Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial has announced the acquisition of US payments company MoneyGram; Ant Financial plans to leverage and integrate MoneyGram's payments network to provide enhanced servicing for its digital clients; the acquisition represents a significant expansion of services both globally and into the US for Ant Financial; MoneyGram offers global money transfer services from over 350,000 global locations with over 40,000 payment processing locations in the Unites States; with MoneyGram Ant Financial will now have a broader payments network which currently includes its affiliate Alipay, a partnership with Paytm in India and a partnership with Ascend Money in Thailand; the acquisition also helps to support Ant Financial's mission to bring inclusive financial services to users globally. Source
Acuity Market Intelligence has released the 2017 "Ten Top Trends for Biometrics and Digital Identity"; the market intelligence firm says 2017 will be an important year for biometrics and digital identity; topping the list of trends for the year is behavioral biometrics on smartphones and their associated privacy issues. Source
Coverager provides insight on the insurtech investment market with a list of 11 insurtech deals announced in January; Practo in India tops the list with a $55 million investment; firm provides a platform for patients to book appointments and also offers a software as a service solution for doctors. Source
Hans Morris of Nyca Partners has launched a new venture capital fund; Morris is the founder of Nyca Partners and a former Lending Club chairman; Morris has raised new capital of $125 million for the fund which will invest in fintech startups. Source
Some of the industry's top fintech banking strategists are leaving the corporate world to support fintech startups; three of Deutsche Bank's top executives have left the bank for broadened fintech advisory roles; "Everything from M&A advisory to research to money transfer is being disrupted," says Kerim Derhalli, former Deutsche Bank executive who now leads fintech startup Invstr; as the industry evolves it's likely the market will see more corporate fintech experts involved with new fintech ventures in the private markets. Source
IBM has hired Jesse Lund from Wells Fargo to lead its blockchain market development and global financial services departments; Lund will join IBM at the onset of its global blockchain implementation launch; IBM is investing in global blockchain and according to recent comments from Jerry Cuomo, IBM vice president of blockchain technologies, the blockchain that IBM will offer will have special things like regulatory compliance and it will be interoperable with interoperability standards; a large part of IBM's blockchain development will take place through the Hyperledger Project which both Cuomo and Lund will be actively involved in. Source
With the recent news from the OCC and a new administration in Washington, regulation of fintech is top of mind for everyone in the industry. The president of the San Francisco Fed, John C. Williams, joined us at LendIt USA 2016 to discuss fintech regulation in his keynote address.
He believes right now is a critically important time to have an open and honest dialogue about fintech and its role in the financial system. Fintech holds a lot of promise, it can help to improve efficiencies in the current system and can help the overall economy be more successful in achieving its fundamental goals.
The laws of innovation often mirror the laws of physics, for every great stride there is an equal and opposite risk. While he discussed the fact that innovation holds a lot of potential, the regulatory structure needs to asses the risks and ensure correct protections are in place.
Fintech companies are currently lowering costs, increasing access to the underbanked and helping to revitalize impoverished neighborhoods. One of his biggest points was even though fintech is looking to help the impoverished, it can actually hurt them the most as bad actors will prey upon the vulnerable.
Williams covers vigilance and a level playing field, looking at how the industry can help improve many different facets of the financial system but at the same time ensuring those in this burgeoning market do not pose a risk to the financial system. As he was beginning to wrap up his speech to allow for an interactive Q&A with the audience, Mr. Williams said he sees the potency of the possible in fintech.
Check out the full video here:
Artificial intelligence firm Cleo has raised 550,000 British pounds ($626,300) from angel investors; investors included Niklas Zennström, Jason Goodman, Alex Chesterman, Siraj Khaliq, Errol Damelin, Simon Franks, Wendy White and Joe White; Cleo is an AI-powered service working in connection with AI robots like Amazon Alexa to offer consumers personal finance advice; firm plans to use the new capital to further develop its technology and increase its user base of clients which are primarily in the UK. Source
OfferPad is a real estate platform to help homeowners sell their homes; investors include private funds managed by LL Funds, LLC and an investment management firm in Philadelphia; company plans to expand to additional markets; similar to competitor Opendoor, OfferPad buys homes from homeowners; current markets include Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Tampa and Orlando; the company has 100 employees and will launch in Los Angeles soon. Source
UK challenger bank Metro Bank sees the value in having branches along with the innovation they are doing; speaking at The Economist's Finance Disrupted conference, Metro Bank CEO Craig Donaldson explained that offering the right mix of both is the key for his firm; reliance on one solution or the other does not allow them to serve customers in the way they would like, though he did say that the market has room for the digital only bank. Source