EMEA Daily: EU Regulators Raid Delivery Hero

In today’s EMEA news, both Germany’s Delivery Hero and its Spanish business Glovo were raided by European Union antitrust regulators, used car platform Kavak is set to open its first office outside of Latin America and more.

BoE: Digital Pounds Likely to Be Managed Through Accounts

During a panel discussion Wednesday (July 6), Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said that any proposed digital pound would likely be managed through some sort of account, rather than working like cash or banknotes.

Cunliffe is overseeing the bank’s work on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and said that while policymakers are weighing how to make the pound more effective to use in online transactions, fears about digital pounds being used in crimes and money-laundering operations require more thought about how to offer them.

The BoE is one of many central banks considering how to launch a digital currency that’s safe and free from the threat of criminal activity. It plans to release a research paper at the end of the year about how a retail CBDC might look, but Cunliffe said he expects it will be several years before digital pounds are available to consumers.

EU Antitrust Regulators Raid Delivery Hero, Glovo

European Union antitrust regulators have raided both Germany’s Delivery Hero and its Spanish business Glovo, over concerns that the online food and grocery delivery firms were in a cartel, i.e. a group of independent companies that come together to fix prices, put limits on production or share markets or customers.

“The investigation concerns an alleged agreement or concerted practice to share national markets for the online ordering and delivery of food, groceries and other consumer goods in the European Union,” the European Commission said in a statement.

Kavak Expands to EMEA With Turkey Launch

Mexican used car platform Kavak, which currently operates in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, is set to open its first office outside Latin America.

Kavak will be expanding its business into four new markets: Colombia, Chile, Peru and Turkey. The latter will be its first office in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region once it launches in Istanbul.

BigCommerce Strengthens European Presence

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) eCommerce platform BigCommerce announced Wednesday that it has grown its European presence into Austria, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The company is also expanding its Latin American presence into Peru.

BigCommerce provides software to businesses that helps them set up and manage online and mobile stores, handle payments and currency conversions. With its presence in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, the latest expansion will enable customers to build and scale their eCommerce businesses for the Nordic region.