During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.
Wall Street banks are upping bets on their potential fintech competitors from CNBC – So far this year big U.S. banks have participated in more than two dozen equity deals in fintech startups. CNBC looks into the strategy behind this.
Fintech company Plaid discloses investments from Visa, Mastercard from Reuters – Today Plaid is disclosing that two of its investors in its $250m Series C funding round in December were none other than Visa and Mastercard.
Maturing Fintech Firms Use Enhanced Data To Threaten Legacy Banks from The Financial Brand – Leading fintech firms PayPal and Stripe continue to use data as a competitive advantage.
The Warning Signs Ahead For Chime from Forbes – It seems that Ron Shevlin thinks that fintech companies like Chime are overhyped. Exaggerated customer numbers, dubious claims of being a real banking alternative and limited pathways to profitability are some of the reasons he cites.
Introducing Vouch, a new kind of insurance company, by founders for founders from LinkedIn – If you have been wondering what Sam Hodges has been up to since leaving Funding Circle you have your answer now. His new venture, Vouch Insurance, is about rethinking business insurance for fast growth companies.
Why fintech rollouts are magnets for fraud from American Banker – Some good points to think about for all fast growth fintech companies. As growth ramps up so do the fraud attempts. We all need to be ready.
Outdated rules are holding back financial innovation from Financial Times – Interesting op-ed in the Financial Times by Vikram Pandit who is basically calling for a complete do over of financial regulation for a digital future.
Challenger banks insist they’re equal to the task of lending from American Banker – When it comes to lending digital challenger banks MoneyLion and Varo are not fazed by where we are on the credit cycle. But they do realize the importance of prudent underwriting.
Credit card start-up Petal raises $300 million debt round from Jefferies from CNBC – Credit card fintech startup Petal has received $300 million in debt funding from Jefferies as they start to scale.
The derailment of California’s payroll advance law from American Banker – The new bill in California to create the first regulatory framework for earned wage access has stalled after it had passed the California senate by unanimous vote.
CircleUp Raises $200 Million To Woo Consumer Retail Startups With A VC Alternative: Loans from Forbes – The capital provider for consumer brands, CircleUp, has secured more than $200 million to back startups from investors including Michigan’s state pension fund and Pacific Life.
Digital lending apps are coming under scrutiny in East Africa for predatory practices from Quartz – While I think the fintech companies mentioned here do more good than harm it is helpful to know both sides of the story.
