We have something for everyone in the news this week. There was a small news item in the crypto space, a new product launch, some AI news, a product is shutting down and we have small business lending news. Have a great weekend everyone.
Here are the top five news stories in fintech this week:
- Sam Bankman-Fried Is Convicted of Fraud in FTX Collapse from The Wall Street Journal – While this might not have been the biggest fintech news of the week it was certainly the most covered story. The soap opera that was the Sam Bankman-Fried trial played out over more than a month and for anyone who hadn’t lost money at FTX, it was a curious spectacle more than anything else. The jury took four hours to find SBF guilty on all counts, so he will likely be going to jail for a long time. The crypto king has fallen.
- Plaid and Adyen Partner to Power Pay by Bank from Fintech Nexus – From a story that got too much coverage to one that didn’t get enough. When the Justice Department nixed the Visa acquisition of Plaid, one of the justifications was that it would limit competition in the payments industry. Plaid has teamed up with Adyen to create a new Pay-by-Bank offering, a product we would likely not have seen if Visa had acquired Plaid. I have been waiting for this product for a while as it makes perfect sense for Plaid given they have connections into most banks in this country. It is a big win for all Adyen merchants.
- With Executive Order, White House Tries to Balance A.I.’s Potential and Peril from The New York Times – This has been the year of AI without a doubt but there is no regulatory framework in place as of yet. The Biden Administration is seeking to change that with a sweeping Executive Order this week that seeks to put some guardrails in place while at the same time ensuring innovation will continue.
- Intuit Is Closing Personal-Finance App Mint, Shifts Users to Credit Karma from Bloomberg – I first started using Mint in 2008 before it was acquired by Intuit. It seemed so cutting edge back then but as we all know now, Intuit acquired it and let it languish ever since. Oh, what could have been. Now, Intuit is closing it down and migrating everyone over to Credit Karma. Let’s just hope that is not a bad sign for Credit Karma users…
- Funding Circle Approved for SBA 7(a) Program from Fintech Nexus – The SBA 7(a) program is usually the lowest cost way for small businesses to obtain bank financing. It is a popular program but there have been no new non-bank 7(a) licenses approved in decades. Until this week, when Funding Circle was approved along with two CDFIs. The fintech small business lender has been actively pushing for this since before the pandemic.
Podcasts This Week
Fintech One-on-One – Anu Sachdeva, Global Business and Service Line Leader at Genpact.
Fintech Coffee Break – Ed Mallon, Chief Investment Officer at Pagaya.
Fintech Blueprint – Sam Bobley, CEO and Founder of Ocrolus.
