There are differing beliefs on payday loans and how far regulation should go to protect consumers; to better answer the effects of payday lending on consumers many people turn to research; results of a study done in 2014 are now in doubt after a watchdog group found that $30,000 of grant funding came from a payday-industry-backed organization; since these types of studies help shape policy it has brought into question how deep these types of studies should be evaluated. Source
State regulators are planning to offer a licensing process for money-service businesses which will include fintech firms; this will allow business to operate across multiple states; the initial pilot will be offered in seven states; Charlie Clark, agency deputy director and director of consumer services at the Washington Department of Financial Institutions stated, “This is something that we can do to create licensing efficiencies with these companies, hopefully help get them off the ground and it doesn’t sacrifice consumer protection.” Source
In this guest post Tobias Briegel explores the intersection of blockchain technology and real estate. Source
According to a 2018 identity fraud study, victims increased 8% to 16.7 million US consumers in 2017; this is a record since Javelin Strategy & Research began tracking data in 2003; as chips in cards have become more prevalent, fraud has continued to move online; the research highlighted the increase in intermediary accounts being created by fraudsters which could include PayPal and Amazon accounts; article shares further data on trends in identity fraud. Source
As stock market volatility increased the trading app Robinhood saw deposits jump 20 percent; "We saw a large spike in transaction volume and trading activity on the platform today," a spokesperson told Business Insider. "Retail investors deposited 20% more funds into their Robinhood accounts today than they did on Friday.”; this is a trend the company has seen before, in late 2016 the Dow dropped 8 percent because of issues in Asia and the app saw their biggest net deposits ever. Source.
Steve Strongin believes most digital currencies are unlikely to survive in their current form and that investors should be prepared for coins to lose all of their value; Strongin states that they are likely to be replaced by a small set of future competitors; he cites the high correlation of cryptocurrencies, the lack of intrinsic value and speed as reasons for concern; Strongin still is optimistic on blockchain technology. Source
Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, the heads of the SEC and CFTC said they are keeping an eye on the market but might need help from Congress; “We should all come together, the federal banking regulators, CFTC, the SEC — there are states involved as well — and have a coordinated plan for dealing with virtual currency trading markets,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton as reported by American Banker; CFTC Chairman Christopher Giancarlo said the technology behind cryptocurrencies should be considered differently that the currencies themselves; they also noted they are talking with global counterparts to learn their views on the market. Source.
According to the WSJ, Goldman Sachs is in talks to offer financing on Apple products; this would be alternative to a consumer financing devices on a credit card; both companies didn’t comment on the story, but if a deal came together it could propel Goldman’s Marcus further into consumer finance. Source
Venmo currently accounts for about 39 percent of PayPal’s digital p2p payments business; PayPal and Venmo only charge users a fee when they use their credit cards, though Venmo has started to diversify their offerings to help PayPal’s bottom line; Venmo has expanded Pay with Venmo and started a instant cashout service which both have fees associated with them; they have seen fast adoption with both and the hopes are that a breakthrough year is coming soon. Source.
There are unique tax implications when it comes to investing in marketplace lending and investors should consider investing through an IRA; LendingClub is currently offering a bonus for IRA investments and is working with a new preferred custodian. Source