Lend Academy explores how biometrics technology is going to change the finance world, cutting down on cyber-hacks and data breaches; discusses thumb prints, voice interaction/ authentication, iris scanning and now face recognition with the new iPhone X; one technology with a lot of potential is behavioral biometrics; while we are still early there are still many interesting things happening in this space and it is an area to keep an eye on. Source
According to the Financial Times, SoFi had talks with various companies including Schwab earlier this year to sell the company; the discussions took place after an indicative offer of $6 billion from a foreign bank; the company subsequently held talks with other companies with a targeted price of between $8 - $10 billion; no acquirers were willing to match the price and SoFi decided to wait for an IPO. Source
Business Insider takes a look at the worldwide regulations surrounding the emerging Cryptocurrency market; in addition to cryptocurrencies they also take a deeper look at the regulatory structure beginning to be built around blockchain technology; regions covered include the US, Europe, China and more. Source.
In their weekly industry update PeerIQ covered the most recent securitization deals and the acquisitions by student loan servicers Nelnet and Navient; Avant filed AVNT 2017-B worth $232.648mn, a consumer loan ABS transaction; PeerIQ took a close look at Mosaic whose most recent ABS transaction was heavily oversubscribed, with over $1.7 Bn in orders for a $307.5mn deal. Source.
The proposed relationship would allow Chinese consumers traveling to the US to use their Alipay Mobile Wallet; Pablo Simone, head of product and strategy for Chase Merchant Services stated, “We are always looking for ways to deliver more value to our merchants and bring them closer to their customers. A relationship with Alipay would create opportunities that enable Chinese tourists to transact in a way they are familiar with.”; it is estimated that four million Chinese consumers will visit North America this year. Source
- GDS Link Joins Canadian Lenders Association to Support Innovative Lending; Sponsoring Canadian Lenders Summit
- FS Card Closes $150M Credit Facility
- TransferWise changes fees for GBP transfers, introduces complicated flat transaction fees
- Zero raises $8.5 million for a credit card that functions like a debit card
- Nested Raises £36M in Third Round of Funding
- Abra Raises $16M in Series B Funding
- Groundfloor Launches Loan Origination Network As Investor Demand Surges
- loanDepot Announces Agreement with Artificial Intelligence Real Estate Technology Company, OJO Labs
- Lending Loop Hits Milestone of Providing $10 million in Financing
- ING Partners with Kabbage, Inc. to Expand Automated Small Business Lending into France and Italy
- LATTICE80 to Open Fintech Hub in New York by 2018
- Affirm’s new mobile app lets you borrow money for almost any online purchase
- TD Ameritrade Clients Can Now Trade Stocks on Facebook Messenger
- P2PFA reports over £700m of new lending in third quarter
- Microsoft CEO Issues Blockchain Challenge to Interbank Messaging Service Swift
- Accounting and business banking fintech raises €750k in seed round
The CFPB has laid out principles around the sharing of data between banks and fintechs; while the principles are non binding they are meant to provide guidance on the level of information sharing when a customer grants access to their banking details to a third party; there are still a few points of contention around screen scraping, informed consent and accountability when issues arise. Source.
The Financial Times’ Lex column explains that the P2P market in the UK can learn a great deal from the 2016 experience in the US; as lenders continue growing and look to achieve scale they should be careful to not overdo it; while troubles have occurred in the UK they have not reached the same level and lenders need to be sure to preserve credit quality. Source.
Alipay and Marqeta partner on real time payment processing for Chinese travelers visiting North America; Marqeta’s platform will facilitate payment processing at retail locations across the continent; Jason Gardner, CEO of Marqeta tells Crowdfund Insider, “The Marqeta platform will ensure a seamless user and merchant experience across the U.S. that Alipay’s customers need when traveling and shopping abroad.” Source.
There is a lot of talk about all of the different ways blockchain technology can impact financial services; the Financial Times sat down with bankers, consultants, and analysts to come up with five areas where we are likely to see the most impact; categories include clearing and settlement, payments, trade finance, identity and syndicated loans. Source