Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial has reported an investment in payment provider Mynt which has its business focus in the Philippines; Mynt currently has three million registered customers and reports one billion pesos ($19.9 million) worth of transactions per week; it provides services for consumers, merchants, and organizations primarily through its GCash and Fuse Lending businesses; GCash serves as its micropayment service provider and Fuse Lending offers online personal and business loans. Source
Sources report that Chinese online property and casualty insurance company Zhong An is planning for an initial public offering (IPO) in China; the firm was founded by Alibaba's Jack Ma, Tencent's Pony Ma and Ma Mingzhe from Ping An Insurance Group of China; a primary product for the firm is e-commerce shipping insurance which accounts for approximately 50% of the business; currently the firm's major shareholders include Ant Financial with 16% and Tencent Holdings Ltd. with 12%; in 2015 it reported a valuation of $8 billion and it currently plans to raise an additional 2 billion yuan ($290 million) to help it prepare for the IPO. Source
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has refuted the fraudulent release or misuse of India's Aadhaar biometrics data after media reports claimed the release of Aadhaar data involving a private bank, its business correspondence agency and an e-sign agency; the UIDAI reports that an attempt was made to access data but internal security systems prevented the data's release; the incident exemplifies the strict security surrounding the use of Aadhaar data in India. Source
IBM and Maersk have completed a successful blockchain solution project for the container supply chain industry; plan to expand the solution to 10 million of the 70 million containers shipped annually; solution could provide cost savings for ship carriers of $38 billion per year. Source
Data aggregators of all types are gaining more traction and investment; Finicity is one example with investment from Experian; Nick Thomas of Finicity characterizes the credit-decisioning space as a new frontier for data aggregation; with this new frontier available for investment, the industry is likely to see success in integrating new sources of data and faster technology solutions for credit modeling and approvals. Source
Featured keynote speaker Richard Cordray from the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) discussed the Bureau's fintech initiatives at LendIt USA; a video of the presentation can be found here; in prepared remarks Cordray discussed the Bureau's focus on both providers and consumers with three areas of special interest including: consumer-friendly innovations, consumers' control over their personal financial data and the use of alternative sources of data for underwriting loans; recent fintech innovation activity from the CFPB has primarily been centered around its Project Catalyst; on February 16 the CFPB also issued a request for information on the uses of alternative credit data with an open comment period until May 19. Source
LendIt USA 2017 featured keynote speakers discussing all aspects of the online lending industry and new developments in fintech overall; videos on the keynote presentations from the event are now available; a list of the event’s keynote speakers can also be found here. Source
Through Autonomous NEXT the research firm will provide a suite of products and services with in-depth analysis of banking innovation and fintech; Autonomous Deputy CEO Erick Davis says, "We discovered untapped demand for insight on financial technology and innovation, and are excited to bring this to market."; focus areas will include robo advisors, blockchain, neobanks, insurtech, chatbots and artificial intelligence; in its first available report the firm provides metrics on fintech growth by financial services category. Source
Motif provides an investment trading platform with themed investment portfolios for retail investors; the company has now introduced Motif Impact Portfolios for socially responsible investing; the Motif Impact Portfolios will feature companies focused on one of three social values: sustainable planet, fair labor or good corporate behavior; the portfolios were developed through a partnership with MSCI ESG Research; in comments regarding the announcement, Hardeep Walia, founder and CEO of Motif, noted that the introduction of the Motif Impact Portfolios will extend the company's commitment to innovative, accessible and fully-transparent financial products. Source
Thomas Curry spoke on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's fintech charter at LendIt USA; Curry primarily refuted arguments against the OCC's authority for establishing a fintech charter; Curry sited the National Bank Act stating, "To be clear, the National Bank Act does give the OCC the legal authority to grant national bank charters to companies engaged in the business of banking."; the banking charter would encompass all fintech companies engaging in banking activities regardless of whether or not they take banking deposits; the OCC is still evaluating the provisions of the fintech charter following its December 2016 white paper and comment period which ended in January 2017. Source