Lending Club has announced an auto refinancing product targeting consumers; Lend Academy provides more details in their article with insight from Todd Denbo, Vice President of Consumer Auto Lending at Lending Club; Lending Club seeks to help make the auto refinancing process easier for borrowers; finds a $40 billion market for auto refinancing which it thinks will expand with greater convenience for consumers in obtaining auto refinancing. Source
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ID Analytics LLC has launched the Online Lending Network; launch of the network was announced at Money 20/20; network is focused on responsible lending, borrower protection and security; Lending Club, Prosper Marketplace and Marlette Funding are founding members; member firms have access to data that can help in detecting fraud and assessing risk. Source
Ant Financial announced at Money 20/20 a partnership with payment processor First Data and hardware provider Verifone; new move will expand scope of their wallet product, AliPay, into North America and Europe for wealthy Chinese travelers; AliPay has 450 million active users, totaling nearly 70% of the third party payment market in China. Source
MasterCard is launching customizable bots for merchants and banks; they have partnered with Kasisto, the company that created KAI Banking, a conversational AI platform; consumers will be able to manage their money inside Facebook Messenger, asking questions about their accounts, purchase history, spending levels, etc.; transactions will also be able to take place on Messenger with MasterCard’s Masterpass, a digital payment service. Source
The new digital assistant is launching inside the Bank of America mobile app next year and will be named Erica; the bank is looking for the tool to help customers better understand their spending habits and offers different ways to stay financially fit; Erica will use artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to help customers make payments, check balances, save money and pay down debt. Source
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP has released a report based on survey results from 75 executives and investors at banks, fintech companies and private equity firms; Lend Academy provides a summary of the report in their article; report focuses on the interest from regional and community banks in partnering with fintech companies; high interest from these banks since the partnerships can help them provide their services at a lower cost and also expand geographically; survey results find that the majority of regional and community banks are already engaged in partnerships with fintech firms. Source
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a report on financial innovation; the report entitled “Project Catalyst Report: Promoting Consumer Friendly Innovation” is an effort from the CFPB to expand its knowledge and inform consumers on the benefits of financial innovation. One specific approaches reflected upon is the CFPB's "Trial Disclosure Waiver Policy" to test and revise disclosure statements in a controlled environment, and no-action letters. Source
Actively monitoring fintech in the country, a group of Chinese government agencies has released a white paper on blockchain; similar to other countries, China is investigating ways to utilize blockchain technology in its banking system; the white paper says the country is seeking to define standards by October 2017; speculators think China could be the first central bank to begin utilizing the technology. Source
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, a leading research/academic group (that has spoken at LendIt events), has announced a new study focused on the global use of blockchain technology; the first targeted research will address crypto-currency protections versus recent cases of data/currency theft; upcoming surveys will touch on blockchain protocol variations, currency mining, cross-border transactions and emerging regulation. Source
Propel, the $150 million fintech venture capital company set up by Spanish bank BBVA is investing $14.1 million into InsurTech startup, Hixme; the investment was announced at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas; Propel’s sole backer is BBVA - its $150 million of funding makes it one of the biggest fintech-focused funds in the world; the company's hope is to invest in next-generation fintech companies. Jay Reinemann, managing partner at Proper Ventures, says: "Insurance has been one of the latest hot areas, it's been that way for at least a year. Source