Kreditech has raised 10 million euros (USD $10.4 million) from Rakuten, Inc., a firm based in Japan; the new funding will be used to develop Kreditech's partnership business; the company launched their lending as a service business in the spring of 2016; according to CFO Rene Griemens: "In addition to the financial investment, we envision future partnership opportunities. With its strong market position in Asia, Rakuten could be a door opener for us." Source
Amazon has been in the news lately for their continued push into banking related services but they are not the only ones making the push; TearSheet looks into three big name retailers also pushing their businesses into finance; Rakuten is Japan’s largest e-commerce site as their footprint includes video on demand, mobile messaging and they also operate the largest online bank in the country; Overstock.com has been building a marketplace for financial services named the FinancHub; two of the U.K.’s largest grocers, Sainsbury and Tesco, have opened banks via joint ventures. Source.
Rakuten acquired a bitcoin wallet startup in 2016 which now has led to the creation of a new cryptocurrency called Rakuten Coin; the new borderless coin is built on their existing loyalty program which will help consumers buy products across Rakuten’s services and markets; the company hopes the loyalty points will increase transactions from people across the globe. Source
The FDIC proposed new standards for companies seeking an ILC charter including parent companies agreeing to examinations, specialized capital and...