Personal financial management app, Moven, is focusing on helping customers see the bigger picture when it comes to saving; features include savings account balance updates and a wish list timeline which helps keep consumers on track toward their saving goals; other apps such as Digit, Level Money, Chime, Dyme, Qapital and Simple are also providing similar services focused on motivating users to save for longer-term saving goals. Source
Fidor Bank saw in 2016 that incumbent banks were beginning to buy up and partner with fintechs because they needed to stay competitive; other digital banks do not share this view as Starling Bank issued a report back in September saying that collaboration with main street type banks will help to erode what fintechs are attempting to disrupt; 2017 looks to be a pivotal year for partnerships as big banks, regional banks and community banks are all moving in the direction of utilizing different aspects of new innovation. Source
Initially a German-only digital bank, N26 is now expanding to 17 countries across the continent including Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Slovakia; according to Valentin Stalf, founder and CEO of N26, the company is looking at "disrupting retail banking further" with this expansion; the digital bank offers an eight minute signup process, real time money transfers and budgeting tools; in coming years they are looking to add new products like investments, savings, insurance products and artificial intelligence based features. Source
Coinbase and affiliates have taken the lead on introducing a legal framework for blockchain tokens as a security; on Wednesday they released a 27-page framework for regulation and best practices for blockchain tokens; paper provides a risk score measurement, best practices for token sales and a detailed securities law analysis. Source
Professional services firm, Deloitte, has made its first investment in a blockchain company; Deloitte has invested an undisclosed amount in blockchain startup SETL; SETL and Deloitte recently partnered on the successful use of blockchain technology with Metro Bank payment cards; in regards to the investment and partnership with SETL, Deloitte's CEO Peter Randall said, "Together, we have the opportunity to offer a unique blockchain service to a range of financial services companies." Source
Community banks are beginning to view potential partnerships with fintech firms as a natural way to compete with some of the larger national banks; while there's not the internal resources available to even consider overhauling their own technology, they view these partnerships as lower cost ways to enhance customer experience or build out their customer base; for their part, fintech firms have been happy to consider any type of bank partnership as a way to help legitimize what they are doing; long term these banks view partnerships as more of a complimentary piece of their business, not a threat to their survival. Source
Fintech startup, Abaka, raised 520,000 British pounds in seed funding from Anthemis Exponential Ventures and MMI Holdings' Exponential Ventures; the company intends to use the capital to hire new people and launch in the UK; the company uses artificial intelligence to help employees improve financial wellness through a savings platform so they can manage their pension plans on their phones. Source
The partnership will seek to promote growth of fintech startups in Latin America through investment and business development from QED Investors; Scotiabank has a strong presence in Latin America with interest in the region's digital innovation; it will look to QED Investors for customer development and support it in strategic investments. Source
Citi Global Consumer Bank's fintech unit has released a new mobile app for the iPhone; app has banking, wealth management and money movement capabilities; it is among the first mobile banking apps to integrate banking, investing and money movement; app features include simplified money transfers and mobile trading capabilities. Source
Wunder Capital is a crowdfunded investment firm focused on solar energy projects; it manages solar energy funds, provides customized financing and offers loans; its 2016 report says it has originated $87 million in financing across 310 deals with zero write offs; its solar energy funds include the Wunder Term Fund with a projected 2016 annual return of 8.5%, the Wunder Income Fund with a projected 2016 annual return of 6% and the Wunder Bridge Fund with a projected 2016 annual return of 11%. Source
