According to new data from the Federal Reserve mobile payments have seen a big growth among consumers but fraud has also risen; the shorter clearing period looks to have opened banks on the Zelle network to more potential for fraudulent transactions; Zelle has been using multi-layer and multi-factor authentication during the enrollment process; as banks look to innovate to suit their customer needs they are also looking at newer ways to protect themselves against threats that are evolving just as quick. Source.
Blockchain capital is a venture firm focused on bitcoin, blockchain and other crypto projects; according to SEC filings they are raising $150 million between their two funds Blockchain Capital IV and Blockchain Capital Parallel Fund IV; the funds have raised $60 million and $25 million respectively to date; the funds are similar when it comes to deploying capital, but in the parallel fund investors will contribute cryptocurrencies to invest. Source
SupportPay is an app that provides a unique solution for managing child support payments; in 2016 the firm was one of only a few female led fintech venture capital fundraises; Sherri Atwood raised $4.1 million for development of SupportPay which offers a digital solution for receiving child support and tracking child care expenses; the increased transparency the child support app provides has helped the firm gain interest from state agencies and legal firms managing divorce cases involving child support. Source
Meta Financial Group formed a partnership to provide personal loans to customers of NY based Liberty Lending; Meta said they will look to originate between $500mn to $1bn of personal loans during the three year partnership; “We are excited to partner with a respected and growing brand in online lending, and look forward to working together to deliver best in class loan products to consumers,” Brent Turner, Meta's head of consumer lending, said in a press release reported by American Banker. Source.
American Banker has published a rebuttal to a recent article about the “Madden fix bill” by Steve Astrada; article discusses how the bill will increase access to credit and benefit customers instead of increasing predatory lending; it also shares the consequences of the Madden decision and reviews the details of the case. Source
Two years ago John Hancock acquired AI startup Guide Financial that helped to set the stage for their newly released robo-advisor Twine; “We weren’t going to be a Vanguard, and on the other hand, there are actors like Robinhood — we landed somewhere in the middle,” said Barbara Goose, John Hancock’s chief marketing officer as reported by Tearsheet; the company is completely separate from John Hancock, in technology stack and management, though they do coordinate with the firm through their innovation officer; allowing Twine to be separate but still connected to the main firm gives them flexibility and allow them to target their millennial customer. Source.
S&P Global Market Intelligence has released data on fourth quarter and 2016 originations for 13 major online lenders; the final quarter of 2016 showed a decrease in loan originations consistent with challenges for the industry in the second half of the year; in the fourth quarter total loan originations were down 15% however loan originations for the year still reported a 15% increase. Source
The real estate platform PeerStreet temporarily paused lending last month due to the coronavirus; now they have resumed lending with...
P2P Lending Expert reviews The Worthy Bond which is a new investment option created under Reg A+; the investment pays 5% annually and has a $10 minimum investment; Worthy invests in asset-based loans. Source
About a year ago TD Bank acquired the AI startup Layer6 and they hoped to use their technology to quickly...