The UK Financial Conduct Authority and Ontario Securities Commission will now partner on fintech innovation; an agreement between the two agencies will help facilitate expansion for financial technology companies; both agencies will support cross-border business growth and will also share information on trends and regulatory proceedings. Source
The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) and JPMorgan Chase have announced the launch of their third annual Financial Solutions Lab (FinLab); the FinLab challenge provides support for fintech companies developing innovative solutions targeting the financial health of overlooked populations; the FinLab is currently taking applications and will announce its winners at the EMERGE Forum 2017; FinLab winners receive $250,000 and support from FinLab advisers and partners. Source
The SEC's Division of Investment Management has published an investor bulletin including suggestions for investment advisers on meeting disclosure, suitability and compliance obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940; the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy also published a bulletin for individual investors providing information to consider when investing with robo advisers. Source
Business Insider shares data on total funds raised by UK-based digital only banks; Atom Bank leads in total funding and is reportedly in process of closing another 100 million British pounds ($124 million) in equity which would bring their total raised to 235 million British pounds ($294.6 million); other players include Tandem Bank, Starling Bank, Monzo, N26 and Monese; Monzo is also in the process of raising money with a Series C funding round. Source
Humaniq is developing new banking options for emerging markets in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia in efforts to help eliminate poverty; the firm is a next generation bank based on Ethereum with open APIs for connecting to services from other companies; platform plans to launch with biometric authentication, simple account set up and money transfers; Humaniq Founder Alex Fork talks with CoinTelegraph about the firm's ambitions. Source
Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple (GAFA) have significant market share and a massive influence; given the needs and demands of consumers it seems likely their services will more broadly integrate fintech offerings in the near future; all four companies have taken some steps to offer financial services and industry analysts are watching them closely for new announcements. Source
Haven Life was the first insurance company to offer a life insurance product to its clients completely online; Liz Langlois from Haven Life provides insight on the industry and firm's evolution in a blog post; also discusses factors for consideration in choosing a life insurance partner. Sponsored Blog Post
Ant Financial has formed a strategic partnership with Kakao Pay which includes a $200 million investment and partnership to offer enhanced digital financial services in South Korea; services will include enhanced bill payment, remittance and payment transactions; according to Young-Joon Ryu, Kakao Pay's CEO-elect, "The combination of Ant Financial's global payment platform Alipay and numerous financial and commerce service networks and Kakao's platform capabilities will result in more effective and convenient financial solutions for both businesses and consumers." Source
LendIt has announced eight finalists from a pool of approximately 300 applicants for this year's PitchIt @ LendIt USA; finalists will be connected with mentors for competition preparation and ongoing business support; LendIt has partnered with 500 Startups and sponsor Marqeta to host the event; the finalists will present to a panel of judges at LendIt USA 2017 on March 7. Source
Most well-known for his music career, Jay Z has also been investing in startups since 2012; the rapper has now reported he will launch a venture capital firm with partner Jay Brown of Roc Nation; Sherpa Capital will also help to launch the fund which will focus on seed-stage companies. Source