Banks of all sizes and core provider FIS have begun testing Amazon’s Alexa service to complete voice commands in banking; instead of customers logging into their banking app they would simply ask Alexa for a balance or to transfer funds; skills, as they are referred to, are constantly being refined as confusion over pronunciation still occur with the technology only being widely used in recent years; it is still early days for this type of technology to be used in a sophisticated way but the industry is showing that they are willing to test innovative ideas. Source.
News Roundup
This page contains an archive of the Global Newsletter summaries and the weekly fintech news roundups.
Every day the Fintech Nexus news team scours the globe for the most important stories of the day to include in our daily newsletter.
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The new unit at the SEC was started in September to focus on potential illegal activities in the digital currency market; the ICO that was shut down promised returns of 1,000 percent; the SEC filed charges against Dominic Lacroix who they claim was trying to raise $15mn from thousands of investors. Source.
Lloyd’s Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland announce the closure of more than 100 branches; this is part of a wider trend for both banks who will now have closed more than 1,000 in the last few years; reasons for the closings include more UK consumers using mobile banking and the branch closures help to save significant costs. Source.
Acting CFPB Head Mick Mulvaney said he thought the payday lending rule was too far along for the agency to change but that he supports a congressional rollback; the Congressional Review Act gives Congress 60 days to nullify a regulation; Mr. Mulvaney is currently involved in a dispute over whether or not he can run the agency on an interim basis and he said he anticipates staying for 5 to 7 months. Source.
Sheltered Harbor began earlier this year and covers around 400 million accounts across banks and credit unions; members of the project are required to back up data so other banks can serve customers in the event that another bank becomes disabled; the project goes beyond concerns over customer data being stolen to address concerns that a cyberattack could destroy or lock data. Source
According to Bloomberg, the company is in advanced talks for the latest round; the valuation would be about double of Affirm’s last round in April 2016; Affirm works with over 1,000 retailers and also recently rolled out a mobile app which includes a virtual credit card; the point of sale loans have annual percentage rates between 10-30%. Source
- Progressive Leasing and Marqeta Partner to Power New Lease-to-Own Financing Experience
- Lendio Opens New Franchise in Nashville
- Lendoit & RSK creates a decentralized BTC lending future together
- CreditEase Received Top Rankings in Global FinTech Investment by CB Insights and FT Partners
- FinTech Leader OppLoans Named 6th Best Place to Work Nationally
- N26 launches a premium debit card for ‘the digital customer,’ partners with WeWork
- AutoGravity Names Sheng Wang As Chief Technology Officer
- Roostify to Integrate With Black Knight’s LoanSphere Empower Loan Origination System
Recently Morgan Stanley published research sharing that digital payments penetration in India could increase from 5% today to 20% in 2027; the e-commerce market could reach $200 billion with 475 million shoppers by this time; the author delves deep into the Chinese and Indian payments markets, sharing why America could miss out on India’s fintech revolution. Source
Lend Academy shares several companies who have announced major origination milestones across small business lending and real estate; included in the list is Kabbage, LendingHome, Funding Circle and LendingClub. Source
After completing a 16 month pilot program Morgan Stanley has announced their robo advisor Morgan Stanley Access Investing; there is a $5,000 minimum with a 0.35 percent fee and they will offer 11 portfolios, including a socially responsible option; the goal of the new service is to offer current clients’ children a better, more affordable wealth management option. Source.