Customers using Zelle within their banking app have fallen prey to a scam where they send money for tickets but never receive the ticket; since the transaction is instantly done the scammer then closes their account and by the time the bank fully settles the payment the money is gone; banks in the Zelle network, and Zelle itself, have said do not send money to anyone unless you know and trust them; when money is lost customers are asking who should be responsible for replace the funds, should the bank refund them or Zelle; the relationship between the banks and Zelle is not entirely clear from the user perspective, with more frauds occurring customers are starting to ask more questions. Source.
BOA filed a lengthy regulatory filing this week; in it they mention the risks of cryptocurrencies to their business; the bank wrote: “The widespread adoption of new technologies, including internet services, cryptocurrencies and payment systems, could require substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our existing products and services as we grow and develop our internet banking and mobile banking channel strategies in addition to remote connectivity solutions.”; they also discussed the regulatory consequences of cryptocurrencies which could limit the ability for the bank to track movement of funds. Source
UK based Zopa has warned investors that defaults on high risk loans are rising; Zopa increased originations to high risk borrowers in 2016 and introduced their Zopa Core and Zopa Plus Products; the company originally expected default rates for 2016 at 4.14 percent but have revised that number to 4.93 percent; they also raised their estimates for 2017 loans to these borrowers to be 4.86 percent from 4.52 percent. Source.
The recent funding of Greenlight Financial Technology is part of a recent trend that has financial services firms as of all sizes focusing on education; according to the Center for Financial Services Innovation 57 percent of Americans are financially unhealthy; one of the biggest issues financial education has had is that it’s hard to define; companies have been trying to offer different types of education through online courses and other tools that help customers to better understand their full financial situation; fintech companies are not the only one’s offering such services, big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have recently added focused products and tools to help customers. Source.
Bank lending is once again off to a slow start in 2018, but signs show the slowdown will only be temporary; the recent tax cuts could help to spur more borrowing; interest rate rises on the other hand could hurt companies looking to potentially borrow; as the economy keeps trending positively banks should see lending pick up in the coming months. Source.
One of the UK’s biggest banks, Lloyd’s Banking Group, is planning to spend $4.2bn on digital transformation over the next 3 years; the bank is looking to go beyond just becoming more efficient as they said they are looking to also make the biggest ever investment in people; the move by Lloyd’s is part of a wider trend in banking where incumbents are investing heavily into digital. Source.
According to a New York Federal Reserve report, online mortgage lenders approve loans faster, experience fewer defaults and encourage more refinancing; not surprisingly they are also able to respond to customers as demands shift; the report studied banks and fintechs to better understand the market; lending from fintechs has grown by 30% annually since 2010, from $34 billion to $161 billion, representing 8% of the market. Source
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The new platform will be called easyMoney and they are launching with an Innovative ISA; investors will be able to allocate to peer to peer loans which are backed by property; easyMoney has a return target of 4% and has plans for other personal finance products in the future. Source
The french bank is launching a new fund that will invest in fintech startups; the fund will be managed by BNP Paribas’ Capital Partners and will also allocate to venture capital funds in areas such as ai, blockchain, cyber security and blockchain; Jacques d’Estais, BNP Paribas group deputy COO and head of international financial services stated, “At BNP Paribas, we’re firmly convinced that Open Innovation is a powerful driver for the transformation that will help to build the bank of tomorrow and enable us to continue to provide our clients with high value-added products and services.” Source