Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Canada), or ICBK, spearheaded a proposal from a group of companies to set up a new retail payment processing system to collect data about the spending habits of the Chinese diaspora in Canada, The Globe and Mail reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. (The Globe and Mail)

Talking point: The proposal reportedly never got off the ground, and fell apart during the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But it underscores the challenges posed by the fragmentation of the payments system in the digital age. Canadian regulators are tightening their oversight of foreign ownership of fintechs under new supervisory regimes for payments firms and the forthcoming open banking system. Chinese companies are required to share information with their government if requested. The Globe previously reported that ICBK failed to address repeated warnings from Canada’s anti-money-laundering agency to handle shortcomings in its financial crime controls. In an online statement, ICBK said “we operate in full compliance with all Canadian laws and regulations.”