eliminate the need for a network of branches as well as a whole workforce of customer representatives who essentially serve […]

Lending is - and has always been - one of the most important aspects of financial services. Over the course of history, several of the world’s greatest feats would never have been possible without the input of strong financiers who believed in certain visions and gave the funds for them to be brought into reality.  […]

During the pandemic, the old adage “cash is king” became more relevant than ever before for companies of all sizes, whose efforts to stay afloat during a global economic and health crisis largely relied on their level of liquidity. Echoing this sentiment in an exploration of the issue from the banking perspective, McKinsey & Company […]

In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of truly “global” companies, as it is easier than ever to establish businesses in new jurisdictions without needing to have a physical presence there. While this flexibility allows companies to operate on a much larger scale than before, it also comes with certain drawbacks when it comes to maintaining a well-planned […]

Recent developments in regulations demonstrate the trust in fiat-pegged stablecoins. Regulations were lagging behind the rapid development and continual breakthroughs in crypto for a long time. The uncertain regulatory environment slowed down the transition to cryptoassets, but couldn’t stop stablecoins from exponentially growing. Some of the biggest economies in the world finally […]

Arf's Perspective: Yet another so-called “algorithmic stablecoin” breaks the buck by getting caught in the inescapable trap of a bank run as all partially collateralized assets would under just enough market pressure. This time though, it was seen coming from miles away by several cryptocurrency experts since the now fallen stablecoin Terra USD’s (UST) peg […]

MSBs of any size will know that financial planning is a vital part of running their business—and that treasury management is integral to ensuring the viability and sustainability of any such plan. Beyond simply managing the liquidity of a bank or financial institution to regulate day-to-day cash flow, a robust corporate treasury management program should […]

When dealing with a company on the other side of the world, you want to be able to effectively process and handle payments. However, with different currencies facing different levels of stability, this can sometimes be more than challenging and cause heavy loads in companies treasury operations. Especially in money transfers between countries with long […]

Access to credit has remained an unsolved financial inclusion issue for decades. Most small to medium-sized companies suffer from having no access to credit. But the situation is even more problematic in financial services. Especially money service businesses are left out, because they are considered risky with money laundering and terrorist financing concerns. While businesses […]

ZUG, April 8, 2022—Arf, the first compliant cross-border payment network running on stablecoins, announced the upcoming launch of its innovative product, Arf Credit. For the first time ever in the world, Arf Credit will provide an instant working capital credit line for money service businesses (MSBs) worldwide. Traditionally, when a money service business (MSB) wants […]

Crypto-backed lending has already become a major hit in the market - there's no doubt about that fact. It offers a way for people and businesses that need money to easily get their hands on funds, and it can be a reliable source of passive income for investors as well. Today, protocols in both the centralized and decentralized crypto space offer access to loans. Decentralized finance (DeFi) is […]

Cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity over the past few years. One of the reasons for this is their increased utility for financial transactions. Today, cryptocurrencies are used for investments and payments, and their compatibility with other financial transactions makes them the perfect innovation for today’s complex business landscape. Interestingly, one of the areas where digital […]

Arf's Perspective: US President Joe Biden puts out an executive order on cryptocurrencies that focus on six key areas: consumer protection, financial stability, illicit activity, U.S. competitiveness, financial inclusion and responsible innovation. This is the answer to the question that every stakeholder in web3 market has been asking for several years: Will the US ban […]

Wherever you look right now, the world is talking about cryptocurrencies - particularly, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). There has been a massive push towards digitizing currencies across the world, although there are still some countries that have managed to hold out for now.

Arf’s Perspective: This fine has been a $100M USD worth of regulatory clarity from the SEC to all crypto lending/yield companies out there. This type of lending is indeed a security product according to the SEC and must be registered as such. However, it seems that these types of products are just getting started to […]

One of the hottest trends in the finance space right now is the central bank digital currency (CBDC). Over the past few years, more central banks have moved to digitize their currencies as they hope to improve areas like trade and cross-border transactions.

Card networks have been the leading players of the payment world since the 1960s. Despite the rapid involvement of new and challenging players, they have maintained their dominance throughout decades and come this far by adding up new offerings with constant innovations.

A multichain stablecoin is available on several blockchain networks rather than a single one. Therefore, it can flexibly operate on various blockchains, which reduces the friction of converting [...]

The vast majority of stablecoins today is USD-pegged and expected to be so in the future, as the US dollar continues to be the dominant international reserve currency.

Embedded finance is the integration of financial services, such as banking, insurance, or lending, into traditionally non-financial user experiences.

Stablecoins can be backed by various sources, including fiat currency, other cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and algorithmic functions. However, their backing source highly impacts their risk level.

Neobanks and e-wallets are transforming financial services with the enhanced convenience, user experience, and accessibility they provide. In addition, they are firing up the competition within the industry by offering new products and services every passing day, accelerating the much needed change in the finance ecosystem.

An e-wallet, or a digital wallet, is an online service that enables people and businesses to make digital transactions and verify their credentials. Any type of personal data can be loaded into an e-wallet, including debit and credit cards, driver’s license, social security number, loyalty cards, as well as items such as movie tickets and boarding passes.