Experian’s Clear Early Risk Score is the first product released since their acquisition of Clarity Services. Source
American Banker outlines Amazon’s current offerings in financial services and the recent rumors around new products including checking accounts, small business credit cards and mortgages. Source
LendUp aims to improve the financial health of their customers through various products and initiatives; the interview covers a wide variety of topics including the subprime customer in the US, who they lend to today, their 2018 plans, their proprietary technology and more. Source
Victory park Capital is partnering with the International Finance Corporation on a new fund to invest in fintech startups in emerging economies; the IFC is a private sector sister organization to the World Bank; "The reliance on mobile devices for day-to-day life is more prevalent in emerging markets and that creates a big opportunity," Brendan Carroll, a senior partner and cofounder of VPC, told Business Insider; while the size of the fund is not disclosed they plan to work on about 3 to 4 deals a year. Source.
The 2018 Joint Economic Report included a section dedicated to cryptocurrencies and blockchain for the first time; the report provides an overview of the nation’s economic status and provides ideas for the next year; this is a big sign for the emerging market as the report is put together by members of the House and Senate; the report says blockchain can be used to help fight cybercrime and protect the nation’s economy and infrastructure; it also states that congress, regulators and the public need to better understand the new technologies. Source.
While the focus of the new bill that recently passed the Senate has been on banks, it could effect fintech is a big way; the bill releases restrictions on banks, especially smaller one’s, where they can better leverage technology and potentially hurt the market share of fintechs; banks were heavily restricted after the financial crisis when many of these regulations went into effect; if the bill were to be signed then fintechs would have to start ensuring they can be long term sustainable businesses. Source.
The proposed crypto ad ban on Twitter would block ads related to cryptocurrency wallets, exchanges and ICOs; Twitter would be following Google and Facebook who have already instituted blocks on these ads; the ban would come sometime in the next few weeks and would include exceptions; the bans have been seen as proactive steps to root out scams. Source.
The share of cash in 2016 accounted for 12.6 percent of GDP and the forecast includes the share being 11.2 percent by 2021; while new forms of payments are being adopted and card payments still used widely, cash will still play an important role; a few of the main reasons for continued cash usage is people prefer to use cash for small transactions, 27 percent of U.S. consumers are unbanked and fraud has become more widespread which can cause people to use cash more. Source.
Affirm announced they are partnering with merchants to make financing available in-store; Affirm InStore works similar to their online point of sale solution where customers can pay for purchases over time with fixed installments; the company also announced that consumers will be able to add a newly issued Affirm virtual card via Apple Pay. Source
Microinvesting fintech app Blast has come up with a new way for individuals to save money, video games; unlike past attempts where a bank has created a savings game, Blast’s idea is to use existing games like League of Legends or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive where players are rewarded for tasks completed; this new style of gamification is not trying to change the user but instead it looks to use the framework of a customers existing life; they are currently starting with a savings account but are seeking partnerships with financial institutions. Source.