UK based banking app Revolut has decided to build their own in-house processor after their provider experienced a number of outages; Revolut follows fellow banking app Monzo in making the move to an in-house processor because of outages; GPS, the processor, serves a number of fintech companies and digital banking apps. Source.
JoinedNov. 30, 2016
Articles1,635
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.
Reality Shares Advisors and Amplify Trust ETF have both files with the SEC to create blockchain related vehicles; the applications are not yet complete and the SEC must rule on both before they are permitted to go ahead; CoinDesk reports that both companies will focus on companies with market capitalizations above $200mn with a six month daily trading average of $1mn. Source.
Recent IPO filings by some Chinese unicorns has revealed companies who misrepresented the amount they raised in venture funding; Jianpu Technology is reported to have inflated their capital raising's and Qudian is under pressure for potentially disclosing incorrect bad-loan ratios; Chinese regulators have begun looking more closely at consumer lenders and the recent surge in potential IPOs might take a hit with the bad news trend. Source.
After being ordered to shut down by regulators China’s bitcoin exchanges are pivoting to the over the counter market; OKEx and Huobi Pro announced they will introduce P2P trading that supports fiat currencies according to CoinDesk; Huobi Pro might also look to expand overseas. Source.
Community banks feel the pressure from fintech companies and big banks as technology is changing the way banks operate; a recent SourceMedia survey of 304 chief information officers of banks, credit unions and other financial services firms says 70 percent plan to invest more in technology in the near term; they are digitizing lending, making document collection easier, investing in mobile app technology and more. Source.
There has been a lot of bad news for fintech firms when it comes to diversity in the workplace and now a new census from Australia shows that this issue is worldwide; 75 percent of fintech employees are male according to the EY; while speaking at a fintech event Lynda Coker, Founder of CreateCultivate, pointed to some key ideas which could help increase hiring of women and diversify the workplace. Source.
In their weekly update PeerIQ covers the Trump tax plan, the recent Transunion consumer lending report and marketplace lending securitization news; the Transunion report shows that fintech companies have originated 30 percent of unsecured consumer loans in 2016; Darien Rowayton Bank and SoFi filed securitization deals; PeerIQ also took a closer look at SoFi’s SCLP 2017-6 deal which was the largest on SoFi’s shelf so far. Source.
International money transfer firm TransferWise announced a $280mn series E raise; investors in the round include Old Mutual Global Investors, IVP, Sapphire Ventures, Mitsui & Co., Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford and Richard Branson; they plan to use the funds for expansion to the Asia Pacific region by having a full set of products available in India and opening offices in Tokyo and Sydney. Source.
Volkswagen is preparing an application for a UK banking license so they can continue car financing after the UK leaves the EU; the move will help the company be prepared as negotiations for Brexit continue; they currently are able to offer loans by passporting their license in Germany to the UK, but with Brexit occurring those rules might change; their loan book in the UK is $19.6bn and if they were to open a retail bank they anticipate about 10 percent of funding to be customer deposits. Source.
The Global Digital Asset Exchange or GDAX is looking to list initial coin offerings that have thus far shown some level of success; the exchange has started too come under pressure to increase listings as investor interest in ICOs continues to stay red hot; as they try to meet demand they also want to be sure to not list too many and end up having startups that don’t deliver; GDAX is looking for track record of success, real world implementation and helps to create an open financial system. Source.