In its discussion of how banks can become digital lenders, The Financial Brand provides the above chart; while mobile lending apps are only one aspect of a comprehensive digital lending platform, they are a core feature that customers rely on; the chart outlines the key features customers seek from mobile lending apps with the top features including the capability to lock in interest rates, calculate loan amounts and check an application status. Source
The New York Fed's most recent Household Debt and Credit Report shows credit levels reaching new highs; total consumer debt for Q2 2017 was $12.8 trillion and student loan debt reached $1.3 trillion; Forbes highlights an increasingly upward trend in student lending which it says is being supported by federal government loans. Source
Global fintech patents reached 9,546 in 2016 with a growth rate of 49% over the past five years; the US leads in fintech patents with 4,523 and it has twice as many fintech patents as the second ranking country, China; both startups and traditional financial services firms have been active in the patent process for new fintech technology. Source
Artificial intelligence is being utilized across all industries with new startups offering innovative market solutions; in January CB Insights released a list of 100 top artificial intelligence startups; Zoox tops the list as the most well-funded company with total funding of $290 million; it is also a fintech unicorn with a valuation of over $1 billion; among venture capitalists, Data Collective has emerged as a top investor partnering with 14 companies from the list for venture capital investment. Source
<p>China has accounted for over 90% of bitcoin's trading volume in recent weeks as no trading costs and a devaluing yuan have attracted the attention of traders; the country has approximately 10 of the world's leading bitcoin exchanges which have seen some intervention from Chinese regulators in recent weeks; beginning on Tuesday, three of the largest Chinese bitcoin exchanges implemented a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction to manage manipulation and volatility; trading volumes were significantly impacted following the new fee structure with volumes down approximately 90% on Chinese bitcoin exchanges.
A New York Times article featuring Ryan Feit of SeedInvest identifies some of the high risks involved with equity crowdfund investing; Feit provides some insight on his platform's due diligence process for listing equity crowdfunding campaigns; noted in the chart below, SeedInvest has posted two of the market's top ten investments; according to NextGen, Wefunder has been the source for the equity crowdfunding market's most successful campaigns. Source
Global wealth managers have been increasingly partnering with fintech companies to provide their customers with new digital wealth management solutions; the Morgan Stanley Addepar partnership is one of the market's most recent deals involving new digital wealth management services; the chart below provides insight on some of the leading factors involved in digital wealth management strategies for global wealth managers; the ability to increase access and collaboration potential with clients and experts is one of the market's top factors. Source
Traditional banks are increasingly investing in financial technology in a number of different ways; banks are developing innovation labs and partnering with fintech companies for new solutions; Digiday provides insight on factors influencing fintech investment at banks in five charts; the chart above shows the areas where banks are most interested in partnering for new developments. Source