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.
Marketplace lending data analytics provider, Monja has announced a new daily valuation service for marketplace loans; the daily loan valuation service adds to the current reporting options for institutional investors and investment management clients, increasing the analytics for marketplace loan portfolio valuation offered by Monja; the announcement is a significant step for industry loan valuations; in comments regarding the announcement, James Wu, founder and CEO of Monja said: "Now fund managers don't need to wait 20 days after end of month to see how the portfolio has performed. This allows them to better position their portfolio and liquidity, while providing better portfolio visibility for their clients." Source
New financial app Vota is looking to help customers get a better handle on spending and use habits to build...
JPMorgan is in talks to invest an undisclosed amount in 10x Future Technologies, the company founded by former Barclays CEO...
Lend Academy features two companies, Landed and Fundrise, who are taking a unique approach to building to new homes and providing down payment assistance. Source
Scott Zoldi, chief analytics officer at FICO, discusses innovation in credit data, credit scoring and fraud protection; FICO has been using artificial intelligence for decades and the firm has over 130 patents; Scott has experience in theoretical physics and joined FICO in 1999 to focus on the use and development of data with a specific interest in machine learning; Scott talks about the company's standard credit scoring services and also the innovative solutions FICO has developed including the FICO XD score for financial inclusion and their fraud solution product, Falcon. Source
MoneyGram is testing XRP for reducing both the cost of transferring money and the settlement times; Both MoneyGram and XRP traded higher on the news; Ripple has signed on about 100 banks as customers, but is also targeting remittance companies; Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also tweeted that three of the five largest money-transfer companies would begin to use XRP this year. Source
In this week’s PeerIQ Industry Update they look at the record levels of consumer debt, some regulatory changes, new securitizations and give an update on recent hirings; consumer credit is now at an all time high surpassing $1tn, though per capita levels remain below peak; the Trump administration is looking to revise the Community Reinvestment Act rules to include small business loans; Marlette’s newest securitization, MFT 2018-1, consists of loans originated by Cross River bank for over $390mn and it has received ratings from Kroll; PeerIQ also announced the hiring of 6 new employees as the company continues to grow. Source.
MoneyLion’s new feature is called Grow Your Stack; will help customers see a visual representation of their account balance as ‘cash’ over the real world; the feature will leverage iOS 11’s ARKit technology; Tim Hong, Chief Marketing Officer at MoneyLion stated, “If I write that you spent $350 on coffee as text, versus if I show you that in terms of a [visual] stack, you may be more likely to change your habits,” he said. “Not everyone learns in the traditional way.” Source
Yesterday round two of the PPP loan program kicked off after Congress allocated an additional $310 billion to the program;...