Americans continue to build up consumer debt; in the fourth quarter of 2017 consumer debt (excluding home loans) rose 5.5% from the prior year to $3.82 trillion; this a record since the Federal Reserve Bank of New York began tracking in 1999; non-housing debt was around 29% of overall debt, another record; some aren’t worried just yet with delinquencies coming off of record lows; The WSJ provides more data points on consumer debt, including various perspectives on the American consumer. Source
London-based fintech company, Zilch, has today announced they have secured €95 million Series C funding round reaching a value of €1.7 billion. The
LendIt has partnered with SeedInvest to include live fundraising at this year's PitchIt @ LendIt Europe competition; through the partnership LendIt Europe delegates and SeedInvest's 185,000 users can invest in the eight startup finalists during the event; these finalists will present before an audience and panel of judges on October 10 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Source
BlockFi to Pay Each State $944K to Settle Claims of Sales of Unregistered Securities: Ohio Securities Commissioner - Hopefully Other Unregistered Fintech...
Banks have clearly jumped in on the p2p payments wave as many have embraced Zelle, which launched with a consortium...
The Apple Pay Later product slams other BNPL players, but its affect on banking could be bigger, especially as part of a payments platform.
Alibaba will bring a version of its smartphone-based payment platform to Japan as early as 2018 spring; the Japanese unit of Ant Financial will offer a version of the Alipay digital payment system tailored for the Japanese market under a new brand. Source
On Wednesday, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said that fintech could signal an end to the traditional bank model; this could also increase herding risks, adding "As those risks emerge, authorities can be expected to pursue a more intense focus on the regulatory perimeter, more dynamic settings of prudential requirements, a broader commitment to resolution regimes, and a more disciplined management of operational and cyber risks."; Mark Carney is also chairman of the Financial Stability Board which will report to the G20 in July on risks and rewards in fintech. Source
Yesterday, the OCC said it was reviewing its regulations around digital banking activities that includes looking at cryptocurrency and blockchain...
PitchIt@LendIt and the LendIt industry awards were two highlights of the two day LendIt USA conference; Nova Credit was the PitchIt winner, presenting its business plan for the world's first cross-border credit reporting agency; on Tuesday evening LendIt also announced award winners in 18 categories at its first LendIt Industry Awards Show. Source