The new API by Fidelity Investments called Fidelity Access will give third parties access to customer data; the idea behind the program is for customers to give apps focused on tax prep, budgeting or portfolio advice access to their Fidelity data; Fidelity believes this will cut down on cyber crime as access will be more secure instead of a user passing along their credentials; they are following a number of other financial institutions who have started similar programs recently. Source.
JoinedNov. 30, 2016
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Todd is the host of PitchIt: the fintech startups podcast, a weekly interview show featuring emerging fintech founders and leading venture capitalists. He is responsible for leading the content team which covers fintech through daily & weekly email newsletters, editorial, virtual events, and in-person conferences. He has been covering fintech, banking, and venture capital for more than 15 years, including speaking regularly at industry events.
The Reality Shares Nasdaq Blockchain Economy Index looks to provide an ETF that tracks the growth and development of companies implementing blockchain solutions; they filed for the ETF with the SEC on November 2nd; “The collaboration between Nasdaq and Reality Shares represents a tangible way to track the growth of an industry that may revolutionize the way commerce is conducted, and yet is still in its infancy,” said Fredrik Voss, Vice President of Blockchain Innovation at Nasdaq. Source.
The CFPB asked for more details on which companies consumers use to obtain a free credit score; the agency is looking to help consumers better understand their credit scores and how to potentially improve them; they also want to understand how behavior changes after seeing a free credit score; comments are due by February 12, 2018. Source.
A new report from Equiniti found that 30 percent of millennials borrowed more than $1300 in the past year; borrowing has increased by 17 percent since 2015; 44 percent prefer to search for a loan on their phones and 47 percent said they would be willing to borrow from an unfamiliar lender; this is clearly encouraging for fintech firms but also shows challenges remain as millennials look for the cheapest, quickest way for funds. Source.
With continued low bank rates Chinese consumers have flocked to new fintech firms that offer better returns; lower income individuals use Yu’E Bao money market fund and high net worth individuals use wealth management products; this has helped younger more savvy investors to abandon stocks and real estate, though regulations in China can always change quickly. Source.
P2PGI entered into an agreement to sell over $1bn worth of US consumer loans; the sale will reduce the funds net asset value (NAV) by less than 1 percent and effect their leverage & hedging requirement; the move is part of a broader strategy the fund laid out in September. Source.
PayPal has launched a new service, Money Pools, to allow users to create fundraising pages where their network can contribute; the pages are similar to other crowdfunding sites but with a greater emphasis on social media; the thought is this can become another revenue generating product for PayPal, though they currently are not charging for the use of Money Pools. Source.
Publicly traded companies will soon face new regulatory requirements when it comes to reporting cybersecurity breached to investors; the SEC did not establish a timeline for when these new regulations will be in place or to what level a breach would need to be for disclosure purposes; this is in response to recent breaches of Equifax and the SEC which were disclosed well after the incident. Source.
The KPMG Pulse of Fintech Q3 report pointed to 274 deals worth over $8bn in investment; the hottest areas of investment include artificial intelligence, insurtech, regtech and blockchain; the three biggest countries come as no surprise with the US, China and the UK dominating their respective regions. Source.
SoFi completed a $727mn issuance, entitled SCLP 2017-6, which makes it the largest consumer ABS deal; this is SoFi’s 11th ABD deal in 2017 worth over $6bn; SoFi said the joint lead managers on SCLP 2017-6 were J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Mizuho Securities. Source.