Chain CEO Adam Ludwin sat with Business Insider to talk about blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies; the interview goes through the basics of what blockchain technology is and how it has been viewed by the wider market in recent years; the hype around the technology has made many believe it can transform anything and everything; in reality, Adam says, it is a tool that should be applied where relevant; they also explore the differences in selling into an institution and how the technology is used in bitcoin transactions. Source.
With the exception of those who reside in few states, users of Square’s Cash payments app can buy and sell bitcoin; users are limited to purchasing $10,000 in bitcoin per week; Square will not add fees to bitcoin transactions and uses the major exchanges to calculate prices. Source
According to the WSJ, SoFi is laying off around 65 employees in its mortgage division; these employees worked out of offices in Healdsburg, California and Cottonwood Heights, Utah; the company has about 1300 employees; according to SoFi, the company “made some changes to staffing to ensure we have the right people in the right roles and locations to power our growth.”; at the same time SoFi is looking to fill 175 jobs. Source
Chase is starting a new marketing campaign by using GIFs across social media channels in an effort to get millennials to use their QuickPay product by Zelle; the campaign shows a shift by the bank to make campaigns more personalized and geared at a younger target market; Donna Vieira, chief marketing officer for Chase’s consumer bank tells TearSheet, “The channels, mediums and media you use; the copy and creative form like memes and GIFs. Clearly 15 years ago this would be nonexistent, but it’s how this audience communicates with each other, tells their stories and what they find engaging.”; Chase saw a 50 percent increase in p2p transactions in 2017 and a 15 percent increase in new enrollments for their app. Source.
Data courtesy of FedFis.com shares that Fiserv has more than 37% market share; Jack Henry has the second highest market share with 17.6%, followed closely by FIS. Source
Ebay dropped PayPal and turned to Adyen to be its primary processing partner; Banking Technology reports that eBay users “do not need to take any action at this time” as the “transition to full payments intermediation will be a multi-year journey”.; the deal will begin with a move in North America in the second half of 2018 before expanding in 2019. Source.
BBVA Compass, Capital One, Silicon Valley Bank, Citi, CBW Bank are some of the early adopters of open APIs that are beginning to transform how banking operates; the big question is how open will banking become and will it be mandated by legislation or will banks work with only those they trust; the one thing all banks are starting to do is make bigger investments into digital products, whether through partnerships or development as they see that the old way of banking will not survive. Source.
The WSJ shares how the non-profit provides micro loans to women entrepreneurs and shares some success stories; the model is largely based on reputation and a support system instead of credit history; loans start at $500 with interest rates around 18% which fall over time as the balance is paid; entrepreneurs can receive larger loans after establishing a track record of repayment. Source
American Banker takes another look at 7 failed fintech ideas that might have been thought of too early; the ideas include Blippy’s social payments, Pay By Touch’s point of sale hardware, Cybercash by Beenz and Digicash by Flooz, the early days of mobile payments and more; with fintech being as fast paced as it is today new innovation is happening more now than it ever has been. Source.
The head of NetCredit, a division of Enova, talks about their underwriting, bank partnerships, the human touch in credit and more. Source